To My Fellow-Traveler on Life’s Journey:
Many of us have a wrong idea of what the Church is, and this wrong idea may result in our present and eternal loss. The Church is not a building of wood, of bricks, or of stones, nor is it an organization of man’s devising. The Bible tells us that the Church is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23), of which He, the risen and glorified Saviour in heaven, is the Head (Col. 1:18), and all His redeemed ones on earth are members (Rom. 12:4,5).
It is possible for one to have his name on a church roll, and even be very active in church work, and not be a member of Christ’s Body. If you are not a member of His Body, the Church, the only way to become one is by trusting Him as your Saviour (Eph. 2:13-16). When you trust the Saviour, the Holy Spirit will baptize you into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12,13). Then you will be united to Christ, the Head in Heaven, and to all other believers on earth. As the Body of Christ on earth—His Body composed of every believer.
Look at the human body. It is one body composed of many members—hand, foot, etc. God has given every member a definite place of service, and every member needs every other member for the body to function properly. So the Church, the Body of Christ, is one Body composed of many members, every believer (1 Cor. 12). The Head has fitted every member for the service He wants it to do for His own glory and for the good of all (Eph. 4:7-16). Every believer should get his directions from the Head, and to the Head he will have to give an account of his stewardship.
In the wilderness, God dwelt among His earthly people Israel in the tabernacle (Exodus 29:43-46); then in the land of Palestine, He dwelt in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:13). Now, God does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48). Since Pentecost, by His Holy Spirit He indwells every believer (1 Cor. 6:19), and His temple on earth is His Church of living believers (2 Cor. 6:16).
The Lord Jesus Christ builds His Church (Matt. 16:18), and He is the foundation upon which it is built (1 Cor. 3:11). On the day of Pentecost, God, by His Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, formed the assembled believers at Jerusalem into His assembly (Acts 2:1-5,47). (The original Greek word “ecclesia” is correctly translated “Assembly” not “Church.”) As believers became scattered over the earth, they assembled in different places with Christ as their Center (Matthew 18:20), so that we may read of a church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), or a church in someone’s house (Col. 4:15). When Christians leave a building where they have been assembled for worship, the Church has gone home. Every believer is a bit of the Church (1 Peter 2:5), and it takes every believer to make the one true Church of Jesus Christ. The Church is very visible (22 Cor. 3:2). The Christian is the only Bible many people ever read.
The Church is very dear to the Saviour’s heart (2 Cor. 11:2). Adam said of Eve that she was bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh (Gen. 2:21-24). The Bible says of Christ and the Church that they are members of His Body, and of His flesh and of His bones (Eph. 5:29-32). However sadly Christians may fail, Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. He has redeemed it, He is keeping it day by day, and soon He will present it to Himself absolutely perfect (Eph. 5:23-27). The Saviour is coming back for His Church to take it to heaven, and He may come today (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
Will you not search the Bible with the aid of a concordance and ask God to teach you what He would like you to know about His Church?