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  ON BEING CHURCH
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of individual
responsibility and transformation within the church as a body of
believers.

Topics: "Nature of the Church", "Individual Responsibility"
Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 12:12

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of understanding the true nature of
Christian faith and the church, highlighting that the church is a
collective of individuals united in Christ, each with unique
responsibilities. He argues that improvement within the church comes
from the growth of its individual members rather than through external
committees or collective efforts. Tozer illustrates that each person is
born, judged, and healed individually, stressing that the Holy Spirit
works on each believer personally. Misunderstanding the church's nature
leads to ineffective solutions for its challenges. Therefore, true
transformation must begin within each individual believer.

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CONTENT
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First, they misunderstand the nature of Christian faith. . . . Second,
they misunderstand the nature of the church. You see, the church is a
body of individuals united in Christ but having separate individual
responsibilites. Thus the body is improved only as we improve the
individuals that compose the body. The Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost on
approximately 120 people. But it fell on them individually, and if any
had hardened themselves they would have been passed over. Each person is
born individually even if he or she is one of a set of triplets.

We are born one at a time, and we die one at a time; we face judgment
one at a time and, if we as Christians are sick, we will be cured one at
a time.

The body is composed of individuals, and to say, "All right, let's form
committees to look into it," is trying to do by a dozen people what God
cannot do for one person--fix the problem by external means. It does not
work, and it will never work. Because we misunderstand the nature of the
church, we misunderstand how to solve the problem.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/on-being-church/
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