The most misunderstood doctrine in the Bible is that of the church. The general consensus is that the church is just another organization on the market and deserves no more respect, and in many cases not as much, as other man-made institutions. Two heretical views of the church have emerged in history:
- The Catholic Heresy – salvation can only be secured through the Catholic church. Wrong because it substitutes the church for the Savior.
- The Protestant Heresy – Salvation is personal by grace alone, and I don’t need the church. Wrong because it fails to take into account that it is through the church that God has ordained that He would carry on His works in the world – even the ministry of Christ.
If the church is not of supreme importance, Jesus made a great mistake in spending 3 ½ years calling out and equipping His church to minister in the world after He was gone. It was to the Church that Jesus left the Great Commission and He gave it to none other – not the government, the school, civic clubs, BGEA, MMM, the Masons, etc. In the New Testament you cannot separate Jesus and His church – they are inseparable. In Acts 9, Paul had never seen Jesus but when Jesus spoke to him, He said, “Saul, Saul, why persecuteth Me?” To persecute His people was to persecute Him. The word church comes from the Greek word “Kyriokos,” meaning “belonging to God.” Of the church Paul said, “You are not your own.” Again He said “You are a peculiar people.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20; Titus 2:14). This means, “You are a people who belong to the Lord.”
- Thus we are safe in concluding that many entities call themselves “churches” which cannot be because of their very nature:
- The church is not a building.
- The church is not a religious organization.
- The church is not just a denomination.
- The church is not a social group that meets together for fun and fellowship.
- The church is not a Bible-Study/Prayer Meeting.
- The church is not disgruntled hot heads protesting another group.
- The church is not a perfect crowd of saints. Multitudes today say, “I believe in the true church, but I do not attend church because it is filled with so many hypocrites.” The church was imperfect in Jesus’ and Paul’s day; it will always be imperfect because it is human as well as divine. Illus: To those who complain to me, “There’s too many hypocrites in the church,” I reply, “But there is room for one more, so come on.”
- The church is not an invisible church. When asked at his ordination “what is the difference between the visible church and the invisible church?” the candidate replied, “The visible church is present in the morning and the invisible is present at night.” That’s as good a definition as you can give. The invisible church is unknown in the New Testament. The church in the New Testament is a real church of redeemed people, with a pastor, deacons meeting at a given place, in a given city.
- On the positive side, what is a true biblical church? Many metaphors describe the unique nature of the church:
- God’s building – Spiritual, not physical- 1 Cor. 3:9;1 Peter 2:5
- Family of God – Ephesians 3:15
- Bride of Christ – Ephesians 5; Rev. 19
- But the finest metaphor used to describe the church is “The Body of Christ” (the Soma Christou) Paul would never call the church just a “body of baptized believers,” as many Baptists and other evangelicals do. Uppermost in his thoughts always was the connection of the church with its great risen, redeeming, ruling, and soon returning Lord of Lords and King of Kings – Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. That the church is the “Body of Christ,” shows its continuing relevance and its indispensable place in the lives of all believers, and the necessity for every believer to join and serve Jesus in it.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Is An Organism, not an organization. This means it is alive in the Holy Spirit and powerful unlike any other secular entity. When Paul wanted to call the Corinthian church from their fleshly living, he asked, “Do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit…which temple is holy.” (1 Cor. 6:19).
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Must Have a Head And So It Does. This head is the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:23) – no one man, no group of men (deacons or elders), is the head, not even the congregation. Illus: A certain man gave much money to his church and when asked by a stranger, “Do you belong to such and such a church?” he replied, “I wouldn’t say I belong to that church. I would be more correct in saying that church belongs to me.”
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Is A Theocracy, Not A Democracy. Sometimes it is necessary for the congregation to act on matters, but they must act in accordance with Christ’s will. Woe to thousands of churches who don’t.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Draws All Her Strength From Jesus Christ – John 15:5.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Must Have Members And It Does. Paul says, “Now you all are the body of Christ but members in particular.” (1 Cor.12:27).
- If A True Body of Christ, The Members Must Be Made Alive By The Holy Spirit. There can be no dead material in Christ’s living body. Illus: Certain church surrounded by cemetery on three sides, highway in front. The pastor confessed to his congregation, “We cannot grow anymore, for we are surrounded by the dead.” Many local churches hemmed in by dead men and women who need to heed Ephesians 5:14.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Must Be A Fellowship of Believers in The Holy Spirit. The book of Acts shows that the early church was a fellowship of true believers (Acts 2:41-47). And let no one think there is any other fellowship which compares to that found in the family of God; for it is the kind which cares for a fellow when he is down, sick, discouraged, unemployed, under suspicion and LOST.
- If A True Body of Christ, Each Member Must Have A Special And Indispensable Place of Service and this place is the gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Peter 4:10). “When each member serves, the whole church is blessed; when even one member fails, the whole body suffers.” (1 Cor. 12:14-31) (Ex. the physical body). Illus: R G Lee, “If your car had as many dysfunctional parts as the average church, it wouldn’t go down hill.”
- If A True Body of Christ, Its Members Are Drawn From All Kinds of Groups And Classes, but they are all equal (Gal. 3:28). Illus: “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” Word spoken to Chief Justice when he joined Calvary Baptist, Washington, DC. Note: It is the commanded duty of EVERY member to work for the unity of the church (Ephesians 4:3). Woe to the person who would bring disunity in the body – 1 Cor. 3:17.
If anybody doubts the indispensable role of the Holy Spirit, let him underline these words, “Because I go to My Father,” meaning, “I will send the Holy Spirit unto you and He through you shall convict the world of sin righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-11). Note the works of Jesus are listed in His first sermon, Luke 4:16-18.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Must Discipline Its Members who fall into sin and refuse to repent, in order to maintain the integrity and witness of Christ’s Body. Discipline must be redemptive and not vindictive and done by those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 6:1).
Note: I preached in a large church recently who withdrew fellowship from a brother who was living in adultery, at the same time singing in the choir. Two years later, the man returned to the church, repenting and is now an active member.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Church Must Teach And Follow His Teachings and all the doctrines of the Bible, especially in the area of salvation. Any church or group who would deny the teachings of Christ or water them down to please men cannot possibly be the Body of Christ. Remember: The church is the Body of Christ, not the Body of Anybody’s opinion, not even that of the Pope, not the body of the latest religious fad in town, nor Professor “Dry as Dust,” “Sister Battle-Ax” or “Deacon Cold Water.”
Note: Non-negotiable doctrines: Virgin Birth, Deity of Christ, Saved by grace through faith alone.
- If A True Body of Christ, The Real SOMA Christou, it will do the very works of Jesus in this world and greater works than these shall you do because I go to the Father.” (John 14:12). If anybody doubts the indispensable role of the Holy Spirit, let him underline these words, “Because I go to My Father,” meaning, “I will send the Holy Spirit unto you and He through you shall convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11). Note the works of Jesus are listed in His first sermon, Luke 4:16-18.
Illus: An old deacon kept praying, “Oh Lord, touch the unsaved with thy finger.” He prayed that prayer every time he prayed. One day he was praying and he suddenly stopped right in the middle of his prayer. Others thought he was ill, so they went to him and asked if he was ill. He replied, “No, I’m not ill. But something stopped me right in the middle of my prayer and said, “Thou art the Finger.”
In summary, we can say the major work of the church is “Making Disciples,” that is making believers, especially men, to conform both to the character and conduct of Christ. Most churches have failed miserably in this area. Dallas Willard, prominent writer on discipleship, has written an entire book titled, The Great Omission, and the “GO”, he says is Discipleship, the major teaching of the New Testament. Amen and Amen. I hope this will help you to see the AWESOME NEED of MMM and not only be mentored yourself but mentor thousands of your peers who are lingering in spiritual maturity and counting for little or nothing – often a positive hindrance – in the cause of Jesus on this earth. Also encourage friends to be mentored.
Having set forth the real meaning of the true Body of Christ (The SOMA Christou), we shall continue our study next week, answering such questions as:
- Why join a church?
- How do you join a church?
- Why not attend several churches and glean the best from all the churches?
- What role should you play in the local church and are you playing it?
- How do I find the right church?
- Is it good for the husband and wife to attend a different church?
- Think It Over: “Your continued absence from your church is your vote to close its doors.”