Lesson Two – The Visible Community
One aspect of the Ecclesia we hardly touched on in the last lesson was visibility. If you consider however that the list of nine items in the last lesson are all about what the body should “look like.” This term in itself is a description of visibility.
Let’s once again look at the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in this regard:
The body of Christ takes up space on earth that is a consequence of the incarnation. Christ came to his own. But at his birth they gave him a manger, for “there was no room in the inn.” At his death they thrust him out, and his body hung between earth and heaven on the gallows. But despite all this, the incarnation does involve a claim to a space of its own on earth. Anything which claims space is visible. Hence the body of Christ can only be a visible body, or it is not a body at all.
(The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, page 248)
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: (1 Pet. 1:2)
The body of believers consists of a group of people who have been elected (Matt. 24:22, 24, 31; Mark 13:20; Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12). The members of this group are not self-appointed, nor appointed by a leader, church pastor or evangelist. They are “called out” by the Lord; He appoints them to serve Him according to His purpose “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29), to be transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Col. 3:18). There is a divine purpose in this election and that is that the body of believers may be presented before Christ “spotless and blameless.”
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27).
The Apostle Paul, in the context of a husband loving and caring for his wife, has provided for us an image of Christ loving and caring for His elect. The above verse clearly identifies Christ as the one who sanctifies and cleanses the body. The result being that the body of believers should be holy and without blemish.
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:6-8).
In this passage of scripture the Apostle John is hearing the rejoicing in heaven as they prepare for the marriage feast and the inauguration of Christ’s kingdom. The elect is described as a wife “and to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright.” The fine linen, clean and white, represents the righteousness of the church. The Bible provides clear imagery of what the community of elect should look like, for it is to be presented to our savior without spot or blemish. Is this not also how the church should stand before the world? A light that is to shine (Matt. 5:14-16); to represent the character of God by being conformed to the image of His Son.
What then is the responsibility of the body of believers? If Christ is the One who sanctifies and cleanses the body what is meant by “His wife has made herself ready”? The wife, or church, has taken action to be ready. Jesus addressed this very subject in His parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13), where the wise virgins came prepared for the wedding, and the foolish ones did not. What then is expected of one who is elected for service, and what is the responsibility of the community – the church? We will explore those questions in the next lesson.