4 More Reasons for the Importance of the Church

As if the gospel and the very nature of God weren’t important enough, Allison goes on to add even more reasons for the significance of the church.

1. God’s Planned People

The church is not an afterthought in God’s eternal plan, something he tacked on when he realized that his original plan had failed in the garden. From all eternity, God knew that he would established his redeemed community in Christ. And if the church was part of God’s plan from all eternity, it’s probably worth paying attention to.

2. Christ and the Church

At the end of the ages, when the Father exalts the Son above all power and authority, he will give him “to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). That’s a pretty amazing statement because it means that God has decided in his eternal plan that the church will be a necessary part of the Son’s exaltation forever. I’m sure he didn’t have to do it that way, but he did. Christ and his body forever. That’s the plan.

3. The Church and the Revelation of God

God also decided to reveal himself through the church. I’m sure he has really good reasons for this, though I look at myself an my fellow believers on Sunday morning and wonder why he chose to use goofy, broken people like us to manifest his awesome glory. But he did. And he does (Eph. 3:10).

4. The Prophesied Role of the Church

Allison’s last reason for emphasizing the importance of the church are the amazing prophecies that we find in the Bible regarding the church. According to Jesus, he’s going to build a church that even the gates of hell can’t prevail against (Mt. 16:18). Elsewhere Jesus ranks the promise that his people would take the gospel to all nations right alongside his death and resurrection (Lk 24:44-49). And, of course, these promises continue in the Acts narrative as we see the church taking on its prophesied role in the eternal plan of God.