What is Church? – Part 2 (Click here for part 1)
Just as family is people connected in relationships with the purpose to love and nurture one another and to multiply, so too, the Church of Jesus Christ is people connected to one another in relationships with the purpose to love and nurture one another and to multiply. The difference is that family is people connected by blood relationships, while the Church is believers connected spiritually.
Just as family needs to get together to have fellowship and serve one another in love, so too does the Church. Ideally, the believers interact with God and one another in prayer, fellowship, breaking of bread and sharing God’s word. This can happen both locally and globally. Locally, where as little as two or three members interact, through to globally, where members interact via all forms of media.
Also, believers learn to understand the mercy and grace of God that they have received in Christ and in the light of this are free to be known for who they really are (like members of a family). Through the Holy Spirit, and through their lives, their spiritual gifts and by means of God’s word, they share Christ with one another and the world, bringing about personal and corporate growth.
However, just as a dysfunctional family doesn’t cease to be a family, so too the absence of healthy gatherings, prayer, breaking of bread and sharing God’s word doesn’t cause Church to cease being. Also, if members act in a dysfunctional way, say for example by never meeting with the other members, they remain part of the Church. Like family just is, church is.
You can be more of a blessing in fellowship and effective in service the more you know who you are in Christ and discover your anointing in the Holy Spirit. God has made you a minister in His House. It doesn’t matter if you have a theology degree or not. It doesn’t matter how old you are or even what race or gender you are. What matters is that you are in tune with His Spirit working inside of you and you bring something to the table. No one lords it over you. No one has the final say. Only His Spirit and the Bible have the final say. If Christ has set us free, then let us stand firm in our freedom (Gal. 5:1, see also John 8:36) to be active members in God’s family, the real Church.
Rob & Tina
Real Church Life 