The people of God
Our Identity
Who are we? This is an important question because who we perceive ourselves to be determines what we do. If we don't understand who we are as God's people, we may be unfaithful to God's purposes for us and minister in misdirected or sinful ways.
We are new creations, rescued from ourselves and the kingdom of darkness, forgiven for our rebellion against God, and brought into the Kingdom of His Son to share an inheritance with Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in us. We are God's children.
We are a chosen people. God has picked us out to reflect His character to the world.
We are a royal priesthood because we have direct and immediate access to God. Through this access we can worship, seek, listen, and respond to our gracious Father.
We are a holy nation, set apart to live holy lives as aliens and strangers in the world. We are a people belonging to God, bought at a great price to declare His praises.
We are recipients of God's mercy.
We are responders to His embraces and His love.
We have begun a faith relationship that needs to grow. We are to die to ourselves daily so that Christ's life can be worked out in us and be revealed through us. We are to be learners and followers of Jesus. We are to learn who we are in Christ. We are to use our gifts as we follow and live for Him. Totally dependent on Christ, we are to remain in vital union with Him, our primary allegiance being to Jesus and His kingdom. Transformed to reflect His qualities and values, we are to exhibit humility, repentance, confession, brokenness, love, peace, transparency, perseverance, and thirst for Christ likeness.
Primary source passages:Exodus 19:3-6, Matthew 5:1-16, John 12:23-26; 15, 1 Corinthians 6:19,20, 2 Corinthians 3-5, Ephesians 1-3, Colossians 1:12,13, 1 Peter 2:9-12
People of God as a Body
In the New Testament, God's people are described not only as a family but also as Christ's bride, a building, a field, a flock, a spiritual house, a temple, the church, and the body of Christ. As members of God's family we are part of a body of brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not alone as members of His body, but we have others to help live out our identity as God's people. In fact, we need one another in order for Christ's body to function as God intends. The scope of this body is worldwide and is not limited to particular geographic areas.
Jesus Christ is head of the body and as such directs and gives life to each part. Each member is connected to the head directly, and thus all members enjoy fellowship with one another through their relationship with Christ. Jesus is our source of life, power, love, and growth. He has committed Himself to serve, nurture, support, and build up those in His body. The body is complete in Christ. He is sufficient to meet all of our needs and to minister through us to others.
The body of Christ is a single living organism made up of all believers. Our unity comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ. He is our focus and we are to remain in vital union with Him. We also live in relationship with one another. In the midst of our unity in Christ, there is much diversity. Each member of the body is unique in personality, talents, abilities, capacity, giftedness, and functioning. Each member is valuable and essential to Christ and the body. Every member is also equal to every other member in the body. There is no distinction based upon gender, race, or status. In the midst of this great diversity, the members are interdependent and need one another.
In order for the body to function in the midst of both our unity and diversity, our relationships must be based upon and lived out through God's love. We are to demonstrate love, communicate with, refresh, and enjoy one another. As members of the body we need to come to know each other well, to share our lives and to reach out in Christ's love to meet one another's needs. We are to look to Christ as head of the body, surrender to His will and be vessels of His love and power so we can work together in harmony for His purposes. Christ intends His body to grow and reproduce in the world. It is the quality of life in the body that draws others to Christ.
Jesus Christ does not abdicate His headship over the body. Human leaders never become a substitute for Christ. They live in close union with Christ and seek to serve Him and others in the body. Servant leaders allow the life of Christ to be lived out through them and are intimately involved with people as they use their gifts. Servant leaders serve people for Jesus' sake, willingly (not out of a sense of compulsion), eagerly, (not for what they can get out of it), and with humility (not controlling or manipulating people). Servant leaders look to God to create an environment of love where the Holy Spirit is free to work and where people are encouraged to be who God has made them to be. This environment encourages people to look to Christ, listen to Him, and respond in obedience so God can change them from the inside out. Servant leaders help all members of the body grow in their capacity to minister, to discover and use their gifts, and to serve others. God gives servant leaders authority over others to free them up to focus on Jesus, as well as, to build them up to maturity. Servant leaders are stewards of God's people in their exercise of Christ's authority and thus accountable to God.
In summary, the body is the people of God who live dependent on Christ and through whom, in many forms and manifestations, Christ lives and works in the world. The people of God are the instruments of the Holy Spirit in working out God's purposes.
Primary source passages: Matthew 23:8-12; 28:18-20, John 15:1-17; 17, 1 Corinthians 12; 13, 2 Corinthians 2:14--5:21; 13:10, Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 4; 5, Colossians 1-3, 1 Peter 5:1-6
