Treasuring the True Jesus
Jordan Thomas is a husband, father of six, and founding pastor of Grace Church, Memphis. After preparing for the ministry through college and seminary, Jordan went on to train in church planting at Bethlehem Baptist Church before returning to Memphis, Tennessee to plant Grace Church in 2007. Jordan now continues in local church ministry through shepherding the fold at Grace Church and leading with Treasuring Christ Together Church-Planting Network.
Christ Our Treasure: Enjoying the Preeminence of Jesus in the Local Church is an 8-week multimedia Bible study by Jordan Thomas that invites you to to return to Scripture to behold the beauty of Christ, contemplate the role of the local church in the Christian life, and learn what God says about the purpose of each body of believers: to treasure Christ above all else, together.
Left to ourselves we may suppose we are following Jesus while being devoted to a figment of our imagination. Testing our view of Christ in the community of a Bible-believing church sharpens our apprehension of Him to accord with His reality.
Because everything about Jesus is attractive, a regenerate heart becomes more enthralled with Him the more we see of Him in the Scriptures. Similarly, as our churches walk along the pathways of God’s Word together, the whole congregation will become more awestruck with Jesus. Being “Word-centered” or “gospel-centered” are common ways churches describe themselves today. Both are wonderful expressions in my estimation, but only insofar as we see Jesus as the center of God’s revelation of Himself in His Word and the gospel.
Saul of Tarsus knew the Bible extremely well, but he did not know Jesus at all. Post-conversion, Paul finally understood that the entire Bible—which he thought he knew so well—is actually all about Jesus (Acts 28:23). Like Saul, we too can attach Bible verses to all sorts of church practices yet remain altogether unimpressed with Jesus. The full-orbed glory of Jesus and the faith-purchasing gospel of Jesus in every portion of Scripture is the food churches need. And we need the church because we need help to behold Jesus and live a Jesus-besotted life. Left to ourselves we may suppose we are following Jesus while being devoted to a figment of our imagination. Testing our view of Christ in the community of a Bible-believing church sharpens our apprehension of Him to accord with His reality. Jesus Himself warned against following the wrong “Jesus” (Mark 13:21). A personal devotional life is an important part of growing in love to Jesus. But belonging to a Word-fed, Jesus-beholding church is God’s command (Hebrews 10:25). Indeed, any church that is truly feeding on the Word of God will—according to Jesus—behold Jesus (John 5:46). Because the Bible is the nourishment our churches need to feast on Christ, Paul reminded Timothy (as he was writing the Bible!) that Jesus was his strength (1 Timothy 1:12).
God’s written Word is the Spirit-inspired lens we need to accurately look upon Jesus and His gospel labors.
We are unimpressed with Christ insofar as our eyes are closed to His glories in the pages of Scripture. Agape love to Christ rises among a congregation as He is revealed to His people through the Bible (John 10:27). Jesus knows—better than anyone—that God’s written Word is the Spirit-inspired lens we need to accurately look upon Him and His gospel labors. Therefore, when Jesus burst forth from the tomb, He broke open His Bible and showed people His glory in every portion of it (cf. Luke 24:13–49).
Our great danger is presuming to live as Christians without the presence of Christ.
The consequences of drifting from Jesus are drastic. Our great danger is presuming to live as Christians without the presence of Christ (Exodus 33:16). Like the Ephesian congregation in the book of Revelation, many churches today that once “loved Him first” have since been lulled to sleep. World love owns the hearts of many churches, weekly gatherings notwithstanding. As the gaze of our churches shifts away from Jesus, our eyes grow numb to His glories. A carnal heart appraises Jesus as boring. Meanwhile, heavenly citizens are currently exhilarated by His all-satisfying fullness (John 1:16). If Jesus does not appear attractive, the deficiency is not with Him. Churches find themselves one click off of True North all too easily. We settle for shadows without substance. Please do not go to church to hear philosophies and worldly principles rather than Christ (Colossians 2:8). Nothing is more stunning than God, and all of God dwells in Jesus. Jesus took away every impediment between you and God when He was nailed to the cross. Religious activity is empty without Christ. The whole church has nothing apart from Jesus. Getting rid of sin is impossible without clinging to Jesus.