Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Good Friday,” in Collects for the Church Year from the Book of Common Prayer
I’ve written previously how I believe the Church to be one of God’s greatest ideas. Unfortunately, this view isn’t shared by many Christians. The “lone Christian” pursuing a personal faith while avoiding all things community is a distinctly American creation. Oh, and it’s not biblical either.
How often have we read, taught or preached Ephesians 2:10 as though Paul was referring to the individual Christian? Read it again:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
There isn’t a whole lot of singular in that sentence. God and Jesus are singular and plural at the same time (that confusing Trinity thing again).
Also, the word “handiwork” is singular. Not because it’s referring to an individual Christian, like we usually teach it, but because it is referring to the ONE family of God (Ephesians 2:19), the ONE temple of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22), the ONE body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16), and the ONE redeemed bride (Ephesians 5:25-27).
And then there’s this gem in Ephesians 4:3-6
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Let me ask the obvious question, leaders. Are we insane?
A Christian without a church community is not a goose without a “v” or a horse without a herd: complete, yet lonely. A Christian without community is a fish out of water, gasping for air, destined in a short time to be spiritually cold, lifeless, and useless.
We need to stop teaching the Bible like it was written to guide an individual’s search for God and meaning outside of the collective. The Christian is meant to be one, yes, but not alone. One in the church. And it’s our job to lead them there.