This is another post from my personal archives that I wanted to have consolidated on my blog. It is an essay I wrote in preparation for a lesson I taught at church on a Wednesday evening back in the summer of 2011. I hope it will be of use to someone now. I present it here almost verbatim from its original printing. The only changes are that I have added two or three words as I read back over it and I updated the ages of my children.
What
is the church and how is it to function?
These questions have been wrestled with by theologians and scholars for
centuries. In the church age following
Pentecost history has born witness to a bevy of interpretations and
applications of the New Testament teaching on this subject: house churches
planted and/or presided over by the Apostles, secretive fellowships assembled
under the threat of state sanctioned persecution, powerful political organisms
with first the backing of the government and then the outright assumption of
the operation of the government, military organizations tasked with self
righteous proselytizing campaigns, groups of explorers seeking religious
freedom, and glorified “extra-curricular activity clubs” with crosses on the
windows and locks on the doors. Through
all of these radically different interpretations of the church what has been
the interactions between its members? What
have Christians seen as their responsibilities to the local body of which they
are a member?
A
complete discourse on all of the different aspects of a local church is beyond
the scope of this article. Instead we
will look at just one item; that of the church’s correlation to both the form
and the function of a biological family unit and an individual believer’s role
in that unit.
The
title of this essay includes a word with mostly negative connotations in our
modern American culture. When we think
of dysfunctional families images of abused spouses, neglected children, and
broken homes come to mind. A case could
be made that many modern churches in the United States bear a striking
similarity to that description. However,
for the purposes of this paper we will stick with the basic definition of dysfunction. Merriam-Webster says it this way; impaired or
abnormal functioning. Dictionary.com
uses the word malfunction to get its point across. A third definition that is more relevant to
this subject is; operation that is contrary to the intended function of the
designer. But before we can determine if
we as believers are indeed operating in a dysfunctional manner in the area of
familial interactions we must first define the correct implementation as
conceived by God and revealed in His word.
This examination will focus on two key concepts. First is a believer’s status as an adopted
child of God. Second is that believer’s
expected relationship and responsibility to others of God’s adopted children.
Adoption into the family of God
Adoption
is a familiar term in our society. Most
of us know of at least one case of adoption either in our own family or our
circle of friends. It is also a common
word in many Christian circles. We learn
about it along with regeneration, conversion, justification and several other
words ending in “shun.” But does the
theological application of such a familiar expression mean what we think it
does? For the answer to this we will
look at Romans 8:14-17.
In
verse 14 of chapter 8 we read “for all
who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Immediately we are presented with the fact
that to be guided by the Holy Spirit is to automatically be a child of
God. But Paul, the author of Romans,
doesn’t stop there.
He
goes on in verse 15 to say “For you did
not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received
the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" Note the contrast here between slavery (i.e.
to sin) and adoption as well as between the lower case “s” of the spirit of
slavery and the capital “S” of the Spirit of adoption. No longer are we to be helpless servitors to
the taint of sin. Instead we are brought
into a new loving family of freedom and joy.
In addition, this Spirit of adoption that we receive is not an impersonal
force or principle. It is a real living
person of the Godhead who accomplishes our spiritual acceptance into the family
of God. As we go from orphans to
treasured children we also go from impersonal to personal. And in the phrase “by whom we cry, Abba!
Father!” we see that it is through the enablement of this personal Spirit who
we receive that we are able to respond to the Father in love.
Thus
we must conclude that it is the Spirit of God who is the facilitator that makes
this adoption possible. We read in verse
16 “The Spirit himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are children of God. The obvious conclusion both here and back in
verse 14 is that if the Holy Spirit is not within us providing guidance and communion
then there is no evidence of our status as children. Furthermore, verse 17 reveals “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ.” So
not only are we children, but we have an inheritance promised to us. Because of this guarantee we can confidently
look forward to that time in which our birthright comes to its full measure.
A
good friend recently reminded me of a very important point regarding adoption that
can be found in Ephesians 5:1. “Therefore be imitators of God, as
beloved children”. Synonyms for
the word that is here translated as beloved include esteemed, dear, and
favorite. From this we must acknowledge
that it is not an indifferent or uncaring attitude which God shows toward those
He has adopted. Our relationship with
our heavenly father is one where He displays intense love and devotion to
us. We in turn should show complete and
utter adoration back to Him out of boundless love and thanks for what He has
done for us.
The
biblical answer to the question of spiritual adoption is clear. We are indeed honored and beloved children of
the living God. We are co-heirs with
Christ and each other of an inheritance that Peter calls imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading. (cf. 1 Pet. 1:4)
Relationship to others in God’s family
If
we accept the truth of our position as adopted children of God what then should
be our view of others who bear the same status?
What is our bond with them in the eyes of God?
To
determine this we must define these fellow image bearers and heirs with Christ. The Greek word that is trans-literated as adelphos
is found approximately 350 times in the New Testament. In the majority of those instances it is used
as a form of address between Christians.
(cf. Rom. 7:1, Jam.
1:2, Heb. 3:12) The remainder of the
occurrences are split between referring to a biological brother and a friend or
fellow countryman. Therefore we can say
with some certainty that the authors of the New Testament regarded fellow
Christians with the same level of affection as a literal sibling, a close friend,
or both.
This
evidence can be added to with an extensive list of calls to show sacrificial love
to one another as brothers. Jesus
commanded His followers to love one another as a form of evangelism when He
said “A new commandment I give to you, that
you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
another. By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Paul brings out that God Himself is our
teacher in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica when he said “for you yourselves have been taught by God
to love one another.” The apostle
Peter gives a further view of love between believers similar to what is
expressed between affectionate siblings when he says “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere
brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” Finally, in his first epistle John takes this
concept to an even greater level by drawing a correlation between the love we
are expected to show fellow Christians and the willingness to sacrifice His own
life that Christ demonstrated; “By this
we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our
lives for the brothers.” (cf. John 13:34-35, 1 Thess. 4:9, 1 Pet. 1:22, 1
John 3:16)
According
to the biblical record Christians are truly brothers (and sisters) to each
other. This is so in every sense of the
word: biological, as close friends, and as fellow countrymen of the kingdom of God. (cf. Matt. 7:21, John 3:5) Not only
do we share this status, but we do so in the best sense of every form of the
word. We are to be brothers (and sisters!) who have a
deep and abiding love for one another and who are willing to put others first. We are to form intimate friendships that go
far beyond the superficial into the realm of lifetime best friends. And we are called to stand together just as
people do who share a profound sense of national identity and loyalty.
The Church as a Family Unit
We
have looked at our individual status as adopted children of God and at our
obligation to show brotherly love toward other believers. But what does that look like when applied to
an entire local church body? How is the
church to function in light of these truths?
There are two primary effects that should be caused by a group of
redeemed people working together who are both conscious of their adopted status
and desire to demonstrate the love of Christ to one another; unity and growth.
Unity
is defined by secular dictionaries as the state of being one or a condition of
harmony. In many cases this is
accomplished in the world of business and politics through the vehicle of
compromise. At the time of this writing
news networks are carrying exhaustive coverage of the efforts in Washington, D.C.
to increase the national debt limit in order to avoid defaulting on our
financial obligations. The story is one
of two political parties, convinced they are in the right, neither willing to
give ground unless it is forced out of them proverbially kicking and screaming. In opposition to this worldly view of an
attempt to achieve unity we have the biblical definition which is both more appealing
and more practical.
In
Ephesians 4:1-3 we read; “I therefore, a
prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to
which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace.” We will break
this passage down by looking at it backwards.
Paul’s admonition here is to strive for “the unity of the Spirit.” Thus the bible’s brand of unity places God
front and center in the fulcrum position on which the whole thing hinges. Unity in the body of Christ cannot be
accomplished without all parties involved understanding up front that whatever
is accomplished must be done so by operating out of the fullness of the Holy
Spirit who indwells us. The next
significant phrase is “in the bond of peace.”
The key driver for this sought after unity is “the peace of God which
surpasses all understanding.” (cf. Phil. 4:7)
The idea here is that of complete surrender to the Lordship of God in
our lives. This frees us from the burden
of stressing over events. We acknowledge
that all things are in His hands, including interpersonal relationships within
the body, and He will give us over to a peace unknown to those who are slaves
to sin. But this is not to indicate that
unity is accomplished through a hands-off approach which says to “let go and
let God.” In the same way that biblical
sanctification is a co-operation between the Holy Spirit and a Christian, unity
is achieved through both the peace of God and a familiar concept from the
previous section; “bearing with one another in love.” Once again we see love rise to the forefront
of importance. But lest we forget the
never failing practicality of God’s word Paul doesn't stop with a nebulous
reference to an undefined or generalist love.
He goes on to give us some concrete tools that we can practically use on
a daily basis: “humility, gentleness, and patience.” So from this passage we can biblically define
unity as follows: A peaceful union born of the Spirit, accomplished by love,
and carried out by humility, gentleness, and patience.
The
second item in our exploration of the biblical operation of the church is that
of growth. Growth can be stated as a
gradual increase through a series of stages of development. Often the image that comes to mind is that of
the development of the human body from birth to childhood to adolescence to
adulthood. Therefore we unconsciously
tend to equate growth with size. Because
of this tendency care must be exercised here to avoid tying church growth to
the physical size of the membership rolls.
Just as escaping hell is a side benefit of salvation but not the item of
greatest importance, physical expansion of a local church body is a side
benefit that sometimes occurs when true biblical growth is realized. This is a common misconception in Christian
circles.
For
the purposes of this discussion we will define biblical church growth as having
two components of greatest significance.
- A membership that is growing in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (cf. 2 Pet.
3:18)
- A membership who has a desire for the
word of God to increase and the number of disciples to multiply greatly.
(cf. Acts 6:7) Note: The key here is
the spread of the gospel and the glory it brings to God through the hearts
and lives He changes. A potential
increase in numbers is only relevant as a greater testimony of God’s grace
and mercy.
With this working definition and
criterion of growth in a local church in place it is time to look at how this
plays out in a biblical context.
Ephesians 4:15-16 reads “Rather,
speaking the truth in love, 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.” The following simple diagram may help to
visualize how this process works.
Of
note here is the repeated emphasis once again on the aspect of love. It is simply inescapable that God’s intended
design of the church as an organism is predicated upon, integral to, and
hopeless without biblical brotherly love.
Based
upon the preceding evidence the conclusion is that a local church must be
committed to unity and growth. They are
intertwined beyond the ability of man to untangle. The unity of peace in the Holy Spirit leads
to the continued maturation of the knowledge of Jesus in the body of Christ and
the ever increasing desire to proclaim His name among the nations, tied
together by the bond of sacrificial love.
The Dysfunction of the Church (Member?)
Having
identified the proper biblical model for productive and healthy churches we
need to examine whether we are consistent with it. But do we do this on the congregational or
the individual level? Attempting to
assess the health of an entire local church may not be the best use of our time
for two reasons: it would be difficult to identify a reliable method of
determining overall church health, and the example set by Jesus in the Gospels
was to examine one’s own heart before looking anywhere else. (cf. Matt. 7:3)
If
we take it to a personal level; and given the preceding arguments for how the
members of a local church are expected to relate to each other and the
resulting unity and growth that will occur when that happens, the question we
must ask ourselves is this. Does each of
us as individuals look like a church member that is described in the New
Testament? More to the point, are our
inter-personal relationships at church equal to or better than our relationships
with our biological siblings? I would
submit that in many cases our honest answer must be no. I believe this is due to either one or both
of two primary reasons. We fail to
properly appreciate our position as adopted and beloved children. And we fail to truly see our fellows at
church as more than brothers and sisters.
Most
of us are not legally adopted according to the laws of the United States. We were born into a family, and despite
particular challenges or imperfections we have always had that sense of identity
ingrained within us. So when the Holy
Spirit regenerates our hearts and we respond in faith and repentance we already
have a position as a son or daughter.
This conflicts with our ability to truly comprehend the magnificence of
our new position in Christ. The theology
of adoption is taught and we both receive it and understand it, but there is
great difficulty in allowing this truth to penetrate deeply into our spirits to
the point where not only do we know we are truly beloved but we live as if we are
truly beloved.
I
am reminded of a true story I read of a Russian girl. She grew up in a town in northern Russia
and had many happy memories as a small child.
But then her life turned upside down.
She witnessed her father being beaten to death by an unknown assailant
who was never caught. Her mother turned
to prostitution in an attempt to feed her family. As a result this young girl was often left
alone for days at a time to care for both herself and her younger brother. Her innocence and childhood were stripped
away and she was faced with a grim future.
But one day a Christian couple visited the orphanage where she and her
brother had lived since being removed from their mother’s home. This couple adopted the pair and brought them
home to live in America. Overnight the world was changed for these
children. For the first time in years
they had a loving family that cared for them and welcomed them into their home.
I
believe in many ways this account mirrors our own spiritual experience. We are born into, the bible says, a slavery
to sin. We are dead and lost, with no
loving spiritual father to care for us and welcome us into His home. But then in a miraculous turn of events our
world is irrevocably altered and out of the blue we are given the most
incredible gift imaginable. It is a gift
of such magnitude that we struggle to fully comprehend it. We experience the affection of the true and
living God for his dearly beloved children for the first time in our
lives. And this is a perfect love with
no hint of imperfection such as we undoubtedly experienced from our biological
father.
Unfortunately,
for many Christians I believe this is not as real as it could be. The Father’s adoption of us is taken for
granted. As a result we fail to
appreciate our position in Christ and our responsibilities to others of His
children.
A
further nail in the coffin of our ability to function like adopted children is
our physical maturation. Most people
lose the childlike sense of wonder they once had as they grow into
adulthood. We are no longer fascinated
by “puppy dogs!” and overjoyed by playing in the rain. We become desensitized to the awe of a
creation that surrounds us and cries out the glory of the Lord with every
morning. In many cases this maturation
is right and appropriate as there are certain things children do and say that
would be offensive coming from an adult.
But I believe that in one area it is a tremendous disadvantage to have
lost such innocence; in our view of God.
My
son is 12 years old and my daughter is 4.
So I had several years prior to her birth to forget the experience of
having a small child in the home. Thus
it was particularly striking to be reminded of what it means to see the world
through the eyes of a little girl. This
forgotten view of life is realized in the joyful abandon she experiences when I
come home and she screams “Daddy!” and runs to greet me as fast as she
can. Or the fear she experiences during
a severe thunderstorm as she clutches my arm and I hold her close. I see this mirrored in scripture. Earlier we looked at Romans 8:15. No longer do we need to be afraid of the
spiritual thunderstorm of slavery to sin because we are safe and secure in the
loving arms of our father. And this Father
is stronger than any storm of life. We
can express all the rapturous and respectful adoration of a child when we cry
out “Abba! Father!” to a Lord who is infinitely worthy of all our love. Too often this is not our response when we
consider Him. Our children have much to
teach us if we would only listen.
In
addition to an adoption that is taken for granted I believe we often do not
view our relationship with fellow church members as we should. There are a variety of different
manifestations of this, influenced both by personality and upbringing. Perhaps we do not feel comfortable initiating
conversations so we rarely inquire how someone is doing spiritually. Or maybe we resist proper biblical Christian judgment so we
close ourselves off in an attempt to avoid it.
Other times we establish close relationships with a core group at our
church and then gradually cease to reach out to others who may be in need or
hurting. We might have gone through a
painful division at a church in our past and so we now refuse to get close to
anyone for fear of experiencing the pain of separation again. In some cases we may be guilty of
apathy. It may not be that we don’t care
about our siblings in Christ but we don’t care enough. We don’t care enough to help with our time or
finances when they are in need. We don’t
care enough to sacrifice an evening of our week in order to host someone at our
home.
There
are as many different examples as there are personalities among humans. Not all are applicable to all people. And often there may be extenuating circumstances
such as an unsaved spouse which prevents us from fully manifesting the love of
Christ to those around us. But aside
from those caveats if the view and the effort we place on our relationships at
church do not accurately model biblical church relationships then we fail to
operate as a family or a body the way God designed it. And if once we become aware of our deficiency
we refuse to act upon it then it becomes outright sin.
Healing the Family
In
spite of this grim diagnosis we have much to rejoice over. Our Lord has provided us with a handbook that
details exactly how to live and interact with our brethren in Christ; the
bible! As outlined earlier in this
article there are multiple factors that play into how a local church functions
as a family. But I believe the essential
building block is relationships. It is
relationships that will place us in close proximity to other like minded disciples of Jesus and promote spiritual maturation through the collective
study of God’s word. It is relationships
that help us to notice when someone is hurting and needs a friend. Without the interactions that come from being
close to another person we are less likely to notice when they are in sin so
that we will have the opportunity to gently and lovingly reprove them. We will be less likely to remember to pray for
someone we barely know. Only a close
personal friendship with another believer will generate the necessary level of
accountability that I believe God has designed into His church for the purpose
of providing us with assistance in battling our flesh. And it is only through Christian
relationships within our individual local family church that we will have
opportunity to work together to promote the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace which leads to the growth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the
exaltation of His great name.
All
of that being said, forming and nurturing relationships is easier for some than
for others. Factors such as personality
type, past history, common interests or lack thereof all come into play at
times to prevent us from seeking out the companionship of our brothers and
sisters. But much like the process of
progressive sanctification changes don’t occur overnight. We must begin to take steps to rectify
deficiencies in our relational life within the body of Christ. This can begin with something as simple as
determining to have one meaningful interaction each time you are at
church. Start small and work your way
up. God works through processes
throughout His word and in the experiences of our lives. His processes can sometimes be painful or
uncomfortable. But they are always for
our ultimate benefit and His glory. So
why would we expect an area such as this to be any different?
On
the other hand, if you are someone who excels at building friendships then
there is a special opportunity for ministry to those who struggle in this
area. Seek them out! Look for those who seem to be on the fringes
of social circles. Keep an eye out for
the folks who usually arrive late to church and leave early. There may be an opportunity there to reach
someone who is blinded by the lies their flesh is telling them. These lies can take many forms such as
“people won’t like me”, “I don’t know enough”, “I don’t want people prying into
my personal life”, or “I don’t want to be hurt again.” In opposition to these falsehoods is the
truth that we are the beloved children of our heavenly Father. Sometimes people just need a friend to point
out to them the fallacy in their thinking.
But although this is a form of ministering be careful not to treat
others as a ministry project. The key is
to pray that the Lord would give each and every one of us a genuine desire to
connect with people in a deep and meaningful way. The ministry will flow from these personal
connections, not the other way around.
To
recap, there is much we can do to correct dysfunctional behavior once it has
been identified. The following list is
just a start but it may be of help in forming a plan:
- First, acknowledge and act upon the
fact that all must be accomplished in and through the Holy Spirit. (cf. Gal.
5:16-18)
- Seek to live out the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace. (cf. Eph. 4:3)
- Consider inter-personal
relationships among the body of Christ as ministry opportunities but don’t
view people as projects. (cf. Heb. 10:24-25)
- Look for people on the fringes of
social circles and seek out interactions to draw them into fellowship.
(cf. Acts 4:32a)
- Show hospitality to members of the
body (cf. 1 Pet. 4:9)
- Actively work to reconcile those
who have strayed into sin. (cf. Gal. 6:1)
- Forgive others and do not harbor
resentment. (cf. Eph. 4:31-32)
- Use as your tools the fruits of
the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:22)
- Above all, display the love of
Christ to your fellows (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-3)
These
ideas and others can help to set us on a course that will lead to being more
productive members of a healthier local church body. Whatever specific methods are chosen by each
individual believer if they are pursued with a steadfast devotion to lift up
the name of God half the battle is already won.
To coin an old phrase, “be part of the solution not part of the
problem.”
Soli Deo Gloria
