When question of fellowship ecclesial or inter ecclesial – are considered, Paul’s parable of the one body is often referred to. This is as it should be. However, a superficial review, or a first impression, of the one body may lead one to suppose that the only thing to be desired is “unity,” unity without artificial “barriers” or pesky “requirements.”
True unity is, of course, something to be greatly desired, but it simply cannot be achieved by brushing aside the scruples and concerns of other brethren. It can, perhaps, be achieved by all prospective parties becoming aware of those scruples and concerns, and by a loving and submissive spirit willing to go “the second mile” in addressing them.
I Corinthians 12, one body
“The body is one” (I Cor. 12:12). The Father generally places believers together in “families.” The ecclesia is more often the object of concern than is the individual standing alone. No man should live to himself; that would be a direct contradiction of Paul’s elaborate allegory. A very important lesson of one’s spiritual education is to learn to think and to act unselfishly as part of the one body, and not selfishly as a separate individual, even as regards one’s own salvation.
The beauty and purpose of the human body is in its diversity. A severed foot or hand is repulsive and ludicrous. It is obviously dead and useless. But a living, healthy body, with all its parts functioning smoothly together, all perfectly coordinated in movement and purpose, is attractive, powerful and useful.
Likewise with the spiritual body of Christ. No single member can be a body in itself- no matter how skilled or wise. No one of us can stand alone. We may, by unavoidable circumstance, find ourselves in lonely isolation, but we are still part of the body and we must think and act as part of the body. Those who live for themselves alone, no matter how holy they may strive to be, are – like the severed hand – a monstrosity. So it would be very wrong for an individual to leave the one body for some real or imagined shortcoming or fault of his or her own, or of someone else: “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body” (vv. 15,16).
Indeed, the strength of the human body is in its diversity of abilities and characteristics: “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?” (vv. 17-19).
The analogy works on many other levels. Imagine a baseball team, with 20 of the best pitchers available, but no catchers, no fielders, and no hitters. Imagine a football team with 30 great offensive and defensive linemen, but no quarterbacks, no running backs, and no receivers, or a choir composed solely of sopranos. All the parts are needed to make the whole effective.
No schism
Just as it would be wrong for any individual to leave the one body of Christ, thinking he was not needed, so it would be wrong for any individual to push others away from the one body, as though they were not needed: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!” (v. 21).
So Paul presses home the point: there should be no division (schism) in the body (v. 25). “And if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it” (v. 26). Life itself teaches everyone that pain in one member affects the whole body and the loss of one part, even a small toe, can seriously affect the balance of the whole. True believers have always been concerned about the whole body: Moses interposed himself as a would-be sacrifice on behalf of his blind and erring countrymen (Exo. 32:30-33). Nehemiah, David, Daniel and the other prophets showed no sign of disassociating themselves from Israel, no matter how wayward their bre-thren became. These men had learned the Bible doctrine of the one body long before Paul articulated it.
One organization
In all the foregoing, it should be realized (although a superficial review might not reveal the force of this point!) that Paul is exhorting individuals who are – or should be – participating members in the same religious organization. And – let it be noted – the same is true of what follows.
In Romans 12:4,5, Paul gives what might be called the “abridged” version of I Corinthians 12: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
That last phrase adds another dimension: “Each member BELONGS to all the others!” There is a price to be paid, a toll to be exacted, for the privilege of belonging to the one body – and it is this: that every member is not just his own any more. Rather, every member, in some sense, belongs to all the other members! There is a mutual responsibility, accountability and obligation attached to membership in the one body. Being a member means being aware of, and concerned about, and committed to that which is of benefit to the whole – even if it must come at the expense of one’s own personal comforts and desires.
God did not design any part of the human body merely to act as a parasite and draw nourishment from the rest! Instead, He has designed every part to give something back. The same point should be made about the one body of Christ. How important to each of us is the body of Christ? Do we truly feel a part of all it does — primarily the local ecclesia? Do we ask how we can help the whole, not just how the whole can help us? Do we look for the areas, and the activities, where a helping hand is needed, and pitch in without being asked or solicited? Are we always considering how we can build up and edify? Or are we only concerned about our own ease and comfort and edification?
The first “unity”
The “one body” also finds expression in Ephesians 4:4-16, where it appears as one (indeed, the first!) of the seven “unities” of the Gospel:
“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (vv. 4-6).
It is worth noting here, and stressing, that unity implies exclusivity. What does this mean? Consider, for example, the implication of “one God and Father of all:” this fact means there cannot be two, or three, or seventeen “gods.” And on and on we might go through the seven “unities.”
Do we appreciate how deep and profound is the biblical exhortation, then, to preserve, edify and strengthen the one body of God’s Son? It is no less than a travesty of Bible teaching if we allow ourselves to be satisfied with the prospect of two, or three, or a dozen separate bodies of believers all claiming, implicitly, to be parts of the one body! Brethren, such things ought not to be!
Paul continues his thought about the one body in Ephesians 4:16: “From him [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” It is essential, he is saying, that each part of the one body be joined together with the other parts, bound together and interconnected by whatever means possible, doing its work and upholding its mutual obligation – with all other parts – to strengthen the collective body, of which it is itself a part! None of this can be done, it should be pointed out, from outside the body!
A practical issue
At this point, an interesting question must be raised: how do we define the “one body”? The answers we give may lead us in very different directions. On the one hand, we may say that, ideally, the “one body” consists of all individual believers in the true gospel – wherever they are found and whatever they call themselves and however (if in any way!) they organize themselves.
On the other hand, we may say that, practically or pragmatically, the “one body” must be the largest group of true believers that are – like the “body” of I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12- actually bound together, organized and arranged so as to strengthen and edify one another and the whole in some meaningful fashion.
In the real world, so to speak, this latter definition must lead us to the Christadelphian Central Fellowship. This community comprises by far the greatest number of believers worldwide (approximately 95% of the whole) whose stated beliefs are in accord with the gospel of the Bible. To see any other entity as the one body would immediately rule out of the equation the overwhelming majority of all those publicly holding the gospel, and because even the idealistic definition of the “one body” must take into account the overwhelming majority of believers in the true gospel. Furthermore, in terms of edifying the whole body, providing welfare and other assistance to those members in need, and proclaiming the gospel in an effective and organized manner, in all this, the worldwide Central Fellowship may be seen to fit the definition of the one body far better than any other “organization” or “fellowship.” (Does this mean that Central brethren or Central ecclesias are in any sense more righteous than their counterparts which are not “in Central”? No, nothing of the sort! But it does suggest that, if we are looking for the practical reality of the “one body” in today’s world, we must start there.)
Members of smaller groups may share the same gospel hope, and may see themselves as, ideally, members of the “one body” that includes Central brothers and sisters. But, organizationally, they do not function as members of that body. When this is so, there is an incongruity between New Testament analogy and our modern situation. Seeing this, we begin to appreciate the urgent need for the minorities (IF they believe the same gospel) to join the majority and make the “one body” not just a pleasant abstraction, but a practical reality.
The “ideal” view of the one body – that it defines all true believers regardless of organization – has merit in theory: on the day of judgment Christ, with all authority committed to him by the Father, will undoubtedly determine who will eternally belong to his one body.
But such a definition is unworkable in practice as a guide to conduct now, for several reasons:
- The Central Fellowship, by and large, will not accept such a definition in application, because it blurs the line of distinction and demarcation between itself and “others,” and at least has the potential to “open the doors” to various false teachings and wrong practices;
- Such a definition would be subjective in the extreme, continually changing and always changeable, and would vary greatly from one person to another, and one ecclesia to another;
- It would incorporate, in some measure, many individual “believers” into the one body who had no real intention of being meaningful members of that body, and no intention of understanding – much less abiding by – generally accepted “rules of order” of that body [Should not a minimum requirement for membership in an organization be a personal commitment to become a member?!]; and
- For an ecclesia to follow such a definition in practice (i.e., in the breaking of bread) would probably result in its being disfellowshiped by Central. Thus the (idealistic) decision to “fellowship” all true believers would lead to the (practical) result of NOT “fellowshipping” the great majority of them! And a commendable desire for the greater unity would inevitably contribute to a continuing disunity.
The principle of submission
Furthermore, as we have noted, the Bible teaching of the one body emphasizes that every believer has responsibilities and obligations to other believers. This duty is summarized in the words: “Submit to one another” and “All of you be subject to one another.” In practical terms, this must mean that – where first principles are not at stake – every believer is duty-bound to abide by the will of the majority of the body of Christ, and not to foment unrest and discontent and division, but rather to seek what is positive and upbuilding for the local ecclesia and the body as a whole. Is this easy? Not necessarily, human pride being what it is, but it is, nevertheless, the requirement.
If we are to belong to the one body (nearly all of whom work together in the Central Fellowship of Christadelphians worldwide), then – it is humbly but firmly suggested – we cannot have it both ways: we cannot claim we are part of the one body, and (a) expect or insist that other believers or ecclesias in the Central Fellowship recognize us as such, in the breaking of bread, and then (b) the next week take ourselves away to a mountaintop, or a private place of retreat from the Central Fellowship, and contend that we are separate from that body, and free to pursue our objectives (e.g., “fellowship practice”) in a manner that our brethren in Central would find objectionable or confusing or inconsistent.
Conclusion
The Bible teaching of the one body in Christ, examined carefully, yields two points of view which ought to be balanced against one another. For one, the teaching reminds us of the blessings and privileges we should share in common with all members in that body. But it also reminds us of the shared duties and responsibilities that go along with membership in that one body.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One