The Church, the Resurrection Community

Bible Insights with  Wayne Conrad
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Transcript

Title:  The Church, the Resurrection Community

Date: April 20, 2026

Scripture: Ephesians 1:19-2:6; Revelation 21:12-14

AI TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to Bible Insights with Wayne Conrad. God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. 

Today's topic is the church as the resurrection community. The church is the community of those who believe in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. There is a sense in which the church did not exist until Christ came, and there is a sense in which the church existed as a people of God in the past. So let me try to explain. You see, there's two, I believe there are two eras concerning the beginning of the church. Too often the church is thought of as beginning suddenly, on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Before that time, there was no church, and then when the Holy Spirit came on that day, now the church has grown full-blown and present in reality in the world.

And before that, the church didn't exist, there was just Israel, but that Israel and the church are totally distinct. I don't believe that to be a biblical position. On the other hand, there are those who assert that the church has existed since the Garden of Eden.

That is that when Adam fell and was cast out of the garden, that God made a promise of the gospel then and that was the establishment of the church. I don't believe that to be the truth either. That was the establishment of God's promise, his gospel promise that he would bring the Messiah. And certainly, he took care of those who believed in him during the course of history.

So, I want to present the doctrine of the church as the gathering of Christ's disciples around him as the risen Lord. So, I'm speaking of the church, the assembly, as a resurrection community. Because the head of it is the resurrected Lord. You see, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then there is no gospel. That what has happened is that Christ was defeated by death. So, to anyone who asserts that Christ was a great teacher and a great prophet, but when he died, he died like all other people and he's still dead somewhere, they're not Christians and that doesn't constitute the church. That may constitute a group of people who try to follow teachings of Jesus, but that is not a church. A church is a community of believers who are related savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ through repentance and saving faith.

And that could only come into existence in the full-blown sense of the term upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul, again, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, says that the church's proclamation is that Christ was dead for sinners, he was buried, and that he was raised from the dead on the third day. That is the proclamation of the church. That's the proclamation of the gospel. It's the core gospel, which we must believe in order to be saved.

He goes on to say that if one denies the resurrection of the dead in the general sense, then they're denying the resurrection of Christ in the historical sense. The resurrection of the dead and specifically the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the firstborn from the dead. is the absolute essential truth that establishes the Christian faith. You see, in a real sense, the existence of the church is evidence of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Because if he did not rise from the dead, there would be no church. This is amply proven when you read the gospel accounts themselves.

For upon Jesus's demise, the disciples were totally disheartened. They believed that it was all over. And they went different directions. They did not believe or anticipate that Jesus was coming back. Though he had prophesied it, though he had told them, still they didn't believe it. They didn't understand it. They didn't grasp it. But Christ did come back. And when he came back and began meeting with those disciples, this actually is the true beginning of the New Testament church as we know it. But let me talk about the church in the following terms.

The church of Jesus Christ is rooted in Israel. It's rooted in the history of God with the Hebrew people. So, in this sense, you can trace the roots of the church all the way back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God's covenant relationship with Abraham and with his descendants. Now this is talked about in Romans chapter four. In Romans chapter five, we'll talk about Adam. So, the roots of the church go back to God's promise made in the Garden of Eden in which he cursed the serpent but embedded in that curse was that the seed of the woman would come. and would crush the head of the serpent.

He established a people for his namesake with Abraham. He called Abraham and he constituted a people, a people to whom he revealed himself in Abraham personally. And he gave him later the sign of a covenant. That sign of the covenant was circumcision, but it was a sign of him, it was a sign of his righteousness by faith, but of all of his descendants, it was a sign of their ethnic identity, their ethnic identity as the people of revelation to whom the true God has made himself known. And therefore, the people are composed of a mixed company. There is a remnant who believes, a small group, a larger group who don't truly believe, but they are in the external community of a people that God has called to himself. He took them out of slavery in Egypt in the days of Moses. He delivered them by the Passover lamb, and he constituted them as a nation, as an assembly at the foot of Mount Sinai.

And this is what we call the Mosaic covenant or the old covenant that was given to them then. And so the Old Testament contains this covenant and all of its regulations for the life of the people of God known as the Hebrews, as Israel. They all pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah. And this is made even more clear in God's covenant that he entered into with David, because it would be a descendant of David that would be the king of the kingdom of God. And so, we have these two Old Testament covenants, the Mosaic, or the Old Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant. And they are the rootage, they're the root system from which the church will emerge. The church then is formed an embryo during the days of Jesus' earthly ministry.

You see, Jesus himself comes as the fulfillment of Israel. He comes as the second Adam. And where Adam failed, Christ succeeded. But he also comes as the new Israel, as the true Israel. And where Israel failed in their temptation of the wilderness, Christ did not fail. He succeeded. And it's him, himself. He is the Israel of God. And to be a part of the Israel of God, you have to be a part of Christ, Christ himself. And how does that come to pass? Well, let's speak about it in history, you see.

Jesus formed the church in embryo by calling to himself earthly witnesses to his ministry and specifically to his death, burial, resurrection, and his post-resurrection appearances. These chosen witnesses are known as the apostles, the 12 apostles, among whom was Judas, who would betray him. But Judas would be replaced by Mattathias, so that there will be 12 eyewitnesses to the ministry of Christ from the time he was baptized in the Jordan until the day he ascended into heaven. These 12 appointed witnesses are the church in embryo. And Christ teaches them, and he teaches not only them, but the others who are beginning to believe in him from among the mass in Israel that come to hear him because of the miracles and the signs of the kingdom of God that he is displaying. But Christ is beginning to lay the foundation of the church as we know it. It's existing in embryo.

And we have Matthew's account. Matthew was one of those disciples and he records in Matthew chapter 16, I believe it is, about the revelation that Jesus Christ gives concerning this matter. So let me read those words to you. In the meantime, while I'm turning to that, think about the Sermon on the Mount.

You know, the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus is giving instructions for life in the kingdom. So Jesus has come as the king of the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God arrives in him. That is in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. And now, in fulfillment not only of the Mosaic Covenant, but also the Davidic Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ talks about the establishment of his church. It's on the occasion when he came with his 12 to the region of Caesarea Philippi, recorded in Matthew 16.

And he asked his disciples, who do the people say that the Son of Man is? That was Jesus' favorite designation for himself. And they replied, some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah are one of the prophets. In other words, in the general opinion, many people thought Jesus was a returned prophet, one who came back from the dead and was redoing their ministry, specifically John the Baptist who had recently died. But you, he asked him in the plural, but who, who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter, who seems to be functioning as the spokesman for the group, answers, you are the Messiah, that Christ, the son of the living God.

And Jesus responded, blessed are you, Simon, son of John, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my father in heaven, And I also say to you that you're Peter and on this rock, I'll build my church and the gates of hell will not overpower it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, et cetera.

So, Peter is a confessor in Christ and exercising this gift on the day of Pentecost is a sense, one in which Christ begins to build his church in the public arena. The church is composed of those who confess the faith, the same faith that Peter had, the same faith the other 12 disciples had. That Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of the covenants. But notice the language Jesus is, I will build my church. He didn't say, I have built my church. He didn't say, I did build my church. He says, I will build my church.

So, the church is existing an embryo in this apostolic band around Christ himself. And it will expand from there. And it will come to full birth after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So the church, you see, it's really comes again into existence as being, as you might say, birthed. at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Turn with me, if you want to see this in the scripture, to this 20th chapter of the Gospel of John. This is on the very day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

It's at the evening of that first day of the week. And the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked. They were behind locked doors because they feared the Jews. They were afraid the Jews who had killed their Messiah, their master, might come after them as well. And as they're there, shivering perhaps, Jesus came and stood among them.

He just suddenly appears and standing before them and says, shalom, peace be with you. And having said them, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said to them, peace to you, shalom. And as the father has sent me, I also send you. And after saying this, he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit.

And then he speaks about the forgiveness of sins, which comes through the proclamation of the gospel. So here we have the reconstitution of the apostolic band after the resurrection of Christ, so that they're now eyewitnesses to the resurrection. They see, they touch, they eat with the resurrected and living Lord.

And during this 40-day period, Jesus repeatedly gives them the commission as his representatives in the earth, as his assembly, that they are to now spread the good news, the glad tidings of the forgiveness of sin available to all people, not only Jews, but every nationality under heaven. They're given a worldwide commission. And that was sort of beyond their thoughts at the time it's given. But Christ says, I will send the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will give you the power to be my witnesses in all the earth. So the church is in embryo. in the very ministry of Christ, and the church is coming into being. It is being birthed at the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

And during this 40-day period, Jesus met with the disciples. He taught them the things they needed to know. He explained from the scripture how it was all fulfilled in himself, and that's unfolded for us in what we call the New Testament scriptures. So, during that 40-day period, with many infallible proofs, he demonstrates that he is risen from the dead, that he is the Lord over death. He is the Lord over Satan, over death, over hell.

He is the great victor, and he is the one who has ushered in the kingdom of God and established the new covenant by the sacrifice of his own self on the cross. and that was signed for them in what we have come to call the Lord's Supper with the bread and the wine of which Jesus spoke of it in terms of his body and his blood.

So, the acts then, the acts of the apostles are really the acts of the risen Jesus through the Holy Spirit using the apostles and other Christians is what the book of Acts is all about. It's about the risen Christ establishing his church and extending his church throughout the known world at that time. It begins in Jerusalem, it ends in Rome, but it's prophetic that the whole message of the gospel will go forth throughout the whole earth.

So, the church, in a real sense you see, is birthed, comes into public view, comes into the reality of the assembly of the Nazarenes, the assembly of those who confess Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and who confess him as the living Lord and the savior of mankind. And so, the book of Acts not only shows the advancement of the gospel of the kingdom, but it also establishes for us the reality of the life of this resurrection community. It gives us demonstrations of how they related to Christ, to one another, and to those to whom they're bearing witness to Christ. So, I think that this is a panoramic kind of view of how the church is emerged and exist as the resurrection community of Jesus Christ. Now there's much more that can be said about the church, about its relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, but we need to keep in mind that the church has its rootage in the Old Testament in the establishment of Israel as a people, the Hebrew nation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in relationship to a covenant God. And also, it has a direct relationship to the 12 apostles who are the eyewitnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of his flesh, in the days of his ministry, of his resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven.

That this is the reality. is made very clear to us in the book of Revelation. I know you thought, well, Revelation, isn't that the book that has all the mystery? Well, yeah, it has mystery, mystery and symbols. But those symbols speak of reality. And here is the reality. It talks about the new Jerusalem in Revelation chapter 21. Listen, as John describes the city in verse 12.

The city had a massive high wall with 12 gates. 12 angels were at the gates and the names of the 12 tribes of Israel's sons were inscribed on the gates. There you have Israel, Israel of old. There was a church in Embryo. It's from that group of people and the old covenant that God established with them and the Davidic covenant that he then brings forth in time, the church as the emerging community of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It goes on from there, who of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed on the gates. The city wall had 12 foundations and the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the lamb were on the foundations.

So, there you have it. You see the churches, we know it. comes forth from its root of Israel, from the embryo of Christ's ministry on earth with his 12, and they're witness to him as a resurrected Lord, and comes into full birth and begins to grow and mature after the coming of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them in Bethlehem. fulfillment of Christ's own prophetic utterance, that when he ascended into heaven, that he would send from the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit would be with him to give them the power that they needed to be his witnesses.

Listen to Jesus' words. He commanded them in Acts 4, not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, you will be baptized, immersed in the Holy Spirit, not many days from now. Verse eight, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you. And you'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. So, Pentecost becomes a public birth of the church. And it's now a spirit empowered. publicly visible assembly of believers in Jesus Christ as the risen Lord, whose death was the sacrifice for the sins of men.

Listen to the words of Peter, one of those 12 apostles, the chief spokesman on the day of Pentecost. Blessed, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy became our Father again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And listen to Paul's words in Ephesians chapter one and chapter two. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of Him I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the mighty working of his strength, which he exercised in raising Christ from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens. far above every ruler and authority and power and dominion and every title given, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as the head over everything for the church, for the assembly, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. And then he goes on in Ephesians chapter two to speak about that, that is, for through him, that is through Jesus, Messiah Jesus, we both, Jew and Gentile, have access in one spirit to the Father.

So, then we, the Gentiles, are no longer foreigners and strangers, but we become fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household. We're built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him, the whole building, that's the church. This is the new spiritual Israel that encompasses all believing Hebrews, Jews in the Messiah, and all Gentiles who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The elect of God, in Him the whole building being put together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit.

So, you see the great glory here? The church is the creation of God. It's the creation of God in time that became progressively a reality, beginning in its roots to its embryo, to its birthing, and now to its maturing in the days of Christ's ascension, awaiting His return in glory. Jesus Christ is risen. He is the risen Lord of His church, and He is building His church for the glory of His name, and it's His because he indwells it by his Holy Spirit. It's the Spirit of God alive in the hearts of those who believe in him that constitute the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. That body is not some invisible spiritual thing floating out there.

It's manifested in local assemblies of believers that meet together once a week to hear the word of God, to give praise and prayers to God, and to observe his ordinances, his sacred rites that proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believe in Jesus Christ, be a part of the church that he's redeemed by his blood. And if you're a part, you should be participating every week in the life of the body, that Christ is redeemed by his own blood. 

This has been Wayne Conrad with Bible Insights.