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[Note: \u00a0<\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2<\/strong> \u00a0page.]<\/span><\/p>\n The church of the Bible is not time-or earth-bound. Its destiny reaches beyond both. The church\/kingdom of Jesus Christ has an eternal destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n After writing of the church in Hebrews 12:23, the inspired writer then describes it as \u201ca kingdom that cannot be shaken\u201d (v. 28). This statement about the kingdom meshes perfectly with Daniel\u2019s fifth-century-B.C. prophecy:<\/span><\/p>\n And in the days of those kings [a reference to the Roman emperors] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever (2:44).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus is \u201cthe head of the church, being himself the savior of the body\u201d (Eph. 5:23b). Since the body<\/em> is another way of referring to the church (Eph. 1:22\u201323), Jesus is therefore the \u201cSavior of the church.\u201d Since \u201cthe church\u201d denotes the human beings who compose it (not the building where they meet), in what sense will He save it? (Obviously, He does not save its members from such things as dread diseases, grievous accidents, or bankruptcy.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 First<\/strong>, He saves those who are in His church from the guilt and condemnation of their sins: \u201cAnd the Lord added to them [the church, KJV] day by day those that were saved\u201d (Acts 2: 47b, KJV). Beginning at Pentecost, as individuals are saved, the Lord adds them to His church. The church is thus the \u201cdepository\u201d of God\u2019s saved\/redeemed people (20:28). This is one sense in which Jesus is the \u201cSavior of the church.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Second<\/strong>, He will save the church eternally. Upon His return, \u201cthe heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up\u201d (2 Pet. 3:10). This spectacle will end all material things and institutions\u2014including false religions (Mat. 15:13). The church, the eternal spiritual kingdom, however, will \u201cnot be shaken.\u201d Rather, at the Lord\u2019s coming, He \u201cshall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father\u201d (1 Cor. 15:24; cf. 1 The. 4:16\u201317).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One must be in His church to be saved at last, for He has promised to save it alone. How then does one enter it? On Pentecost, its \u201cbirthday,\u201d people responded to the Gospel by confessing their faith in Christ, repenting of their sins, and being baptized unto the remission of their sins, whereupon the Lord added them because they were saved (Acts 2:37\u201341). The Bible gives no other means of entrance.<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong> I wrote this article for and it appeared in the Denton Record-Chronicle, <\/em>Denton, TX, February 15,\u00a0<\/span>2008.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 0[Note: \u00a0This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2 \u00a0page.] The church of the Bible is not time-or earth-bound. Its destiny reaches beyond both. The church\/kingdom of Jesus Christ has an eternal destiny. After writing of the church in Hebrews…<\/p>\n