Living Outside the Walls.
Belonging is crucial to a man’s self-estimation.
I’m living proof of that. For years I bounced myself and my family around from one congregation to another with the expectation of finding a better one.
Joining a “church” was important.
And once I found what seemed like a “good” one, I did what I considered any responsible father should do acting in the best interest of his family’s spiritual welfare. I’d simply ask a pastor or teacher:
“Now what is it that we believe…?’’
I’d unwittingly surrender my ability to study and learn for myself what was actually written in the Bible over to doctrines steeped in centuries of tradition all because I was determined to belong to something.
I didn’t have the stomach to exist on the outside of institutional, mainstream “Christian” worship and fellowship. So, when I got bored or offended or if my wife or kids became discouraged because not enough of their friends “belonged” to their “church,” I’d find another congregation to join. There were plenty to choose from.
At some point though, I became more inclined to actually open a Bible and read what it said.
And, the more I read, the more I questioned the idea that membership in Christ’s assembly required a signed, binding commitment to a particular congregation. So I began to seriously consider what actually defined membership in the Body of Christ.
[ἐκκλησία: (ê-klāy-see’-ûh) congregation; assembly, gathering (of religious, political, or unofficial groups)]
Eventually, I was able to confidently conclude that membership in His assembly can never be satisfied with a signatory instrument or an oath. To become a member of Christ’s Body, one need only to believe, repent and be baptized on the basis of [or immersed into] His name for the forgiveness of sins. [see: Eph. 1:13; Ac. 2:38-39].
That’s it. The Lord does all the record keeping.
On the other hand, our expression of faith by joining together for worship locally is very much a construct of the early ἐκκλησία as well as a tradition. It’s crucial to their spiritual development. By teaching each other to grow in the knowledge of the Scriptures and encouraging one another to persevere as faithful disciples of Christ and to develop our gifts in the service of Him and others, we thrive.
But It’s never been about numbers or the preeminence of its members.
Christ’s assembly is clearly universal and inclusive of any individual God has chosen for Himself on the basis of his choice to believe what was spoken and eventually written in the Bible. Any member of a local congregation today is free to rescind his “membership” in that particular body of fellowship. He might even have it revoked.
He is, however, still a member of Christ’s Body.
One objective of any organization is to bring definition to its members, and the privilege of laying down my life for another would often seem to define the very essence of belonging. But being a member of anything would mean nothing to me unless the real substance of that membership is demonstrated through my actions.
So, joining a congregation with the sole intent of confirming my membership in Christ’s Body would seem irrelevant to the realization of that ambition.
However, Jesus Christ’s ἐκκλησία will never end, nor will it lose membership.
Any walls built around it originate in the human heart.
Last Updated: April 30, 2024 by cjournalme Leave a Comment
Different fruit, Same Good News.
Trying to identify the differences between two closely related principles can be confusing.
If a correct definition of either isn’t identified, any contrast between the two can be blurred. This could create an illusion of similarity rather than distinction.
It’s no different when it comes to understanding the differences between certain Biblical terms. And the inductive study process revealed to me what the New Testament apostolic authors actually meant by the words they used, and why they considered their redemption [or what we often call being “saved” today] to be a different issue than their inheritance.
To try to equate the two is like comparing apples to oranges. While both terms define separate concepts, they are related, like fruit being of a common genus. However, they’re not synonymous.
The introduction of the apostle Paul’s letter to the saints who [were] at Ephesus and who [were] faithful in Christ Jesus is a good example of how he understood these two words to be different things:
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Whom we have redemption [ἀπολύτρωσις: setting free, deliverance, release] through His blood, the forgiveness [ἄφεσις: forgiveness, cancellation, release] of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.” [vss. 1:1-8] [my emphasis]
The context here clearly defines Paul’s perception of redemption. God’s quitting authority is what pardons sin and is wholly the result of His good will and nothing else. His Supreme Prerogative to cancel the debt of a man’s specific sin releases him from its liability only because of Christ’s blood having been shed.
In the verses that follow, the readers at Ephesus were able to understand that the two different terms were indeed connected by a process but weren’t the same thing:
“In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Whom also we were assigned by lot [or chosen to inherit], having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed [σφραγίζω: seal, secure with a seal; mark with a seal, set apart by a seal] in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the pledge [ἀρραβών: pledge, guarantee, down payment] of our inheritance [κληρονομία: property, possession(s), what is promised or given by God to his people, God’s blessings, share, part] for the intention of the deliverance [ἀπολύτρωσις: setting free, deliverance, release] of that possession, to the praise of His glory.” [vss. 1:8-14] [my emphasis]
As a result of their belief, the saints at Ephesus had been set apart and “sealed” in Christ. This concept was also understood as having been “purchased” by God. [see: Acts 20:28, Rev. 5:9] The pledge [or promise] was the sole means of their redemption through the Holy Spirit, the Messiah Himself having fulfilled the promise. [see: Gal. 3:13-14]
It seems God’s redemptive measures described here are unique, as nothing in the text suggests there to be a provision for the Buyer to renege, thereby forfeiting His pledge.
So what God redeems for Himself and seals with His name stays that way.
His “purchases” shall be “delivered” to the Buyer and paid back based on productivity. [see: Matt. 25:14-30] God’s redeeming authority was a current reality for the saints at Ephesus. In that sense, they were indeed “saved” from any obligation to consider themselves powerless to the influence of sin.
It was easy for them to see that both redemption and inheritance were based on faith.
Redemption was accomplished by believing in Jesus Christ’s authority to compensate for one’s transgressions against the Lord. But the hope of receiving an inheritance was also conditional to belief, that is, belief validated by a redeemed individual’s desire to demonstrate that belief through obedience to Christ’s commands.
The result of being redeemed by belief is to belong to Christ.
The reward of inheriting with Christ would result in emerging from this present age with sufficient spiritual maturity and forbearance to accomplish the necessary role of sharing in His reign of the coming kingdom on Earth.
Different fruit?
Yeah, but they’re both sweet.