Homonyms are words that are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings. The word “member” is a homonym. It means a body part, such as an arm or leg. But it also means someone who belongs to a club or an organization. In the Bible, the word member is used frequently to refer to a part of the body, sometimes the physical body, and sometimes referring to believers as part of the body of Christ. But the Bible never uses the word member to mean someone who belongs to a particular church. Not only is church membership absent from the Bible, it also violates clear Biblical warnings.
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In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul confronts a practice among the believers that is causing division in the church. This division is the result of people proclaiming, “I follow Paul”, or “I follow Cephas [Peter], or “I follow Apollos” (1 Cor 1:10-12). Paul’s concern isn’t that people might be led astray, because the men Paul mentions are trustworthy men of God. His concern is that believers are defining themselves in a way that goes beyond how scripture defines them. The Bible identifies all believers as being part of the church, members of the body of Christ, and part of the family of God. But they went beyond these things and embraced something that became part of their personal identity. Paul sees this kind of selective association as such a serious threat to the church that he comes back to this issue several more times in the next few chapters of his letter.
Our identity should be identical throughout the church of God. We have the same Father, the same Savior and King, and the same Spirit. This simple spiritual focus makes us one with every other believer. But if we identify ourselves as belonging to a particular group, then we have created a difference with anyone else who doesn’t belong to that group.
Over time, the church has taken this kind of selective association to a level that Paul probably couldn’t have imagined. Believers have now divided into separate churches, and these churches work hard at creating their own identity and getting people to identify with them and commit to joining their church. Instead of “I follow Paul”, we now have “I belong to Vibe Church”, or “I belong to New Tribe Church”. Some churches promote and strengthen this identity with slogans, bumper stickers, T-shirts, and hats. In meetings, people will be greeted with “Good morning, Vibe Church”. People will be referred to as “Vibe Church Youth” or “Vibe Church Seniors”. This constant promotion of their church brand creates a strong sense of connection and identity.
I’m sure a lot of people won’t see any problem with this, but when we choose to emphasize something other than what the Bible emphasizes, we forfeit the spiritual results that come from embracing God’s way. What should take precedence and be promoted and strengthened in believers is that they are God’s people, members of the body of Christ, and part of the family of God. These spiritual truths should be front and foremost in the hearts and minds of believers. Instead, many people have a stronger sense of being connected to their particular church than they do being part of the body of Christ.
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As mentioned before, Paul comes back to this problem of selective association several times in 1 Corinthians.
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:1,4 NKJV)
Paul viewed selective association as a sign of immaturity and carnality. Rather than living in the reality of Biblical truths that define who we are and how we are connected to each other, they embraced natural, tangible things to define themselves. They lacked the spirituality and maturity to live by spiritual truths.
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. (1 Corinthians 4:6 NIV)
The Bible teaches loyalty and commitment. But church membership is man’s invention, and goes beyond what is written in God’s word.
According to scripture, God has provided for the strongest kind of relationships for everyone who is part of the body of Christ.
so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:5 ESV)
This verse proclaims a wonderful connection with other believers that is grounded in a profound spiritual reality that comes from the Lord. If God’s truths are taught, believed, and followed, they provide for everything God desires: a strong sense of family, fruitful relationships, and a powerful bond of fellowship. These things are grounded in deep spiritual truths, and man doesn’t need to, nor should he try to, improve on God’s ways. People go beyond what is written because they want to accomplish something God never intended.
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Some church leaders view church membership as a binding covenant, and they will use this concept to bring pressure on those who might consider leaving their church, telling them they are breaking covenant. In some cases, people are even told that to leave their church would be the same thing as getting a divorce, and God hates divorce. This is a serious misuse of authority and of scripture. Marriage is a God ordained covenant between a husband and wife. It is clearly defined in the scriptures and is entered into with vows before God. Marriage is a binding covenant for life. Nothing in the Bible supports in any way that a believer has this kind of obligation to an individual church.
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One of the pitfalls of church membership is that belonging to a specific group can greatly diminish our willingness to seek Biblical truth. If we only fellowship with a particular church, we become isolated from other believers and insulated from other Biblical views. Those who are entrusted with teaching have usually been raised up in that church. So, by the time they are in a position of leadership, they are very indoctrinated in what that church believes and does not believe. Those who question or challenge existing beliefs do not rise to leadership. Physical inbreeding is considered dangerous because it magnifies existing weaknesses, making flaws more likely to prevail. The same is true for spiritual inbreeding.
People who spend all their time fellowshipping with a particular church can develop a strong bias about certain doctrines or practices because this is what everyone around them believes. They may know a few verses that they’ve been told resolve the matter, but often they’ve never studied these things for themselves or actually had a face-to-face discussion with a actual person who believes differently than they do. It’s easy to become entrenched in unbiblical beliefs if those beliefs are never challenged.
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Even though the problems at Corinth were a serious concern to Paul, he did have the advantage of addressing believers who understood that there was only one local church in Corinth. For the most part, this truth is lost in today’s church. The problems at Corinth were minuscule compared to what presently exists within God’s church. Today, in any given city, there will be numerous individual churches that operate under the fallacy that they are one of many local churches in their city, rather than the truth that they are part of the local church in their city. When Jesus writes to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, he addresses each letter to the church in that city, not to the churches in that city. Misunderstanding the local church concept leads churches to operate in a way that promotes division.
When Paul admonished believers to be perfectly joined together, he didn’t view this as taking place within the confines of an individual church but rather within the whole of God’s church. And while we cannot personally alleviate the existing divisions, we can refrain from embracing the kind of loyalty to an individual church that perpetuates the existing divisions. Our connection and common ground with any believer should be that we have the same Father, the same Lord and Savior, the same Spirit, and the same calling, not that we belong to the same church.
[Jesus prayed] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21 ESV).
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