HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2008 / MAY/JUNE / NELSON

MAY / JUNE 2008
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3

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A R T I C L E S

How to be a member of the true church
Rodney Nelson

 

Adventist Membership

I became a Christian and was baptized in 1977 when I was almost sixteen years of age. I also became a full-fledged member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church—a membership which entitled me to receive the North Pacific Union Gleaner free of charge. Before my baptism I had attended the local Adventist congregation for six months, taking Bible studies with the pastor to study Adventist doctrines. Then, just before I was baptized, I went before the local congregation and raised my right hand to confess belief in the twenty-two fundamental doctrines (now expanded to twenty-eight fundamentals) of Seventh-day Adventism. I will never forget that day.

I did not fully understand the twenty-two statements of belief, especially the authority of Ellen White and the investigative judgment. The feeling of being a fully accepted member of the Adventist church, however, was appealing. I belonged to the "remnant church." The feeling of belonging that came with membership was both reassuring and disconcerting. What about all the people who were not Adventists? I rationalized that question with a variety of pat Adventist answers. One thing I did understand, however: membership in the church was tied to the acceptance of the right beliefs and doctrines. I knew I was a Christian by acceptance of Jesus alone, but membership in the church involved more. It required complete adherence and acceptance of the Adventist "package". Thus I was introduced to two realities; faith alone made me a Christian, but it was faith and doctrinal fidelity that made me an Adventist.

 

To Be or Not to Be a Member

Membership is often a distinguishing characteristic of denominations and congregations and is a continuing issue of debate. Whatever approach believers or congregations take to membership, however, the real issue is what Scripture and New Testament church practice say about it. To that we now turn.

 

Definitions

To be a "member" of an organization or group means to be a part of its function. Webster defines it as "each of the persons composing a society, party, community, or other body" (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989). Membership implies vital involvement in the operation of the organization without which it would not function. In a worldly sense, membership describes the status of a person who is incorporated into the inner workings of an organization, while non-members do not have the same privileges and rights. Membership versus non-membership is the difference between being an "insider" looking out and an "outsider" looking in.

The Greek term used in the New Testament for "member" is melos (member, body, part, limb). Three plural forms of the word occur in the New Testament (mele, melon, melesin), and these are always associated with the human body and flesh, either in whole or part. This word's reference to the human body makes it a powerful symbol of believers in Christ as members (parts) of the church, the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 6:15; 12:12, 27; Ephesians 5:30). Melos further describes believers as having a function in Christ's body, the church (Romans 12:4-7; 1 Corinthians 12:27-31). As one body, the church has many parts, each fulfilling different roles and functions.

In the New Testament, "member" never refers to someone who receives status or prestige as a result of being initiated into an organization. Rather, the word "member" refers to one who has a function within the church (one body, many parts or members). There is never a differentiation between the importance of persons in the church. Only roles or functions are differentiated.

 

Nature of the Church

In the New Testament, the church is understood in both universal and particular terms. There is the church universal referring to all true believers in Christ throughout the world (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 3:10; 5:23-27,29,32; Colossians1:18,24). There is also the church particular where the church is identified as the local body of believers meeting in a specific location (Romans 16:1,5; 1 Corinthians16:19; Colossians 4:15-16). The local assembly is "the church in its local expression,"(Ladd; A Theology of the New Testament, pg. 537) reflecting style and culture unique to it.

In the Bible the church is never understood as an organization although it possesses organization. The Greek term for "church" in the New Testament reveals its essence: ekklesia (derived from ek-kaleo = "call out"—a gathering, assembly, congregation). The church, therefore, is best understood as "who", not "what." It is not a location or building, and never are believers seen "going to church." Rather, the church is composed of the people who gather at a location or meet in a structure for worship and fellowship.

The church in the New Testament is an organism. This description has sometimes been overused, but the distinction between an organism and an organization (institution) carries provocative implications for understanding what it means to be the church. When the church is people—not locations, buildings, or organizations/denominations—then the church is personal and relational. The church is called out by God to gather and assemble for mutual worship, edification, and fellowship. It isn't a place to go; it is a fellowship of believers. The fellowship is not a place; rather, it describes what occurs in the body of believers wherever they are located.

 

The Church and Membership

If the literal meaning of ekklesia identifies "church" as those who gather to worship, then ekklesia should also inform the meaning of membership.

A good place to begin to understand church membership is in the apostle Paul's reference of the church as the "body of Christ." A key verse is found in 1 Corinthians 12:12, "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." Paul likened the human body and its many parts (members) to Christ. He did not say the human body and its parts are like the church. What he is getting at is that the Church is made up of members of His body. As believers in Christ, we have been incorporated into Christ Himself, and we comprise His body. "The church is not a body or society of believers but the body of Christ" (Ladd, 545). We are united or incorporated into the very body of Christ; we are not merely an extension of His body. This is a remarkable concept and a wonderful reality. It really means that every believer is intimately part of Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 6:15).

When Paul experienced the Lord's presence on the Damascus Road, Jesus asked him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4). Of course, Paul did not persecute Jesus personally, but by persecuting those who believed in Christ, Paul was guilty of persecuting Christ Himself. The same principle is seen in Matthew 10:40 and 25:40.

The objective of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 is to establish that all believers in Christ have become one body—the body of Christ. The Corinthian believers did not become members of a club or organization through baptism, but all were baptized "by one Spirit into one body" (12:13). It did not matter one's ethnic origin, social status, or class; believers had received "one Spirit to drink" (v. 13).

It is important to understand that all believers become "one body" (v. 12) through the Spirit, not through a list of requirements for membership in an organization. Membership in the body of Christ is determined by the new birth, and one becomes incorporated into the church when one is incorporated into the body of Christ. Becoming part of Christ's body makes each of us a member of the church.

Since membership is not seen in the New Testament as an induction into an institution or organization but rather as incorporation into the very body of Christ, it follows that believers are "called into membership of this one church of Christ, . . . through the preaching of the gospel. They were brought into fellowship with God's Son (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:9), and to speak of their membership of this heavenly gathering assembled around Christ is another way of referring to this new relationship with him" (O'Brien, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, pg. 126).

Likewise, "Christians were to assemble in local congregations here on earth, for this was an important way in which their fellowship with Christ was expressed. Further, as they came together with others who were in fellowship with him, so they not only met with each other —they also met with Christ himself who indwelt them corporately and individually" (O'Brien, 126).

Participation and fellowship (koinonia) in the body of Christ (the church) is determined by a person's acceptance of the gospel, and we each become part of the church when we become a part of the body of Christ.

 

Initiation and benefits

At this juncture it would be natural to ask how a person demonstrates becoming a member of the body of Christ. The book of Acts speaks to this question. In Acts 2:41, Peter's message says those "who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." In Acts 2:47 "the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved." The previous verses (vs. 42-46) describe the activity of the church as they met together (v. 42), and their care of each other (vs. 44-46). The evidence of their activity and dedication to each other was a powerful witness to the surrounding population. Unbelievers were converted and became incorporated into the church. Acts 5:14 testifies that, despite the death of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11) and the resultant fear (v.13), "more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number."

Taken together, these passages reveal an important lesson. They refer to people being added to the church, and in them we see three activities: people accepted the gospel message (2:41) by believing in the Lord (5:13), and then they were baptized (2:41). They were added to the church by the fact they were saved (2:47). There is nothing in the remainder of Acts that contradicts or supplements the simplicity of this description. Therefore, the inclusion of unbelievers as part of the church was based on their personal acceptance of the gospel message, and their baptisms demonstrated their conversions and commitments to the body of Christ.

Ephesians 1:22-23 declares that "God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." What are the characteristics of those who make up the church? Beginning in v. 3, Paul lists the many blessings that have been given through the death of Jesus (vs. 3-14). In Christ believers are to be holy and blameless (v. 4), are adopted, redeemed, forgiven of sin, and made heirs. As a result of God's blessings, choosing, pleasure, will, and grace, believers "were included in Christ when [they] heard the word of truth, the gospel of [their] salvation. Having believed, [they] were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession" (vs. 1:13-14). This passage is more than a promise and declaration about our salvation; it is a statement of our inclusion in the church. As a member of the church, a believer participates in the reality described by Paul in Ephesians 1. It is a kingdom reality realized now in the church!

One congregation states the church is "Where the new life in Christ makes you a member!" In another denominational statement, the church "believes that when one accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, God places that person in the Church (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 12:18). Salvation is the criteria for membership in a congregation."

In the New Testament, it is impossible to be saved and not be a member of the church. The same conditions and grounds for salvation also make one a Christian and a member of the church. Therefore, the salvation of an individual automatically makes him a part of the church. One writer states clearly that there "is no such thing taught in the New Testament as being saved by one process and then joining the church of our choice by another process."

 

No Labels, Just Being

Since the church is the body of believers throughout the entire world, anywhere Christians gather they express the reality of the church. Christians have largely forgotten this reality because they have separated "church" from believers. Thus, we often think today of the church as the place where believers go to worship, as an entity into which believers are initiated through membership. In reality, however, "church" is a statement of identity, not a brand name. It describes who I am—a born-again, adopted son of God who is part of Christ's body—not how I worship or where I meet others.

Paul had to deal with the Corinthians being divided over loyalty to their favorite leaders. In 1 Corinthians he addresses this human tendency to become loyal to labels. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul identifies believers as "the church of God in Corinth." They are composed of "those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours." The church of God is the local and universal number of those who call on Jesus' name and are called and made holy by Christ. By this statement, Paul is telling the Corinthians that they are the church because they are believers in Christ.

Paul then moves on to declaring who the Corinthian believers are in Christ (1:4-9). They have the grace given them in Christ Jesus (v. 4). In Christ, they are "enriched" in speech and knowledge (v. 5), lacking no spiritual gift (v. 7), and will be kept strong and blameless until Jesus comes again (v. 8). These promises identify more than just the status the Corinthian believers have in Christ; these verses describe the practical reality of the Corinthians' lives.

In v. 9, Paul explains that God has "called [them] into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord" and that He is faithful.

This is an incredibly important statement. The Greek used for "fellowship" is koinonia (fellowship, communion, partnership, participation). A link occurs in verses nine and ten between the fellowship of believers with Christ and the relationship of believers with each other. When God established fellowship (communion) between His Son and believers, He also established a fellowship between believers. The vertical relationship established the horizontal one, and the key quality of this fellowship is unity. Unity would be manifested in agreement with one another "so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought" (v. 10).

As the one Body of Christ, the Corinthian church was to be one in thought and mind. This oneness does not mean "uniformity". Rather, the Greek for "perfectly united" is katertismenoi ("being knit together"). The church can be compared to fabric whose individual strands are woven tightly together to make one cloth.

The Corinthian church was not expressing this type of unity. Apparently, their internal division took the form of quarrels between factions of members who were loyal to different notable leaders in the church (v. 12). It wasn't primarily theological issues that divided the Corinthians; they were split by "personality cults" involving allegiances to Paul himself, Apollos (charismatic personality), Peter, and even Christ.

Paul asks, "Is Christ divided?" Jesus was crucified and believers were baptized into His name (v. 13), not into other's names. In other words, why would believers establish loyalties to those who themselves were fellow believers baptized into the name of Christ? Division within the one body of Christ was an oxymoron.

Christians are incorporated into the one body of Christ at the moment of incorporation into Jesus. Division along the lines of personality partisanship is unthinkable and is totally contrary to the purpose of Jesus' death. Every believer is "in Christ"—hence Paul's rhetorical question, "Is Christ divided?"

It is an exceptional reality that the New Testament talks more about the grounds for people leaving the fellowship than about the grounds for their entrance into fellowship. Membership (fellowship) is established by a relationship with Jesus entitling each believer to be a part of the church, yet denial of continued fellowship (church discipline) is determined by a life of sin and heretical teaching (Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:2, 4-5, 11-13; 2 Corinthians 2:5-7; 13:2, 10; Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15; 1 Timothy 1:19-20; 5:1-2; 5:19-20; 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:10-13; 3:10-11; 2 John 9-11; Jude 22-23). In other words, inclusion in the church is simultaneous with becoming a Christ-follower, acknowledging that Jesus Christ is Lord and placing one's faith in Him. Fellowship must be broken, however, if one abandons true doctrine and godly living.

In Corinthians, factions and ungodly living plagued the church. Paul dealt with their problems by reminding them that the basis for being a Christian is receiving the grace of the Lord Jesus. He then reminded them that their unity with the Lord Jesus yielded the mandate to be unified with one another. The Holy Spirit who sealed them in Jesus also united them with one another, thus making it possible for them to live together as the church.

 

A Moment for Reflection

Each congregation and denomination needs to assess its basis for inclusion into their fellowship. "Open enrollment" is not the method or means for growing the body of Christ. Evangelism is the means for growing the church, and evangelism assumes conversion to Christ as the basis for inclusion into the body. We must never forget that inclusion into the body of Christ is based upon the relationship of each person with the Person of Christ, and we are all members of the body of Christ by virtue of our personal commitment to Him. For Christians to deny full rights and privileges to believers by forbidding full involvement in the body and its functions is to basically declare there are two classes of Christians—member and non-member. That idea Scripture roundly condemns.

"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought" (1 Corinthians 1:10). †

 

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Rodney Nelson is Academic Counselor and teacher at Liberty Christian School in Richland, Washington.  He is married with two daughters. He enjoys writing, reading, and basketball. Rodney and his family currently attend the Richland Church of the Nazarene. Rodney left the Adventist church in 1984.