What is the Unity of the Local Church? 

The unity of the church refers to the union of Christians, bound and committed to God and to one another by the Gospel. With that definition in mind, consider these four people and their attitudes toward church: 

• Jack follows Jesus but not into “organized religion.” He feels he worships best by going for a hike on Sunday. 

• Jill is what you might call a church hopper. She is here for a while and there for a while, but is at least somewhere pretty much every Sunday. 

• Jenny found a great singles group. She doesn’t miss a meeting but only shows up at her local church in the morning when the sermon seems like it might be interesting. 

• Jose genuinely likes the preaching and music at his church but tends to slip out right afterward and has never really thought about joining. 

In these four common examples, what do these people have in common?  

Yes, their names all start with “J”, but they also all share a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian — they all see being bound and committed to the local church as unrelated to their faith. 

Are they wrong? What’s the big deal about a church? 

Why the Church? 

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians not only answers the question of “what” church is, but it also answers the question of “why” the church exists. The first two chapters give a beautiful description of salvation and how we are saved from our sins. There are memorable passages in those chapters, not the least of which being, “ 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4). 

The third chapter of the book though begins to lay out the implications of this great love that God showed us. One of those implications is that this barrier called the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles has been torn down: “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members together of one body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). 

Why did God do this? Why did He tear down this wall? Why create unity between redeemed Jews and Gentiles who have nothing in common but Christ? 

The answer is actually found a few verses later: “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10). 

This might seem like an odd place to introduce the church here, but yes, God’s plan to glorify Himself centers on the local church. The church isn’t fundamentally about instruction or singing songs. The church is about a community of people who are different from each other in the world’s eyes and yet who live together in unity and love because they share Christ in common.  

Instruction fuels this community. Praise is the response in this community. However, at its core, the church is a community for the manifold wisdom, the glory of God if you would, to be displayed. Think back to what Jesus says in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love between Christians isn’t just an “extra credit” part of the Christian life; it is essential. The church is messy. It can hurt. It is not easy to love people who are different from you. 

That’s the whole point. That love is different in kind from the world’s love. Jesus said as much in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” That is why a Life Group of people just like you doesn’t accomplish the goal God’s set out for the church. That is why a singles group is not a church. That is why attending church but not investing in messy, difficult, God-glorifying relationships is not living up to God’s plans for the church. 

Sure, you can live a holy life in isolation from everyone else. But the world won’t be perplexed by that. What’s the world does see as revolutionary however is Christians who love each other, are committed to each other, have difficult conversations with each other, and share in each other’s joys and burdens. That’s the church. 

Life With One Another 

So what exactly does this life look like? Consider these phrases that are called the “one-another” commands in Scripture of how we are to relate to each other within the local church. When we put them all together, they take the shape of what we call church membership. 

Love One Another: 

So much in Scripture about church life involves commands to “love one another.” 1 Peter 2:17 tells us to “love the brotherhood of believers.” Similarly, Galatians 6:10 states: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” What is so important about these passages (and there are dozens more like them) is that they are given to all Christians and not just to an elite few. This kind of deep, committed love for other Christians is not something that we just grow into over time. Rather, it is expected of all Christians. And here’s the thing about this kind of love — it is something you can only do with Christians you rub shoulders with on a regular basis. That is why Christians need to put themselves in a place where they can love in this kind of way and where they give others the opportunity to love them like this. 

Encourage One Another 

The apostle Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica telling them to “encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Hebrews 10:24 tells us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Of course, it is good to be a generally encouraging person. But is that what these two authors have in mind? Not really. The author of Hebrews goes on in the very next verse to tell us explicitly what he means: “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.” Obedience to this New Testament command to encourage each other is to be done with others in your own local church. 

Guard One Another: 

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among the pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” Here’s the thing, the man in 1 Corinthian 5 probably thought of himself as a Christian. He probably went to church regularly. That is the reason why Paul had to write and tell them to take action. Somehow they had to make it clear to him, for his sake, that his life was that of a non-Christian. That’s a loving thing to do. Not only for this man, but for others around him. Again, commands like 1 Corinthians 5 aren’t just for super Christians. All Christians are to have this kind of relationship with a local church. As fallen people, we’re prone to self-deception and the main thing that God has set up for us to deal with self-deception is the local church. 

Putting it All Together 

If you are a Christian, you need to love other Christians in your own church — in ways that are sometimes messy and difficult. If you’re going to do this, some things need to be true of your relationship with the local church. It has to be a committed relationship. This kind of love and encouragement can’t happen without real commitment. 

It has to be relationship with a defined group of people. Church leaders need to know who they’re giving account for and church members need to know who it is that they are to love, encourage and guard. 

It has to be a relationship where people have permission to do things for you that you may not necessarily like at the time—as we saw in the 1 Corinthians 5 example of church discipline. 

Now, what do you call these kind of committed relationships with a defined body of believers where you give them this kind of permission to speak hard truths into your life? At The Heights, we have decided to use the term the apostle Paul uses in his letters as he describes Christians as members of the body of Christ. Granted, there is no place in Scripture where you will explicitly see a command to sign a piece of paper and become a member of a local church. However when you piece all these “one another” commands together, what it adds up to is what Christians through the centuries have referred to as membership. 

That is why we make such a big deal about membership in this church. Because next to your commitment to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized, becoming a church member is the most basic and vital commitment that you will be called to make in your spiritual life. Here is why: it enables us to live out the “one another” commands of Scripture, and in so doing it validates the power of the gospel.