The Body of Christ

The heart and substance of Christianity is in the life of His church. From the very day we call Pentecost, the Word of God declares, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47). There is no salvation or hope for the future apart from the church. It is His very body and all that He calls or saves–He unites to this living organism. It may be two or three or it may be thousands. You may be part of a local family or you may need to be part of a distance family because Bible churches are not plentiful. If you surrender to Christ and call on Him as the Head of His body, He will plant you with a Shepherd Pastor to watch for your soul.

His body is an invisible entity that can be known and enjoyed only in the Spirit. Most churches are built on the new deception called sociological principles. The leaders of these false religious groups seek the common interest of the unconverted and tailor the church to reflect these ideas. One church did a survey of their community for the music style the greater majority loved and then promised and provided that music as the calling card. They became mammoth almost overnight. It’s a horrible mistake to call that a church. It is actually a sociological club-great for fun-but no relationship to truth. A Bible church is built on truth and when the truth is proclaimed by the Holy Ghost, Christ will build His own church.

Its overwhelming to me how I have personally missed the heart of this truth that "He [Christ] will build His own church." Do not misunderstand, I am not becoming a Calvinist. Yet I know the Calvinist have a little truth just like we Wesleyians do. The truth of the "whosoever will" united to the "sovereign call" that the Father issues is the heart of His church. We must be faithful to exalt Jesus Christ and bellow out His glorious Gospel and then we must retire to the altar to wait for the sovereign call of His Spirit. Both, if Biblically done will create "harvest time." While the radicals on both sides argue from their theological walls, may the real saints and true church get back to the "Book of Acts" Christianity. We are the body of Christ and must become a Spirit-filled church where the hand of God can be visible.

Every saint has a place in Christ’s body. Apostle Paul said, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us" (Romans 12:4-6a). We will give account to Christ for our responsibilities in the body and will be rewarded for our labor. If our works are burned up we will lose our reward. The body of Christ-His church-is every born-again saints’ duty and joy. The success of the body/church should lay heavy on every heart. Every saintly lady is a "mother in the church’ and every man should be "a pillar in the church." My heart will not allow me to be less and I pray your heart will do the same for you.

The glory of the true church is the one secure institution on this earth. Regardless of the raging from the power of evil, the body of Christ will survive. The Son of God left no doubt of this fact. Jesus Christ in responding to Peter’s faith that He was "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19).

Church history is replete with the "Body of Christ" under incredible attack. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the entire arsenal of the devil. But Satan is a defeated foe and the church will be victorious in every assault. The church loses only when it allows itself to cease to be a Bible church.