The Church: A Sermon by Stephen Kaung
Stephen Kaung is over 90 years old, though he looks much younger. He was a companion of Watchman Nee in China. This teaching was given Saturday night, February 21, in Memphis, Tennessee at a large fellowship led by Larry and Mary Ann Davis (among others). I am reproducing it to the best of my ability from copious (thorough) notes I took that night.
The teaching was very basic, and thus it was very insightful and useful. It is right at the basic level that American Christianity has most departed from the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
We understand neither the power nor the purpose of "The Church." Those two words ought to make us shiver in respect, awe, and excitement. Instead, most Christians would have no idea why I would say such a thing.
May this help us.
Introduction and Scriptures Used as Text for Sermon on The Church
Stephen Kaung began with a summation of his teaching on Christ the night before. I will spare you that introduction here, though it is long enough to be a brief teaching in and of itself. I'll add that page soon.
The Scriptures Stephen used to begin his teaching on the Church are Matthew 16:17-19; Ephesians 1:22-23; and 1 Peter 2:4-5,9. I won't write those out for you here. If you want to read a sermon like this, it is very likely you already have a Bible on your computer.
Let's begin.
The Teaching on The Church by Stephen Kaung
Part I: The Church Can Only Be Known Through Revelation
Just as you can only know Christ through revelation, so you can only know the Church through revelation. It is only those who receive the first revelation—of Christ—from the Spirit will receive the 2nd revelation—the Church— from Christ.
Everyone knows what the Church is. Everyone plays Church. But do we have revelation?
If you have church revealed to you, you will live a church life, not an individual life.
Part II: Church Life
We were made to live a corporate life. The first man, Adam, was not left alone. He married. He and his wife united. They lived a corporate life.
Sin is what separates us from one another. In the garden, after the fruit was eaten, the man blamed the woman. The woman blamed the serpent. Everyone was living for themselves.
Individual life is thinking about and living for ourselves. The revelation of the Church ends individual living.
There are people who want to be alone because they thourght the gathering of the saints would be paradise. Instead, they find out it is difficult. Therefore, they think, "I would rather it be just the Lord and me."
But that is not the purpose of God.
Part III:Joining the Church
The Church is the most exclusive fellowship in the universe. You cannot join it. You must be born into it by being born again.
1 Corinthians 1:9 says that we are called into the fellowship of the Son. There is a fellowship within the Godhead. That fellowship is eternal. It went on in eternity past.
The Father was in fellowship with the Son. The Son was in fellowship with the Father. The Father withheld nothing from the Son, and the Son withheld nothing from the Father.
It is this fellowship that we are called into.
And that fellowship is the Church.
You must have a revelation of the Church. If your fellowship isn't great, don't complain! You are already in the greatest fellowship in the universe! You have been called into the fellowship of the Son.
Part IV: The Authority of the Church
When you come into the Church, you come under something. You come under Christ's authority.
You must come with an attitude of submission.
Part V: Christ and the Church Identified
We are all baptized by one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). We are baptized into the body of Christ.
Formerly we could be members of the boy scouts or some other club. Now we have become members of Christ. Just as your body has many members, so also is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). The Church is Christ.
What is the Church?
If Peter, James, and John came together in one place, where is the Church? If you ask most people, they will say, "The Church is the Christ in Peter plus the Christ in James plus the Christ in John."
I don't agree.
I say that the Church is the Christ in Peter minus Peter plus the Christ in James minus James plus the Christ in John minus John.
The Church is Christ dwelling in his body.
Part VI: Why does God want the Church?
God wants the Church for a dwelling place.
In Psalm 132:5 we read that King David was looking for a dwelling place for God. He would not sleep or rest until he found that dwelling place.
In Psalm 132, once God finds a resting place, there is great blessing. But Psalm 132 is also the Psalm directly before Psalm 133, which speaks of our unity.
Brothers can live together in unity once God finds his resting place.
God's resting place is the body of Christ. The Scriptures say that all the fullness of divinity dwells in that body (Col. 2:9). The Church is his body, and it is the resting place of the fullness of divinity.
We are here to testify of Christ. We proclaim his excellency.
Part VII: Who Builds the Church?
Christ builds his Church, and the gates of hell remain open before it. They cannot prevail against his Church.
If we look around, it may seem like the gates of hell have prevailed against the Church. This happens when a church is built by man and not by God.
We do not build the Church. Only Christ can build the Church.
We are called to work inside the Church. He makes the building, we merely work in it.
The Catholic Church says that Peter is the foundation. When Christ said that he would build the Church on the rock, they believe that Peter is the rock of the foundation. This cannot be true because if the Church was built on Peter it would be very unstable indeed!
Peter denied the Lord. Peter was rebuked by Jesus when satan spoke through him. A Church built on Peter would be very unstable.
If you leave Peter to build the Church, he would build the Catholic Church!
The foundation is Christ. It is Peter's confession and Peter's revelation that Jesus is the Christ that the Church is built upon.
Conclusion
I'm working from notes, and I did not want to add a lot of my words to Stephen's. He is a venerable man of God whose eyes are full of peace and joy. He has labored many years for the kingdom of God.
I dare not add to his words, so the sermon above is brief. However, though this sermon took a good hour, much of it was as brief and to the point as what I wrote above.
Stephen Kaung would surely agree that the truths above will only be effective for you as you have revelation from God, so there will be no harm in having kept this brief.
There are many more Christian sermons by Stephen Kaung. I want to reiterate, though, what he began with. You must know the Church by revelation, and that revelation is only given to those who know Christ by revelation.
Head knowledge will never do the job.
It was a great reminder for me. I want to explain everything, but understanding everything will not help you. Obedience to what little revelation God gives you will help you. As you obey, he will give you more.
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