“. . .we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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” (Ephesians 4:15-16).
Since the Church, by its nature (the body of Christ, the family of God, the temple of God), is important to God (see previous posts), and since the Church can only be visible through the local congregation, we turn now to look at the function of the local church.
Our text picks up on the church as the body of Christ which, when you think about it, is a challenging image. The local church is Jesus in the community. At least, that’s what it’s supposed to be. It’s most often not seen that way, but that’s Paul’s point: it, as the congregation of God’s people (His family), is supposed to aim in the direction of it’s head so that, over time, it grows to look like Jesus to the world. It’s a process.
This only happens of course if Jesus is the church’s example. But you can’t just claim it. Each member of the church must determine to hold the church together so that it is seen as a united body growing to become like Jesus. And, each member of the church must fulfill his or her role as a well functioning part of that body with love toward the other parts of the body. There is a responsibility here that cannot be abdicated.
The church is God’s community where Christ-like traits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, equity, justice and righteousness are encouraged and developed.
But your church doesn’t exhibit all these things? That’s part of it really. Growth doesn’t happen without challenge. Peace seldom comes without conflict, nor joy without the challenge of sorrow. Patience must be tried to become perfect. Christ-likeness cannot be developed in isolation. The church is that family where Christ-likeness is taught, seen, encouraged, mentored, and challenged to become stronger – and that makes the church indispensable.
Mike Tune