“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body...” (1Cor 12:13).
We can better understand the Church by looking, once again, at pictures used by the scriptures.
The Body of Christ (eg, 1Cor 12:12-27, Eph 4:1-16, Rom 12:3-8)
Christ has left the world, and yet Christ’s body is still in the world continuing his work. The Church is his body, with Christ as the head and, like Christ’s metaphor of the vine and branches (John 15:1-17), our life flows from him. The Church is the expression of Christ in the world today; they see him only to the extent that we show him to them.
Not only are we connected to him, we are connected to each other. The body has different parts that depend on each other. The body needs ears and eyes, a heart and a liver, lungs and bowels and muscles. If one part is unhealthy, the body is unhealthy.
“If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body” (1Cor 12:17-19). God has made his church, like the world, to be full of variety. Believers are given different spiritual gifts for various tasks, and all are necessary. The body is healthy only when all the parts are present and functioning properly. An unchurched believer is like a liver sitting on a table by itself — both the organ and the body will suffer because they are separated.
A Building and the Temple of the Holy Spirit (eg, Eph 2:20-22, 1Pet 2:5, 1Cor 3:16)
Once again, the picture is of believers being interconnected. A Christian who is not part of a church is leaving a hole in the wall, and that believer is just a stone serving no purpose rather than a part of the temple of the Holy Spirit. Just as in a wall one stone is held up by those below it, we hold each other up in our struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. The missing stone is being held up by no one and holds no one up.
The foundation of the apostles and prophets is their teaching in the scriptures. That is what we build the Church on, with Christ as the standard and model. It is not wrong to acknowledge the learning the world has gained through God’s common grace, but we must remind ourselves that not everything modern humans think they know is true and remind ourselves that we can only have one foundation. Churches must be cautious in the use of the world’s “knowledge.”
Flock of Sheep (eg, 1Pet 5:1-4, Acts 20:28-30, Heb 13:20-21)
God calls his people “sheep” a lot. It’s not a compliment. Sure they’re cute, and they were valuable, but they are powerfully stupid and almost completely helpless. Sheep need a shepherd. God’s people need a shepherd.
We are weak and helpless sheep, and our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1Pet 5:8). What’s more, “savage wolves” will be among the flock, trying to destroy God’s Church from within (Matt 7:15, Acts 20:28-30). God gave his church shepherds, the pastors who are supposed to guide us and protect us. Sadly, sometimes pastors turn out to be wolves, but that only shows how dangerous the world is and our need for good shepherds. And all the shepherds serve under the Good Shepherd (Heb 13:20-21) who will ultimately keep his flock safe.
The Family of God (eg, 1Tim 5:1-2, 2Cor 6:18)
The Church is called a family, with God — as we said before — as our Father. Believers are to act like brothers and sisters in a family. Which means we will squabble and fight, and we won’t always like each other, but we need to love each other and act like we love each other. We are to treat each other with grace and make sure that our family’s needs are met. And this love when done right will be a testimony to the world about Christ (John 13:35, 17:23).
The Bride of Christ (eg, Eph 5:22-33, Rev 19-22)
Finally, the Church, collectively, is the Bride of Christ. This speaks to Christ’s affection for his Church and his care for her. “...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph 5:25-27). And in line with the tradition of the time, Christ is preparing a home for his bride. One day he will come to get her and take her to their new home. But that is a topic for another time.
Together these pictures show that the Church is a collective, an interdependent people who need the leadership Christ gives through his chosen leaders to make her way and to make a difference in this fallen world.
Image via Pixabay
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