The Unity of the Faith 4

The Unity of the Faith, 4

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (I Corinthians 12:27—NIV)

The Body of Christ

It is difficult to grasp the concept that the Church is the Body of Christ. Some have gone overboard with this idea, stating that Jesus is only one member of a many-membered Christ. The New Testament does not support this idea. The New Testament does not cease to lift up Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

It is absolutely true that we are brothers of Jesus Christ. But He is chief among the brothers being different from us in significant ways. The illustration of the Vine and the branches is useful because it shows that Jesus Christ is the Center from which all else flows. It is the will of God that Jesus Christ become the Center and Circumference of every thing, every creature, and every situation to be found in the entire universe of God.

No, Christ is not a many-membered entity in which Jesus is just one part.

Keeping this safeguard, let us proceed to stress that which the New Testament indeed does stress, that each member of the Church is an integral part of Christ, of the Messiah.

The Vine and the branches is a good place to begin and useful in our day. This metaphor is useful because so many ministers are seeking for power—not Jesus, but power. They want to use the Holy Spirit to accomplish their own religious ends.

Let me say that God is not interested in many christs. There is but one Jesus Christ and we part of Him.

To want to be like Christ but not part of Christ is another expression of Satan.

What is most important, the Vine or the branches? The Vine, of course. But the Vine is useless without the branches when it comes to bearing fruit. So it is that God in His love for us has made us an integral, inseparable part of Christ.

The marriage of the Lamb is another useful expression of our relationship to Jesus Christ. The two become one. We are being made an eternal part of Jesus Christ. Again, this is God's love in action, not another way we cook up so we can have power in prayer.

If we American Christians ever get rid of our self-centeredness it will be the miracle of the twentieth century.

The reason our coming to the unity of the faith is so important is that Christ, Head and Body, is only as righteous as the least righteous member, just as your body is only as healthy as the least healthy member. Isn't that the truth?

Some have stumbled over the concept of the Church being made one in Christ in God saying we are trying to make gods out of ourselves. This is not what we are doing. We are preaching and teaching what the Scriptures state. A false humility that draws back from the promises of God has its place in the Lake of Fire. We are God's sons, the future rulers and judges of the creation, and God wants us to press forward and lay hold on the marvels He has designed concerning us. This is not pride or self-seeking, it is faith in God's Word!

To be continued. The Unity of the Faith 5