How Should the Church Be? Part 2

This one is also extremely easy to agree with.  The church should obviously be Christ-centered. When Paul went to the church in Corinth he was concerned about being single-minded. He writes in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Paul's number one proclamation for the church is Jesus Christ. However, it's not just about Jesus Christ, it's about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I have heard people say that we need to be careful talking about the cross for this reason of that. The bottom line is that the cross of Jesus Christ is everything for those who believe. If it were not for the cross, there would be no church. The Bible is completely about Jesus Christ. It's the unfolding of God's gracious promise to redeem sinners after the fall. So a Biblical church will be focused upon Christ and Him crucified.

A church who is centered on anything else will have all it's affections on the wrong thing. At the same time, this must be true for each individual. The church is the gathering of individual believers who have covenanted together to walk in love and in Christlikeness and to help each other do the same. May we all guard our hearts, minds, affections, attitudes, devotions, friendships, marriages, and anything else we can think of to be Christ-centered. He is to be treasured above all things. He is to be honored in our every thought.

God help me (us) to live for your glory by treasuring Christ above everything else. God help us to put Christ first and to be magnified in our lives and throughout the nations. Help your church be filled with Christ-centered born-again people. Send your Spirit to point us to Christ.