The Larger Vision and Need of the Hour

The Larger Vision and Need of the Hour THE LARGER VISION AND NEED OF THE HOUR
J. N. ARMSTRONG The reader of the New Testament becomes acquainted with a number of phrases by which the people, bought and saved by the blood of Christ in New Testament times were designed. These phrases in the strictest sense are not names, but descriptive phrases used by the Holy Spirit to assist the reader in knowing what kind of people the Lord’s people are designed to be and what their relations to God and to Christ are.

Some of these phrases are “the church,” “the churches of Christ,” “the temple of God,” “the family of God,’ “the body of Christ,” and so forth. As to which one of these phrases the Holy Spirit employs in a given chapter depends upon the subject treated or the lesson being taught. In writing to his disciples at Ephesus the Holy Spirit declares that Christ is the head “from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:16). Again “the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand. I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say. Because I am not of the eye, I am not of the body; is it not therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary; and those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor—but God tempered the body together, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked; that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ and severally members thereof.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Therefore, when the Holy Spirit employs the phrase, “the body of Christ,” he does it to emphasize the oneness, the good-working order, the harmony, the team work, that should characterize the church in all of its activities. He stresses the necessity of every member, and the necessity of that member’s doing his part in intelligent cooperation with every other member—that all of them and their services are needed, each in his place. In the normal human body there are no schisms, no contrariness, no factions, parties, or cliques, knockers, or blockers, but perfect harmony and cooperation. Should the hand undertake a task and find it too great to accomplish alone, without the loss of a moment the other hand. joins in the effort; should the task prove too great for the hands, the feet plant themselves advantageously and at once make it their job also. And so on, till, if required, every member of the body gets into the struggle. Finally, should the task not be accomplished, it would not be a failure of the member that first undertook the work, but a failure of the whole body. In the human body, the members fail together or succeed together. There are no "grand-stand” players, but each plays with and for the team—It is an example of perfect team work. The Lesson Applied
When the Holy Spirit wrote the first Corinthian letter, the Church at Corinth was in a serious plight. The members were warring over preachers; holding in their fellowship a man guilty of the worst type of fornication; having Jaw suits one with another; tangled up with idolatry; and torn asunder over spiritual gifts. Surely they needed to see a new vision; needed to see the miserable state to which their contentions had brought them. To give them this important lesson He points out to them the beautiful working order of their own bodies and lets them see how perfectly every member in these bodies works together with very other member—let’s them see the flawless cooperation, perfect harmony, and the unstinted per-formance of team service on the part of every organ in the body, and as they behold, He declares, “Now ye are the body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Visualize (if you please, the leadership of a congregation with its responsibilities, struggling under its load! These leaders are striving to have the best work possible in the Sunday morning Bible Classes; seeking to build up the attendace and to strengthen the teaching and to increase the good results. They are boosting and generating enthusiasm and interest to get all the young people and the children to attend, while most of the fathers and mothers “stroll” into the meeting house just in time for the “preaching,” with never a thought of joining those leaders and boosting for that teaching service and of making that job theirs. They want the class work to go on, but they want some one else to bear the burden of it and be responsible for it.

Then think of that missionary contribution! A few faithful souls that feel keenly their obligation to take care of the chief job for which the Church exists conxributed it'. What is the matter with the other members of “that body?” They are not interested; they believe (?) in preaching the. gospel at home; they don’t believe in sending money across the sea when there are lost people all around us here at home. That’s it. “If I work with you; if I join you in an effort, you must do what I want to do and you must do it in my way.” May the Lord lead us up to heights all but unknown to us and let us see a New Testament Church in all of its glory. As we behold what unstinted loyalty the New Testament teaching demands, may we in humility repent and become the body of Christ, “fitly framed and knit together” for the jobs the Lord has given to his people; may we like the members of the human body, join one another in our local work in every program in which a faithful leadership may ask us to cooperate with it.

“There Is One Body”
All Christians in a given place, it is true, constitute the body of Christ at that place; there are no “wandering stars,” but everyone belongs to some constellation, and therefore owes duties, hearty cooperation with a leadership appointed- of God. But there is another and greater vision for us to behold; namely, that we are fitly framed and knit together with every other Christian in all the world and that therefore there is a bigger and broader service than the local work, because we belong first of all to that larger body over which Jesus is head and into which we were all baptized. Will my reader observe that all the passages that I have used thus far refer to the larger body and are designed to reveal the greater vision. Under the greater and higher Leadership this greater body, this mighty army, that includes all the local bodies, is going forth to accomplish that for which its mighty Leader came into the world to accomplish; namely, to save sinners. In our thinking of the independence of the local congregation, we must not forget that Christ is over all and that these smaller groups are only in training to fit and prepare themselves for service through the larger body of which it is said, the members are fitly framed and knit together” and that by each member of this body’s doing his part the body, the greater body, builds itself up in love. To put it another way, when a government is in war, training camps are an essential to the job. To display military tactics? To put on displays for the governor when he visits the camp? Verily not. But it is all being done for a job out yonder—to conquer the enemy. Every soldier is trained looking forward to the time when all of this training is to be practically employed in a great job ahead. He looks forward to the time when his camp will be plunged into the real job for which the camp exists. Verily he has a broader vision of his job than camp activities. In army camps there is a wise plan or program being executed all the time to enlist new soldiers; skilful men are everlastingly on the job for recruits; and every man enlisted is put into daily and extensive training. But why? There is a big job ahead and every patriotic soldier enters the camp and engages in the daily training inspired by the vision given him by his leaders. He believes in his cause and is willing to make the supreme sacrifice for it. His vision may be “to make the world safe for democracy,” “to end all war,” or “to save America from German domination”—but for some great cause out yonder—all the activities of his camp are performed.

What is the job before the local churches of our Lord, the training camps of a Great Army? Is it to “keep” saved those that come into the camp? Surely this is in the plan, but is surely to be accomplished by unselfish service in saving others.

There is no conflict between the two bodies, or a difference of aims or of objectives. But the local objectives and local jobs must not be disconnected from the real job and made and end, rather than a means; they must not be allowed to obscure the sky of our vision or hinder us from the larger and more important undertaking, the execution of the Lord’s worldwide program.

I believe there is an over stressing, an exaggerating of the local body that is leading the churches to lose sight of the broader vision and therefore retarding the cause of our Master on the earth. It occurs to me that we are fast making the local church an end of effort, rather than a preparation for a great job, the real service for which the local churches, the training campus, exist. The Two Functions
As members of the body of Christ into which we were all baptized, there are two ways in which we may serve. In New Testament times, by far, the greater part of the work done by the new church was accomplished by Christians working as individuals, men and women filled with enthusiasm for the New cause and with love for lost souls, of their “own accord” went forth to proclaim the new message.

They consulted not with flesh and blood, but went out with a burning zeal to preach the gospel “not where Christ was already named.” Just as Christians have always done, we may go forth to feed the poor, to care for orphans, and to preach the gospel at our own cost without consulting with flesh and blood. We may choose our own field and work, as independent disciples under Christ. (See Acts 8:4; Acts 11:19-21; Acts 8:5; Acts 8:25; Acts 10:1-48). Not only may disciples of the Lord go of their own accord, as individuals under Christ, but these independents may stir other disciples to help them in any work undertaken. (See Acts 11:25-26; Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:36; Acts 15:41; Acts 16:1-3. For instance, Barnabas was sent by the church at Jerusalem to take care of the young congregation at Antioch, and it appears that he found the work too heavy, or, at last, in some way he found that he needed help, so, of his own accord, so far as the record shows, he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him into Antioch. “And * * * even for a whole year they were gathered together with the Church, and taught many people. Two “located ministers” labored with this young Church for a whole year. Truly there was no ecclesiastical strings on the disciples in New Testament times. They went everywhere preaching the gospel, as their hearts stirred them and as they could find doors for utterance, without consulting flesh and blood. The history of the New Testament church thus shows a hearty cooperation on a broader scale than that within the local church. Disciples recognized their obligation to one another in that broader sense, since they were “fitly framed and knit together” in the body of Christ over which Jesus is Head. What was one disciple’s job was every other disciple's job, also. With one heart and one soul they pursued a divine program, all heaving the same aims and objectives, each holding himself ready to join in helping the other engaged in any job committed to the disciples by the Lord. The Other Function
Besides this individual functioning of members of the body into which Christians have been baptized it is clearly manifested in New Testament history that congregations combined their strength and resources in accomplishing a work that no congregation could do alone. As God’s churches, each congregation keeping its own identity, they cooperated with one another in the performing of big tasks.

Just as Barnabas found more work at Antioch than ho could do, and called in Saul to help him, so congregations, as such, united their efforts to render service that individual congregations could not do alone. The Lord lays upon his churches the same obligation to work together, as congregations, in executing the great program given to the disciples, as is layed to individual members of the church to cooperate or to join together, in acomplish- ing the work given to the church.

It is not the spirit of the New Testament teaching to leave one congregation to struggle alone with a load that is a common load—a load laid upon the great body of Christ over which Jesus is Head and into which by one spirit we were all baptized. “For I say not this that others may De eased and ye distressed; by an equality your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be equality.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). This doctrine of bearing burdens together, of distributing burdens among the churches so as not to ease one church and distress another was delivered to the Corinthian church in an effort to move it to join other churches in ministering to poor saints. The job of taking care of the poor in Judea was a greater burden than one church could bear; yes, it was a greater burden than even the churches of Macedonia could handle and the Holy Spirit was urging the Corinthian church to join the Macedonian churches in the undertaking. The condition was so distressing that Titus became so deeply stirred that of his “own accord” he went forth to this church to urge it to get into the struggle. A “Brother” whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches went with Titus. This brother was also “appointed by the churches to travel with us in the matter of this grace, which is ministered by us to he glory of he Lord.” Again, “We have sent with them our brother whom we have many times proved earnest in many things, but how much more earnest, by reason of the great confidence which he hath in you. Whether any inquire about Titus he is my partner and my fellow-worker to you-ward, or our brethren they are the messengers of the churches, they are the glory of Christ. Show ye therefore unto him in the face of the churches the proof of your love, and of our glorying on your behalf."

What earnest care! What joining together of effort! What splendid interest manifested on the part of the churches in that they appointed a “brother” “to travel with us!” Think of it—a group of brethren—“messengers of the churches”— going among the churches to stir them to join with other churches to meet the emergency. A great example.

Some of the group were “appointed” by the “churches,” one went of his “own accord,” but their going and their effort is plainly approved.

First of all, there is the obligation—a host of brethren who are in need; This becomes known and individual Christians of their “own accord” became interested. Churches become so concerned that they “appointed” a brother to travel among other churches not yet concerned or interested; “messengers of the church” go forth to assemble contributions to care for the saints in distress.

Surely we need no more evidence to assure us that it is good, wise, and of divine approval to stir churches to join other churches in accomplishing jobs committed to the church. Surely it is good, too, and scriptural for one of his “own accord,” should he be so moved, to go forth to stir the churches to cooperate in meeting an emergency. It would be no grounds for criticism were he to “appoint himself” to go among the churches. Titus did this very thing and is graciously commended for this course. He did not wait for a “church” to appoint him, but went of his “own accord.” But would one contend that this is an example for churches to cooperate with one another in supplying the needs of the poor saints, but is not an example for their cooperating with one another in the doing of other service committed to the great body of Christ? In other words, is it an example for combining our strength to feed and clothe the poor, but not an example for the same and solid cooperation, for preaching the gospel to the world? As in the case when a nation is facing national peril by the approach of a formidable foe every citizen, man and woman, is utilized, drawn into the service, at home or on the field, to save the cause; so every local church on earth should be filled up to the teeth with knowledge of the great job, the outstanding work assigned to the army of the saints by the commander-in-chief, the job of rescuing captives from the Devil’s army by offering deliverance through Christ Jesus our Lord. Every Christian “at home” should be on their toes for news from the field and should be preparing to join the army on the field, or, as eager to supply the needs of those on the field driving back the enemy, establishing new forts, and possessing new territory, as patriotic fathers, mothers, sisters, and sweethearts—the army left at home, were eager in the world war to supply food and clothing—socks, sweeters and every other need—to the boys gone to war. The cause for which we fight is infinitely greater than the cause for which those boys fought, and in our interest, enthusiasm, and sacrifices we should put to shame the patriotism displayed in that war. In the world war we at home did without, denied ourselves of comforts and even necessities to supply the wants on the field; we ate brown bread, corn bread, rye-bread, to save the white bread for those on the field; we did without sugar that the boys on the field might have it. We stinted ourselves, doing without in every way helpful to maintain the army on the field. To the patriotic at home the needs of those on the field came first. Mothers, wives, sisters, and sweethearts donned overalls and went to the stores, factories, shops, and farms that men might be freed to join the army on the field.

Although our cause is infinitely important, the greatest in the world, our workers, the army on the field, go without necessities, live without screens on their houses, when it u deadly almost to do it, and make other severe sacrifices, and that without murmur, while we live at home comparitively in luxury. But worst of all, those few workers we have out yonder are desperately hampered for supplies, means with which to battle against the enemyt They can’t rent a hall or support native workers, supply other severe demands of that work, because we do not hold up their hands as we should. The whole thing is summed up in these words— we are not in the fight with them.

Every farm, store, factory, shop, and office controlled by Christians “at home” should be run in the interest of the war, should be dedicated to the great cause for which Jesus died. Instead we are running them for ourselves; even the “camps” (local churches) of the army are exhausting themselves on camp activities. Nine tenths of the means, ability, and efforts of the local churches are devoted to the keeping of these churches alive. May the Lord open our eyes and enlarge our hearts that we may get into the real struggle as the faithful body of Christ “fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:16).