Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:7 NIVUK
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:1-7, 15-16 NIVUK
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:19 NIVUK
Have you ever forgotten something quite important?
I remember once I went to the supermarket on my own. I was organised. I had a list. I got everything on that list. I was feeling very pleased with myself and I knew my wife would be pleased with me. Everyone would be pleased. So, with a distinct air of pride and triumphalism I strode to the checkout.
Where I discovered a big problem. I had left my wallet at home. I couldn’t pay for anything in that trolley.
There is one very important aspect of church life that I believe is either misunderstood or forgotten.
Misunderstood because when taken to extremes the church becomes nothing more than an empty social club that runs coffee mornings and golf trips.
Forgotten because when we become driven and focused on achieving all God’s plan for us and forget this one thing, the church becomes a heartless, soulless place to be, and all our hard work is in vain because people sense the soullessness and leave.
What is this crucial aspect of church life?
It’s this:
We are here for each other.
You see, the English theologian William Temple once said that the church is ‘the only organisation that exists primarily for the benefit of its non-members’.
But these verses state that this is not entirely true.
The church exists for evangelism and mission – absolutely, no question. You will never hear any arguments about that from me.
But the church also exists to serve its members. These verses make that crystal clear.
And when the church forgets this core truth, problems result.
Just look at what was actually happening in Corinth, in the preface to the famous words instituting the Lord’s Supper, read almost every week in church:
In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
1 Corinthians 11:17-22 NIVUK
The church was divided. The people within it were self-serving, not God-serving.
And it’s this division, not some fanciful belief that the communion elements magically transform themselves into actual flesh and actual wine, which gave rise to this oft misunderstood challenge:
Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
1 Corinthians 11:28-29 NIVUK
Have you ever thought this about verse 29: if Paul talks about the bread and the wine in these verses, why does he only tell the Corinthians that they need to discern the Body of Christ? Why not also the Blood?
Because the Body of Christ Paul talks about here is not the bread.
No, it’s the people eating the bread.
The Body of Christ is the church.
And the meaning of the word ‘discern’ is ‘to treat with distinction, to separate out’. In other words, it means to treat the Body of Christ with a marked, and greater, respect.
So for us to take the Lord’s Supper properly, we must recognise that every person around us is part of the Body of Christ and treat them appropriately.
Paul, when teaching about marriage, also makes another subtle point about this belief in the Body of Christ:
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no-one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church –
Ephesians 5:28-29 NIVUK
Do you see this? In a text about how husbands ought to take care of their wives, Paul tells them to copy Jesus Christ, who loves and cares for His Body.
So if we, who bear His name, are to truly follow Him, we must seek to do the same.
As Paul pleaded with the Philippians:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Philippians 2:3-5 NIVUK
As we saw in the three texts for this meditation, the guiding principle of how Paul wants us to relate to our fellow members of the Body of Christ is to seek their good, not necessarily our own.
In fact, He goes further and says that the purpose of every gift and ability we have us to use then for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7).
In matters where the Bible is unclear, but we risk offending our brothers and sisters by exercising a freedom we believe we have, Paul teaches us to put them first, build them up and seek their interests (Romans 14:19).
Paul even envisions how the gifts we have can be used in order to strengthen and build up the whole church.
I would like you to imagine a large orchestra. Many churches that I've been in and teams I’ve served on have been like a band attempting to play jazz. Sometimes they’ll produce an amazing tune and everyone will marvel at their skill. But more often than not, they’ll be unharmonious, every member fighting to be heard, while others are frustrated and disappointed about being drowned out, and the whole performance degrades into a cacophonous mess.
I realise this sounds like most church business meetings. I’ve certainly been at many that sound exactly like this. And to my shame, I know there have been times when I've added to the noise.
God’s purpose for the church is for it to sound like an orchestra, with Him as the conductor. He chooses who is prominent and who takes a back seat. He knows who can play the solos or play the harmonies and who should simply carry the rhythm or the bass.
We will only be able to produce a fine, melodious tune if we pay attention to Him and listen to each other.
This is Paul’s point.
Evangelism is a good thing. No, it’s better than that: it’s a great thing.
But if you bring a new, spiritually immature believer into a cacophonous, divided church, where every man and woman are for themselves, what will they think? Will they not wonder why they bothered believing in Jesus Christ, because His followers are no better than the people outside?
But if they come into church and find a caring, sharing atmosphere of Christians who are keen to make a harmonious note of praise to God together, will this not convince them that they made the right decision?
Won’t they seek to become more like Christ?
And that is the real purpose of the church: not to win arguments, but to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).
The sooner we get back to it, the better.
Questions
What would the perfect church look like you? Could you be a part of it?
What does the Bible say the church is like? How could you play your part in it?
What would you say the purpose of the church is? What are you doing towards meeting this purpose?
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