EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY - The nature of the church

EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY - THE CHURCH

THE BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?

EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?

GOD - MAN
Is Jesus really God?

RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?

SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?

TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.

SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.

FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?

GUIDANCE
How does God guide?

REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.

BORN AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?

SAVING FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven

ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?

TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?

MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.

THE CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the new millennium.

PURPOSE
How can I find a great purpose for living?

IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of God.

SELF-ESTEEM
How can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.

LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.

THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.

Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.

The nature of the Church

If the God we have pictured above is the God who created human beings, sent his Son to die for them, and who called the church into being, then let's look at some of the implications of this as they relate to the nature of the church and what it is intended to be. Then we will explore these implications for the church's mission in the world.

The Old Testament emphasis on community

In beginning our discussion on the church as the community of God's people, it may be helpful to take a quick journey through the Old Testament to note the emphasis there on community. In the Biblical story of the creation of humans, we read that God's stated purpose was to make us "in our image, in our likeness" (Genesis 1:2 - "our" referring to God). No doubt, this implies a number of things. We are autonomous beings with intelligence and feelings, and are responsible for our decisions. We have a spiritual side to our nature that enables us to have a relationship with God. However, here I want to focus on another aspect of our "likeness" to God. We are social beings, created for community. Note the plurals "us" and "our" in Genesis 1:26, with reference to God. As God is a community of persons, so are we called to be, in relationships with others, and we cannot find our true being or destiny without those relationships.

"As God is a community of persons, so are we called to be, in relationships with others, and we cannot find our true being or destiny without those relationships"

In both the instances in which it is declared that we are created in God's likeness, both male and female are mentioned (Genesis 1:27; 5:2). It is significant that the only reason given in Genesis 2 for the creation of the woman was to help man not to be alone. The woman was to be the necessary counterpart of the man for the making of community. She was "a helper suitable for him" (2:18). This does not mean that woman was in any sense inferior. The Hebrew word for "helper" ('ezer) is consistently used to describe God's intervention as a rescuer in human situations of need (Exodus 18:4; Psalm 33:20; etc). In this sense a helper is not someone to be used as a convenience but is the condition for survival. The woman was given to the man as the fulfiller of the purpose for which they were both created - the making of the community of oneness.

The story of the woman's creation, whether taken symbolically or literally, continues this theme. Woman is taken from man, not from his head to rule over him or from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side. Oneness is divided, the woman from man. This requires that they be united again. But this time it is the man's turn to move. He separates from his parents to be joined to her again in order to become "one flesh" with her. It could be said that man becomes three times servant to the woman. First, he is put to sleep in order to give of himself that the woman may receive her being. Second, he leaves his parents for her sake. Third, he brings his life to her. We see foreshadowed here Paul's statement about Christ's relationship to the church which he proposed as a model for husbands: "he gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25). Servanthood and mutual submission constitute the essence of oneness relationships. This emphasis on community was strengthened by God's two commands, to raise children and to bear responsibility for the rest of his creation, both activities necessary for community. But notice that these commands were given equally to both men and women (Genesis 1:28). Both were to be shared responsibilities. So God greatest achievement is not the creating of humans but the creation of community, for he himself is community.

"The rest of the Bible is the story of God's search for men and women and his plans for rebuilding the community they had destroyed"

In the story of the creation of the first community of man and woman it is probable that the expression "one flesh" is meant to convey a lot more than just sexual union. Old Testament scholar Otto Pipers says in The Biblical View of Sex and Marriage:

Flesh, in the biblical sense, denotes not only the body but one's whole existence in this world: and the attainment of oneness of the flesh, therefore, creates a mutual dependence and reciprocity in all areas of life. One is ready to sacrifice his life for the other person, one feels that life is valueless apart from him, and one wants to be and to act like him. Without previous examination one is able to share his views.

In Genesis 3 we read of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God. This had serious consequences. The focus now changes. The emphasis is on women's role in childbearing and man's role in provision of food. Man dominates the woman (Genesis 3:16-19). Not only is their relationship with God affected (3:23, 24), but also their relationship with one another. In the next generation, the first murder occurs (Genesis 4). This process of community disintegration is taken a step further when, as a result of their attempt to build society on human rather than divine values, their ability to communicate is confused and they are scattered over the face of the earth (Genesis 11:1-9).

The rest of the Bible is the story of God's search for men and women and his plans for rebuilding the community they had destroyed, a community that would be based both on a relationship with himself as well as with one another. He began with one man, Abraham (Genesis 12), and his descendants, the Israelite nation. At Sinai, God declared to Moses his intention for the nation. "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5, 6). Israel was to be a demonstration to all the nations of what it meant to be God's people and what true community was all about. The rest of the Old Testament is the story of the ups and downs of this relationship between God and the people he had chosen. Despite the constant failure of Israel to remain faithful to this covenant, God's purposes were not thwarted, as this was only preparation for a greater plan yet to be revealed.

Even during a time of apostasy, when God's judgement came in the form of national destruction by the Babylonian army, the prophet Jeremiah could look Foreward to the day when God would create a new covenant with his people. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people...For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This theme of being the "people of God" is repeated again and again in the Old Testament. It was to have its true fulfilment in the coming of Jesus.