Not for our own personal growth, or just to build up a "big" assembly.

Christ knew that alone, we would not make it. That is why he created the home, the nation of Israel, and the local churches. Christ never intended his church to be perverted into the monster invisible, or visible church it appears to be today.

The very beginnings of all our blessings come from Christ and from Christ alone. When we started down this Christian road, it was not because we started by ourselves. Christ foreknew us, elected us, and predestinated us to eternal life from before the foundations of this world.

Paul speaks about the personal timing of our conviction of sin and salvation. We are saved in time, but predestinated in eternity. We were dead in sins, but have been quickened by Christ Jesus unto good works. Verse 10 – We are the workmanship of Christ, we are not our own workmanship.

Paul reveals the mystery of the local churches, which was not revealed in ages past. It was unthinkable to the Jews that the Gentiles would ever have a part of the kingdom of God, but it was the eternal plan of God. Romans 11:14,15 – When 1% of the world (the Jews) was cast away, the 99% (the Gentiles) were grafted into the kingdom of God. We are one in Christ, and in the kingdom. We are not one as far as Israel or the church is concerned. Israel and the church are two different organizations.

Because of chapter 1-3, saved, scripturally baptized believers should walk correctly. We, that are members of Independence Baptist Church, as those folks were members of the Ephesus Baptist Church, have a common salvation (Jude 1:3 – Jude wrote concerning a "common salvation"), thus we have everything else in common.

Chapter four emphasis that we are together.

Verse 1-5 – We must all remember we are all part of the bigger picture of IBC. We are only one part of the entire body, we are not the entire body all by ourselves. There are no big "I’s" and little "you’s", but we are working together to please God. God established his kind of church because he knows we need the fellowship and the correction from one another, as given in the Word of God. We are not to fellowship and correct each other our way, any more than we correct our children our way. All of our fellowship and correction is according to the Word of God, not according to our own personal preferences.

Verse 13 gives evidence that all of us in this church affect each other. There is no such thing as my actions not affecting you, or your actions not affecting me. There is no such thing as any one person coming to the place where they do not need to grow up even more in the Lord. (There is no such thing as a person having too much wisdom.)

This chapter also gives us detailed references as to how to live according to God’s standards. Verse 15-16 gives some positive things to do, while verse 17-32 gives some negative things not to do.

This chapter continues the same line of thought as chapter four. Verse 8 tells why the believer should walk in newness of life. Verse 14-20 gives some specific things to do daily to worship and serve God. Verse 21-33 gives an illustration (using the family – what the people already know) of how the local church is supposed to operate.