Baptized into the
Body
A Series on Church
Membership
Let us say first and foremost that when we talk about
“church membership,” we are talking about really
joining a church: officially pledging
to worship with a congregation, to serve alongside brothers and sisters in a
local setting, and to be accountable to the brethren. Now, some folks may say that there is nothing
“official” about church membership in the New Testament. Yet, I would respond by saying that the
concept of membership was assumed in
the early church. Everyone belonged to a
local assembly during the age of the apostles.
For example, when we were baptized, we were united with
Christ (Gal 3:27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on
Christ”), but we were also immersed into the universal church (1 Cor 12:13, “For
by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body . . . and have all been made
to drink into one Spirit”). When we
became Christians, we became church members.
Now, how is that reality played out in our lives? It is fully realized when we join in the life
of a local congregation: worship, service, support, evangelism, etc.
For the next several weeks in these articles we will
continue to discuss the importance of church membership, both in obedience to
the Lord and for the good of each and every believer. This series will be helpful for all of us,
whether we are already members or not.
To take that initial step to join, we should know what we are getting
ourselves into. We should know the reason
for membership and the importance of it.
Likewise, if we are already members, it is appropriate to get a clearer
picture of what the Lord expects of us and how we can be a better member of the
body of Christ.