SBS | 1st Quarter of 2024 | CPAD Adults | Theme: THE BODY OF CHRIST - Origin, Nature and Mission of the Church in the World | Sunday Bible School | Lesson 5 - The Mission of the Church of Christ Slides created by Celso Napoleon

1. February 4, 2024
Lesson 5
The Mission of the Church of Christ

2. GOLDEN TEXT
“And they continued steadfastly in the
apostles’ doctrine, and in the fellowship, and
in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
(Acts 2:42)

3. PRACTICAL TRUTH
As the salt outside the salt shaker fulfills its
function of salting, so the Church, when
worshiping and teaching disciples, bears witness
to the unfathomable riches of Christ.

4. DAILY READING
Second - 1 Co 1.21 The Church and the proclamation of the
Good News
Tuesday - Mt 28.19 The Church and Discipleship
Wednesday - Rom 12.1 The Church and the true worship of
the Triune God
Thursday - 1 Thes 5.11 The Church as a building
community
Friday - 1 John 1.7 The Church living brotherly love
Saturday - Rom 12.13 The Church as a supportive

5. BIBLE READING IN CLASS
Mark 16.14-20; Acts 2:42-47
Mark 16
14 - Finally he appeared to the eleven, as they sat together,
and he revealed in their faces their unbelief and hardness of
heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him
already resurrected.
15 - And he said to them: Go into all the world, preach the
gospel to every creature.
16 - Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but
whoever does not believe will be condemned.

6. 17 - And these signs will follow those who believe: in my
name they will cast out demons; they will speak new
languages;
18 - they will pick up serpents; and if they drink anything
deadly, it will not harm them; and they will lay hands on the
sick and heal them.
19 - Now the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was taken
up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 - And they, having departed, preached everywhere, the
Lord working with them and confirming the word with the
signs that followed. Amen!

7. Acts 2
42 - And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine,
and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 - There was fear in every soul, and many wonders and
signs were performed by the apostles.
44 - All who believed were together and had everything in
common.
45 - They sold their properties and farms and shared them
with everyone, according to each person's need.

8. 46 - And as they continued with one accord every day in the
temple and broke bread at home, they ate together with joy
and singleness of heart,
47 - praising God and finding favor with all the people. And
every day the Lord added to the church those who would be
saved.

9. INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, we will study the mission of the Church of
Christ. We will see that the Church is called to proclaim the
powerful message of the cross. Thus, she fulfills her chosen
vocation when she participates in the Great Commission left
by her founder, Jesus Christ (Mt 28.19). As a consequence of
this reality, we will see that the church is a worshiping
community of communion and, finally, it is a community that
plays a great role in the present century. Therefore, the
Church of Christ carries out a great mission in this world.
KEYWORD: Great Commission

10. I - PREACHING AND INSTRUCTION
1. Proclaiming the Good News. The Church was founded by
Christ (Mt 16:18) as an institution to bless the world. This mission is
exercised through the preaching of the Gospel: “It pleased God to
save the believers through the foolishness of preaching” (1 Cor 1:21).
After resurrecting, the Lord Jesus commissioned his disciples to
preach the Gospel (Mc 16.14-20). Referring to this mission, Mark
uses the Greek verb Keryssó, translated as “preach”, “proclaim”. The
meaning is of a herald who proclaims something. This verb occurs
61 times in the New Testament. It is the term used to show John, the
Baptist, “preaching in the wilderness of Judea” (Mt 3.1); and Jesus
Christ when he began to preach (Mt 4:17).

11. 2. The object of preaching. Another term used very
frequently in the New Testament to refer to the Great
Commission of the Church is euangelizô. This verb occurs 54
times in the New Testament and its meaning is to bring the
Good News, preach the Good News. In this aspect, the
object of the Good News does not refer to something, but to
someone, a person. In this sense, early Christians “did not
cease teaching and proclaiming Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).
Preaching Jesus Christ is not preaching a “thing” or a
subjective message, but proclaiming to the fallen world that
He is alive and ready to save. Preaching the message of the
cross is announcing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
revealed in Christ (Acts 8:12).

12. 3. Discipling the converted. “Preaching” and “proclaiming” is
taking the Word of God to those outside the Church, while discipling
is instructing those inside. The verb “disciple”, from the Greek
matheteuo, occurs only four times in the New Testament, while the
noun “disciple” (Gr. mathetés) occurs 261 times. The meaning is that
of someone instructed or trained in something. It is the term used in
Matthew 28:19 to designate the Great Commission: “Go, teach all
nations”. In effect, Jesus was saying, “Go and disciple.” The Church
is not just made up of “believers”, the Church is made up of
disciples. Someone can be in the local church without, however,
being a disciple. This is someone who is able to reproduce and pass
on to others what they learned and live through Christ Jesus.

13. SYNOPSIS I
The Church founded by Christ has the
purpose of blessing the world, through the
preaching of the Gospel and discipleship, in
words and actions.

14. II - WORSHIP AND EDIFICATION
1. A worshiping community. In the biblical context,
worship means giving the glory that is due only to God. It is
taking attention away from ourselves to focus solely on the
Lord (Mt 4.10). Worship is about our service to God. It is not
something that is done only during public or private worship.
It has to do with our way of being, acting and living. It’s
living life for God!

15. This is the meaning of the Greek term latreia, translated as
“worship”. the apostle Paul pleads with the church to present
its body to God as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
God, which is your reasonable worship” (Rom 12:1). The
word “cult” in this text translates the Greek term latreia. The
meaning is that of a service provided to God in a conscious
and integral way. It is living totally for the Lord.

16. 2. An uplifting community. The church is a proclaiming,
worshiping and building community. The Greek word oikodomé,
translated as “build”, is used in its literal sense of building a building
and, metaphorically, in the sense of spiritual growth. In the first sense
it is used by Jesus in reference to the house built on the rock (Mt
7.24) and, in the second sense, in Ephesians 4.12. In this last
reference, the apostle Paul says that God placed apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers in the Church for the “edification of
the body of Christ”. This, for example, is the objective of spiritual
gifts: to bring edification to the church (1 Cor 14.3). Thus, whoever
speaks in tongues in public, without interpretation, edifies himself (1
Cor 14.4); however, he does not edify the church, which did not
understand what was said (1 Cor 14.5). In this way, the apostle Paul
exhorts believers to seek to build “one another” (1 Thess. 5:11).

17. SYNOPSIS II
Genuine adoration and mutual edification
is the fruit of a life of devotion and service
to God in continuous growth.

18. III - COMMUNION AND SOCIALIZATION
1. Faith in the fraternal sphere. One of the pillars of the
Primitive Church was communion (Acts 2:42). The Greek
word koinonia, translated here as “communion”, occurs 19
times in the New Testament and its meaning is literally
“partnership”, “participation” and “spiritual communion”. If
we are Christians and walk in the light of the Gospel, we
must live in communion (1 John 1:7). Where there is no
communion among believers, there is also no solidly built
church. Therefore, there is no Church where its members live
isolated and do not maintain communion with each other.

19. 2. Unity and Fraternity. The New Testament church is
expressed through unity and fraternity among its members (1
John 1:3). Jesus prayed for the fraternal union of his disciples
(John 17:21). One of the great evils of the modern church is
precisely the breakdown of Christian communion, which has
caused great fragmentation in the Body of Christ. We must,
therefore, strive to maintain Christian fellowship in our local
churches (Heb 13:16).

20. 3. Faith in the social sphere. The Christian faith also needs
to be expressed in the public sphere. It has its social side. If,
on the one hand, the Greek noun koinonia means
“communion”, on the other hand, the Greek verb koinoneo
also has the meaning of “contributory help and sharing”. It is
used by Paul in this sense in Romans 12:13. The meaning of
this text is to help the poorest in their needs. The apostle Paul
praised the Philippians for being aware of the social
dimension of the Gospel (Phil 4:15). It is not just about
satisfying the hunger of the poor by leaving them empty of
God. It is the exercise of the Christian faith in its entirety.

21. The church, therefore, cannot exercise its faith in a biblical
way, forgetting the neediest or poorest. Jesus highlighted this
fact (Mt 25.35,36). What model of church are we when few
have so much and many have so little? The apostle exhorts
the church to pay attention to this fact (James 2:15,16).

22. SYNOPSIS III
Love manifested in actions is evidenced in
the communion between brothers and the
social contribution of the Church as an
expression of faith in the public sphere.

23. CONCLUSION
We saw that the Church of Christ has a great mission here on
Earth. She was called to be salt and light. Like salt she will salt
the world with the message of the cross in a society that is
corrupted by the deception of sin. As light, she will shine in
the dense darkness that covers the world without God. By
showing Jesus Christ to the lost world, producing disciples
and transforming them into worshipers, the Church fulfills
the mission to which it was called.

24. REVIEWING THE CONTENT
1. How is the mission of the Church carried out?
Through the preaching of the Gospel: “It pleased God
to save the believers through the foolishness of
preaching (1 Cor 1:21).
2. What is the meaning of the noun “disciple”?
The meaning is that of someone instructed or trained in
something.

25. 3. What is worship?
In the biblical context, worship means giving the glory
that is due only to God. It is taking attention away from
ourselves to focus solely on the Lord (Mt 4.10).
4. What is the meaning of the word “communion”?
Its meaning is literally one of partnership, participation
and spiritual communion.
5. What can the church not forget to exercise its faith in
a biblical way?
To exercise its faith in a biblical way, the church cannot
forget those most in need.

26. REFERENCES
CPAD. O CORPO DE CRISTO - Origem, Natureza e Missão da
Igreja no Mundo. Rio de Janeiro: Casa Publicadora das Assembleias
de Deus (CPAD), 2024. (Lições Bíblicas, Adultos CPAD).
SOCIEDADE BÍBLICA DO BRASIL (org.). Bíblia De Estudo
Plenitude Revista E Atualizada. Barueri, SP: SBB, 2005.

27. Slides created by Celso Napoleon
SBS | 1st Quarter of 2024 | CPAD Adults | Theme: THE
BODY OF CHRIST - Origin, Nature and Mission of the
Church in the World | Sunday Bible School | Lesson 5 - The
Mission of the Church of Christ

28. LESSONS:
Lesson 1- The Origin of the church
Lesson 2 - Biblical Images of the Church
Lesson 3 - The Nature of the Church
Lesson 4 - The Church and the Kingdom of God
Lesson 5 - The Mission of the Church of Christ
Lesson 6 - Church: Organism and Organization
Lesson 7 - The Ministry of the Church
Lesson 8 - Discipline in the Church
Lesson 9 - Baptism – The First Ordinance of the Church
Lesson 10 - The Lord's Supper – The Second Ordinance of the Church
Lesson 11 - The Worship of the Christian Church
Lesson 12 - The Role of Preaching in Worship
Lesson 13 - The Power of God in the Mission of the Church