What is the church?

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Scripture

And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
(Ephesians 1:22 NASB)
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
(Ephesians 1:23 NASB)

 

Observation


The church in Ephesus was an interesting group. They had established themselves against the culture of the day which was all about goddess worship. This infiltrated their business culture as well and when Christianity came along it turned everything upside down. These people had come to know Jesus and nothing was comparable to him. He had been raised from the dead and resurrection power defined who he was. God placed all things in subjection to Christ and made him head over the church, which is Christ's body. The church is to be the very expression and fulness of Christ, the one "who fills all in all."

 

Application


To truly understand the church, we must try to comprehend the greatness of Christ. The final line, the one "who fills all in all" is quite mind boggling. We've already been told that everything -- and we mean everything -- is placed under Jesus' feet. That is, everything that we see, everything that we experience, every human authority or power is subject to Jesus Christ. But human powers and authorities are not the crowning jewel. The crowning jewel is the church for this is the expression of God's love for his son. The church is to be the very body of Christ. The church is to be physically and emotionally connected to Christ, who is the head. The church is simply an expression of Christ himself to the world.

If this is true, then we must stop and examine how the church is functioning, and what our role is in the life of the church. First of all, is the church truly functioning as the body of Christ? Or, sadly, has the church taken on a life of its own, trying to exist without having a head? When we become so overwhelmed with protecting the structure and not the founder we have a problem. Jesus doesn't need us for the church to continue to exist. Rather, he chooses to use us for his glory in the work of the church. But all that we do must be done in accordance with him and to his will and purposes for his church. It is not ours!

Once we understand that we must let go of trying to "save" the church and instead, keep our focus on the founder -- Christ -- then we must ask ourselves what our role is in the very life of the church. That role can only be taught us by Christ. We are to have such a personal and intimate relationship with Christ that he, the Head, can lead us to that place where we understand what HE wants us to be doing in the church. This is not something that we are to figure out on our own, but only under the guidance and the leadership of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The One "who fills all in all" is the Head of the church. It is probably quite difficult for us to imagine what filling all in all might look like but I believe that we must understand that Jesus is the ruler, he is the power, he is the authority over everything that has ever been created. Everything that we can see with our eyes, feel with our hands and sense with all the abilities God has given us comes from him. There is nothing that can come from human works alone. This One -- who has done absolutely everything he can for us, the One who fills everything around us -- He is wanting to be the Head of our lives. He is inviting us into fellowship with him through life in the church.

It's far too popular these days to walk away from organized church. Yes, there have been times that the organized church has failed us and there are times when the church gets too hung up on protecting the system -- but can we be a part of the solution, instead of leaving her? She is a wounded body that is in need of healing. If we, as God's people will seek his face and submit ourselves to the authority of Jesus Christ, we will be able to make a difference as we fulfill our role within the body. Don't give up on the body -- instead fulfill your role to the very best of your ability and may this be your worship of our dear loving Savior. He has done everything for us -- he died on a cross for us -- what are we willing to do for him so that his body might be alive and healthy?

 

Prayer


Lord, please help me today to love the church and embrace her with your love. Amen.

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