God’s Plan For The Church

by Pastor Mark
July 07, 2023

 

A divine plan

A vital knowledge of the church is that it was God who revealed His plan for it. The plan was not man-made but was divinely determined and revealed to us through the Spirit in the Scriptures. No one should seek to develop the church based on their human understanding. Let us be challenged to understand the Lord’s divine plan for the church so that we may follow it accordingly.

1. God’s prophetic plan

  1. It is amazing to know that God prophesied about the church in the Old Testament.
  2. Both the prophet Isaiah and the Psalmist prophesied about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would become the “chief cornerstone” of the church (Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22).

2. The Lord’s promise

  1. Christ promised that He would build His church upon the “rock” (Matthew 16:18).
  2. The Greek word for Peter is “petros”, meaning “stone or rock”.
  3. The Greek word for “rock” is “petra”, meaning “massive boulder”.
  4. The Lord would build the church not on Peter, but on a “massive boulder”, the foundation of the church, which is Christ Himself.

The design of the church

1. The foundation of church

  1. God, as the architect of the church, had a special design for the church.
  2. A vital structure of the church is its foundation.
  3. Christ was the living stone that God chose to be the chief cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4).
  4. In any building, there are many cornerstones.
  5. The chief cornerstone would align the foundation and the rest of the building.
  6. Christ, as our precious chief cornerstone, would guide and lead the church.

2. The building of the church

  1. As believers, we become the living stones that are being built together (1 Peter 2:5).
  2. We are meant to fit into this spiritual house as we seek to do our part.
  3. As people of the Lord, we are part of a living and precious church called Bethany.

The development of Bethany I

I have had the privilege of having front-row seats in watching the development of Bethany since it began. One key thing to Bethany’s growth was that we were Christ-centered. It was to know Christ through God’s Word and to share about Him with others. Everything centred on who He is and all that He did. It was in Bethany I that Christ became real to me as I came to know Him, was reaffirmed and became committed to serving Him.

Another thing that I began to catch was Bethany’s family spirit. There were many opportunities, such as family camps and fellowship meals, for us to relate. Between the young and the old, we forged a greater sense of oneness and a bond as a spiritual family. Over the years, Bethany grew from 25 people to the point that we were “breaking at the seams”. I remember sitting on tiny chairs in the pulpit area as there was no other place to sit or stand. In His time, the Lord led us to 301 Upper Paya Lebar Road as an answer to our prayers. God graciously and timely provided us with a “promised land” and the financial support to build Bethany II. It was Christ who built His church.

Let our hearts be uplifted, glad and much more committed to God’s plan as we seek to grow Bethany in the years ahead.

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