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1
Corinthians 12:27
“Now
you are the body of Christ,
and members individually.”
Introduction
Every church or denomination has certain distinctive teachings,
emphases, or practices that form part of its identity and set it apart
from all others. For our
churches, one of the central teachings is the church as the Body of
Christ. Of course,
almost every group of Christians believes that the church is the Christ’s
Body in some sense. For
us, however, the Body is something we live on a daily basis, and
emphasize constantly in our teachings.
Our beliefs about the Body are connected to
our belief in God’s revelation – we believe that the Holy Spirit still
speaks today and wants to guide and teach God’s people, so we believe
that the Body of Christ is dynamic, alive, always learning and
progressing toward a goal. This
understanding of the Body affects our approach to ministry, evangelism,
salvation, how we handle spiritual gifts, worship, and church finances. [Read
more ...] [Download PDF]
The
Body and Ministry
Our understanding of “ministry” flows from our understanding of the Body. We use the word “ministry” to
refer only to the pastors the Lord raises within the Body. All the members serve the Lord
in various ways, of course (offering hospitality to the brethren,
evangelism, church music, teaching Sunday School, etc.) – but we refer
to these as ways of “serving the Lord” rather than as “ministries.” When our members do serve the
Lord in these various ways, it is always in connection with the Body,
not in isolation. [Read more ...] [Download
PDF]
The
Body and Spiritual Gifts
Our understanding of the Body affects our approach to spiritual gifts
like prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, etc.
It also controls our approach to evangelism,
salvation, prayer, and worship – every aspect of the Christian life. [Read
more ...] [Download PDF]
The
Faithful
Church
as the Body of Christ
The doctrine of the Body is one of the most important messages we have
to offer the world at this hour. We
recognize that this emphasis is one of the things that makes us
different from other churches, but we must be obedient to the calling
the Lord gave us. Our
teachings about the Body are not intended to criticize other churches,
or to engage anyone in an argument. Instead,
we are simply preaching our message – what we believe is the Holy
Spirit’s message for this hour.
[Read more ...]
[Download PDF]
The
Body and Evangelism
Our
outreach efforts reflect the teamwork found in the Body, and our
commitment to integrate newcomers into the Living Body of Christ.
[read more...]
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