Members of one another

Romans 12:3-8 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Rev Dwight Yoo

What does it mean to be a member of a church?

To belong to each other

Salvation is not by what we do but rather what Christ has done. It is started by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit will complete the work. What does this look like? All of life becomes an act of worship. The church is an integral part of this process. The process of becoming like Christ requires a church. When we become a believer by faith, we now have a relationship with every believer. We are all brothers and sisters to one another. Regardless of political stance, race, ethnic background, etc. When we are adopted into the body of Christ, we don't get to choose our family members. But we don't belong to an organization, we belong to a body of believers, the people of the church. We belong to the individuals of the local church. We are not a club where we can pay dues and get benefits. The church is not for consumers. It is a body. It requires both give and take. The eye requires blood to function. It also gives; it gives sight to the body.

To contribute confidently, but not condescendingly

Everyone in the body has gifts. They are all to contribute to the body. Some have more gifts than others in the body. But Paul tells us to watch our attitudes. That those who have more gifts have been given more by God by grace. These are gifts from God by grace, not by works. We are to be humble in contributing with our gifts. We are, as members, to contribute to the body. But we are also to use it with the right attitude.

Meeting consistently and constructively

We are to meet each other regularly. And not just to play, but to spur each other to do good works. We are to remind each other. We are to encourage one another. To keep fighting the good fight.

When we do not meet regularly, this can often come from idolotry. From fear of losing out in our career or school. We forget that living and loving one another is one of the marks of the Christian is the way we love one another.

Culture, creativity, and grace

Genesis 2:8-25 ESV

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Psalms 8:1-9 ESV

O Lord , our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord , our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Mr. Andy Crouch

Most of our time is spent working. It is what takes up the most of our time outside of church worship. To get a good picture of work, we should not start in Genesis three, but rather Genesis one and two. The first references to humans is "earthling". They are not yet man and woman. But rather like earth. We are not extraterrestrial. We are much like the rest of the created animals of earth. Not only that, but these earthlings are given a lot of authority. We have an innate sense of responsibility for animals. We have been given dominion over not only domesticated animals, not only land animals, but even birds and even the teeming fish of the sea. So what does this have to do with our work? We are given a piece of God's creation and we are to celebrate and improve this small part of God's creation. But we are also naked. We are incredibly vulnerable. Humans don't fit into any one ecological niche. We are so vulnerable when we are first born. As image bearers, we are both authoritative as well as vulnerable. We are not meant to be alone. We have authority over the world, yet we retain the created creature's vulnerability. It is erroneous to think we can grow in authority without growing in vulnerability. We are meant to clear over each other's vulnerability in relationship. We are many to create and cultivate. Our purpose is not to sit back and drink little drinks with little hats. We are meant to cultivate. To maintain and increase the fruitfulness of creation. We are meant to keep culture good. We are meant in our workplaces to find that which is good and keep it as good. We are not called to impact the world. We are to maintain and keep it good. But are not to just to conserve. We are also to create with the things of creation. All healthy work is a combination of conservation and innovation. To have one without the other is unhealthy.

Consider live music. It requires using our authority and considers traditions and that which currently exists. And it requires vulnerability on the part of the performer. And it requires a relationship with your audience. Only when we have authority, vulnerability, and relationship can we have flourishing.