“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Do you think the Word wanted to become flesh? I doubt it. Jesus didn’t have to, but He became flesh for us.

The Word becoming flesh is like a man who spends a lot of money to buy a Ferrari, but is limited to only driving it at 30kmh. The Word is unlimited, but the flesh is bounded by its limits.

There was someone else in the Bible who really understood what it meant for the Word to become flesh – Paul. He became all things to all people and whatever he did was for the sake of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).

The church must also become like the Word that became flesh. Unless it violates truth, the church must be willing to do everything to save the lost.

WHY DOES THE CHURCH EXIST? 

God set up His church. We are His representatives, so the nature and essence of church is to represent God. 

If the church does not know what God wants to do on earth, it will do the wrong things. The Bible says that Christ came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

The church is a called-out assembly. That means we all have a calling. Why are you called to come? 

In Mark 1:17, Jesus said to His first disciples: Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

Jesus also said these words when He left the world: Go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19); become my witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

We can see that this matter is so important in the eyes of God. 

We can call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ, we can say that we’ve accepted the Great Commission, but if we don’t evangelise, in the future He will show us the Bible, and He will ask you what I’m asking you today: “Why did you ignore the important words that I told you?”

We must all have the vision to look beyond the church – this is what a church is supposed to do.

Those of us who are shepherds must lead by casting a vision, pointing a direction for disciples to follow. Not only must pastors be trained to evangelise, all our disciples must be trained to evangelise.

Our eyes and hearts cannot stay within the church. All disciples must be trained to evangelise.

I want to suggest that evangelism should guide the structure of the church. Whatever you do, ask yourself: How is this related to the Gospel? If it cannot be linked to the Gospel, don’t waste your resources.

Another question to ask: Is evangelism the engine room of the church? Even if the carriages are gilded in gold, without a locomotive it is useless.

Our eyes and hearts cannot stay within the church. 

Don’t wait for pre-believers to walk in; we must be proactive to live among them. Jesus didn’t sit and take numbers; He went to the lost sheep. 

What is the church? The Word that became flesh! So it must be with us. We must do everything for the sake of sharing the Gospel.