Looking to words of scripture for the best definition of the church
By Dean Collins
How would you describe your church? Some might say their church has great worship or good preaching. Others might say their church is focused on serving the needs of the community. Some say their church is seeker friendly. Sadly, some would say their church is in a downward spiral and doesn’t have much of a future.
People describe their church in many different ways, but sometimes we forget that the church is bigger than our congregation. It is more inclusive than any denomination might claim. The bride of Christ is filled with Christ followers who may be members of many different varieties of the church as we know it in our local church context. Thank God for that.
The apostle Paul wrote about the church in all of his epistles. He used a variety of images to describe the church. His most common image was the church as the body of Christ. Numerous passages in Paul’s writings use human body parts to describe our unique roles within the body of Christ . Several centuries ago St Theresa of Avila wrote a prayer that John Michael Talbot put to music more than three decades ago. You can still listen to it here. “Christ has no body here on earth but yours,” it reminds us
A living being
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul uses different language as he describes the vital role of the church. He hoped to get to Ephesus soon but sent his letter because it was critical, he said, that the church “know how to behave in the household of God.” Paul’s description is not a reference to a building. Those of us who have lived as followers of Jesus awhile know that the church is a living being and not a building. Paul confirms our understanding in these few verses.
As the imagery of the church continues in this passage, we learn that this household is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. We must stand in awe at the majesty of what Paul has described. The church is the household of a living God, not a historical or ancient and irrelevant deity. God is fully alive in and through his body, the church. The living God has had a living body on earth for more than 2,000 years, and he is still alive in us as we represent his work in our communities today!
A pillar of truth
And as the church of the living God, we are a pillar and buttress of the truth—not some truth but God’s truth. Sadly we have allowed the witness of the church to get very convoluted and weak. When we see the church as a club or, worse, as an advocate for a political party, we diminish both our calling and our witness. Paul went on to describe our confession, calling it a mystery of godliness.
Don’t be confused. Paul is not suggesting that there is something mysterious we cannot figure out about who we are as his church. The mystery is how God would be willing to send his Son in the flesh, allow him to take on the sins of the world, die as a sacrifice and payment for our sins, rise from the grave, and allow us as his body to be his ambassadors to the world. All of that is indeed a mystery, yet it is God’s plan.
The household of God
We must not default to a shallow theology or a secular understanding of the church and our privilege and responsibility in God’s chosen path to reach all of his creation with the good news. We must never let our past failures or culture define who we are in Christ. As the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth, we can move forward with humility and boldness.
Your time with God’s Word
1 Timothy 3:14-16 ESV
Photo by Clay Banks at unsplash.com
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