Today there is a great misunderstanding about what a church is and its purpose. Some believe “the church” is some great, universal conglomerate of all of the saved of all the ages, regardless of their differences in beliefs concerning Bible doctrines. Some believe a church exists to supply physical food to the hungry, housing to the homeless, clothing to the destitute, etc., but that is not our purpose. A true, New Testament church is a local body of Scripturally baptized believers covenanted together to carry out the commands of the Lord by carrying the Gospel into the world. In other words, a church is a body, a fellowship of saved, baptized believers in a particular locale sharing the Savior with the lost world about us. Jesus has clearly shown us what He desires for His churches. He said we must love each other with a love that is so evident that when the world sees us, our love for Him and for each other points them to God. John 13:35: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” In the first 12 verses of this letter to the church at Colossae the Apostle Paul points out some things we have in common in one of the Lord’s true churches.

I. WE HAVE A MUTUAL POSITION - VV. 1-2.

II. WE HAVE A MUTUAL POSSESSION - VV. 3-6.

III. WE HAVE A MUTUAL PARTNERSHIP - VV. 7-10.

IV. WE HAVE A MUTUAL POWER - VV. 11-12.