The Church is for All People – August 16, 2026

One key truth: The Church is for all people.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Ephesians 2:19-20

The Church is for All People

Christianity is both the most exclusive religion in the world and the most inclusive religion in the world.

I know… that makes no sense. Let me explain.

Christianity is the most exclusive religion in the world because it claims that there is only one way to be saved. “There is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The only way to eternal life is through faith in Jesus as Savior. Any other belief leads to someone being eternally lost. No one can save themselves, and no other person, religion, or belief can do what Jesus has done.

At the same time, Christianity is the most inclusive religion in the world because it is for all people regardless of race, nationality, class, or background. It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you were born, how much money your family has, what language you speak, or how popular you are. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for you, and it’s for your neighbor too.

Every believer in Jesus has one thing in common. They weren’t born believing in him. They used to be a “foreigner and stranger” as Paul puts it. It took a miracle of the Holy Spirit to turn them from their unbelief and transform them into a citizen of God’s kingdom.

The God’s Church is a beautiful thing. It has no official language. It has no borders. It is made up of people who look just like you and people who look nothing like you. It includes people living their final moments and newborn babies just beginning their lives.

You cannot tell whether someone is a member of God’s Church just by looking at their outward appearance, their clothes, their popularity, or the house in which they live. There’s one thing which unites all the members of God’s Church. It’s Jesus. He is the cornerstone. A cornerstone determines the position and direction of an entire building. In the same way, Jesus holds his Church together and gives it its identity. Everyone who believes in Jesus as their Savior is a member of his Church.

God’s Church is for all. That means it’s for you… and for all of them. It is for the classmate who gets ignored, the new student who doesn’t seem to fit in, and the person whose life and background are completely different from yours.

Jesus welcomed all into his family.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for establishing your Church and bringing me into it through the work of the Holy Spirit. Amen.