Fearfully & Wonderfully Made — Week 4

This message in Fearfully & Wonderfully Made asks what the church is actually for, arguing that some things require the designer to explain their purpose. The designer's clue appears in Matthew 16, where Jesus builds His church on the confession that He is the Christ. Working from the Greek ekklesia , "the called-out ones," the teaching frames the church not as a building but as people called out of darkness into light (1 Peter 2:9). Its God-given purpose is threefold: to edify the saints through the apostles' teaching, to exalt the Savior as preeminent rather than merely prominent, and to evangelize those who do not yet know Christ. The closing emphasis is the Great Commission as a command, not a suggestion. Every believer is authorized, empowered by the Spirit (Acts 1:8), and uniquely gifted with a personal style for sharing the gospel.