Meaningful Membership 270425
Key Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12 – 31
The Bible teaches that being part of a church is more than just attending services; it’s about being a part of a community of believers. This community helps us grow in our faith, support one another and serve God together. People in society aren’t against the idea of membership. They absolutely love being members of the choirs, women’s institute, rugby clubs, or the gym.
Maybe it’s because church membership isn’t always clearly defined. It’s like eating lava bread – when you don’t understand it, it might seem a bit strange, but give it a try and you might just like it! Life’s meant to be shared, not walked through alone. We’re called to be a supportive and loving group of believers and the Bible says so.
Membership can be a bit confusing and it’s easy to get it wrong, apply it in the wrong way or not use it at all. We’ve often thought of membership like joining a special club, or like the old American Express commercial where they say ‘membership has its privileges.’ That however, is not the way the Bible refers to membership. In fact, in 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul doesn’t say the church is ‘like’a body. He says the church ‘is’ a body. The phrase he uses to describe the individual connectedness, is we are ‘members of the body.’
The word ‘member’ in the Bible is more closely related to the medical word ‘member’ meaning a body part or organ because language can have a different meaning dependent on the context.
As an example, some people have ‘lost a finger or toe in an accident.’ Were they careless or forgetful? No! we understand it means they were dismembered. Dismemberment literally means a part of your body/member was separated from the rest of the body. Yet today in Western culture, being separated from the body of believers is not tragic. but normal. It is almost a false understanding that Christians and churches should be separated and to be a ‘Lone Ranger’ Christian is normal.
Paul’s understanding of holiness is primarily communal. God is not just making individuals holy which He undoubtedly does but He is making a people Holy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Why then do we have membership? Because regardless of how the culture sees it or Christians misunderstand it, membership is not simply an opportunity to say, ‘I’m a part of a club’, but rather it’s a Biblical expression of covenant connectedness to a body of believing people.
1.Membership Reflects What the Church Is.
Membership is a reflection of the organic community that exists in the body. Paul says we are a body. ‘Can one part say to the other, ‘I do not belong to the body’ 16 No, it is already a part. But too often we live as if we are separated.
In the spiritual too many churches or Christian gatherings look like a massacres with piles of dismembered body parts, instead of a body knit together as God’s representative, His body, His kingdom at work in the world.
To reject the value of membership is to deny the template God has already put in place as a model for Christian community
‘Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.’ – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
This scripture showcases the benefit of partnership within the church, highlighting how we support and uplift each other during difficult times.
2.The Bible Teaches Covenant Community.
We find in Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth, that they were putting people out of the body. So Scripture teaches that we can be a part of the body and consequently can be separated from the body.
It is difficult to get around Scripture. when it clearly talks about being brought into the body and also being put out of it. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 (whole chapter) 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of a brother…
Yet for some assemblies, there’s no way to put someone out because they were not even in. While there seems to be flexibility between various streams/denominations. There is no such thing in the N.T. as a church without some recognition of belonging, of partnering in community together.
‘And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ – Hebrews 10:24-25
3.People Need Church Membership.
Lastly, we recognise Biblical membership matters because people/we need it. We need commitment to one another, whatever that looks like because we need to be connected to a Christian community.
This is not just for the sake of the faith community (Building the body) Being part of a church community is instrumental in facilitating our spiritual growth.
When we worship together, study together, and support one another, our faith deepens. The church provides a space for learning, teaching, and challenging one another in our belief. We are exposed to various teachings and insights, helping us to grow deeper in our understanding of God. Church membership allows us to engage in activities like small groups and Bible studies, that nurture our faith and strengthen our relationship with Christ and each other.
Commitment for the sake of the body but also for the sake of the individual (serving one another)
We are gifted with unique talents and abilities, and being part of a church helps us discover and use these gifts for God’s work. Serving alongside fellow believers fosters camaraderie and reinforces our bonds as we work towards a common mission. Whether it’s through outreach, teaching, or helping out at church events, we embrace the spirit of service that God calls us to. Together, we can significantly impact our local and global communities.
Commitment is necessary above all for Jesus sake. John 13:35 ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’
Jesus commissions us to grow and make disciples. In our church, we are equipped and encouraged to fulfil this calling and share our faith with others.
‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ Matthew 28:19-20
Individualist Christianity is a myth and a damaging pursuit. At the end of the day we’re redeemed. We’re placed in the body of Christ. ‘The body does not consist of one member but of many’ v.14 We are not brought out of something into nothing:
From Orphan into family, Darkness into light, Wrath to peace, Mourning to joy, Lost to found, Guilty to righteous, Sinner to saint, Mystery to revelation, Lost to found, Separated to reconciled, Condemned to forgiven, Slave to free.
The Bible specifically says God has redeemed us. He has transferred us, Colossians 1 says, from …the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves.13
A kingdom exists because it has a king who exercises dominion (Kingdom) The king has subjects and His kingdom has a community where together we function as God’s people.
Membership Matters because God makes us a part of His larger family when we are born again. But then we need to covenant in a local body and live in community with them, agreeing to live by certain established Godly principles and standards. Membership doesn’t save us. But it enables us to grow and become spiritually mature in Christ.