The Universal Church
Most of us reading this blog will be gathering together for church at BBC. And we thank God for any other readers who are gathering with other churches. The Church isn’t something that man has created and the purpose isn’t simply so that we can connect with others who are like-minded (although that is an outcome of gathering together). The Church was created by God and its foundation and purpose is in Jesus Christ. In The Church’s One Foundation, the song writer uses various descriptions of the Church found in Scripture in his lyrics to remind us that “the church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.” The Church is described as the “bride” of Christ and as the one He bought with His own blood and died for. The membership is chosen or “elect(ed) from every nation” by God. As members of the Church, the thing that binds us is our “one hope” in Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life.
The Local Church
Because of the foundation laid by Christ, we can gather at our local church and worship Him. In Here I Am To Worship, the writer directs our worship to thanking God that He chose us, “opened [our] eyes” to the truth of the gospel, and for the “hope of a life spent with [Him]” for all eternity. We are also reminded to worship Him because He left the glories of heaven to be born as human being (Phil 2: 4-11): “humbly [He] came to the earth [He] created, all for love’s sake [He] become poor” for us!
And again, in Great is Thy Faithfulness, we are directed to praise to God the Father for the fact the He doesn’t change. “There is no shadow of turning with thee, Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not, as Thou hast been Thou forever will be.” This God is “altogether worthy” of our praise! Let all of us, wherever you gather in your local church be reminded of the foundation that we have in Christ and, therefore, praise our Great God for what He has done!