Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Read 1 Peter 1:3 (KJV).

Read more: The Church as a Biblically Functioning Community of Hope – 1d

Peter’s words provide a powerful theological foundation for understanding the Church as a Biblically functioning community of hope. In 1 Peter 1:3, Peter declares, “According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Christian hope is therefore not optimism, positive thinking, or confidence in favourable circumstances. It is a living hope grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Church is called to be the community in which this hope is proclaimed, experienced, strengthened, and shared.

The Church is the Body of Christ – Paul writes, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Read 1 Corinthians 12:27. This immediately establishes an essential truth that the Church belongs to Christ. The Bible says, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Read Matthew 16:18. God is the builder of His Church.

For the Church to function Biblically, two foundational truths cannot be separated, Christ is the Head of the Church, and Scripture is the authoritative Word of God by which the Church is governed and instructed – Sola scriptura (Scripture alone). Paul declares, “And He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.” Read Colossians 1:18. As a result, the Church cannot ultimately be defined by its leadership structure, programmes, buildings, traditions, or activities. These may have their proper place, but none of them constitutes the essence of the Church.

Paul explains that, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” Read 1 Corinthians 12:12. Every believer has a place, a function, and a contribution to make. Consequently, a Biblically functioning Church cannot be understood merely by examining what happens from the pulpit or what programmes are organised by its leaders. Its Biblical functionality is also demonstrated through the participation, service, love, obedience, encouragement, and spiritual maturity of its members. The Church is not an audience watching a ministry take place. The Church is the people of God functioning together as the Body of Christ.

Church attendance is part of a Biblically functioning community. The Bible says, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Read Hebrews 10:24-25. Church attendance, therefore, should not be reduced to fulfilling a religious obligation. The Biblical purpose of gathering is mutual encouragement, spiritual formation, worship, fellowship, instruction, service, and perseverance. The question is not simply, did I attend Church? A deeper, Biblical, soul searching question is, did I participate in the life of the Body of Christ? We gather because we need one another, and God has designed the Christian life to be lived in a community. Paul writes, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11. The language is deliberately relational. Christianity is not simply me and God. The New Testament presents believers as members of one body, belonging to one another in Christ.

When Christ is at the centre, Scripture is honoured, every member understands that they have a place and a purpose, and believers genuinely care for one another, the Church becomes what God intended it to be, a Biblically functioning community of hope, a people who have received hope in Christ, who live out that hope together, and who carry that hope into a world that desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.

Father in Heaven, thank You for Your love, grace, and mercy. The Bible says, “Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7.

We write. You read. Be encouraged.