The Weird Name

“What kind of a name for a church is ‘Exchange Church’ anyway? Are you trying to be all hip and relevant?”

Not exactly.

It is an attempt to communicate what it is we want to our lives to look like and what we want to share with our community. Jesus died and rose again in order that we might exchange our lives for His.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

When you come to the point in your life when you recognize that there is something missing, that there is something desperately wrong with your life, that is God trying to get your attention. There is something missing, there is something desperately wrong with all of our lives. What is it? It’s the reality that our lives are incomplete and corrupt apart from God. That’s why Paul said what he said in 2 Corinthians 5:17. When we are in Christ, our old nature is dead. We are a new creation, a brand new creature. We have traded in our lives for His life.

Galatians 2:19-20 19 says,

“For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Not to get too deep on you, but have you ever felt like throwing in the towel and giving up on life because it just seems impossible? That isn’t necessarily a bad place to be. Some people go as far a suicide. Where we should go is to the cross. As a Christian you have been crucified with Christ. The things that feel like they have a grip on your soul and spirit don’t anymore. There is freedom in this. This is the exchanged life.

Ephesians 4:22-24 says,

“that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Think of your life before Christ as an stinky, old, too small, musty suit. Who would want to wear that around? Paul tells us to put off (or take off) that old, corrupt suit, be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and put on the new suit which is custom tailored by God Himself through Jesus. Trade in your old suit for the new one. (See Colosians 3:8-11 for a parallel passage.)

Probably one of the best one that explains this is Romans 6:4-6.

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

This is what Jesus came to do. This is the purpose of the crucifixion and resurrection. Our old self dies, and is born again through Him. Though Him we can have hope, peace, strength, faith, confidence, joy, and above all love, despite whatever is happening in our lives or the whole world. This is the exchange life.

This is why we call ourselves Exchange Church. We want to have this kind of life. We have traded in our old lives for a brand new one. We want to be used by God to help others do the same. Have you already traded in your life for His? If so, we hope you are plugged into a solid church that is helping you in that new life. If you are not currently in that kind of church, we would love for you to join us.

If you have not traded in your old life, if you are tired of the one you have and would like a new one, you have come to the right place. Click here to find out more about what this means and how to do it. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We’d love to help. God bless!