What Is the Church? (Part 2)
It Is
the Body of Christ
(Ephesians 5:25-33)
In America today, many Christians follow a philosophy that I call “church-growth pragmatism.” When they talk about “church growth,” they usually refer to a numerical goal. You might hear them say, “If we build bigger buildings we can reach more people.” Or, “Since that particular church has been successful, we would be wise to follow their model for church growth.” Or, “If our church becomes more ‘seeker friendly,’ we can increase our attendance.”
The reason I call it “church-growth pragmatism” is because they (perhaps unknowingly) follow the philosophy of “It if works, it must be good.” I believe that a more biblical philosophy in these matters would be, “If it is right, it is good.” We know from Scripture that church-growth (numerically speaking) was not a goal of congregations, but a visible by-product of a sovereign work of God. We read in Acts 2:47 that “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (ESV).
It isn’t our methods that increase church sizes, according to God’s Word, but the Lord Himself who adds daily to His congregation. Jesus said “I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). The best “church growth” method I’ve ever seen in Scripture and throughout church history is a genuine spiritual awakening through an undeniable work of God’s Holy Spirit among His people. We might be able to increase attendance to our programs, but the Lord adds and builds disciples.
But there is another type of “church growth” I want to talk about here. It has less to do with increasing the size of congregations, and more to do with seeing congregations grow up spiritually. I’m not just talking about the spiritual growth of individuals, but a corporate spiritual maturity. We will see this maturity of the congregation become a reality as we apply the truths of Scripture. This truth is found in the second answer to the question, “What is the Church?” “It is the Body of Christ.”
In the previous article, we studied the church as “the Bride of Christ.” Perhaps the most important truth to remember from that study is the things the church is NOT. Since Christ died for His Bride, the Church, it CANNOT be a building, it CANNOT be an organization, and it certainly CANNOT be a meeting or event. Once we “deprogram” ourselves from these cultural misunderstandings of the ekklesia (or “congregation”), we can better understand and apply the biblical truths concerning the Body of Christ. (Note: I will frequently substitute the word “congregation” for “church,” following the example of William Tyndale’s English translation.)
We return now to the Ephesians passage we studied last time concerning the Bride of Christ. Paul writes:
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23) For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24) Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:22-24, ESV)
Remember that the context of these verses is related to the manner in which believers are to live out the Spirit-filled life. The most significant manifestation of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life is seen in our relationships. Paul now proceeds in his discussion of the Spirit-filled life to the relationships between husbands and wives. But, Paul also points out that husband and wife relationship is actually a secondary teaching in these verses. Paul writes, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:32 - ESV). From the previous verses, we usually hear Christians say, “See, wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,” and (perhaps less frequently) “See, husbands, lay down your lives for your wife as Christ died for the church.” In so doing, we make Christ and the church a secondary teaching here, rather than the marital relationships mentioned.
I believe a more accurate view of these verses would be: “Do you want to understand Christ’s relationship to His church? Think of proper marital relationships. These are an earthly example of a heavenly reality.” Christ’s relationship to us is the primary teaching here. But, the secondary teaching on marriage is still very important, as Paul concludes, “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Eph. 5:33 – ESV).
As we look into Christ’s relationship to His church in this passage, in addition to the truth we saw of the church being Christ’s Bride, we also see that the church is the Body of Christ. In verse 23 quoted above, Paul stated that “Christ is the head of the congregation, his body.” In using the example of husbands loving their wives as their own bodies, Paul writes, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body” (Eph. 5:29-30 – ESV). Notice that the “congregation” is Christ’s body, and that “we” are members of that body.
Also, Paul did not begin in chapter five of this epistle to discuss the “church.” In Ephesians 1:22-23, he writes, “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23) which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (ESV). Paul has already called the congregation Christ’s body, and his repetition of this word brings emphasis to its importance.
In light of the church being the Body of Christ, with marital relationships as an example of this truth, we can see two significant facts about this body. The first (taken from the example of wives) is that the congregation is called to submit to the Head (Eph. 5:24). This is a significant problem with congregations today. It appears that (corporately speaking) we are submitted to everything BUT Christ!
In many congregations, submission to tradition outweighs submission to Christ. When confronted with biblical truth requiring obedience to Christ, they might say, “Well, we can’t do THAT, because [insert church tradition here].” In other congregations, their philosophies of ministry take a front seat to submission to Christ. In others congregations, hierarchies and denominational structures become more important than submission to Christ.
In many congregations, human leadership is followed more than obedience to Christ. Just like Israel desired a “king” to rule them instead of God (1 Samuel 8), many people today desire strong human leaders to tell them how to think and how to act. Without these leaders, many people are almost unable to function in their Christian “walk.” They prefer submission to men they can see rather than to Christ Whom they cannot physically see.
But the universal problem in not submitting to the headship of Christ finds its source in our own selfish desires. As a group, we simply tend to follow our own flesh instead of following Christ. We love our “comfort zones” and make idols out of them. The tragedy is that our focus is on us and not upon Him.
The second significant fact about the Body seen in marital relationships (from the example of husbands) is Christ’s care for His Body (Eph. 5:29). The verse says that He actually “nourishes and cherishes it.” The Greek word translated “nourish” can also be translated “nurture” and has the idea of bringing to maturity. The Greek word translated “cherish” comes from a root word that means “to warm.” Here we have a picture of Christ’s tender love for His Body.
Christ is always concerned with the well being of His Body. In love, He is bringing her to maturity. He will do whatever it takes to present us before Him, “holy and blameless” (Eph 5:27; Col. 1:22). May Christ’s congregation’s eyes be opened to see His work among them!
FAQ’s
As we ponder this wonderful spiritual truth of the congregation as the Body of Christ, I have come up with a short list of FAQ’s. If you’ve been on the Internet much, you will notice that some web sites have a section called FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions). I hope to address five of them here.
FAQ #1: Who is part of the Body?
1 Cor. 12:27 states: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (NIV). In the Greek text, “you” is in the plural. In other words, “you all” (plural) are the body (singular) of Christ. It is a collective thing, to be sure. Paul also writes, “and each one of you is a part of it.” Every believer is a part of something larger than himself or herself. We are each part of the same Body. As I like to say, “Christianity is personal, but it is not individual.” For American Christians, this truth goes against our culture of independence.
Earlier in this epistle, Paul describes who these individuals that make up the Body are. In the second verse of the first chapter, Paul refers to his readers as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus.” He also refers to them as those who “call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2). In Ephesians 4:25, writing to Christians, Paul also says, “We are all members of one body.”
Every individual who has come to know Jesus is part of the Body of Christ. It is a Body comprised of ALL believers (Eph. 4:25), and ONLY believers (1 Cor. 1:2).
FAQ #2: How do I become part of the Body (how and when does this happen)?
It is NOT something you can “join,” because it is the Holy Spirit who immerses (“baptizes”) you into the Body (see 1 Cor. 12:13). If you are “in Christ,” you are in the Body (see Romans 12:5). We know that all believers “have” the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13; Rom. 8:9), for that is the only way that we can call Him “Lord” (1 Cor. 12:3).
FAQ #3: How many “Bodies” are there?
There is one and only one Body! Ephesians 4:4-6: “There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (NIV). If there is only one Head, there can be only one Body!
Although there is only one Body, we do see references in the New Testament to more than one congregation. But, you will notice when you look up these references, that the ONLY distinction ever made between congregations was GEOGRAPHICAL and never doctrinal (“the congregation in Jerusalem,” “the congregation in Antioch,” “the congregation of God at Corinth,” etc.). Any congregation that exists today based on doctrinal distinctions is actually a sect, and they need to hear the Spirit through the Word telling them to recognize the ONE Body that belongs to Christ. While the Body may be gathering at different times in different buildings in the same area, all believers in the area must recognize that there is one and only one Body.
FAQ #4: Why am I a part of the Body?
We are placed into the Body that we may CORPORATELY grow spiritually. Ephesians 4:15-16 states: “We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Using the analogy of the physical body, Paul teaches about the need of the physical body to grow “together” into the head. The picture I see here is of a small child with a head that is disproportionately larger than the rest of his body. But as he matures, his body catches up in size to his head (“he grows into his head”). Likewise, we are to become spiritually mature corporately. It is a group (body) thing. ALL of us are to grow TOGETHER into Christ.
Part of the way that we all grow up together into the Head is through the ministries Christ has given to each and every believer. In Ephesians 4, we see that “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers” were given by Christ (4:11) to equip the believers for “works of service” (or “ministry”) (4:12) that we might together mature (4:13). Many Christians are accustomed to hiring “professionals” do “works of service,” when Christ has called every member of His Body into ministry. We are all ministers. We have all been called. The five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4:11 refers to equippers. They are not the “ministers,” but simply equip the Body for the ministry.
Did you know that the phrase “one another” concerning believers appears about 48 times in the New Testament? And did you know that there is only one verse in which the word “pastor” refers in noun form to individuals other than Christ (and the shepherds who watched their flocks the night of Christ’s birth). One verse! And yet churches have built an entire system around one man to minister to them, instead each individual doing the work of the ministry.
Forty-eight verses refer to the ministry that we all do with “one another” and only one verse talks about the equippers. It appears that the modern American church is in desperate need of a Reformation when it comes to understanding ministry in the Body. There is a great amount of “deprogramming” that needs to be done.
I trust that you can now see that each believer has been placed in one Body, by the Holy Spirit, and that this placement in the Body was for the purpose of ministering to one another to bring the Body to maturity. And now for the last FAQ:
FAQ #5: What should be my part in the Body?
If you have a Bible nearby, open it to the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, and let the Holy Spirit speak to you through these verses. First of all, God wants us to know that we have a part in the Body (verse 1). He also wants us to know we will not all have the same ministries (verses 4-6). It is very important to understand that while every believer has received a gift, this gift is not for our personal benefit, but for use in serving the Body (verse 7).
God does operate through many different gifts, and yet it is up to Him to give you whatever gift (or gifts) He desires to bestow (verse 11). You will need to let “God be God” in this matter, and realize that He does know what He is doing! Each of you has a unique part in ministry to the Body (verses 14, 18-20). Again, we do not all have the same ministries, but we are called to minister to one another (verse 25).
So, what is your part? Many Christians have sought to use surveys or “spiritual gifts inventories” to determine what their spiritual gift is and what their place is in the Body. The problem with these methods is that they were designed by people within organizations to help others find their place within an organization. But, the Body is NOT an organization. It is a living spiritual body that is growing up into Christ. We don’t “create positions” and “plug people into them.” We must trust the Holy Spirit to equip believers to function in the gifts He has given them.
The answer to the question about your role in the Body is entirely up to the Lord, because He is the one who has sovereignly placed you where He wants you to be. He is the one who has equipped you with the gifts He wants you to have. If you become burdened to seek the Head, you will be led by Him to function in His Body.
Will you prayerfully seek Him, and let Him lead you?
Dave Lilligren
January 2007