Volume 47   Number 7                                                                  March 2005

Jesus promised to do something never before done on earth: He would build His Church upon the great truth that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Whatever your understanding of the Church may be, it is easy to see from what the Savior said that it must be important to Him. How important is His Church to you?

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42) When the Church began on the Day of Pentecost, the first converts to Christ got off on the right foot by doing spiritual things with one another. They realized not only the value of the gospel they had obeyed, but also their need for the fellowship of others of like precious faith. “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47) When you are obedient to the gospel, the Lord adds you to the Church. Is that where you truly are today, my friend?

What a great privilege it is to be a member of the Church! “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22) In the Church we find those with whom we have the most important things in common; fellow citizens of the everlasting Kingdom of Jesus Christ! In the Church we are granted opportunities to grow in grace and to prove our love for God by serving our brethren! (I John 4:20,21)

“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22) The Church is the Body of Christ, and He is the Head! We all understand how important our own bodies are to our existence, yet we often fail to consider how important the Body of Christ is to Him Who is over all! Every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ, and therefore needs to function together with the rest of the Body. We would consider a finger severed from a hand as grotesque, but many think that a member of Christ with no connection to his brethren is normal - or even sophisticated! In reality, the members of Christ are His instruments for carrying out His Perfect Will here on earth. We are His mouthpiece, His hands, feet, fingers and limbs for reaching the lost even as we encourage one another to grow up into the Head! (Ephesians 4:16) “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:19-27) Getting close to God and being spiritual are connected to our fellowship with other believers in Christ! We are taught to consider our fellow-members because God can help them through us, while God helps us through them!

A television celebrity recently offered a public criticism of Christians and was quoted as saying that religion was ‘a neurological disorder.’ His comments are understandable since men typically look at their own opinions as normal while viewing anyone who thinks differently as having some sort of mental deficiency. The unsaved do not quite understand the importance of the Lord or His Church. In addition, we as Christians must expect slander and persecution from a world that doesn’t walk by faith. But with all due respect to the man who thinks religion is ‘a neurological disorder’, he actually has the picture backwards. Believing in our Creator is simply the only way to have true ‘neurological order’ in our brains, while rejection of the One Who made us is ‘disorder’ of the highest nature. By the same token, the attempt by some to have some kind of ‘private’ religion apart from the Body of Christ is to be ‘out of order’ with the Divine Plan!

The Lord made us so that we need one another, especially in the Body of Christ. “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” (I Corinthians 12:18) If you willfully absent ourselves from fellowship with your brethren, you are not only depriving yourself of the best source of encouragement you could ever have, you also defraud the saints of a true blessing - YOU!