Fellowship with the Body

Posted by Art Nuernberg on September 16, 2011

The pursuit of God is necessarily both a public and private quest. As one writer put it, “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.” A rich knowledge of God demands fellowship with the Body.

God is a triune Being: one essential unity in three distinct Persons. This defines an essentially incomprehensible Reality beyond our capacity to illustrate without distortion. Nevertheless, God's triune nature stands as one of the foundational truths of the Word of God.

While we cannot fully understand God's being, we can enlarge our understanding of Him through consideration of His nature. For example, God is love. Within the interaction of the Trinity, we begin to comprehend the real nature of love. One facet of this understanding highlights God's love of unity. Working together, submitting to one another, and showing selfless concern for others while pursuing a common cause constitutes the substance of godliness.

The eternal God created various institutions that possess the opportunity to display His love of unity. Consider marriage. God created male and female, with neither being complete alone. The sexes are different physically, emotionally, and psychologically; and Genesis reveals these differences are a blessing, not a problem. The two correspond, forming a complete unit. To realize their potential, each must surrender independence and work together, submitting to one another, showing genuine, selfless concern for the other while pursuing a common cause as a family. In fulfilling God's design in marriage, two individuals have an opportunity to learn what God is really like and display His nature to the world.

The same is true in the Body of Christ. We pray that God will be glorified in us as we get to know Him, but the isolated Christian will never find this prayer answered. We are part of His Body, and we cannot know Him as He intends or fulfill His will for our lives apart from that Body. John Wesley's words greatly impress me. I paraphrase: “There is nothing as un-Christian as a solitary Christian.” He was speaking of those Christians isolated by choice, not necessity. Neither can we know or glorify God as He planned apart from the Church. .

Think of how the church works. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says there are many members. No single member is complete in himself; and no member, no matter how insignificant he may appear, is superfluous. He is part of the Body of Christ, and the Lord is jealous about His Body. Some members are not only more gifted but also spiritually stronger; however, to fulfill the will of the Lord, the entire Body must function together. We must work together, submitting to one another and showing selfless concern for each other while pursuing the common goal of glorifying Christ. This is difficult, and many Christians honestly believe it is impossible, setting aside the concept as fanciful, impractical idealism. As a result, spiritual health suffers.

Our pursuit of God requires that we carefully consider this. Often the person with the greatest motivation to pursue Him grows weary of those who fail to generate the same passion. Danger lurks in this fatigue. A pattern of withdrawal from the halfhearted in order to attain the highest experience of God may develop. If solitude is balanced with commitment to the Body, all may be well. If not, a subtle error may grow which believes the church itself hinders me from my deepest experience with God. Church history is strewn with those who have taken this approach and who have sometimes become examples for others.

There is a significant truth found in the Lord’s letters to the churches in Revelation that those who desire church revival should remember. Seven churches are addressed. Five of the seven have serious, almost unbelievable problems within their congregations. The Lord rebukes sin and calls for repentance. Regardless of their responses, He never calls anyone to withdraw. His concluding promises are for those who overcome, never for those who separate.

How can I know and understand the heart of the One who does not break the bruised reed, who will not quench the smoking flax? Even though I pull away from such believers, it is in the experience of loving the imperfect members of the Body that I grow to know the love of God. Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17-19 that the whole church should be rooted and grounded in love--love for God and love for one another. The goal of his prayer was that through that experience they might together comprehend the love of Christ and ultimately be filled with God's fullness.

The pursuit of God demands involvement with the Body He loves.

Art Nuernberg is a teacher and the Pastoral Director at EI. His posts will be added to the blog every Friday. For more information about Art or any of the other staff members, click here.