Thoughts from The Bible: – 11/11/20

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 11 November 2020 15:12

Our Life In Christ
by Terry Broome

The church is a marvelous and Divine organism by virtue of her Divine origin (Matt. 16:18). According to Eph. 2:1-5, she’s made up of all those who are alive in Christ. Thus, the church is a living organism. As such she has the capability to grow and to be renewed. God has equipped this living organism with all the capability to be renewed in Spirit and to be refreshed with the Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27), and with the “one hope of your calling” (Eph. 4:4).
This church is called His body in Eph. 1:22,23, and as such it bears similar capabilities to our physical bodies in that we can grow and be renewed through compliance with His laws and His blessing.

Not only has God provided a strong skeleton to support that body (Acts 2:42– the teachings or doctrines that frame our fellowship) but he has also equipped it with spiritual relationships and spiritual exercises that boost and build up the whole body in compliance with “the Law of the Spirit of Life In Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:2). This spiritual life of the church is epitomized in the First Century church in the words of Acts 2:44, “And all that believed were together and had all things common.” Thus, they grew and were strengthened.

We must not lose sight of this fact: The body only thrives when its members thrive, thus the Body of Christ, the Church, is illustrated in Eph. 4:11-16 as a body of members that are fitly joined together with each one supplying his part to the building up of the whole body. Personal growth of individual Christians supports the growth of this spiritual body. As individual Christians add the attributes, we fondly call the Christian graces of 2 Pet. 1:5-7 and the fruits of the spirit of Gal. 5:22-24, the whole body is increased (Eph. 4:16).

Churches must spend time evaluating the many ingredients that contribute to the building up of a strong body of believers in a local congregation. Some of the many facets of that development are worship (both public and private), education, evangelism, benevolence, sharing and caring, “one another involvements,” and many other forms of fellowship. All of these contribute directly to the building up of the body of Christ. The church is a fellowship of believers united in Christ Jesus. According to 1 Cor 3:9, we are laborers together with God: “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” As such, we are to supply our part to the edification of the whole body. See you in worship this Lord’s Day.

God never designed Christianity to be a “go it alone” experience. Sometimes our situations force us to be alone for a period of time, as has been much the case during the COVID -19 Pandemic, but ultimately, we need to get back to other members of the body, the church. There we are able to “exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). May God heal our land and purge it from moral decadence as well as from the horrible COVID Virus Pandemic that has taken so many lives, and has caused so many Christians to have to worship from home online. This separation period has been necessary for many who have health issues that put them at high risk.

Don’t it be wonderful when we get past that pandemic and can rejoin our Christian family in worship services and the work of the church! I hope you will join me in prayer for this time to come soon.

The author can be reached for comments at 256-574-2489.