As I stated previously, this morning is a commissioning service for those who will begin to meet next week as CFC Oakwood.
! That means a change for us here too. We've just been Christ Family Church up until this point, but beginning next week we'll be CFC Dahlonega.
So, a bit of a change there as well.
And as this is going to happen, and as we've been talking about it for quite some time, and visiting together over it the last couple of weeks,
I recognize that the fact that this is happening is a bittersweet reality.
There's such great good in sending out people to take the gospel in greater ways to another community.
And we're going to have to say goodbye, at least in part, to some of our faith family.
And these people will be missed surely. Now, they're just in Oakwood. We're not sending them across the ocean.
We're going to find ways to get together and see each other, but it won't be quite the same.
And I hope together as a church, as we do this this time, and I hope do it again and again and again,
as we continually focus outward and not inward, as we are more concerned about how far and not how big.
It won't be the last time that we see churches started out of our church, both CFC Dahlonega and CFC Oakwood.
And as such, I think it's prudent this morning to step away from our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts,
just to take some time to remember together what church is and why it exists.
And I'm really thankful in preparation for this that nothing this morning is rebuke,
but just reminder, just for us as a church, to remember foundational things that make us a church
and foundational things that will make CFC Oakwood a church
and however many churches exist beyond that we get to touch as a result of the Lord's work in the life of our community.
So let's look at Matthew chapter 16. I'm going to read verses 13 through 28.
Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,
He asked His disciples,
Who do people say that the Son of Man is?
And they said,
Some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah,
and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
He said to them,
But who do you say that I am?
Simon Peter replied,
You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered him,
Blessed are you,
Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father who is in heaven.
And I tell you,
you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
and whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven.
And whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.
Then He strictly charged the disciples
to tell no one that He was the Christ.
From that time,
Jesus began to show His disciples
that He must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things from the elders
and chief priests and scribes
and be killed,
and on the third day be raised.
And Peter took Him aside
and began to rebuke Him,
saying,
Far be it from You, Lord.
This shall never happen to You.
But He turned and said to Peter,
Get behind Me, Satan.
You are a hindrance to Me,
for you are not setting your mind
on the things of God,
but on the things of man.
Then Jesus told His disciples,
If anyone would come after Me,
let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow Me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it.
For what will it profit a man
if he gains the whole world
and forfeits his soul?
Or what shall a man give
in return for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come
with His angels
in the glory of His Father,
and then He will repay each person
according to what He has done.
Truly I say to you,
there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming
in His kingdom.
Beloved, this is God's Word to us.
It was written for His glory and our good,
and we would all do well
to listen to it
in order to believe its promises
and obey its commands.
So, what is the church
and why does it exist?
We could spend the rest of the year
answering these questions.
I certainly can't do that exhaustively
over the next 45-ish minutes.
My attempt is only to answer
these questions very briefly
this morning.
There are many organizations today
that call themselves churches
that do not fulfill
the biblical requirements
of a true church.
So what is it that makes a true church?
There's much to be said
about the nature of a true church.
But this morning from our text,
I just want to point out
six things that true churches
have in common.
So at least these six things.
This is not exhaustive
by any stretch of the imagination,
but at least these six things
true churches have in common.
And I intend to keep my comments
brief concerning each point
very atypically
so that we'll have time together
to pray for the CFC Oakwood people
as well as some time to say
goodbye to them
at the end of the service.
These six points will be alliterated.
I've come to really enjoy alliteration.
I think probably because
I like to read John MacArthur.
You've heard Charles Spurgeon
be called the Prince of Preachers.
I have dubbed John MacArthur
the Prince of Alliteration.
But I also find that it's helpful
to remember the points,
particularly as I think about them
across the week.
And so you're going to find
six alliterated points.
Common things that true churches hold.
So number one,
we have a common confession.
Number one, we have a common confession.
Beginning in verse 13
down through verse 16.
We've traveled now into Caesarea Philippi
and Jesus asked the disciples,
who do people say the Son of Man is?
And they reply with the various responses
that are coming.
Everybody's wondering,
who is this Christ that has come
and He's now doing all of these miracles
amongst us?
And there's been many guesses
as to who He is.
But He says,
who do you say that I am?
And Peter responds,
you are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
And we have this common confession.
If we are true believers
and if we are part of a true church,
then we must recognize
that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of the living God,
the One who was sent,
the One who was prophesied about,
who was sent to the earth,
the One who came and lived
a perfect, sinless life,
who never gave up His deity,
but He existed fully as man,
hypostatically, 200%.
The only time that that above 100%
ever makes any sense.
Never tell me to do something 120%.
That makes no sense.
But Jesus existed 200%.
He lived a perfect life,
but He died a sinner's death.
He took the wrath of God
that was due us in Himself
as He hung on the cross.
He was buried.
Three days later,
He was raised.
Spent 40 days with the disciples
and then ascended.
And He's seated now
at the right hand of the Father.
He's interceding for us now.
He's reigning over us now.
You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
We must have this common confession.
Any church that does not believe
that Jesus is who the Bible says He is,
who wants to relegate Him
to something less than God,
who wants to make Him our buddy
rather than our King,
is not a true church.
We confess with Paul
that Jesus is the image
of the invisible God
and that all things were created
by Him
and through Him
and for Him.
Colossians 1, 15 and 16.
We confess with the writer of Hebrews
that He is the radiance
of the glory of God
and the exact imprint
of His nature.
And He upholds the universe
by the word of His power.
That's Hebrews 1, 3.
We confess with Peter and John
that there is salvation
in no one else.
For there is no other name
under heaven given among men
by which we must be saved.
Acts 4, 12.
In John 6, 60...
Excuse me.
I'm way off on my...
That's not a reference at all for you.
What a strange edit I did.
In John 6,
let me say that.
In John 6,
Jesus asked the apostles
if they also intend
to abandon Him.
Remember,
He's been talking
in John 6
about the necessity
of eating His flesh
and drinking His blood.
And people think
that's weird.
And a bunch of the people
who have been following Him
who were called
as disciples
leave Him
and Jesus asked the apostles
if they also intend
to abandon Him.
And our confession
is the same
as Peter's.
Here we go.
Verse 68-69.
Lord,
to whom shall we go?
You have the words
of eternal life.
And we have believed
and have come to know
that You are the Holy One
of God.
And so we have
a common confession.
Secondly,
we have a common communication.
And I must admit,
I stole this one
from MacArthur.
Communication,
to keep it a C.
Verse 17,
And Jesus answered,
Peter,
Blessed are you
for flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you,
but my Father
who is in heaven.
Peter did not make
this confession
by his own cleverness.
Jesus did not say to him,
well, finally,
I've been giving you
all of the clues
for who I am
and you finally
have sorted it out.
You've sat down
and you've done the puzzle
and you've figured out
who I am.
The Father,
God the Father,
revealed it to him.
How did he do so?
He did it by revelation,
but specifically,
he did it by the Spirit
and the Word.
He did it by the Spirit
and the Word.
Peter,
knowing his Old Testament Scripture,
knowing the prophecy
about who the Christ
was to be,
although he misunderstood,
he didn't quite get it perfectly.
We'll see it just a bit later
in our text.
By the revelation of God,
helping him to understand
with seeing the fulfillment
that Jesus is the Christ.
He wouldn't have called him
by this title,
you are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
Later,
John 6,
you're the Holy One of God.
Had he not known
his Scripture,
God uses the Scripture
in order to bring about
the revelation of Himself.
We have, beloved,
begun by the Word.
This is this common communication.
We've begun by the Word.
1 Peter 1.23,
Peter writes,
You have been born again,
not of perishable seed,
but of imperishable
through the living
and abiding
Word of God.
Not only have we begun
by the Word,
but we are being made
perfect by the Word,
by this common communication.
John 17.17,
Jesus' prayer,
sanctify them
in the truth.
Your Word
is
truth.
So we have this
common communication.
the way in which
the Lord communicates
to us.
These two,
this beginning confession
that Jesus is
the Christ
and this understanding
as a church
that the Scripture
is the way
in which God
has spoken
and now continues
to speak
are pillars
for the church.
Churches don't believe
this to be true.
They are not
true churches.
We discard
the inerrancy
of the Scripture.
We discard
the authority
of the Scripture.
We discard
the sufficiency
of the Scripture.
And we are going
to live in all
kinds
of error.
We may even
worship the right God,
but worship Him
very wrongly.
We have a
common
communication
and this guides
the way in which
we function
as a church.
This guides
the way we're going
to function
as a partnership
of churches.
We've talked
a bit recently
about church
autonomy,
which is to say
that churches,
we believe,
should be
self-governing.
It's the simplest
form to say
that churches
should be
self-governing.
So CFC Dahlonega
will have leadership
and CFC Oakwood
will have leadership.
That is to say
that,
some of you may not
get this reference,
but I will not
become the grand
poobah
of CFC churches.
I got a couple
of chuckles.
That's a Flintstones
reference.
The Flintstones,
Fred and Barney
were part of a
secret order
called the
Loyal Order
of the Water
Buffaloes.
And their leader
was the grand
poobah.
If you prefer
a Star Wars
analogy,
I will not
become the
viceroy
of CFC
churches.
We will be
autonomous churches
partnering together
directed by
God's
word.
Final authority.
To further
make that point,
verse 19,
Jesus says,
I will give you
the keys of the
kingdom of heaven
and whatever you
bind on earth
shall be bound
in heaven
and whatever you
loose on earth
shall be loosed
in heaven.
And this is a
very interesting
thing that he
says.
It's an often
misunderstood
thing.
And of course,
this morning I
can't spend a
lot of time on it,
but let me say
this to you.
The way that
these words
bind and
loose were
used in this
day would be
to say to
forbid or
permit.
Without making
a long proof
of that to
you,
forbid or
permit.
And if we
are to
translate these
phrases literally
word for word,
it's really
awkward in the
English language.
It's very
awkward.
Like I'm
thankful that
the translators
didn't translate
it this way
because this
would be the
word for word
literal translation.
It would go
something like
this.
Whatever you
loose on
earth shall
having been
loosed in
heaven.
Which is to
say,
those things
that you see
approved by
God,
those things
that he has
spoken to
you,
knowing the
mind of
God,
that you
forbid or
permit,
you have
access to
the kingdom.
You've been
given access
to the mind
of God.
And so those
things that
have bound
in heaven
should also
be bound
on earth.
And those
things that
have been
loosed in
heaven should
also be
loosed on
earth.
I believe
that what
Jesus is
saying is
obey God's
word.
We're giving
you access
to it,
right?
It's being
granted to
you.
Father,
Son,
and the
Spirit
wrote a
book and
gave it to
us that we
would obey
it.
John Calvin
once said,
if a church
does not have
sound doctrine
and exposition
of scripture,
it's not a
church.
So we
have a
common
confession.
We have
a common
communication.
Thirdly,
we have a
common
commission.
A common
commission.
Verse 18,
Jesus says,
I tell you,
you are
Peter,
and on
this rock
I will
build my
church,
and the
gates of
hell shall
not prevail
against it.
This is
misunderstood by
many people
to be
Jesus saying
that Peter
will be
the first
pope.
And we
know that
there is
some reality
to Peter's
leadership.
Strong
leadership.
The mouthpiece
of the
apostles.
The one
that preached
on the
day of
Pentecost.
The one
who is
the
spokesperson
when the
apostles
are imprisoned
in the
early days
of the
church.
Certainly
Peter was
part of
the
building.
Certainly
he is
one of
the
apostles.
The
foundation
on which
the
church
is
built.
Jesus
is not
referencing
some
papal
rule in
this case.
what he
is saying
is he
will build
his church
on the
confession
that Jesus
is the
Christ.
People
who have a
common
confession
who believe
that Jesus
is who he
said it is.
It's that
that Jesus
will build
his church
on.
And the
gates of
hell
shall not
prevail against
it.
I've told you
before that
I, and I
don't understand
why, but I've
often misread
this verse.
Not
fully
gotten the
picture of
what Jesus
is saying.
And what
he's saying
is that
his
building of
the church,
Jesus'
building of
the church,
is like a
military
conquest.
That it's
going
forward.
That it's
pressing
in.
And that
hell is on
the defense.
That hell
has put up
gates.
And those
gates will
not stand
in the way
of the
advance
of the
gospel.
God makes
war and
God wins.
A picture
of this
with some
finality is
found in
Revelation 7
9.
John writes,
After this I
looked and
behold a
great multitude
that no one
could number.
And I love
that phrase.
Don't even
try.
It's a
great multitude
that no one
could number.
Men and
women turn
to the worship
of God
from every
nation,
from all
tribes and
peoples and
languages,
standing before
the throne
and before
the Lamb,
clothed in
white robes
with palm
branches in
their hands.
Praising
God,
praising
Christ,
their sin,
guilt,
washed
away,
clothed in
the righteousness
of Christ.
The common
commission.
True
churches
recognize this.
True
churches are
kingdom
focused.
We are
concerned about
conversions.
We want to
see people
come to
faith in
Jesus Christ.
We're not
primarily
concerned about
making something
new and
cool and
hip that's
going to
draw someone's
attention from
some other
fellowship.
We're primarily
concerned about
conversion.
Why?
Because God's
primarily concerned
about conversion
because He's
making war and
the gates of
hell will not
stand against
it.
God doesn't
need us
beloved to
accomplish
this.
We remind
you that
you're not
so special
that God
needs you.
Jesus says
I will
build my
church.
Praise the
Lord He
has decided
to use us
to accomplish
that.
We get the
great joy
of participating
in that
kingdom
advancement.
Romans 10
beginning
in verse
13.
Paul writes
everyone who
calls on the
name of the
Lord will be
saved.
But then he
goes on to
say how then
will they call
on Him in
whom they
have not
believed?
And how are
they to believe
in Him of
whom they
have never
heard?
And how are
they to hear
without someone
preaching?
And He's not
talking about
what I'm doing
now necessarily.
The sharing
of the good
news of Jesus
Christ done
by all
those who
are His.
Verse 15
And how are
they to
preach unless
they are
sent?
As it is
written,
how beautiful
are the feet
of those who
preach the
good news.
We have a
common commission
beloved that
all of us
are to
share.
It's a sad
thing that so
many churches
don't press
that expectation
on their
members.
They don't
say this is
how Christians
live.
It's not a
thing that we
hope that
we'd like to
add to
your Christian
experience.
But followers
of Jesus
Christ share
the good
news of
Jesus Christ.
This is
why we
will not
view the
start of
another church
as a sad
thing.
I know it
has some sad
element.
I'm feeling
that too.
But we're not
going to view
it as a sad
thing.
We're not
going to see
it as division
but rather
multiplication.
Get that
word in
your mind.
This is
multiplication.
It's not
division.
The point
of the
church is
not to
hold our
friends
close but
to scatter
the kingdom
wide.
So we
have a
common
confession,
a common
communication,
a common
commission,
and a
common
conflict.
So beginning
in verse 21,
Jesus begins
finally, he's
starting to tell
them about
what's going
to happen.
And he
begins to
tell them
in a
repeated
fashion
throughout
the gospel
accounts.
Peter has
proclaimed
Jesus as
the Christ
and he
seems to
help clarify
for them
what that's
going to
mean.
Verse 20,
an interesting
thing that
Jesus does,
he strictly
charges the
disciples to
tell no
one that
he was
the Christ.
And he
does so
because of
the wide
misunderstanding
about who
the Messiah
was going
to be.
When we
studied Mark,
I talked
about this
a lot,
that the
Jews thought
the Messiah
was going
to come
and conquer
and rule
in this
realm.
That he
was going
to come
and he
was going
to militarily
overthrow
Rome and
restore Israel
to its
former glory
in this
realm.
They
misunderstood
the promises.
They seem
to glance
over all
of the
prophecy
about his
suffering
and his
death.
Peter's
counted
amongst
that,
right?
Because Peter
brings him
aside when he
starts to
talk about
all the
things that
he's going
to have
to suffer,
that he's
going to
die,
that he's
going to
be raised.
Peter says,
oh no,
not if you're
the Christ.
This can't
possibly be.
And Jesus
responds to
him in a
strong,
strong way,
get behind
me,
Satan.
Get behind
me,
Satan.
You are a
hindrance to
me.
Why?
For you are
not setting
your mind
on the
things of
God,
but on
the things
of man.
Now,
it would be
silly to
believe that
Satan had
manifested
Peter,
that it was
actually
Satan that
Jesus is
talking about
in this
case.
So note
that Jesus
equates
lies with
both Satan
and man.
He's saying
the way that
you're thinking
right now,
Peter,
is not the
way of
God,
the things
of God,
but the
things of
man,
and that
Satan is
tied up
into that.
He's the
prince of
lies,
the great
contorter of
truth.
This was
the original
sin as
the result
of Satan's
involvement
twisting the
truth of
God.
He didn't
actually say
you would
die,
did you?
This is
his weapon
in the
world.
This is
the way
in which
we struggle
now as
believers,
right?
To walk
in the
way of
God,
to believe
the truth
of God
and not
the truth
of the
world.
So,
Jesus
equates
lies with
both Satan
and man.
This is
our
conflict.
It's
the very
same
conflict
that
Peter's
experiencing
here.
Listen to
Jesus'
words to
the scribes
and the
Pharisees
in John
chapter 8.
This is
verse 39
through 47.
They answered
him,
Abraham is
our father.
Jesus said
to them,
if you were
Abraham's
children,
you would
be doing
the works
Abraham
did.
But now
you seek
to kill
me,
a man
who has
told you
the truth
that I
heard from
God.
This is
not what
Abraham did.
Satan.
They said
to him,
we were
not born
of sexual
immorality.
We have
one father,
even God.
Jesus said
to them,
if God
were your
father,
you would
love me.
For I
came from
God and
I am
here.
I came
not on
my own
accord,
but he
sent me.
Why do
you not
understand
what I
say?
It is
because you
cannot bear
to hear
my word.
You are
of your
father,
the devil,
and your
will is to
do your
father's
desires.
He was
a murderer
from the
beginning and
does not
stand in
the truth
because there
is no
truth in
him.
When he
lies,
he speaks
out of
his own
character,
for he
is a
liar and
the father
of lies.
But because
I tell
the truth,
you do not
believe me.
Which one
of you
convicts me
of sin?
If I
tell the
truth,
why do
you
not
believe
me?
Whoever
is of
God
hears
the
words
of
God.
The
reason
why
you
do
not
hear
them
is
that
you
are
not
of
God.
And so you
see that our
conflict is a
conflict against
truth and
lie,
or for
truth and
against
lies.
And we
have to
recognize that
this is a
spiritual
conflict.
Paul writes
in Ephesians
6.12,
for we
do not
wrestle
against
flesh and
blood,
but against
the rulers,
against the
authorities,
against the
cosmic powers
over this
present
darkness,
against the
spiritual
forces of
evil in
the heavenly
places.
Beloved,
our great
trouble is not
spiritual
warfare in
some weird
intangible
way.
Our great
conflict is
the lies
that are being
told to us
by this
world,
which is
being manipulated
by the
one that it
worships,
and that is
the devil.
That is our
conflict.
The very
same conflict
that Peter
is experiencing
here,
right?
Following
the truth.
I've already
told you what
that is,
right?
We have a
sure thing
in the
scripture
itself,
because of
that common
communication.
So we have
a common
conflict.
Fifthly,
we have
a common
calling.
Beginning
in verse 24,
then Jesus
told the
disciples,
if anyone
would come
after me,
let him deny
himself,
and take
of his
cross,
and find
me.
Whoever
would save
his life
will lose
it,
but whoever
loses
his life
for my
sake
will find
it.
For what
will it
profit a
man if
he gains
the whole
world and
forfeits
his soul?
Or what
shall the
man give
in return
for his
soul?
It's
interesting
how God
always seems
to work
in opposites.
We've
talked a lot
about apparent
paradoxes.
An example
of that is
this statement
is false.
Try to
work that
one out
in your
mind.
They seem
to set
against
one
another.
That
actually is
a paradox,
not an
apparent
paradox.
This is
an apparent
paradox.
Not
actually,
but it
seems to
be on
the surface.
If anyone
would come
after me,
let him
deny
himself,
and take
up his
cross,
and follow
me.
Beloved,
let me
remind you
that this
isn't
just
bearing
through
some
typical
thing
with
some
patience
and
some
grace.
Being
in school
is not
your
cross
to
bear.
Working
for a
boss
that you
don't
particularly
enjoy
is not
your
cross
to
bear.
I
think
it
can
include
that,
but it's
not
just
that.
Taking
up your
cross
is a
call
to die.
It's a
call to
self
denial.
We are
to be
deniers
of our
own
identity
and our
own
self
determination.
We are
to place
ourselves
under the
lordship
of Jesus
Christ.
We are
to become
his
bondservants.
Because
of the
great
grace
that he
has
given
to us,
we in
response,
of a
loving
response,
say to
him,
take my
life.
It's
yours.
It
belongs
to
you.
I
want
to
serve
you
with
every
bit
of
it.
Because
we've
been
ransomed
!
with
him
in
all
things.
We have
a common
calling.
You don't
have to
ask the
question,
what am
I called
to do?
You're
called to
have faith
in Jesus
Christ,
and you're
called to
follow
him.
Do that
faithfully.
Do that
by the
word of
God,
and then
beyond
that,
the gray
areas,
do
whatever
you want.
If you're
obedient to
this,
you're
following
Jesus,
marry who
you want
to,
work the
job you
want to,
you'll
sort it
out.
Because
we've
been
ransomed
by
Christ,
we now
identify
with
him
in
all
things.
Paul
writes
in
Galatians
2.20,
I have
been
crucified
with
Christ.
It
is no
longer
I
who
live,
but
Christ
who
lives
in
me.
And
the
life I
now
live
in
the
flesh
I
live
by
faith
in
the
Son
of
God
who
loved
me
and
gave
himself
for
me.
We
have
a
common
confession,
communication,
a
commission,
a
conflict,
a
calling,
and
finally,
a
common
confidence.
I
did it,
all
C's.
Good
reference
here,
verse
20,
I
mentioned
it
already
with
some
explanation.
Then
he
strictly
charged
the
disciples
to
tell
no
one
that
he
was
the
Christ.
He
didn't
want
to
be
taken
to
be
set
up
as
king.
And
if
you
read
the
gospel
narratives,
you'll
find other
places
where
he's
speaking
and
he
suddenly
slips
away.
And
the
explanation
is
because
they
wanted
to
take
him
by
force.
And
they're
trying
to
take
him
and
set
him
up
to
be
the
Messiah
as
they
thought
he
should
be.
So
Jesus
is
talking
about
a
heavenly
kingdom
that
has
implications
and
realities
here,
but a
heavenly
kingdom.
Then
he
goes
on to
say
in
verse
27,
for
the
Son
of
man
is
going
to
come
with
his
angels
and
the
glory
of
his
father
and
then
he
will
repay
each
person
according
to
what
he
has
done.
He's
going
to
come
and
establish
his
kingdom.
He's
going
to
come
as
a
judge
and
as
a
conquering
king.
Originally
I had
this
as
we
have
a
common
kingdom
because
the
sound
alliterates
but
that
K
was
really
bugging
me.
But
we
have
confidence
do
we
not
when
Jesus
returns
to
judge
because
we'll
be
found
in
him
not
because
of
things
we
have
done
but
because
what
he
has
done
on
our
behalf.
1
John
2
verses
28
and
29
and
now
little
children
abide
in
him
so
that
when
he
appears
we
may
have
confidence
and
not
shrink
from
him
in
shame
at
his
coming.
If
you
know
that
he
is
!
righteousness
has
been
born
of
him.
The
fact
that
we
have
been
made
righteous
is
evidenced
in
our
living
and
gracious
response
to
the
gospel.
I
love
1
Peter
chapter
2
verses
9
and
10
as
a
reference
to
the
book
of
Hosea.
Having
once
been
not
part
of
a
kingdom
we
are
now
part
of
a
kingdom.
I
hope
that
tomorrow
as
you
celebrate
Independence
Day
and
love
your
country
please
do
that
you
love
in
higher
order
the
kingdom
of
God.
Peter
writes
1
Peter
2
9
and
10
but
you
are
a
chosen
race
a
royal
priesthood
a
holy
nation
a
people
for
his
own
possession
that
you
may
proclaim
the
excellencies
of
him
who
called
you
out
of
darkness
into
his
marvelous
light
once
you
were
not
a
people
but
now
you
are
God's
people
once
you
had
not
received
mercy
but
now
you
have
received
mercy
and
so
we
have
a
common
confidence
a
common
confession
a
common
communication
common
commission
a
common
conflict
and
a
common
calling
but
the true
church
has a
lot
in
common
doesn't
it
praise
God
that
Jesus
said
and
he
is
accomplishing
his
promise
that
he
will
build
his
church
and
praise
God
that
he
has
lovingly
made
us
his
own
and
employed
us
in
this
process
let's
pray
together