Tuesday, 28 April 2009

  • The Church Must Be a Tight, Loving Community

    I find it incredible, the many ways we have been created in Elohim's image. Take the trinity as an example. God, by his very nature is communal. He is three in one. Three persons living as one God.

    Likewise, we are many people, living as one family. This is one of many purposes of Christianity.

    The church is a family, and because we are a family, we are one, just as God, though He is three, is one. Community makes us whole. It turns us into a body under the headship of Christ. And as Christ is the head and the fellowship of believers is the body, that makes us one with God as well. Though still unequal as He is the head and we are the body- the body receives its message from the head and acts accordingly. (1 Cor.17-20)

    Paul understood this idea completely. He shows our wholeness by community in another spectacular way: The Bride and Groom analogy, as found in Eph. 5:25-27 and 2 Cor. 11:2.

    And God shows this by direct Revelation to John. The body of Christ (the ekklesia or church) is His bride and He is the groom. And just as scripture says, "For this reason, a man must leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh." So just as a bride and groom are one, we become one, but not equal, with God as the husband leads his wife. Through this, we become complete.

    This is why the church must be a tight, loving community... being complete with God, through God, and by God. It is only through this that we can bring heaven to earth. And in order for us to be complete by God, we need to be pure.

    Purity comes through the blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit, then, dwells within us, connecting us to the Father. When we are connected with the Father, we are made complete. We are whole.

    Simply Beautiful.

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Comments (15)

  • SerenaDante@xanga

    Cute.
  • JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga

    I saw the same thing about children. I love the phrase about it taking a village to raise a child! And I also love the scriptures about us being as members of the body of Christ, how we are all apart of one body. I think that is so cool, :)
  • Mighty_Men_of_Valor@xanga

    @JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga - That is the problem we have now. Most parent let others raise their childern. It takes parents to raise a child.
  • JUSTAVAPORHERE@xanga

    @Mighty_Men_of_Valor@xanga - I don't think I made it clear what I was trying to say. Of course, it takes loving people, but think about all the people our children come into contact with while at school, et cetera, while out at the movies...that is what I meant. They are influenced by more than a set of parents. And, my friend, ANYONE can be a parent, just like anyone can be called "father" or "mother," and as much as we would love to think our actions and such are the only ones our children are impressed by, we would be wrong. I simply meant it takes a village to raise a child, hopefully positively. You would only be fooling yourself to think that you and your wife are the only ones leaving impressions upon your children! :)
  • a_single_raindrop@xanga

    My church has cliques which make me feel unwelcome at times. Luckily now that I'm in the college fellowship, it's better, but in a few years, the clique will be joining me. :(

  • Jeff91199@xanga

    I wish churches were more of the tight and loving communities you mentioned here. And I'm sure that some of them are. But enough of them are cliquish and just as status-driven as the world outside (if you don't fit the mold, you don't fit the church) to turn off even the most dedicated Christian. 
  • deepestrecesses

    My granpa says "we all have the same blood"- that is the Blood of Christ (obviously).  Your intended point is very true.  In our unity Christ will be glorified.  There does need to be more unity, 'tightness' and love (the kind that is taught in the scriptures). 


    I don't intend to nit-pick on your post.  I just want to point out that Christians are simply the followers of Christ. The Body of Christ (Church) is then composed of Christians. So the statement "one of the many purposes of Christianity" is not perhaps right.  "Christianity" is not a 'being' or 'intity' of some kind.  Christ came to lead us- so purhaps the purpose of "christianity" (or being believers) is to follow Christ.


    As well, though I'm sure this was not intended either, "community" (being together) is not what makes us one.  Our "community" or "unity" comes from the victory in the Blood of Christ as an act of Gods grace.


    One thing I think that is beautiful (as you put it) about the Family is that we grow (in Christ) together.  We learn together, are strengthened together, encouraged together, suffer and cry together. 


    "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:16). 


    Is not it amazing that, like you said, God, Jesus, and the Spirit are One, and we have the spirit bearing witness that we are the Children of God? 


    good post and much needed.

  • JJPrint3rd@xanga

    IMO the church is full of two faced backstabbers... I have a personal relationship with God, but it is not based in church. The 3 years that I did not go regularly to a church were some of the times I felt closest to God. The other times have been when I have gone to a home church meeting.
    yea the church might be a "tight community" (i cannot use loving in that quote, I do not see the church as loving) but it really needs to start making people feel welcome.

  • HLPU@xanga

    While we always hope the church would be all of those nice things you posted, it is still staffed by sinful humans beings who make mistakes and do not always follow either of the two commandments.  That is why we are always in need of repentance and forgiveness.  Why to ignore sin is dangerous.  However, that also means those hurt by people in the church need to show the same mercy and forgiveness which God bestows upon us all.  See Lord's Prayer (the 'Our Father') for example.   
  • StepHyKu2517___v3v@xanga

    Loving Community
  • AngelBeast777@xanga
    I react when you require the community be "tight."  I believe you are just saying that the natural result of a community loving one another as Messiah loves us is a sense of closeness.  However, requiring closeness becomes problematic in that intimacy must be earned if it is to be healthy intimacy.  Intimacy that is required is unhealthy.  If there is no freedom to choose one's level of intimacy with the differing members of the community, the community becomes unhealthy and tends toward culthood.

    Thank you for allowing me to vent my spleen on this picayune response to a good post.
  • flowerspushthrudirt@xanga

    Great post. :)
  • SirNickDon@xanga

    @SerenaDante@xanga - Is this your new standard reply to Xian material?
  • SerenaDante@xanga

    @SirNickDon@xanga - No.
  • SirNickDon@xanga

    @SerenaDante@xanga - Oh.  Just checking.

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