Playbook For Christian Living - Living As The Church

Play Number Six: "Living As The Church"
11.29.15

Jesus spent three years with his disciples. He taught them about daily living, righteousness, hypocrisy, and a multitude of other topics. He did not lay out an exact blueprint for organizing what we call today "the Church". I believe that is in large part because Jesus was concerned about the individual's life being the best it could be since it is the individual believers that form the Church. Paul writes about this to the Colossians:

"And God placed all things under his [Jesus] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."
Ephesians 1:22-23

There is much to be said about the Body of Christ. Today I will focus on three ideas. 

First, The Body is Diverse. 

"For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."

1 Corinthians 12:13

The body of Christ (the Church) consists of various people from a multitude of ethnic, racial, economic, social and spiritual backgrounds. It is a melting pot of individuals, ideas, and preferences. But just as the individual cells of the body come together and find unity, so must the individuals of the Church join together growing up to Him who is the head (Ephesians 4). 

Second, The Body Has Purpose.

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."

Ephesians 4:11-12

The human body is the mechanical holding form for our soul. It has function to interact with this unique environment, gravity, temperatures, etc. The Church as the continuing physical body of Christ here on earth has its role too. Some are to teach, some encourage, some replicate (evangelize), and on and on just as individual cells have their role in the larger form, so do individuals within the larger Body of Christ. While Christ is Spirit and wishes to interact thru spirit, it is the physical forms of we mere humans that serve to translate those spiritual thoughts and intents into the carnal world. 

Third, The Body Has Organization.

"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."

1 Corinthians 12:17-20 

We cannot all be leaders. We cannot all be teachers. We can all be servants to each other. But each person must find and fulfill their role. The human body is not just a set of random cells struggling to identify themselves for what they are and where they belong. It is not their role to do so. Instead, they are subject to the DNA imprinting given to them by the architect of The Body, which is God. We must each connect to that inner DNA and serve God as He has it planned. When that happens, there is health and vitality in the body. But when cells rebel and strain to complete their own programming, the result can be dangerous - even deadly. While there is room for The Spirit to move within the ranks of God's people, there is no room for disorganization. Healthy cells moving in unison can achieve amazing things, but moving a part from each other is disastrous. We should respect God's authority and His assigned representation here on earth.