I N
A M B I G U I T Y
CHRIST’S
C H U R C H
The Church is called to gather [Hebrews 10:25] and the Church is called to go [Matthew 28].
When we gather, we are reminded of our unity in Christ and serve in diverse ways as we are graced [Ephesians 4]. As we go, we are meant to utilize the different gifts of Spirit to lead the world into the fullness of the body of Christ.
Yet, when we emphasize one gift more than another, we misrepresent the way Christ’s body operates. When we emphasize unity apart from diversity, we mistake difference as divisive.
In the end, this misrepresentation of the body and mistaking of different parts leads to ambiguity in Christ’s Church as we end up preaching ourselves and not Christ.
This ambiguity is not happenstance.
No, it is the result of an inoperable, ill-equipped body.
No matter the quality of leadership or well-meaning intention, believers who gather and never go will progressively drift toward a fixation on man rather than on Christ. Just the same, believers who go and neglect the gathering will engage others with a self-motivated savior complex, but find the world viewing them as only inadequate substitutes for Christ.
The preached word, no matter how gospel-grounded, only tickles the ears [2 Timothy 4:3] of those who gather and never go. For those who go and deemphasize the gathering, the presentation of the gospel to the world highlights hardened hearts [Hebrews 3:7–10], but minimizes the voice of God in the testimony of the saints [Revelation 12:11].
We are meant to gather and we are called to go, but neither of us has been left to do any of this alone.
Ambiguity leaves the edges unfinished, even when things are clear. Yet, the authorship of the LORD has shored us up and set it so that we are made for a body of which we are only a part and called to a work we can only do with the gifts of His Spirit.
Some years ago, we purchased a new vehicle. It was in the early stages of our marriage and, at the time, it was just the two of us.
As our family grew we noticed that this car had no air vents in the backseat. What was once a profoundly, useful vehicle was now an inconvenience for our growing family.
We often treat the gathering of believers in this same way—as a vehicle and not a body. Yet, the gathering of believers is not a vehicle to a destination or pre-determined end. As true as it is that we have been called to fulfill Christ’s commission, we were made for more than Christ’s commission. We were made for Christ, Himself—made to be His body here on the earth.
This is where some get it right and, yet, still get it wrong.
There is a time when the commission will cease and we will be present with Christ. Therefore, to preach Christ’s commission and not lead people to live as fully equipped followers is to do a disservice to all.
Each individual has a body with God-given gifts and wrestles with weakness. Every believer is part of the collective body among a congregation of others, fit together, in partnership with Christ. Then, together, with the crowd of witnesses across generations, the collection of believers are the body of Christ.
It is true that each follower will hear the LORD’s invitation into His Kingdom.
It is just as true that to the body of the saints across time the LORD will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” For we, together, are the servant of Christ—we, together, are the body of Christ.
What has already been said of Christ, Himself, will soon be said of us. For as the body of Christ, we receive the same call and commendation as Christ.
To enter into this fully, while here on earth, we must know more than the call and live on more than conviction.
Each individual must be equipped to play the proper part.