I’ve changed my mind about the body, the church of Christ, since the time I was a young preacher. I no longer see that body as a faction centering around a partisan doctrine. I don’t regard it as a denomination bearing a specific name and meeting behind recognized signs that display a certain title. I no longer believe that fellowship is conditional upon agreement with someone’s church view. It seems that what people have in their heart is far more important that what they have in their heads. The Holy Spirit can dwell in some pretty ignorant people. If not, a lot of us are in big trouble.
I believe in the one body! There is one body precisely as there is one Spirit and one Lord. And that body is the called-out fellowship of believers. Every saved person is in that body. Man can no more create another body than he can create another Spirit or Lord. It’s sad when congregations see themselves as the only saints in town.
The body of Christ is not a collection of congregations, all of which are stereotypes, and often sterile reproductions of one another. Congregations in apostolic days were not alike. Their unity was in Christ. Jesus was their pattern. They were different from one another. If not, one letter would have been plenty for all. They were different in problems and in point of view. Sound familiar?
The body of Christ is not composed of movements in history. The body never died and it did not have to be restored. It befuddles me when certain groups lay claim to being the most recent “Movement” of the Lord. It’s as though they believe they’ve now got all the Christians, and the rest of the church is going to hell. It’s become so bad that congregations within movements have advertised to tell where “faithful brethren” meet. I’d like to see just one that says: “Churches Loving God and His Family”.
The one body is not the restoration movement and the restoration movement is not the one body. The body is bigger than any movement. It is greater than all of them put together. God knows how great it is, but no one on earth does. You can no more count the redeemed on earth while they are scattered than you can in heaven when they are all together. John said, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb'” (Revelation 7:9-10).
For this reason, I’ll rejoice with all those who are in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When I’m in heaven I’ll be relieved I counted them among the fellowship. If you’re not there, because of your rejection of them on earth, I’ll give them your regards.