Christ's Body - The Church

 The Mission and Purpose of the Church

Follow Me, Jesus said [Mt. 4:19]. Seek first the kingdom of God, He said [Mt. 6:33]. Make disciples of all the nations, He said. Baptize them in My Name, and teach them all My commands [Mt. 28:19]. Christ gave us many commands. Love the Lord with all your heart, He said - but that was not a new command [Mt. 22:37 —> Deut. 6:5]. Love your neighbor as yourself. But that also was not a new one [Mt. 22:39 —> Lev. 19:18]. And then He gave His disciples what He called a NEW command: Love one another. Love one another. He told them, “A new command I give to you, that you love one another…by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” [Jn. 13:34-35]. In fact, He said it 5 times on that one occasion. And so here we find the fundamental purpose of the people of God under the New Covenant, the entity now known as the Church - to manifest the love of Christ to the world in the context of radical caring community.

In theory, almost all of Christ’s commands could be carried out on my own,  flying solo. But not this one. In our day, people are increasingly asking the question, Why Church?  Isn’t it ok for it to just be me and Jesus? I have my relationship with Him, I’ve trusted in His death for forgiveness of my sins, I’m following Him. I pray to Him, I read His Word. I even listen to and watch sermons on radio and online.  I even share my faith. Why do I need to “go to church”? What purpose does it serve? Many aren’t even asking the question - they simply dis-involve. Yet the premise behind the question is flawed. “Church” has come to represent a meeting I attend. Or it is the building where I go in order to consume religious goods and services - most of which I can now get online. But we do not "go to church”. “Church” is not a place or a meeting. The church is people. It is the people God has called out of the world and gathered into a community. That is what the Greek word that we translate as “church" (ekklesia) literally means: “called-out ones”. Those who believe in Christ are called out of the world and into God’s forever family, what is sometimes referred to as “the body of Christ”.

It is true that Christ only ever talked about His body in reference to the Lord’s Supper.  He said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” [Lk. 22.19].  It is one of the two sacraments Christ gave to His followers (the other being “Believers’ Baptism”) - but even in this context we see our need for the church - it provides the context in which observe these sacraments.  I can’t be baptized on my own.

But on a deeper more fundamental level, the Lord and the apostles clearly taught that those who trust in Christ are gathered together by His Spirit into a community. Technically we only see Paul refer to it as a “body”. For him, the church is a spiritual body, comprised of many members, each of which have different gifting and functions as a part of this diverse body [Rom. 12:4-5; 1Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:15-16; Col. 2:19]. There is not one body part which would every function in isolation from the rest of the body. Thus what we find throughout the New Testament is the clear mandate and expectation that those who follow Christ do so together, in community. They are called together, journeying with one another.  The Greek word for “one another” appears some 60 times in the New Testament in connection with commands and instructions for how Christians are to conduct themselves in the context of this God-ordained community. And this community finds its ultimate purpose in carrying out the new command which Christ gave to the apostles before He went to the Cross - love one another. Journey together, follow Me and carry out My commands in caring, committed community. And as you do this, it positions you, the church, to in fact carry out the mandate to make disciples of all the nations. The Great Commission and the New Command are inextricably linked. The reality of our being Christ’s disciples is manifested to the world by our love for one another. And love does not flourish or even manifest in isolation or in a digital vacuum. This command is not a solo gig. It takes two to tango.

And of course there are many other things that take place in the context of the community of the assembled Church which are difficult if not impossible to carry out in isolation, things like exercising the spiritual gifts of teaching and serving and encouraging and administrating, things which Paul says are indispensable for the maturation of our faith. He again is describing a growing body, one comprised of different parts, each of which has a (Spirit-designed) function, and when all the parts are fulfilling their proper role then the whole body is able to grow. Such that we can safely say, there is no real spiritual growth or maturity outside of healthy engagement with this body of Christ.

Another critical function of the body is providing a context for corporate agreeing prayer. Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” [Mt. 18:19-20]. Not only does Christ tie an amazing promise of answered prayer to prayers of believers gathered together in community, but He promises His very presence. In some deeper inexplicable spiritual sense, Christ says He is present when I gather with other believers, in a way that He is not when I am by myself. It doesn’t require a mega-size meeting, but there is real power and divine purpose in God’s people gathering together regularly.

We read in Acts 2-4 that the early church gathered together often for instruction and prayer and sacraments and for times of sharing - and that the Lord was constantly bringing others into their community. Are we in the 21st century any less needful of gathering with fellow believers? Is the mission today any less tied to our loving one another well? I think, surely not.

The Relationship of the Church to Jesus Christ 

Our ability to be reconciled to God (and to our fellow man) is made possible through the blood of Jesus Christ [Col. 1:20].  Through Christ’s death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection, He is now the Firstborn from the dead - He is the beginning.  He gets first place in everything - including and especially in the church [Col. 1:18].  He is both the end and the means to it.

As such Paul tells us that Christ is the Head of the body [Eph. 1:22-23, 5:23-24].  This means that everything which pertains to the church is subject to Christ.  He is in charge of the whole thing, everything, everyone.  Again this flows from the fact that He purchased the church, this assembly of all those who believe in Him, with His blood.  He ought to be in charge since He paid the ultimate price to buy us back.  Indeed, Christ is the One Who laid down His life for the body, His bride [Eph. 5:25].  He is the One Who nourishes and cherishes and sanctifies the body, His bride, so that He can present to Himself the church without any spot or wrinkle, holy and blameless [Eph. 5:26-27].

What’s more, for those who believe in Him and have been joined to His body, who are spiritual members of the church, all of our spiritual growth comes from Him [Jn. 15:4-5; Eph. 4:16] and is directed towards Him [Eph. 4:15].  He fills us with His Spirit, with His life, and then as we depend on and follow Him, He reproduces His resurrected life in and through us [Jn. 7:38-39].  And we understand that all this, His fulness filling His church and filling all things [Eph. 1:23; Eph. 4:10] is so that ultimately He will come to truly have first place in everything [Col. 1:18; cf Phil. 2:10].  Someday, we are told, every person will bend their knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Some will do it only begrudgingly at the judgment, but those who, by His grace, become a part of His church in this life do so by giving Him first place in their hearts in this life.

Leadership and authority in the Body 

Scripture tells us that the Lord gave some as apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor/shepherds and teachers to equip members of the Body for the work of service [Eph. 4:11-12], to help them mature in their faith with a growth that collectively builds the Body up in love (Eph. 4:16].  We see these gifts - primarily shepherding and teaching - playing out in local assemblies through those who have been appointed as elders.  From the inception of the church, the apostles appointed elders to lead every one of these localized expressions of the Body [Acts 14:23; cf Tit. 2:5].  There are others no doubt who the Spirit gifts as teachers, but in the New Testament the primary responsibility appears to fall on elders.  These men give leadership to each local church, devoting themselves to serving and ministering to the saints [1Cor. 16:15].  They are to eagerly shepherd and watch over the flock [1Pet. 5:1-2; Heb. 13:17], those sheep who are a part of their local body of believers, working hard at the ministry of preaching and teaching [1Tim. 5:17].  These elders are also the ones given special authority to anoint and pray for healing for those in their local body who are sick [Jam. 5:14].  In turn, the rest of the body is to respect them and humbly submit to their leadership [Heb. 13:17; 1Cor. 16:16].  

Paul reminds us that there is no authority except that which has been established by God, and that those who resist God-established authority are actually opposing the ordinance of God [Rom. 13.1-2]. This is a heavy responsibility, both for those who follow, as they need to humbly submit and trust the Lord to guide and empower and work through leaders who are by no means perfect, and also for those appointed to positions of authority in the church, as they will be required to give an account for how they have led God’s people [Heb. 13:17].

Relationship to the Christian and Missionary Alliance 

What we have in the Christian and Missionary Alliance is a movement of churches that have come together around a shared set of beliefs to accomplish a shared vision for ministry, which is the fulfillment of the Great Commission [Mt. 28:19].  All of Jesus for all the world.  Towards that end, these churches have put in place a broader organizational structure that helps this Alliance unite around these shared beliefs and generate synergy in pursuit of these ministry objectives.  This involves electing leaders and contributing finances that are needed in order to effectively further these ends.  Each local church that desires to be an accredited part of this Alliance agrees to support this effort by coming under this organizational leadership and by supporting the movement both with their finances and by participating at both the national and the district levels.  Leaders at these national and district levels in turn help to guide and resource each local church, appointing new leaders and workers, coming alongside churches in matters of discipline as well as training and mobilization, as well as assisting in the planting of new churches.

Relationship between members of the local church

Jesus gave His disciples what He called a new command: Love one another, He said. By this, everyone will know you are My disciples, if you love one another [Jn. 13.34-35]. In this command, we see both the end and the means to the end. This great end which we pursue in the Alliance (as well as in the broader body of Christ), this Great Commission, making disciples of all the nations, taking the Good News about Jesus to the ends of the earth so that people everywhere will believe and trust in Him as Savior - this end is expressly furthered by His followers, the members of His body, loving one another. Jesus thus gives us the big picture of how we are to relate to one another in the body: Love. More than any of the so-called spiritual gifts, love never fails [1Cor. 13:8]. The greatest of these is love [1Cor. 13:13]. Paul puts it in rather straightforward form: the goal of our instruction is love [1Tim. 1:5].

In our world we find the principle that the members, the parts of any living body - the body of Christ being no exception - naturally care for one another. They need one another, and they need one another to be healthy if the body is to function in a healthy manner [cf 1Cor. 12:22-25]. It is in their best interests to work for the good of that body to which they belong, to help preserve and build up their body and to help it accomplish whatever tasks or objectives are set before it. And we see that the New Testament writers repeatedly speak into how the members of Christ’s body should relate to one another, how they can foster these caring relationships of love with one another. And as much as anything, we understand that all healthy relationships take time. They require spending time together. For this reason, the writer to the Hebrews exhorted those believers to NOT forsake spending time with one another [Heb. 10:25]. The busy-ness and the brokenness of life surely does conspire to pull people apart and put them at odds with one another. But the mission of the church is carried forth in the hearts and lives of those followers of Christ who truly leverage their Spirit-powered unity and love to build one another up [Eph. 4:1-3]. Let all things be done to build one another up, Paul said repeatedly [1Cor. 14:26; Rom. 15:2; 1Thess. 5:11; Eph. 4:16] - and this surely means time spent together, helping one another, encouraging one another, serving with one another. We see that at the outset the early church did not need to be told to do this - they eagerly spent a lot of time with one another. They shared a lot of life and ministry together [Acts 2:42-46]. May we in our church(es) today find a similar grace and resolve to love one another well and thus show all men the everlasting love that is only found in Jesus.