One of Paul’s favourite metaphors for the church was the body of Christ. And it’s an image that’s attractive to many Christians today. It helps us remember that we’re part of something bigger. It helps us to see ourselves as the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. It helps us to understand our diversity while celebrating our unity. What’s intriguing to me is that people can enjoy the idea of being a member of the body of Christ without ever seeing the implications for becoming a member of a local church. So, I want to pose the question, “Can you be a member of the body of Christ without being a member of a local church?”
1. Members of the body of Christ share a deep unity.
Paul famously said, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). By calling us the body of Christ, he was speaking to the deep unity that is at the foundation of our identity as Christians. We not only share the same blood and spiritual DNA, but we act in unison; we move as one. Paul had to point that out to the church in Corinth because they were divided and independent the way that many Christians are today. Becoming a member of a local church is the most basic step in expressing your unity with the body. It’s a simple act that says, ‘I’m committed here and in agreement with the most foundational truths that the church believes.’ For an arm to say, ‘I believe in the general concept of a body but don’t feel comfortable actually joining any particular one,’ would border on ridiculous. Anyone who claims to be a member of the body of Christ should become a member of a local church.
2. Members of the body of Christ are tightly connected with each other.
Sometimes, when the Bible uses a metaphor it’s not always clear what the specific point of application is. Unless it was spelled out clearly, we may not have understood that being members of the body of Christ involved our deep connection to one another. Paul described this both positively and negatively, however. Positively, he said, “From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:16). Negatively, he warned against those who, “[don’t hold] fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:18-19). People who belong to Christ are “joined and held together.” They are “nourished and knit together” through “joints and ligaments.” Are you tightly knit together with the church the way these verses describe? It’s not just describing your relationship with a few Christians you like but the organization of the church as a whole, also. Surely that includes membership. It’s only here that the verses promise, “a growth that is from God.”
3. Members of the body of Christ belong to one another.
The metaphor of the body of Christ probably becomes most uncomfortable in Romans 12:4-5. That’s where Paul declares, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” To say that we’re part of the body of Christ means that we belong to one another. Rip off a foot and the body will bleed out. We vitally depend on each other for our health, strength and support. How can we say that we belong to one another if we don’t even belong to a local church? Being willing to belong to the church is the first step in being willing to share your life with other believers for their good and God’s glory.
Can you be a member of the body of Christ without being a member of a local church? It’s certainly possible but for a true Christian to remain like that is surely inconsistent. Deal with the issues that keep you from taking the step of church membership. And if you have, live out your identity as a member of Christ’s body by acting in unity and tight connection with the body.
In awe of Him,
Paul
