Why Church?
2020 created for me a set of words or phrases that I intend to forever excise from my vocabulary. “New normal” and “unprecedented” made the list. My least favorite phrase might have been “essential worker.” Although I understand the intention of the label, what could be more de-humanizing than declaring someone’s work to be unnecessary for society? The people who make such declarations of course never include their own profession. In some places, churches were considered non-essential. Thankfully, I don’t live in one of those locations but nevertheless I beg to differ with this evaluation. When we turn to Scripture we find that church is essential.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 gives an explanation of why church is essential. First, church is essential because Jesus brings his followers together into the church. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 uses the illustration of the local church as being a body. Just like our body is made up of various parts that come together and function in harmony, so also is the church the body of Christ. Verse 13 describes how God brings us together with himself and with other believers. All of us enter this life alienated from God because of our sin. It took Christ’s death and resurrection to bring us into a right relationship with God. The way we enter this relationship is through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God’s Spirit convicts us of our need for Christ and in the moment of our conversion we are “baptized” into Christ. We are fully immersed into Christ. All believers share in this relationship. It doesn’t matter what our prior religious, ethnic, or economic background is, we all “drink of one Spirit.” The phrase here is parallel to the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the first part of the verse. To share the cup is to partake of Christ. In a divided world, the church can be united because Christ is the glue that holds us together. Jesus saves us and brings us together into a united witness to the world.
Second, church is essential because Jesus has equipped every believer for ministry. 1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that every believer at salvation is the recipient of a spiritual gift that enables and empowers each one of us to make a unique contribution to the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:15-16 offers an imaginary conversation where the parts of the body deprecate themselves and wish to be something else. In response to that, verse 18 states: “God has placed the members, each one of them in the body just as He desired.” Not all of us have the same gifts, but that is part of God’s design. In fact, we can’t say to the other members of God’s family: “I have no need of you” (12:21) because God has “so composed the body” (12:24). God has a purpose for each one of us in our church: “that the members may have the same care for one another” (12:25). God has placed us in our church not to consume but to contribute.
Church is essential! The people of the church matter and the mission of the church matters. Even in such challenging times as these we can still serve in our churches and as the church in our communities. Just because we cannot do what we used to do or what we would like to do doesn’t mean we can’t do something. That might just need to be our prayer today: God, I want to serve you. Where do you want me to serve? What do you want me to do?
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