Jesus has Imperium - which is to say - the buck stops with Him, He's the ultimate Authority that all other "authorities" asnwer to because He has the power of Life! The fact of Jesus’s imperium should raise our view of the local church. He gave it an authority that we as individual Christians do not have. And this has major implications for what the local church is and what it means to be a church member.
This week we’ll look at what the local church isn’t and what it is - taking our cue from Jesus’ teaching about His kingdom. The local church isn’t The Kingdom - rather it’s an Embassy. An Embassy is an institution that represents one nation inside another nation. It declares its home nation’s interests to the host nation, and it protects the citizens of the home nation living in the host nation. The local church is a real life embassy that represents God’s Kingdom to our host nations.
The authority of the local church gives those who have put their trust in Jesus - the opportunity to affirm, grow and demonstrate in real time that their faith means something. It enables each other and the world around to look on the canvas of God’s people and see an authentic painting of Christ’s love and holiness.
