How to Church (7)
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15.58
Church on!
If Paul had written this verse in the terms we’ve been considering in this installment of our study on “The Church”, he might have said, “Therefore, you believers in Corinth, church on! Don’t get discouraged. Don’t give up. Keep giving what you can, receiving what God has promised, and bearing one another’s burdens with thanksgiving and love.”
But the most important part of this verse is the last phrase: Churching like this “is not in vain.” It accomplishes what the Lord intends in building His Church in unity, maturity, and love. So stay at it. Keep on task. Always abound, increase, and improve in the work of churching.
And it’s significant that this verse comes where it does in 1 Corinthians 15.
By way of reminder
This chapter begins with Paul reminding the believers in Corinth about the Gospel by which they had been saved (vv. 1-6). Christ Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that we might be forgiven, saved, renewed, and restored to fellowship with God.
Then he reminded them of his own work on their behalf, of the hard work he did of churching among them at Corinth (vv. 7-11). They didn’t get to be believers, enjoying the promises of God, without some hard exertion on the parts of Paul and Apollos, among others.
Next, Paul pointed to the resurrection of Christ and what that promises for us: We, too, shall rise and live forever (vv. 12-19). Then the Kingdom of God will come in all its fullness. All the enemies of Christ will be defeated. Jesus will reign in glory, everything will be subject to Him, and God will be all in all (vv. 20-28).
Immediately then Paul reminded the Corinthians that there are still people who don’t know this Good News (vv. 29-34), and, while we may have a lot of questions about the mystery of being finally transformed into our resurrected lives of glory (vv. 35-49), still an inheritance of glory awaits us, the imperishable Kingdom of God. Sin will be vanquished. Death will die. The sting and pain and sorrow of all this earthly sojourn will be behind us, and we will live forever with the Lord in glory (vv. 50-57).
We are living and working toward a great and final and total victory in our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 57)! And so, my dear friends, keeping in mind that building His Church is Jesus’ declared agenda, “Church on!”
Looking up and ahead
We do our best work of churching when we keep our eye on the horizon toward which we’re journeying in this life. Just beyond the horizon of time and our lives, we see the glow of eternal glory, the City to Come, the face-to-face presence of the Lord, the new heavens and new earth, and all the saints and loyal angels of all time, together in a new world, without sin and without end.
The work we do of churching in the present should take its cues from two sources. First, the plain teaching of Scripture about the Church and our role in it. We need to study the Word, learn as much as we can, and become as fully equipped as possible to build Christ’s Church following the blueprints, and according to the plans, He has revealed in His Word.
But second, we need to nurture a growing vision of the City to Come. The Scriptures have a good bit to tell us about the world to come, the new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells. This is where we’re headed, and so this should guide whatever we try to build—of our lives, our churches, our culture, and our communities—during the time we’re on earth. Peter tells us as much in 2 Peter 3.13, 14: “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless…” How should we live today? By fixing our mind on where we are headed and living blamelessly now as we will be then.
The more we study God’s Word together and encourage one another with the promise of what is to come, the more we will gladly join together to church, as each of us is called and gifted, and thus to contribute to the Lord’s agenda of building His Church (Matt. 16.18).
Give what you can; receive what the Lord has promised; and bear whatever you must. This is how to church, and this is what we’ve been called to as followers of Jesus Christ and members of His Body.
For reflection or discussion
1. How would you summarize what it means “to church”?
2. Summarize your vision of the City to Come and the new heavens and new earth.
3. How can believers encourage one another to church well in the light of this vision?
Next steps—Transformation: Spend time in prayer, waiting on the Lord to enlarge your vision of the City to Come. Review any Scriptures that can guide you in this. Work on nurturing that vision as you read the Word each day.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A good supplement to this ongoing study on the Church is our free PDF book, Pray for Your Church. Download your copy from The Ailbe Bookstore by clicking here. Also, we encourage you to visit our ReThinking Church page, where you’ll see a variety of free resources to help you church.
This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues an extensive look at the Kingdom of God from our book, The Kingdom Turn. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are looking at the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our Scriptorium column we are studying the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
