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by Earl L. Martin
Chapter 5
Concerning the Church and It’s Mission…
How could it be otherwise than that Christ who came
to the world to make God known and to save men would, as a
part of his redemptive work, build his church? For salvation
not only brings men into right relations with God but into
right relations the one to the other. The brotherhood of man
goes right along with the Fatherhood of God. The church is the
brotherhood of the redeemed and the organ of redemption. It is
made up of “the saved,” and those who are saved are seeking
the salvation of others. One has spoken of the church as “the
company of all those in every age who are joined to Christ in
faith and love, and who labor for the ends which he seeks.”
We want to look at the church both from the
standpoint of the pattern as laid down in the teachings of the
New Testament and as it functions in its work in the world.
What Is the Church?
The word “church” is used in a variety of ways in
common everyday speech and in several ways in the Scriptures.
Sometimes it is used in its universal or general sense as
referring to all who are members of Christ’s body—all the
children of God’s family. At other times it is used as
referring to a local congregation of this family of God, or of
God’s people in a geographic section or area. Sometimes it is
used in a purely denominational sense.
The origin of our English word “church” is not
clear, but its New Testament counterpart is the Greek word
ecclesia. The word is used in the four Gospels only twice, but
it is found some 114 times in the rest of the New Testament.
Its exact meaning and application are to be determined in
every instance from its setting in the various passages.
Ecclesia is a combination of a Greek root word and its
prefixed preposition, meaning in a general sense “to call
out.” It was commonly used as referring to the body of
citizens or representatives “called out” to legislative or
other functions of the Greek city-state. Its application was
made specific by adding the words “of God” so that it was “the
ecclesia of God,” or church of God.
Broadly and generally speaking in New Testament
usage, the word ecclesia has two applications: the local
congregation or assembly of the Christians in a given place;
and the universal body of believers.
The Universal Church…
In our teaching we have put a great deal of
emphasis upon this phase of the church, and for the most part
rightly so. In a day when the denominational concept of the
church has obscured the truth of the meaning and function of
the church, a clear understanding of the basic nature of the
church is needed. A recognition by all Christians of the
church as, most simply, the body of Christ, or family of God,
and made up of all who are truly Christ’s, would be a long
step forward in bringing that unity for which Christ so
sincerely prayed, as recorded in John 17.
Perhaps the figures of speech by which the church
is set forth in the New Testament depicts more clearly the
true nature of the church than does a study of the word
ecclesia itself. Let us look at a number of these.
The church is “the body of Christ.” As such it is
made up of all who are members of Christ’s body—all
Christians. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one
body” (I Cor. 12:13). “And gave him [Christ] to be the head
over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:22–23). “He is the
head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18). “Now hath God set
the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased
him” (I Cor. 12:18). “So we being many, are one body in
Christ, and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12:5). It
can, in the light of these scriptures, be laid down as a
simple fact that all true Christians are members of the one
body, or church, of Christ. This we believe and this we
proclaim. The church is the family of God. It is that “whole
family in heaven and earth” who bear the name and share the
nature of their heavenly Father—the “Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
It is that family into which one comes by being
“born again” (John 3:3). All who are born of the Spirit are
members of that family.
This means that the church is a brotherhood, a
fellowship of all Christians. It is the fellowship of the
redeemed, “the church of God, which he hath purchased with his
own blood” (Acts 20:28).
God’s purpose in redemption being to bring us into
right relation with himself and with one another, we should
expect the church to be the visible expression of the
fellowship. Such it is. Such was it in the beginning, even
before it had any formal organization, any ritual, any creed
except faith in Christ and the “good news.”
This concept of the church as a “fellowship” or
family of God is absolutely basic to any proper understanding
of the church. It arose by direct influence of Jesus Christ
and grew out of his indwelling presence in the hearts and
lives of those who came to know him in that new life of the
Spirit which came by the “new birth.” To be “born again” is to
be born into the family of God, the church. To be “children of
God” is to be brothers one of another. To be in fellowship
with God is to be in fellowship with all who are in fellowship
with Him. Servants of the Father, we serve one another. Loving
him supremely we love one another. Knowing Christ, we want
others to know him.
So the church is first and foremost a fellowship of
all who are in the family of God—a fellowship of loving
service. The church must move forward with Him as a new
fellowship for the creation of a new humanity.
The church is the building of God. “Ye are God’s
building” (I Cor. 3:9). “Ye also, as lively stones, are built
up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I
Pet. 2:5). Each Christian is a part of this building “framed
together” and “builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21–22). As a building, the church
stands on a firm foundation, for Christ himself is its builder
and it is builded upon a rock: “Upon this rock I will build my
church” (Matt. 16:18). “Ye are … built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief
cornerstone” (Eph. 2:19–20). “Other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 3:11).
Other figures of speech show what the church is.
Not all need to be considered, but in the Bible the church is
spoken of as the fold of God’s sheep, of whom the Lord is the
Good Shepherd. Into this fold or building Jesus is the way of
entrance: “I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall
be saved” (John 10:9). There is no other way of getting into
God’s church than by this door. One must be saved to be a
member of the church: “The Lord added to the church daily such
as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
The church is the bride of Christ: “Come hither, I
will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Rev. 21:9). “He
that hath the bride is the bridegroom,” or Christ (John 3:29).
It is the “city of my God, which is new Jerusalem,
which cometh down out of heaven” (Rev. 3:12)—“the true
sanctuary which the Lord pitched and not man” (Heb. 8:2).
These concepts of the church are basic. Emphasis
needs to be put upon the foregoing concepts of the church as
the universal body of believers, for all else that may need to
be said about the church in its local or general functioning
in the world needs to be in harmony with these basic concepts
of the church.
The Local Congregation…
The New Testament makes many references to the
local church or congregation. In fact, in the majority of the
114 places where the word ecclesia is used the reference is to
the local congregation. This is in harmony with the fact that
the New Testament books, for the most part, were letters to
particular local congregations of the church and were designed
to meet the problems of those congregations; for instance,
“the church which was in Jerusalem” (Acts 11:22); “the church
which was at Antioch” (13:1); “the church of God which is at
Corinth” (I Cor. 1:2). Many references clearly refer to local
congregations; for example, Matthew 18:18, “Tell it to the
church.”
The relationship of the local church to the
universal church is simply that of a part to the whole. The
local church is a visible manifestation and functioning of the
universal church. A local congregation is made up of those who
in any given situation are joined to Christ and to one another
by the ties of spiritual experience, who meet together for
worship, edification, fellowship, instruction, and who work
together for the extension of God’s kingdom and the saving of
a lost world.
Ideally, the local church would be made up of all
Christians in a community, who because of common ties and
common interests meet and work together. Membership in the
universal church, or being a Christian, is by scriptural
standards essential to membership in the local church; but
association with the membership in a local group does not
necessarily guarantee that one is a Christian. Ideally, it
would be so, but in a local congregation the human element of
association and recognition, formal or informal, enters in.
This may mean that there are those who are associated with the
local group and are by them recognized as members, who are not
truly Christian. Then, too, because of this element of
association and recognition on the human side, there may be
Christians in the community, who are not members of a
particular local manifestation of the church. Christian
experience is and ought to be the basis of membership in the
local congregation, but this does not of itself constitute one
an actual member of any given congregation, but only a
potential one. Therefore, each Christian is a member of the
congregation because of desire and identification on his part,
and by reason of recognition on the part of the group. This
recognition need not be in any particular form but is
nevertheless a very definite thing. The mutual understanding
may not be according to any set form, but nevertheless it is
real. In the Church of God movement different local churches
have different ways of expressing such recognition.
Inter-congregational and General Co-operation…
In a real sense, you as a Christian are a member of
the entire church of God, the whole family of God anywhere and
everywhere. You are one with every Christian everywhere, and
you will find many ways of expressing that fellowship wherever
you are in association with other Christians. If you are
visiting in a local congregation of the church of God other
than your own congregation you will find there a spiritual
oneness, and will feel at home, even though you will not be a
part of its organizational activities. In meetings of various
kinds where two or more churches meet together in youth
rallies, religious education or missionary conventions and
such like, you will be one with these kindred spirits. State,
regional, national, and international conventions and camp
meetings of various kinds are all practical expressions of
spiritual fellowship. Ways are provided for working together
with all Christians who are like-minded.
Not only do Christians as individuals co-operate
with other Christians in such relationships, but in matters
which concern the churches of any given geographical area the
local congregations sustain a like relationship of fellowship
and co-operative effort to each other. The Christian or
congregation who isolates himself or itself and does not thus
co-operate is missing much. In religious education, in youth
work, in evangelism, in missions, in benevolence, and in other
areas such cooperation is demanded for the highest good of
each Christian and the progress of the church in such sections
or regions.
The nature of the church and of Christian
experience implies a relationship of each Christian to other
Christians and of local congregations to the general church. A
local group which is in unity with other local groups and with
the church generally will naturally want to co-operate with
the church in order to share in the blessings and work of the
church everywhere. There are needs to be met and work to be
done which no local congregation of itself can do. “Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” and “Go
make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all
things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world”—how are we to carry out such
marching orders except in co-operation with all who are
like-minded?
The best way you as an individual Christian and
your church as a local congregation can do some of the things
which must be done in the work of taking the gospel to all the
world is by association and cooperation with the total program
of the total church.
The need for co-operation has led to the organizing
of various agencies, sectional—by states or regions—national
and international, which provide avenues of co-operative
endeavor. These organizations are not of themselves sacrosanct
or divine, but the work of taking the gospel to all the world
is, and these are ways in which we may co-operate in doing
just that. When better ways are found to do the work, then we
are under obligation to use such better ways, but until other
and better ways are set up, then each of us is under moral and
spiritual obligation to work in the ways now available. Such
working together is of itself an expression of practical unity
and is the only way of getting some jobs done.
A state board of evangelism or of religious
education, our national boards for carrying out the
missionary, evangelistic, and educational tasks of the church,
are not mandatory, but “preaching the gospel to every
creature” and “teaching them to observe all things” are. If
the ways which we have so far found are not the right ways at
this time, then we are under obligation to find better ways.
But until we do find other and better ways, let us use the
means now available.
The Church and the Quest for Unity…
From our previous consideration of what the church
is, it is evident that the church is one in its basic
structure. This is true whether it is thought of in its
universal sense or as a local congregation. All true
Christians are one in Christ, and as such are one in that
fellowship which is the church. Yet, that something more is
needed is also clearly evident. With this “something more” in
mind, let us look at the situation.
Unity of the Spirit…
A deep unity, in fact, now exists. It is involved
in the very nature of Christian experience and in the nature
of the church as the body of Christ, the family of born-again
ones, the city of God, the household of faith, the bride of
Christ. Christian unity does not have to be created. It cannot
be voted into being. It is a work of the Spirit of God.
Christians are one in spiritual experience. The
church is one. Jesus built only one: “I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt.
16:18). It is made up of all who are born of the Spirit, “for
by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (I Cor.
12:13). Unity is set forth in the New Testament as a
fundamental of the church. It is the “church of God.” The
words “church of God” are more than a name, in the shallower
meaning of the word “name.” It is called or named the church
of God because it is the church of God. See such passages as
Acts 20:28; I Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 15:9; II Corinthians
1:1; Galatians 1:13.
This may seem to some like an over insistence upon
a very simple and generally accepted fact. But, as a matter of
fact, this concept is basic to any consideration of the
church’s quest for a more nearly complete and functioning
unity. For whatever else may be said about the church, as to
the full unity for which Christ prayed, recorded in John 17,
must be in harmony with, and must grow out of, this basic,
simple truth—the church is the body of Christ, the family of
believers, the beloved community, and is made up of all
Christians—all who have been born again and are walking in the
light which God gives. The acceptance of this plain truth will
not solve all the problems which arise in the church’s quest
for a full and functioning unity, but it does provide a basis
for such a quest; and without the acceptance of this basic
fact unity will not be found.
Unity in Christ is not enough. “Something more” is
needed. What is this “something more”?
A Functioning Unity Is Needed…
For a unity manifest to the world Jesus prayed, for
this he gave his life, and for this the Spirit of God is
working in the hearts of Christians everywhere today.
In Jesus’ high-priestly prayer, recorded at length
in John 17, is an earnest plea for his church, his followers.
He made it clear that he was praying for all who were then his
followers and for all who would follow afterward. “Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John
17:20–21).
Here it is the prayer of Jesus that the unity which
is spiritual may be expressed in such a way that “the world
may believe.” Here the believing of the world is conditioned
upon a oneness which will enable them to see and know that God
sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. That unity which
is spiritual needs to be made visible. Everything that hinders
an adequate expression of that unity for which Christ prayed
must be discarded, and the church must work together in
getting the gospel to the world in a way that will convince
the world.
Division is contrary to God’s purpose. Divisions,
denominational or personal, are condemned by the Word of God.
The Spirit of God is not a sectarian spirit. Sectarianism,
wherever it is found, is unchristian. The divine standard is
“that there be no divisions among you” (I Cor. 1:10) and that
there “should be no schism in the body” (12:25).
The denominational expression of the church must
somehow be discarded, and the things which separate into
different denominations must be swallowed up in a great urge
and surge toward unity.
Unity of the Spirit must issue in a unity of fait.
There was a visible unity in the early church: “The multitude
of them that believed were of one heart and one soul” (Acts
4:32). To maintain this unity Paul wrote, “I therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and
meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of
peace” (Eph. 4:1–3). This unity of the Spirit, if it is kept,
will lead to a unity of faith or belief. It is to be kept
“till we all come in the unity of the faith” (vs. 13), and
this in turn will produce a people who will “stand fast in one
spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
gospel” (Phil. 1:27).
These aspects of unity—unity of Spirit, of faith,
and of purpose or work—are not to be thought of as successive
stages of unity but as aspects or phases of unity always in
the process of being achieved—a continuing and continuous
quest. This unity of the Spirit and faith must be a working
unity. Oneness in Christ is not enough. Oneness in doctrine is
not enough. All Christians must work together in the one task
which God has given his church to do. Unity of the Spirit,
unity of faith or message, and unity of purpose and action—all
these are needed if the church is to fulfill its mission in
the world.
Christian people everywhere need to join this quest
and movement for unity. Every Christian needs to see the
purpose for which Christ wants unity, the end toward which the
unity of the church is a means. This will become increasingly
evident as we think even for a moment about the mission of the
church.
The Mission of the Church…
There is not space here to say all that God has in
mind for his church, but all that he has for his church to do
finds its charter in the words of its founder: “Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark
16:15). “Go … teach all nations …” (Matt. 28:19). “Ye shall be
witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8).
The mission of the church is varied—the worship of
God, the edification of one another, and taking the gospel to
the world.
The Church’s Mission Is to Edify Its Members…
A sense of obligation to help one another motivates
the life of the church. We see the first disciples of Jesus
doing this even while he was yet with them. Even Jesus
recognized this principle of edification through fellowship.
He chose twelve “that they might be with him” as well as “that
he might send them forth.” The hundred and twenty gathered
with “one accord in one place” after Jesus went away. When the
three thousand were converted on Pentecost “they continued
steadfastly” not only in the doctrine, but in “fellowship and
the breaking of bread,” which was a meal of fellowship. “They
continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking
bread from house to house.” All this is found in Acts 2.
This was a practical fellowship of mutual care and
concern, even to having “all things common” (Acts 4:32 ff.).
Later seven men were appointed to administer their program of
helpfulness. See Acts 6.
One of the concerns of the church today is the
perpetuation of itself for the propagation of the gospel and
the accomplishing of God’s redemptive purpose. The church is
the continuing agency of the ongoing redemptive purpose of
God. In view of its work the church must build itself up in
love and in all the qualities that will make it a more
effective agency for the worship of God and the evangelization
of men.
The Church’s Mission Is the Worship of God…
In worship the church not only glorifies God but
builds itself up. Worship is not so much for the sake of the
One worshipped as for the one worshipping. The worship of God
is one of the most direct and purposive functions of the
church, since it is one of the inevitable expressions of the
Christian life. It has its basis in the very nature of
Christian experience as it relates one to God and to his
fellow Christians. Public or corporate worship arises out of
the social nature of man and of Christian experience. The
church is a divine-human fellowship, and public worship is one
of the basic expressions of that fellowship. One aspect of
that fellowship is fellowship with God; another is the
fellowship with each other of all who are in fellowship with
God. In this worship insights are gained, the will of God is
discerned, and resources of strength are found. Inspiration is
kindled for Christian life and service.
The Church’s Mission Is to Herald the Evangel…
The church has a message for the world. It has a
message for all the world. It has a message for every one in
the world. The primary task of the church is to give the good
news to men.
The church has a message for men who are lost. Men
in sin must know that there is salvation from sin. The church
in its message must come to grips with the sin problem, in
human life and human society.
Men must not only see that they are lost but that
they can be saved. Man must not only see his sin but he must
see a forgiving and redeeming Christ. Men must see what God
has done and is doing about sin. The “good news” is that in
Jesus Christ God is at work reconciling the world unto
himself.
God has done and is doing something. The gospel is
not of man’s devising; it is God’s deed. It is the good news
of God’s act and God’s intervention in behalf of and for man’s
redemption, individually and severally, here and hereafter.
But the church is the ongoing agency of that
redemptive purpose of God. The church has a message for
Christians. Christians need to grow. They grow by making
greater room in their lives for God and the truths of his
Word.
Christians need a continually deepening life in the
Spirit. They need abundant life. They need power to witness by
life and deed. They need power for witnessing effectively in
working to save others. Many need the sanctifying power of the
Holy Spirit.
The sick need God’s healing touch. Many do not know
of these and many other privileges which are a part of their
rich inheritance in Jesus Christ. It is the mission of those
who know these things to let others know about them.
The church has a message for our confused world.
Every problem that faces the world today is directly or
indirectly a moral problem. The chaos and confusion and sin of
our day—the oppression and injustice and greed and lust for
power—the false ideologies and paganisms—have their only
remedy in the principles of the good news about God as
revealed in Christ Jesus.
The church alone is custodian of a message which
alone can bring fellowship, brotherhood, and world peace.
When the church can go to the world as one church
with the one message, then we may begin to expect “one world.”
This is one of the most tremendous reasons for the
church to help answer the prayer of Christ for its
oneness—“that the world may know.”
The church has a message for a hesitant and divided
church. While the world gropes its way in darkness, the church
also seems to be groping for a way out—hesitant and confused.
There is a way out. The way out is a church of power,
spiritual power, a power that will come as the church
rediscovers the source of its power. Here again one must think
of the need for the unity of the church.
The Church and Its Symbolic Ceremonies…
A symbolic ceremony is a visible presentation of
spiritual ideas or experiences in some outer and sacred form.
There has been much misunderstanding and difference
of opinion concerning the meaning of such observances, both as
to what they are and as to how they are to be observed. But
there has been quite general agreement that the church is
under divine command to observe such expressions of its faith.
Almost all bodies of people have recognized the Lord’s Supper
in some way. Baptism has been quite generally practiced,
though there has been widespread and vigorous disagreement
both as to its purpose and the mode of its observance. The
rite of foot washing has not been so generally recognized and
practiced in the history of the church. Even in the New
Testament it is mentioned much less frequently than the other
two ceremonies.
Though such observances are few and simple, yet
they are spiritually significant. They symbolize deep
spiritual experiences on the part of the individual Christian;
and as ceremonial observances in the church they represent the
three basic relationships of the Christian—to the world, to
God, and to his fellow Christians.
Baptism Symbolizes Initial Christian Experience…
Christ, in his last commission to his disciples,
commanded them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved” (Mark 16:15–16). Here baptism is closely
associated with believing. Peter urged it on the Day of
Pentecost. “Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized” (Acts 2:41). Many other references could be cited
from all parts of the New Testament.
Baptism of itself is not a saving rite; rather it
is the symbol of God’s cleansing of the human heart. It is an
outward symbol of an inner work of God’s grace. It is a
testimony to the world that the one being baptized is dead to
sin and to the evil world and has been resurrected to a new
life.
Baptism is for believers: “He that believeth and is
baptized”; “Repent and be baptized”; “They were baptized, both
men and women” (Acts 8:12).
Baptism by immersion is the consistent teaching of
the Word. Immersion symbolizes the burial of one who is dead
to sin, and coming up out of the water pictures the
resurrection to newness of life. “Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
As believers gather at the table of the Lord they
testify by taking the wine and the bread that they are
partaking of His life and are in sacred union with God through
Christ. Christ commanded this, saying, “This do in remembrance
of me.” Recalling how His body was broken and his blood
spilled, the communicant makes new decisions and strengthens
his dedications.
Matthew records simply: “As they were eating, Jesus
took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink
ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which
is shed for many for the remission of sins” (26:26–28).
The Lord’s Supper Symbolizes Communion with God…
As believers gather at the table of the Lord they
testify by taking the wine and the bread that they are
partaking of His life and are in sacred union with God through
Christ. Christ commanded this, saying, “This do in remembrance
of me.” Recalling how His body was broken and his blood
spilled, the communicant makes new decisions and strengthens
his dedications.
Matthew records simply: “As they were eating, Jesus
took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink
ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which
is shed for many for the remission of sins” (26:26–28).
Footwashing Symbolizes Humble Service…
Our Master himself gave us this example and made it
a symbol of humble service the one to the other. The record is
in John 13. In Jesus’ example we see the greatness of service.
We can do no better than to look at Jesus’ own words and let
them speak to us what they will. “Know ye what I have done to
you? Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am.
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye
also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an
example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his
lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (vss.
12–17).
Symbols May Be Empty Forms…
Symbols may be charged with spiritual meanings and
will be as long as the substance creates the form. But when
the thing symbolized is not a reality, then the form becomes
mere formality.
Not as hard and fast legalistic requirements, not
in the letter but in the Spirit, these ceremonies are to be
used. They are not ends in themselves; they do not procure
Christian experience. But when in a spirit of loyalty, and
because love prompts and the culture of the soul demands, and
as expressions of spiritual reality, these ceremonies are
entered into, then the words of Jesus are proved true, “Happy
are ye if ye do them.” Then the symbols become a means of
spiritual uplift to the individual and a testimony to others
of those basic relationships of the Christian life—toward the
world, toward God, and toward each other.
Summary…
Believing in God as revealed in Jesus Christ and in
the redemptive work of Christ which makes men and women
Christians and produces right relations between them, we have
the necessary basis for believing in and proclaiming the
church as the visible expression of Christian fellowship here
and now.
The church is, most simply, the fellowship of those
who are children of God. It is the family of God, a
fellowship. It is made up of the “born again,” born from
above. It is “the church of God which he hath purchased with
his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
This church is one so far as its basic structure
and spiritual life are concerned. But it is not enough that
all Christians are spiritually one. There must be a practical,
functioning unity. There can be no real, functioning unity
except upon the basis of actual spiritual unity, but unity
must go beyond this basic unity if the church is to be the
kind of church that can do God’s work in the world today.
Jesus prayed for a functioning unity. We must help answer his
prayer. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word; that they all
may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me” (John 17:20–21).
This unity must be the kind and degree of unity
that will enable the church to give a convincing and
convicting witness to the world so that our world may be
saved.
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