“She gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes andlaid him in a manger.” (Luke 2: 7)
Pilate “Granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb.” “Mark 15:46
In these two passages I saw recently as I had never seen before just how fully Jesus had shared in our humanity. He came as we all did from his mother’s womb, helpless and dependent, was lovingly and warmly wrapped and laid in his crude cradle, the manger. And at the end a lifeless body was lifted from the cross, tenderly wrapped in a linen shroud and consigned to a tomb. In these two, and between the two, birth and the grave, he entered into the total experience of our humanness with all its emotions, temptations, tensions. As Charles Wesley has it:
“Let earth & heaven combine,
Angels & men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made man.
He laid His glory by,
He wrapped Him in our clay.
Unmarked by human eye,
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days He here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel’s name.”
Praise God, the tomb was not the end, but “He was designated Son of God in poweraccording to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)
Andthe suffering of death was “So that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.” (Hebrews 2:9b) And through that death was that “He might destroy him who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.”
Such is some of the meaning of the incarnation we celebrate at this time.
I recently read the article by Frank Viola on the subject of what he calls “The post-church phenomenon.”< http://www.ptmin.org/postchurch.pdf> in which he insists that only where believers are meeting regularly together in a locality is there true church. Those outside such fellowships are by his definition “The Phantom church.”This set me to reviewing once more where I stand in relation to Church and what it is, because I am one who has no such regular meeting together with fellow believers, as I am sure are a multitude of others.
I first went back to Scriptures which have been so crucial to my own story. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says, “We were all baptized by one Spiritinto one body.”And in v. 27 of the same chapter, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” Thus I can be sure that, as a believer I am incorporated in the Body, the Church.
Then in Ephesians 2:19-22 I received fresh encouragement specially from The Message, “God is building a home. He’s using us all irrespective of how we got here in what He is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now He’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day, a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.”
Again, in the same epistle 2:19-20, “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in who you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
In 1 Peter 2:4-5, an epistle interestingly enough written to “exiles”, the Apostle tells us that, having come to Jesus, we are being built (not we are building) into a spiritual house. Then in v.9 he says , “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.”
From these and a number of other Scriptures which I could quote, I am absolutely assured that I am in God’s Church, and I continue to be in it whether I am meeting regularly with others in a gathering or not. I have known the blessing of being built along with other believers in frequent meeting. Now, I do not have that particular joy, but I still meet together with others who visit me, or whom I encounter during the day or share a meal with. I talk with brothers in different parts of the world on Skype. In all of these situations I am experiencing Church.
I have said before that it is a small step from organism to institution, and when one starts to make rigid and exclusive definitions of what true Church is, the seeds of institutionalism are already present. Dietrich Bonhoefferin his little book “Living Together” has this to say in its first truth-filled chapter, “Life together under the Word will remain sound and healthy only where it does not form itself into a movement, an order, a society, a collegiam pietetatas, but rather where it understands itself as being a part of one holy, catholic Christian Church.” And Thomas Kelly in “The Eternal Promise” writes, “It was a tragic day when the fellowship of the early church groups faded out into church membership.” And ,”From Fellowship to Membership is to cross a great and tragic divide.”
There is no “PhantomChurch” but only one Church of the Lord Jesus Christ which He Himself is building and we who belong to Him are in it wherever and however we may meet.
I have recently been revisiting with great profit some of the George MacDonald novels edited by Michael Phillips. MacDonald’s heroes are invariably dedicated followers of Jesus who seldom or never “Go to church”.
In “The Musicians Quest” The chief character is explaining to a friend how he, a doctor, and others serve the Lord among the poor in London. Here is their conversation:
“Are you a society?” I asked at length.
“No. At least we don’t use the word.”
“What are you then?”
“Why should we be anything as long as we do our work?”
“Do you lay claim to no designation of any sort?”
“We are a church if you like. There!”
“Who is you clergyman?”
“Nobody.”
“Where do you meet?”
“Nowhere.”
“What are your rules then?”
“We have none.”
“What makes you a church?”
“Divine service.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The sort of thing you have see tonight.”
“What is you creed?”
“Jesus Christ.”
“But what do you believe about him?”
“We believe in him. We consider belief in him, however small far better than any amount of belief about him.”
And later the same hero says, “You must not imagine the result depends on you, or me. The question is, are you having a hand in the work God is doing? It shows no faith in God to make frantic efforts or lamentations. God will do His work in His time in His way. Our responsibility is merely to stand ready and available to go where He sends and do what comes our way.”
Then, a few days ago, I received an e-mail from a friend, who had been a patient of mine in my early days in New Zealand, in which she described herself, in a phrase that I felt I had to share, as being “A freedom walker for God” for the last forty years. You can see her blogs at http://howiseethings-boo.blogspot.com/
George MacDonald himself, his heroes and my friend are examples of living in the truth of the word Jesus spoke, “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” Paul too urged the Galatians to walk in freedom telling them, ”For freedom Christ has set us free, stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Being a follower of Jesus is, at its simplest and yet most profound level, living in an unbroken circle of love. Supremely, and initiating this circle is the everlasting love of the Father, which come to us through His Son the Lord Jesus. Receiving this love so unfathomable and freely given arouses in us a responding love of the Father and the Son Completing the circle the love of God which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit flows out from us to each other. That seems to be the essence of the teaching of Jesus in His last discourse with His disciples recorded in John 13-17.
As I have been thinking and meditating on this over the past week or two, I kept remembering two elderly widows in a small rural town whom I came to know. They were both patients of mine and I also used to meet them in the church where I preached from time to time. These two remarkable ladies were affectionately known in the town and district by two nicknames, “The Hallelujah sisters” and “The Angels”. To me they were outstanding and shining witnesses to the reality of that circle of love. In any conversation with them it soon became evident that they knew without a shadow of doubt that they were dearly beloved by the Father and the Son, and that they loved the Lord with all their hearts. Their faces simply glowed. Out of that experience of being loved and loving came their lives of love to others. In their town was a heavily drug addicted young solo-mother with twin babies. When she was stoned on drugs the children lay unchanged and unfed in their cots. These two ladies, both in their seventies would go in, change the soiled nappies, feed the babies, wash the bed clothes and tidy up the house, all with no word of condemnation and nothing but love. No wonder the heart of that young woman was deeply touched!
In his Galatian epistle Paul expresses his disappointment about those believers who had been thrown off course by the legalist Jews. “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth” That final phrase “Obeying the truth” has been much in my thoughts since I last posted a blog.
It was not that these believers did not know the truth. It had been plainly set before them in Paul’s teaching from the beginning, and at first they had walked in it, but now they were abandoning that way of truth and falling into the awful bondage of legalism.
When truth is revealed to us and we perceive it we are inevitably faced with a choice. It is possible to give mental assent to it but to fail to obey it. We may even go so far as to proclaim it and teach it but yet fail in obedience. I am thinking particularly of the truth concerning the Church as it is revealed in the Scriptures. When we come to see that the New Testament knows nothing of a church which is institutional, depending on special buildings and hierarchical organizations, but rather reveals a living organism of which the Lord Jesus is the Head and each part related to Him and to each other. We then face this question, “Will I obey?” Should this revelation come when we are already embedded in the institutional mode, maybe for a long time, as I myself was, obedience to the truth may be costly in terms of previous ministries and friendships. For the apostle Paul it meant abandoning all that he had passionately devoted his life and learning to, the conservation of Judaism, but he says, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” In Philippians 3:4-11 he movingly tells of all he gave up for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, in other words he obeyed the truth.
It has been my sad experience to meet other believers who have openly acknowledged that their way of institutional church is not that revealed in the New Testament, but the hindrances to obedience have been too strong for them to break free. One said to me, “I know what you are saying is true, but I cannot take that road.”
This is written to encourage any who are facing the question of what to do about Church to look into the Scriptures, asking the Holy Spirit to guide into the truth and then to obey what He reveals.
This morning I read and reflected on Psalm 40 in the NIV and Message versions. In so many ways I found myself identifying with the psalmist’s experiences. Like him I too can look back to being dramatically lifted out of “the slimy pit and the mud and the mire” and re-established on the rock with a song of praise in my mouth and a renewed commitment to love and obey Him. I was specially thinking of an amazing and instantaneous deliverance from several years of a dark depression following emotionally traumatic experiences post-independence in the Congo. As I now review my long life, I share the author’s astonishment and gratitude for the wonders He has done and the things that He planned. But I also share in the awareness of my vulnerability and weakness and of the ever-present aggression from enemy of our souls, who grants no exemptions because of age!
At the center of the Psalm is the prayer “May your love and truth always protect me.” (NIV) The Message makes it an assertion and says “Your love and truth are all that keeps me together.” And this was the word which was specially quickened to my spirit today. Through everything that life may throw at us, the highs and lows, the ecstasies and the gloom, the victories and defeats, here is the secret of security and stability in God’s love and God’s truth.
Traveling in thought through my life’s years I can say “Amen!” to the Message version. In the crises , in the struggle with doubts and temptations, in dealing with bereavement these two, Father’s love and truth, have been and are my anchor sure and steadfast. Both the love and the truth are made real in the person of the Lord Jesus. He is the truth and He it is through whom I receive Father's unfathomable love. Facing whatever lies ahead I also make the prayer my own, that His love and truth will continue to be my protection to the end of this earthly journey
Since my last blog I have had a sharp reminder as to the slenderness of the thread which ties us to this earthly life. A few days before my 86th birthday, with no previous warning signs, I suffered a heart attack and spent five days in the Coronary Care unit of our local hospital. Thanks to the marvels of modern medical technology I have emerged with three stents in my coronary arteries, which should significantly diminish the risks of further attacks. The love and prayers of family and friends were greatly appreciated.
In the weeks before all this happened I had been thinking much about Hebrews 11:27b which tells us that Moses “Endured as seeing Him who is invisible.”
It was the poet Wordsworth, who said in one of his sonnets,
“The world is too much with us, late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”
He correctly discerned how we tend to be dominated by the visible and tangible which all seem to be so real. But there is another realm, not seen by the mortal eye, in which lie the ultimate realities of truth and life, the realm of God’s kingdom into which Moses saw.
It was the same spiritual vision which sustained the apostle Paul in suffering and persecution. He says, “So we do not lose heart….. Because we look not to the things which are seen but to the things which are unseen; for the things which are seen are transient, but the things which are unseen are eternal.” (2Corinthians 4:16, 18)
Peter was another with eyes on the unseen. “Without having seen Him you love Him; though you do not now see Him you believe in Him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy” (1Peter1:8)
The Jesus Himself told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
In his great prayer in Ephesians 1; 15-23 Paul asks for the believers in Ephesus that they may have “The eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power in us who believe.”
So each day I have been asking the Lord to quicken that faculty of seeing with the eyes of the heart, so that I live, not dominated by all the transient things of the world, but consciously aware of the ultimate realities of the Kingdom and its King, for therein lies the secret of not losing heart, of patient endurance and of unquenchable joy.
