Lesson #2: The Church as the family and body of Christ

I remember vividly sitting around the campfire at Westminster Woods Camp Grounds nestled in the Sonoma County Coastal Redwoods during family camp singing “We are the Family of God.” During the chorus there is an opportunity to vocally declare your allegiance to the words of the song. “We are the family of God, YES! We are the family of God, and he has brought us together to be one in Him that we might bring light to the world.” The chorus was always my favorite because everyone would jump up and declare, YES! This memory has stayed with me for many years because it’s true. There is no doubt about it, if you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior you are a member of the family of God; now let’s get up and declare it like the good old days! The Teacher’s Commentary explains that in the third chapter of Ephesians there are three images which assist us when we think about the church. Two of these images are brought into focus in the midsection of Ephesians. The three images that are communicated to us with the intention to give us a vision of who we are as Christ’s church are those of: a body; a family; and a holy temple. The three images share a common emphasis. Each of them reminds that we are one with our brothers and sisters, even as we are one with Christ. But each of the images also has its own distinctive emphasis:

• The biblical picture of the church as a body reminds us that we are called to a life of good works. Even as our own bodies act to carry out the intentions of our minds, so the body of Christ acts on earth to carry out the intentions of Jesus, our living Head.
  
• The biblical picture of the church as a family reminds us that we are called to a life of love. As the human family is the context for growth and intimacy, so the family of God is a context in which God’s love is expressed to welcome each other and to help each other grow.
• The biblical picture of the church as a temple reminds us that we are called to a life of holiness. As a temple reminds us of the worship of God, our calling as a holy temple is to bring God praise and honor and glory.

Our God in heaven has crafted a unique and distinct organism; the body of Christ! He is the composer and originator of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is diverse and it is full of many individuals with many gifts and abilities. Anyone who is in Christ is a part of the body of Christ. No one body part is superior over the others. It is Christ who is the unifier of the diversity of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is diverse and is full of many individuals with many gifts and abilities. Anyone who is in Christ is a part of the body of Christ. No one body part is superior over the others. It is Christ who unifies the diversity of the diversity of the body of Christ. More then thirty different spiritual gifts are mentioned in the five New Testament listings (1Cor. 12:4-10; 1 Cor. 12:28-30; Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11). The Bible is quite clear that every Christian is gifted for service. All of the gifts that God has given us are closely tied to the Christian virtue of love (1 Cor. 13) because it is love which binds us together and it is love which spurs to reach out in Christ’s name.
The members of the body of Christ make-up the church; a community of men and women who have responded to God’s offer of eternal salvation. If the church looses sight of this fact, an eventual deterioration and demise will occur. “The world needs the church to be the church so that the world can know that God loves the world and that redemption is therefore possible. The church is a sign of hope in the world that redemption is therefore possible. The church is a sign of hope in the world, but if it does not remain distinct from the world it loses its ability to point to the transcendent God.” The church must maintain it true identity as defined by Christ or else Christianity will become just another religion overcome by relativism and pluralism. A religion which seeks to conform to culture instead of seeking to transform culture through Christ’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is imperative for the church to maintain it’s standard and to be active participants in the promises of God, in Christ. “God makes a covenant with his people and separates them from the world as his own possession, and vouches himself for this covenant.”

Introduction
Lesson #1: Above all else
Lesson #2: The church as the body and family
Lesson #3: People or programs
Lesson #4: To consume or to be consumed
Lesson #5: For mine or yours
Lesson #6: Peter Pan & leadership
Lesson #7: Rainbow vs. pot of gold