The Body of Christ Comments Page

3/4/2017

This page is for comments on the article The Body of Christ. Our attitudes towards church and ministry and even one another are drastically changed when we begin to see the church as the Body of Christ and understand our role in it. So let's use this space to encourage and affirm one another as vital members of His Body.

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4 Comments

3/29/2017 10:04:15 am

So do all the leaders' opinions have equal weight? I guess if that is the case, how do they make decisions when all are not in agreement? I probably need to read through the rest of the articles to see if this is answered later on, but it's the obvious question that pops up in my thinking. I've been in a few meetings where no consensus was possible, and just wonder how this would be addressed in a New Testament church setting.

Brother Barnabas

3/29/2017 12:08:58 pm

Those are good questions and you make a good point, JA. Like many of the teachings of the New Testament, it isn't always easy but we have found that God's way is the best way. In this case, leaders must have a strong enough relationship with the Lord and with one another that they can lay aside personal agendas and egos for the sake of obedience to the Lord and love for one another. In other words, they realize that doing God's will and being in good relationship with their fellow leaders is more important than accomplishing an agenda or getting their way all the time. Of course, this calls for leadership teams that really love one another and share their lives together rather than just getting together once a month to discuss issues and vote. There are a lot of other issues that we could address here, but as you said many of them are covered in other articles on this website, especially in the leadership section.

Pastor Mike

3/29/2017 02:21:35 pm

You didn't really answer JAs questions. Plus the article never even addressed the facts of church traditions and the Old Testament priesthood and that God has been calling men into the ministry to be pastors or priests for nearly 2000 years now.

Brother Barnabas

3/30/2017 01:46:50 pm

Thanks for your question about the priesthood, Mike. God certainly has been calling men and women into the priesthood for nearly 2,000 years, but it is to the priesthood of all believers (see the article Priesthood of All Believers for more). The priesthoods spoke of in the O.T. were 1) the Aaronic priesthood that God instituted for the people of Israel and was a foreshadowing of the priesthood that all Christians are a part of through Jesus Christ, who is a priest in the order of Melchizedek (see the book of Hebrews). 2) the priesthoods of various pagan and idolatrous religions. Unfortunately, many Christian churches have a clergy system that is a mixture of practices adapted from the forementioned pagan religions as well as the Aaronic priesthood. If this were God's intention, He could have easily had Paul and Peter institute a new priesthood of select Christian leaders. They did the opposite, however, by declaring that all Christian believers have direct access to God, are gifted for ministry by God, are filled with the Holy Spirit, etc. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ who act as priests by representing God to the world and intercede before God for the world around us. 1 Peter 2:9 makes it clear that all believers in Christ make up a "royal priesthood."

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