Go to Church

“Technically, I really don’t need church”

“ I can just watch sermons online”

“I can pray and read the Bible on my own”

“If I have questions, I can look online to find the answer”

If any of these statements ring true, this blog post is for you.

These were some of the things I recall repeating to myself, many times when I initially became a Christian.

Little did I know I was doing myself a great disservice, greatly misinterpreting what God truly intended the church to be.

My intention for writing this is to encourage and convince believers of the importance of church and why you should be an active participant.

Let’s go straight to the word.

1. Every Christian is a member of the Church

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it

1 Corinthians 12:27 ESV

“YOU”

Who was Paul writing to?

According to 1 Corinthians 1:2, he was writing to the church in Corinth, or more specifically “the church of God” that was in Corinth

However, he also refers to them with 2 different titles in the same verse:

• Sanctified in Christ Jesus

• Called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

According to 2 Thessalonians 2:13, those who have been sanctified [made Holy] by the Spirit of God and believe in the truth [Jesus] are saved.

Paul is speaking to those who were saved in Christ Jesus in Corinth, i.e., believers.

Furthermore, according to Romans 10:13, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

These two titles affirms that the “you” in 1 Corinthians 12:27 refers to the church of God in Corinth, which is synonymous to the those who were saved [i.e., believers of Jesus Christ] in Corinth.

To put it plainly, the church in Corinth = believers in Corinth.

Applying that in our context today, one would be accurate to say that the church in Canada = believers in Canada. Likewise, the believers in Canada = the church in Canada

Biblically speaking, we already see that one cannot simply dissociate from being part of the church if they have in fact believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“THE BODY OF CHRIST”

Scripture affirms that “the body of Christ” and “the church” are synonymous.

“And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent”

Colossians 1:8 ESV

This passage above, equates the “body” and the “church” to possess the same meanings. Furthermore, looking at Colossians 1:10, we see that the “he” referenced in Colossians 1:8 is referring to Jesus Christ.

In other words,

“the church” = “the body of Christ” = believers (plural)

Not a building with 4 walls where people gather to worship every Sunday

But the people themselves make up the church/ body.

“INDIVIDUALLY MEMBERS OF IT”..

Paul declared to the believers in Corinth that they were individually members of the church.

This statement makes two things very clear:

1. The church consists of more than 1 person
2. All believers are individually members of the collective church

These realities should challenge any notion that we can have “church” by ourselves, when scripture instructs us otherwise.

Consider this other passage:

*

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many.¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
1 Corinthians 12:14-15

Basically, if we catch ourselves saying stuff like

“I’m a Christian..but I’m not really about this whole church thing”

We’re basically “the hand” in the scripture above. We can’t take ourselves out of it

Like ever lool

Next thing to consider is that…

2) The Church is made up of MANY members

¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ
1 Corinthians 12:12

The verse is pretty much self-explanatory. A body would not be complete without eyes, hands, feet, etc.

Despite its oneness, each member has a unique function in order to better serve the body as a whole.

We ALL need each other

¹⁸But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable
1 Corinthians 12:18-22

How can someone smell without a nose? Hear without ears? (1 Corinthians 12:17)

God intentionally made the church to be diverse, so that even the “weakest” of members would be considered needed. This need promotes unity within the body of Christ whiles preventing divisions from forming within the church (1 Corinthians 12:23-25).

There’s a reason why only some (not all) Christians are apostles, teachers, workers of miracles, able to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:29-30).

Not to idolize each other, but to serve and to be served by one another.

3) A Call for Empathy

²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together
1 Corinthians 12:26

The church is a place, where we’re literally all united through the blood of Christ.

Therefore, if one of us suffers, whether it be loss of life, persecution or anything else, we all suffer.. together as if it happened to us.

Learn to actively share each other burdens (something I seriously need to work on myself!)

More importantly, if ONE is honoured, ALL rejoice.

Or in “today’s term”.

Don’t hate when someone else is winning..or better yet when another church group (that’s not yours) is winning.

At the end of the day

We’re all trying to attain the same goal.

To inform the world about Jesus Christ, and display His nature throughout all the earth

(This song by Collision records, puts things into perspective as they collaborate with various Christian artists celebrating each other’s success).

Finally,

To the individuals who are tired of going to church every Sunday, frustrated by the lack of love displayed among Christians and deeply hurt by offensives experienced in church

I’ve been there.

I hear you.

Are there legitimate reasons to leave a church group? Absolutely! (Click here to see some)

But don’t be so quick to dismiss a church fellowship over a few mishaps that could’ve been fixed with a little communication (Matthew 18:15-17)

God intentionally made us to serve one another and never intended for us to be alone.

It’s time to truly re-think church from a biblical perspective rather than neglecting something God initially intended for us to enjoy

Soli Deo Gloria