One Body
To what community do you belong?
All of us are longing to belong. Our ‘community' may be large or it may be small. It may be primarily composed of family, or it may include our friends as well. Our ‘community' may be defined by those who share a common interest or passion. For some, it is the lack of community, of belonging, that shapes their life. But even though we were created for community, we were originally made to be part of only one body.
We believe that the Scriptures come back to four truths, or four essentials, when they talk about living life as God intended. The second of these essentials points us to the fact that we were created to be family members with God's people.
When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we become siblings in the family of God. When we believe in the gospel, Paul declares that God's spirit "testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:16); we become "members of God's household" (Ephesians 2:19). In the New Testament, this community of brothers and sisters is called the "church", which means, "those who are called out". Similarly, like a human body, "in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:5) God designed the church this way so that "there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other." (I Corinthians 12:25) The local church is the setting in which we can obey Jesus' new command: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34). God's word encourages us to "not give up meeting together" (Hebrews 10:25) because as we speak "the truth in love" to one another "we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (Ephesians 4:15) So through the church we grow to become more like Jesus Christ as walk together in his grace.
We would love to tell you more about what it means to live life as God intended as a follower of Jesus Christ. Click the "contact us" link above to reach us or join us this Sunday.
