Vince Deagler

hi again.  as i mentioned last time, i want to focus on the body of christ for awhile.  if you have not read my last note, i would encourage you to do so as it will serve as a foundation on this topic.  the specific area i want to touch on today is the growth of the body.

as i understand it, growth can be defined in 2 ways, both of which are important to our understanding of the body.  for labeling purposes let’s refer to them as spiritual growth (qualitative growth) and numerical growth (quantitative growth).  further, i believe we should understand growth to be the norm in a healthy body.  if the body of christ is a living organism as described in scripture, as opposed to a religious organization, how could growth not be the norm?  growth is a defining characteristic of life, when it is absent something is wrong.

now, let’s look at ourselves for a moment.  since i do not want to be “long winded” (all you guys who are thinking it’s too late for that, need to chill), let’s limit ourselves to the qualitative side of growth for today.  on a macro level god’s design for his body is growth to full spiritual maturity.  (see eph 4:11-16)  the ability to function as the body of christ depends on this.  said another way, how can an immature body function as christ?  (remember he has returned to the father and has passed the baton to us)  but spiritual maturity on the macro level can only become a reality when it is true on the micro level.  if we as the individuals who make up the body of christ are not growing to full spiritual maturity, can the body as a collective whole ever be the body god intends?  could this explain the state of christianity…how it is perceived?…and it’s level of real influence in our culture?  i think so.

do you ever wonder why this is true?  i do.  in fact i think i have at lest some of the answer.  my understanding of spiritual growth is shaped by chist’s command found in matt 28:18-20 “teaching them to observe all that i commanded you”.  i am not arrogant enough to presume i have all of this figured out, and am doing it perfectly.  but i also have my eyes open and realize there are many “christians” (at least that is their claim) who do not care what christ commands, do not try to obey, or only obey partially.  let’s be honest.  before we can obey all that christ commands, we have to know all that he commands and understand how to apply it in our life.  that is not easy, it takes time and effort to get there.  many are not willing to take the time and do the work.  we are satisfied with a personalized christianity where we set the parameters.  but until we are willing as individuals to observe all the teachings of christ we will not become spiritually mature.  this means the body of christ will be handicapped and the culture that desperately needs jesus…a full complete expression of all that he is will be deprived.  i find that troubling.

so, here is what i would like you to consider.  are you growing?  if your answer is yes, may i ask if this growth is comprehensive?  progressive?  a constant?  what do you have in place to maintain this?  you see, when we get here as individual body parts, the contribution we can make and the effect we can have is huge.  we will look at that in the next blog.

but what if you are not growing?  may i ask why this is true?  what are you willing to do about it?  is there a way i can help you change that? 

the stakes are too high to ignore this issue.  we are the body of christ.  that means we are christ’s functioning replacement in the world today.  he has passed us the baton.  we must understand spiritual growth is essential to the fulfillment of our mission. 

may we all dedicate ourselves to the process of “christ being formed in us” (gal 4:19).  blessings, vince  

religious verbiage can be tricky business.  as an evangelical i am of the conviction the bible teaches we must personally receive jesus as our savior and lord.  i will spare you all the subtle nuances and details.  if you have questions regarding this i would be happy to go into the details, it’s just not where i’m going right now.  so getting back on track, how would you understand the idea of receiving christ???  many of you are thinking of a faith commitment right about now, the surrender of ourselves to christ, turning from self rule to christ’s rule.  not to be offensive, but do you know what it means to many roman catholics???  they think of the mass, receiving the wafer, otherwise known as “the body of christ”.  but when i use the phrase “body of christ” as i did in the above title, i was not referring to the wafer used in the roman catholic mass.  see what i mean, religious verbiage can be tricky.

so, what do i mean when i use the term “body of christ”?  i’m glad you asked.  It is a common way the bible refers to the functional church (as opposed to the non-functioning church in prospect or “universal” church”).  i say that because in the new testament the church was a functioning entity.  i am not denying the term church can be used to refer to those “in christ” from pentecost to the rapture (often referred to as the universal church), it’s just that the universal church is a futuristic prospect, not a present tense functioning body.  that church hasn’t yet been assembled, won’t be until the rapture, and basically does not yet exist.  the functional church in the new testament was the localized community of believers which started in jerusalem on pentecost and eventually permeated the “uttermost parts of the world”.  They were organized, had defined leaders, had a sense of mission, and were accountable to each other to follow (obey) all the teachings of christ. the epistles were written to these churches.  the apostles were given “the great commission” (matthew 28:18-20) by christ just before he ascended back to heaven, in effect this was a passing of the baton.  in response, they established local churches (the functioning body of christ) throughout the roman empire.  this is how they understood the mission would be fulfilled, how the work of christ would be continued even though jesus had returned to the father.  sadly, i am of the mind that because we have drifted from an emphasis on the local body to the more pc/less accountable/less efficient universal model of the church, the mission is suffering.

as i understand the body analogy, especially in 1 corinthians 12, christ is the head of the body.  there is great diversity within the body (many members, foot, hand, eyes, ears, etc) but it functions as an integrated, singular unit.  god sets the members in the body as he desires, and because of this reality, everything the body needs to fulfill the mission is available within the body itself.  if the body is to function as god intends, every part of the body must contribute per its design/giftedness, there can be no division within the body, and the individual parts of the body must care for each other.  whenever any of these 3 operating principles are lost, the body suffers. 

in my next few blogs, i plan on focusing on the body of christ.  i am very biased as a pastor, but i cannot think of anything more important.  when we take our place in the body, fulfill the role for which we were designed, we literally are partnering with god in an eternal work that transcends time and space.  we are engaged in the work god has chosen to redeem the world.  and although it seems as if satan is invincible, rest assured the gates of hell will not, cannot overcome the church…the body of chist.  in fact, in my mind, i do not know how you separate christ and the church…his body. 

but that is what many believers do.  they are a part of the church in prospect (often called the universal church, those “in christ” beginning at pentecost and extending to the rapture).  but for whatever reason, they have not chosen to be a part of christ’s functional body.  if that describes you, i sure hope you consider what we have covered today.  why are you not a part of an organized community of believers, with defined leadership, engaged in a mission, practicing accountability to each other?  if that is what christsaid he would build, and in fact did build…if the initial followers of jesus understood the mission to be the establishment of localized churches (bodies of christ) that would continue the ministry of christ after he ascended back to the father… shouldn’t i be a part of that?  shouldn’t you?  is there a valid reason to do otherwise?

i’d love to hear your thoughts.  i’ve shared mine and will go a bit deeper into the body concept in a few days.  thanks for reading.  blessings, vince       

happy new year.  a common refrain these days.  but why?  i’m sure there are many answers.  do you think in part it could be tied to the idea that as the new year approached we did some reflecting, noticed aspects of the status quo we were unhappy with, and fully intend on changing?  the idea being this year will be better because of those changes?  we call those things “new years resolutions”.  i betcha most of us have made them, and many of them have gone the way of the dodo bird.  we have even coined the phrase “you can’t teach an old dog, new tricks”.  sadly, for too many of us, age isn’t the problem.  old dogs, young dogs, in between dogs all struggle with the change process.  is there an answer here?  can we actually pull off real, lasting change in a way we become the men and women we want to be…that god wants us to be?  i say yes.  let me lay out a format that i believe will allow you to do just that.

1.  recognize all real, lasting change starts in our hearts (proverbs 4:23).  in bible times the heart was the core of our being, where the process of thought, emotion, and volition took place.

2.  for real and lasting change to take place the heart/mind has to be renewed (romans 12:1-2, ephesians 4:23).  without this renewal, the fruit of our life will not change.  jesus taught good trees produce good fruit, bad trees produce bad fruit.  to change the fruit from bad to good requires we make the tree good.  that’s a heart/mind issue.

3.  this renewal is the work of the holy spirit in conjunction with the word of god (2 cor. 3:18).  although this is expressed as a passive (we experience the renewing of our mind, we do not do the renewing), please understand we have an important role in the process.  scripture challenges us in many places to control our thoughts to the place we even take our thoughts captive (phil. 4:8, 2 cor. 10:3-5).

4.  as we experience this renewing of our minds, real transformation occurs.  but this transformation will take place over the course of the rest of our life.  the process being described in eph 4:20-24 as the putting off of the old self.  this is because as our mind is renewed we recognize that our desires deceive us and result in a disintegrating life (see also jeremiah 17:9).  putting off allows for the putting on of the life we see embodied in christ, the life the spirit and the scripture calls us to.  but as this process takes place, we need to be patient.  christ referred to the new birth as being “born again”.  just as babies grow, develop, and mature over 20-30 years, or more, so it is with spiritual transformation.  we don’t go from 1 to 10, we go from 1 to 2, then 2 to 3, and then maybe from 3 back to 2 for awhile, etc.  it is not a straight line.  it is often erratic and very much tied to need to know/need to grow moments we all have experienced along the way.

don’t be discouraged by this.  just because its slow and at times erratic doesn’t mean it is not happening.  i often chart the putting off/putting on concept of eph 4 when counseling.  picture putting off as a line trending downward over time.  putting on is just the opposite, it is a line trending upward, but it will intersect with the putting off line at some point in the chart.  now, here’s what we need to recognize.  everything to the left of this intersect reflects i still look more like the old self than the new.  but that’s ok, cause it will not be that way forever.  in chist, as the spirit works on me through the word, a new vince is being formed after the image of christ.  and that means i may be an old dog, but i can, and i am learning new tricks.  and so can you.  may this year be better, because you do.  blessings.  vince