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
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.
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
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.
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
I am reminded of a true story I read of a Russian girl. She grew up in a town in northern Russia America
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
Soli Deo Gloria
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