Authority In The Church: The Body Of Christ!

"And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." (John 17:10).

Hello To All:

One of the recurring realities of the King's Book regards the mystery of God. Much, with regards to who God is and why He does what He does, is hard for us to understand. Most of us, especially in the west, are not comfortable with mystery; especially with regards to God and who He is. Thus, we go to great lengths, with complicated and convoluted thinking, to present explanations that are designed to obscure the mystery and provide us with a level of comfort in our western, rational, logical and humanistic way of thinking. We cannot be in control if there is a mystery. Our fallen nature demands that we be in control. So we deny mystery; and we offer up explanations, that delude us into thinking that we understand; and thus, we are deluded into thinking that we are in control.

But, here is the major problem, with our efforts: we are not supposed to be in control! Rather we are to be in submission to our Master - who is Jesus of Nazareth - who is The Christ, The Son of The Living God. Control of all things, rests in the hands of Jesus Christ!  Amen and Amen and Amen!

The universal reality of - "The Body Of Christ" - is for us, especially in the west, a mystery that we just choose to ignore. In all of our institutional actions, we deny the very existence of this mystery. Our view of the Body of Christ, is confined to the limits of our institutional perspective and influence. In the visible realms, our institutional perspectives are in opposition to the universal reality of: "The Body Of Christ." The institutional perspective demands control of all within its influence. The institutional perspective does not, and will not yield up its perspective of total control to the universal control of Jesus Christ. The institutional perspective stands in opposition to Christ; and thus, is the enemy of the effective proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ.

My beloved brethren, let us all pause and take a deep breath; and if we are all stirred up (and yes, even offended) by what is written in the opening paragraphs of this essay, let us all allow ourselves to be calmed by the Spirit of God. Please give consideration to the possibility that this elder, has in fact, just been used by The Lord our God, to lay before us the truth of our condition. We are a very visibly divided church; and that is not the will of God! As we look back to our opening text, we must confess that we are not glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ, with the abomination of our institutional divisions.

Let us consider some of what the King's Book has to say with regards to: "The Body Of Christ." We begin with Romans 12:1-5:

1. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
2. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
3. "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
4. "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:"
5. "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."

As I consider the above text; as I check it for spelling and punctuation; as I make certain that I have copied it correctly, from the King's Book: I am deeply impacted by how connected we are: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."   At the moment of this writing, there are individuals and groups from 81 countries, visiting this web site; and hopefully being helped on their journey towards: "Victorious Discipleship In Jesus Christ." At the moment of this writing, and for all of eternity: all of us whose lives belong to Jesus Christ are: "one body in Christ."

For those of you who are both visitors and believers, this means that we are "members one of another."
I cannot see you - you cannot see me - in this life most of us will not meet on a one to one basis; and yet, we are part of this incredible mystery: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Let us also be reminded, as the first verse of the Roman's text so clearly states, that our individual and corporate service is to The Lord our God. Our service is not to an institution. Our service is to God; and to no other! The body of Christ is meant to have only one master!

As we continue this journey, let us consider another portion of the King's Book, and what it has to say with regards to our being "one." Please join me in an examination of Ephesians 1:15-23, where we find written:

15. "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,"
16. "Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;"
17. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:"
18. "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,"
19. "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,"
20. "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,"
21. "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:"
22. "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,"
23. "Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."

How is it that we think of ourselves? As we examine our lives - as we look at our individual journey - what kind of conclusions do we come to? The Roman's text (Romans 12:3) tells each believer: "not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think."  We fall into this trap and temptation of thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, when we are focused on our individual journey with Jesus Christ. A right focus causes us to be focused on Jesus Christ. When we have that focus, Jesus Christ takes care of the journey. The Ephesians text comes from a letter written to: "the saints which are at Ephesus" (Ephesians 1:1). This letter was written to the corporate body; and each individual saint was a member of that body; and thus, a member of: the "Body Of Christ."

We do not journey towards that city not made with human hands, isolated from the rest of humanity. As believers, we are "members one of another." We "are one body in Christ." This is not philosophy. This is not conjecture or speculation. This is not just wishful thinking. This is reality! This is truth!

The Ephesians text helps us to comprehend the fullness of this truth: "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." The body of Christ is the church. The church is the body of Christ. And that body, the church, has only one head; and that head is Jesus of Nazareth, who is The Christ, The Son of The Living God. Amen and Amen and Amen.

Now we come to this matter of authority. Since the body of Christ is the universal church; and since the universal church is the body of Christ; and since Jesus Christ is the Head of the body, and thus, the Head of the universal church: we are compelled to conclude that all legitimate authority comes exclusively from Jesus Christ. Thus, we are also compelled to conclude that any individual or group that claims authority and demands submission to certain man-made precepts and commandments, is not a legitimate authority, since it comes from man and not from Jesus Christ. It is only in the context of the universal body of Christ, of which Christ is the head, that all legitimate authority can be rightly manifested and rightly used. A visibly divided church has little understanding of this legitimate authority, that requires absolute and exclusive submission to Christ and Christ alone. We cannot glorify Christ with a visibly divided church.

Please join with me in praying for the visible unity of the "Body Of Christ." Please join with me in repenting of all of the things that we do that contributes to this visible division of Christ's church. Please join with me as members one of another, in glorifying Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen and Amen!

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus