Aggregate rock and sand bound by cured cement forms concrete — an ideal material for building strong foundations. Without the binding cement, the rock and sand provide no enduring support. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Social binders hold people together around common causes. Sports fans are bound together by their support for a team in the hopes of winning the next game. Political parties are bound together by their common governance values to support like-minded candidates in the next election. Similar binders exist in the forms of cultures, clubs, heritage, genealogies, families, friendships, etc.
What binds a church body together?
Christ is the Word made flesh. (John 1:14) Apostle Paul wrote, “[Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-20) Luther identified seven characteristics or marks of the Church[1][2]. The basis of all the marks is the Word.
What binder is active when people claim to gather for church but it’s really something else — like a common heritage, close-knit families or deep friendships? If the binder is not the Word, what characteristics or fruits might be observed? Absence from the sanctuary? Active conversations during services? Disruptive uncontrolled children? Reading books about wizards? Checking the latest sports scores? Catching-up on nap time? Monitoring social media? Discussions after services solely focused on worldly matters?
If the Word binds believers together — above all else — when they gather for church what characteristics or fruits might be observed? Silence and reverence for the proclamation of His Word? (1 Corinthians 14:26-32) Discernment and discipline of false doctrines? (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21), (Matthew 18:16-17) Prayerful thanksgiving during communion? (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) Reading and sharing the Word with family and friends? (Hebrews 10:24-25) Genuine concern for God’s Will? (1 Peter 2:1-12) Discussions after services mainly concerning the Word? (Colossians 3:16), (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
When believers are bound together by God’s Word, Christ is the foundation and cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20-22) for walls made of jewel stone aggregate (Revelation 21:18-21) of a city that endures forever (Hebrews 11:16) that can not be hidden (Matthew 5:14-16). All other binders will fail (Matthew 7:26-27).
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
(Matthew 21:42-44)
When you attend church services, what seems to be binding everyone together — the Word or something else? What fruits do you observe? I’d love to hear your reply.
[1] A treatise by Dr. Martin Luther, “On the Councils and the Church” (1539). Luther derived seven characteristics of the Church from the first table of the Law: 1) The Word, 2) Baptism, 3) The Lord’s Supper, 4) Discipline, 5) Biblical Officers, 6) Worship, 7) Suffering. He considered these marks as only the beginning of what could be said about the outward signs of the Church, further extending into the second table of the Law through growth in sanctification.
[2] During the Reformation, Lutherans formally described it: “The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike…” See also: (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)