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7
Church
What Do We Mean by 'The Church?'
by
David Chronic
The messianic church is composed of the royal priesthood of believers. God has plucked us out of the kingdom of darkness, making us priests in the kingdom of His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). The church fulfills that calling of humanity to do God’s will on earth, thus spiritualizing creation, and to offer creation back to God as glory to His name. It is not only cultivating personal relationships with God that characterizes our ministry as priests, but cultivating the indwelling of God’s glory in all the earth. In anticipation of the transfiguration of the cosmos, we minister to God in continuous worship so that the earth may be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). This is our overarching mission to all the nations. The content of priesthood consists of evangelizing, discipleship, pursuing justice, pursuing holiness, ministering forgiveness and prayer. Priestly prayer is based on communion with the Triune God.
Prayer without ceasing means a constant communion and with contemplation on God every moment. It means sitting in His presence, listening to His secrets and receiving power, will and direction for service. It is also the place where our heart delivers back to God in intercession the world in desperation. The heart prayer of priests to God also takes the form of protest. We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” as a protest against hunger and a confession that God is our Provider. We pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” as a seditious act to all those on earth with opposing wills. And we pray, “Our Father in heaven,” because we are called together in community and partnership to live as one family.?
The Church in Partnership
In WMF, a Christian from one local church is sent into mission among the poor, where he or she becomes a member of a different local church. The connection between the sending church and the receiving church is built through relationship. The church is not simply the total number of individual believers but rather a community of persons. Whereas individuals are defined in terms of separation and autonomy, persons are defined in relationship. The church is composed of beings in relationship. The Spirit births fellowship between believers and the Triune God and among the believers themselves (1 John 1:1-4). This is not assimilation to one but integration into fellowship with many. When the Spirit was poured out on the church at Pentecost, the curse at Babel of confusion and division was reversed. However, the reversal did not indicate the uniformity of one language but rather the diversity of many languages. In diversity, the church was united in a common understanding, revelation and purpose.
WMF’s ministry among the poor is through partnership with national believers. We understand partnership as what the New Testament writers call koinonia: fellowship, sharing together, communion.
The koinonia was demonstrated by the breaking down of human divisions. In the New Testament, the word for church is ekklesia, which means “called out.” The church is called out of families, societies and nations. It is called out to give ultimate allegiance to the Triune God; therefore, all other allegiances are subverted and reconfigured. The church gives a new sense of belonging that relativizes other bonds. The church is called out to be a New Family, a New Society and a New People. As members of a new family, gender, social, economic, ethnic and generational barriers are broken. In the church, gender is revolutionized: Women are not the lesser or second but equally receive the gifts of the Spirit, and men no longer use their power to dominate but rather to serve women. In the church, social relations are relativized: The slaves are treated as free with no distinction in social status, and each relates to the other as servant. In the church, the economy is redefined: The “haves” use their assets to lift up the “have-nots” so that he that had gathered much had nothing left over; and he that had gathered little had no lack (2 Corinthians 8:15). In the church, ethnicity is qualified: One ethnic group does not stand against the other, but rather they come together in cultural diversity forming a new culture. In the church, generations are bound together: The old and the young are not divided, but rather generations make up God’s people together in continuity with past generations and with the consideration of future ones. In the family of God there is no longer division because of male and female (gender), slave and free (social status), poor and rich (class), Jew and Gentile (ethnicity) or old and young ---(generation), but in Christ they are one (Galatians 3:28).
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Comments
Greg Carlson
A paper like this is greatly needed! When working with young adults in the Christian Ministries dept. at Trinity, many have a need to wrestle with ecclesiology. In fact, I would like to use this article for my Intro to Ministry class.
Ralph Neighbour
I would agree with this but feel it does not go far enough. The Basic Ecclesia is the literal body of the Son, the Christ, on the earth today. It permits the Son to penetrate a segment of the world that is attached to the body members through relationships and/or geography. The role of Christ today is not to send his followers as salesmen to speak of Him, but rather to so inhabit and empower his ecclesia that He Himself will be manifested, revealing His Presence and Power. He Himself is the Witness. 1 Corinthians 14:24-26 clearly spells this out. I have written, over four years of pondering and study, a special treatise on this subject: "Christ's Basic Bodies." It is my earnest prayer it will lead to further awareness that the ecclesia is the most sacred treasure of God on the face of the earth today.
Antony Billington
Unfortunately, the pdf link doesn’t work.
David Befus
Where do all the resources spent on buildings fit in?
David Chronic
thanks Q for posting this article, and thanks for the comments! Ralph: great ideas on Christ as the witness. That is a beautiful image. This is what I was attempting to point towards in what I said about "indwelt", but you are right that I need to go further. Antony: you can find the full article on the wordmadeflesh website. David: I used to be adamantly against the buildings...and I still think many in the west are wrong-headed in their constructions. but I do think we need to consider building institutions (buildings included) that sustain and support missional communities. (see Hunter's "Change the World").
Gemechu
Its interesting.bless you.
Colby
Exeetmrly helpful article, please write more.
Comments are now closed
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