Finding The Body Of Christ  

by R. Cody Smith  (continuation from previous page) 

In all fairness I did eventually find some body life, but I had to find it outside the church proper. I didn’t know what it was called then, just that when it happened it satisfied part of the longing in my heart. It was usually spontaneous, based on a need, and often happened in the strangest of places, a parking lot, or even late at night on the phone. In all, it took me nearly fifteen years to work my way through the religious smoke screen to discover what the Body of Christ was always meant to be, and it’s so simple that once obtaining the right perspective it became obvious to me.    

You see, Jesus never meant for His church to be entertainment, nor a series of theological exercises, and furthermore real discipleship cannot be accomplished en-masse by an institutional program. The church by the nature of its mission must be small, and it must be intimate! “For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” Mt 18:20 (NIV). It seems to me that the Biblical inference of this verse is that having large meetings is not very important; by using the numbers two or three, could Christ have actually been telling us that smaller is actually better?

            In a house church of twelve to fifteen people it is possible to develop an intimate setting where we can celebrate life, help one another to get healed, grow in maturity, and get the support we need to be able to walk out the words of Jesus in our lives. “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it’s work” Eph 4:16 (NIV). This is the place where we can finally take off our masks, get real with one another, and become fully known and loved as we really are (warts and all). Certainly, Christianity was meant to be a way to live, and not just another religion.

         Ok, we’re all together in one room, and up to this point we could have been talking about a twelve-step program or some other kind of self-help group therapy. Absolutely not! And this is where we need to understand and agree on why we are here. This is critical and the point often missed by many types of small group meetings. This is the defining difference; this is what can make house churches work. We are the body of Christ. This group in your living room plus nothing added equals the church. 

What joy then, when we come together corporately, not needing to be filled, but to worship together from the abundance of what we have already found.

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” Mt 16:18 (NIV).

When Christ himself is building His church, and when He is present as the head of His body, the promises of the Bible begin to unfold, and true miracles happen. In His church, it’s He that does all the work (ministry), it is He that sits, holds my hand, and wipes away my tears. It’s God once again putting on a human skin and reaching out to His beloved. This is our opportunity to be re-parented, and re-born into a new family where Christ himself is seated at the head of the table. This is the place where we can finally connect with The Body of Christ.


                                               
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