Still the Glorious Body of Christ
In his classic work on the church, R.B. Kuiper carefully lays out what truly constitutes the church and how it functions. Called The Glorious Body of Christ, Kuiper shows the beauty of the church with Jesus Christ as its head. He explains clearly how the church is to shine Christ's light to the world as a city set on a hill.
Sadly, too many focus on the church's problems, dwelling only on its spots and wrinkles. Imagine a husband doing that with his wife! Yet we can do so with the bride of Christ! People grow disillusioned and complain against the church, then leave and abandon it.
Recently, the Lord has shown me again and again that his church is still glorious, despite its weaknesses. Reflect with me and be encouraged!
The church is still gloriously preaching the gospel. Because of my responsibilities for the seminary, I have traveled around the country each month this year and visited dozens of congregations. In each of those places, there are faithful preachers. They are laboring to bring the gospel to their congregations and communities. I thank the Lord that, in our land, the gospel is still being preached.
The church is still gloriously serving others. Because some of our children live at a distance, Miriam and I cannot always be there when needs arise. This year, one of our daughters moved into a new home, and another had an emergency medical condition with one of her children. In both cases, even though we could not be there, the body of Christ was. They came alongside our children and wonderfully supported them during these occasions.
The church is still gloriously existing as the family of God. As I testified elsewhere, Miriam and I had a wonderful neighbor, Gail, who was an elderly widower. When his weakening health due to his battle with cancer became too much for us to handle on our own, we asked the deacons of our congregation to help. They arranged a twice-a-day visitation program for him. Seeing the congregation respond with visits, calls, and meals lifted our hands tremendously. It was a joy to Gail to have the visits. He eventually joined our church plant earlier this year, and I believe it was the love of Christ that broke down his final resistance in doing so. As he passed away just recently, our congregation rejoiced over all that the Lord did through his life and in our congregation.
The church is still gloriously being used by the Lord to convert people. Currently, the highlight of each of my weeks is leading a membership class for a family of four that has recently been converted. Coming out of Catholicism, it is clear the Lord has extended to them His saving grace. Recently, in one of our sessions, I was explaining regeneration to them. The wife and mother enthusiastically exclaimed as she slapped the table with her hand, "That is what the Lord has done in us since we’ve been coming here!" What a joy to see God give new life to others!
The church is still gloriously worshiping the Lord. Interestingly, in the church, we often refer to preaching, the sacraments, and prayer as the "ordinary" means of grace. By that, we mean that these are the channels that we commonly use to approach God. However, in a very real sense, there is nothing ordinary about the means of grace. They are God's way of communicating to us His power and presence as we abide in Christ and experience His Spirit's work in us! Every Lord's Day we gather as the church and enter into this glory!
Yes, we must sometimes deal with ugly matters in the church. We must work through conflict, deal with abuse, discipline false leaders, etc. Yet let us not forget that the church is still the glorious body of Christ destined to eternal glory with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.