So what exactly does the Bible teach about the church and how it should be run?
That question will hopefully be answered in this as well as subsequent articles to follow. It is my intent to help us rediscover what God’s word says about the church.
Over the next series of articles we will examine such topics like:
1. The purpose of the church
2. The activities of the church
3. The leadership of the church
4. The discipline of the church
5. The power of the church
6. The membership of the church
Let me begin this first article by examining what I’m calling, “The nature of the church”.
When you talk abut the nature of something, you are speaking about the “essential character of a thing, the qualities or quality that makes something what it is” (Webster)
Let me ask you this, “If someone were to ask you to define the church, what would you say?”
Without thinking some of you would probably say, “oh”, the church is that building on the corner of main and crossway blvd, I go there on Sundays” Others of you might answer, “the church is a denomination or an organization that a person belongs to” (e.g., The Southern Baptists or Assemblies of God or Catholic).
Though these are popular responses, they are unbiblical responses. We must understand once and for all that the church is not an organization, nor a denomination, nor is it a building on a corner, but according to the Scripture, the church is a people. In other words, the true nature or essential character of the church is that it is a people.
The official Greek word translated by the English word church is the word Ekklesia. This word is used 114 times in the Greek NT(New Testament). This word basically means, “A called out assembly”, in other words, a called out people(an elect people). In each of the Scriptural passages listed below you must translate the idea of "people" for the word church, and these verses then take on a whole new life.
1 Cor 12:28
“…And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues” (nasb).
(Paul writes that God has appointed among the People of God, first apostles…..).
Col 1:18
“He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (nasb)
(Paul writes that Christ is head of the body, which is the people of God).
Rom 1:16
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea”
(Paul states that Phoebe is a servant of the people of God, not of the denomination, or some organization or some institution).
Okay, Todd, we get it! The church is people, what’s your point already?
I guess my point is this, If we really understand this first fundamental reality concerning the nature of the church, I believe this would make a huge difference in how we acted.
As long as the church remains in the minds of most nothing more than an institution or organization or denomination or even just the building on the corner, one of the devastating consequences is a severe lack of accountability and responsibility. Let me elaborate just a bit. If the church is nothing more than an organization or institution where is the accountability? You can choose or not choose to be or apart of it, and if you don’t like what’s going on, you can move on to another organization, where are the accountability and responsibility? But if the church in the words of the NT is a vitally connected body (i.e., people), you must function, you are both accountable and responsible. You can’t leave when you want to, you can’t do what you want when you want. Listen, the true church is not like being part of some civic or social organization, No; you are part of a vital, living organism.
Read these powerful words by the Apostle Paul concerning the true nature of the church, he wrote in 1 Cor 12:12ff
12.For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13.For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14.For the body is not one member, but many.
15.If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
16.And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.
17.If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
18.But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
19.If they were all one member, where would the body be?
20.But now there are many members, but one body.
21.And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
22.On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the
23.and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,
24.Whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,
25.So that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26.And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27.Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
Another consequence of not thinking rightly about the nature of the church (i.e., not understanding that the church is a living organism versus a man-made organization or club) is the danger of minimalizing people. In an organization only certain people can contribute in significant ways, only certain people can be in leadership, only certain people can have a say. In an organization or institution you’ve got the Indians and the chiefs, you’ve got the VIP’s and the scrubs. But as Paul writes, in the body, everybody is necessary and important. In an organization, the rank and file members may be suffering, yet the VIP’s (very important parishioners) are eating steak. Not so in a body, if the toe hurts, the whole body hurts (I know; my feet hurt right now!).
A third consequence of not thinking rightly about the true nature of the Church is we can lose sight of who really owns the church. Many a man has been used to start new churches across the planet. The problem begins when these men forget to whom the church rightly belongs. Just because you are the “founder” does not mean that you are the “OWNER”. Organizations may belong to men, but the Organism called the church belongs to the living God – Christ Jesus our Lord (Matt16:18).
If we are going to see reform in the BC (I hope in my lifetime) we must get a firm grip of what the Bible teaches about the true nature of the church. I think once we begin seeing the true Biblical picture of the church several awesome things could happen:
1. BC’s across the nation would begin cooperating verses competing with each other, why? Because we truly understand that there is only One body (i.e., people) of Christ. The songwriter is right, “I need you to survive”.
2. The members of the BC would begin to value every other member of Christ’s body as important. Also, I believe in the importance of leadership, but in the black church, leadership has gotten out of control. Leadership walks on water, while the rest of us walk through mud, the church has only one head, Christ.
3. We would stop squandering our resources on building bigger chicken coops but focus rather on building better chickens. Millions of dollars, in my opinion, are being wasted yearly because we’re trying to build mega organizations verses building a godly organism. If we truly understood the church to be a divine organism verses organization, we would stop our crazy obsession with church growth and begin focusing on church health. I don't worry about my children's growth, I do worry about their health. If my kids are healthy, more than likely they will grow. I've said this before and it bears repeating, "If we with a proper biblical understanding focus on the depth of the ministry, God will take care of the breadth". If we focus on the health of the organism, God will take care of the growth. Many leaders in the BC are focusing on organizational growth rather than organism health.
Much more to come...
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith
CoolImprov
