Can a Christian be the Church by Himself?

Can a Christian be the church by himself?

Previously, we looked at Matthew 18:19-20, which we discovered cannot be used to define church as a minimum gathering of 2 or 3 people. So what is church? It is defined not as the physical gathering of people in a particular location, but as the spiritual gathering by God of all believers into Jesus Christ (See the discussion here).

So, it seems possible for a person to be the church all by himself.

However, I do not think a person can be the church all by himself when he is alone.

Confused?

Since the church is a spiritual gathering, and we do not “go to church” but the church goes with us, then wherever we go, there goes the church. However, one of the primary functions and purposes of the church is to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in the world, which is impossible when you are all by yourself.

There must be other people around to you and I to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus to.

So, we cannot go rogue. We cannot be Lone Ranger Christians. We cannot isolate ourselves from other people and be the church all by ourself in the woods.

Isolation from other believers is never wise, and is actually quite dangerous. Though theologically, you are still ”in church” even when you are not physically with other believers, this does not mean that you can properly function as the church when you fail to gather physically with other believers.

While the church is with you wherever you go, the church is not just Jesus and me. All believers around the world and throughout time are the church, and in order to function as the church, we must seek opportunities to gather together.

A lot of this is elaborated further by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11, and his discussion of spiritual gifts and the Body of Christ, which we will look at later.

But for now, what do you think? Can a lone Christian be the church, but not function as the church? What about the Chinese Christian pastor in a solitary prison cell?

Check out these related posts on Scripture, Theology, and Church:

Two or Three are Gathered

Sell Your Church Building

What is the Church Building?

Exponential Church Growth

Cancel Your Church Service

Want to read more about Bible and Theology? Try one of these:

http://www.alanknox.net Alan Knox

So, I’m gonna get grammatical again.

The word “ekklesia” (“church”) is a collective, like the English words crowd or team. One person can’t be a crowd or team, because by definition the terms refer to more than one individual (when referring to people). In the same way, one person cannot be called “ekklesia” (“church”).

Now, one person alone can be a child of God. But, I think, God’s creates and then re-creates his children for intimate relationships with him and with others. While there may be certain instances where that kind of relationship with others is not possible, that should be the exception, not the rule.

Unfortunately, I’ve heard from too many disciples of Jesus who honestly desire and seek intimate relationships with others, but are turned away for various reasons. Most of the reasons are organizational, institutional, or even doctrinal in nature, but are not based on their mutual relationships with God through Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

-Alan

http://www.tillhecomes.org Jeremy Myers

Alan,

I agree with you that ekklesia is a collective, or gathering. I just don’t think it always refers to a physical collective or gathering. It can also be a spiritual gathering of all believers into Jesus Christ. The entry for ekklesia (under kaleo) in TDNT really emphasizes this. For example, here are a few quotes:

“The decisive point is not that someone or something assembles; it is who or what assembles. The explicit or implicit addition “of God” or “of the Lord” tells us who assembles, or who causes men to assemble” (III:505).

The article says that the assembly is qualitative, not quantitative. “Size is of no account. It is in being when God gathers His own.”

“Each community, however small, represents the total community” (III:506).

“The decisive point is fellowship with Christ. Epigrammatically, a single individual could be — and would have to be — the ekklesia if he has fellowship with Christ. Only on this basis do we have a fellowship of men with one another as brothers. In face of all sociological attempts to understand the question of the church, it must be considered that in Paul, in his disciples, and then in the Fourth Evangelist, ecclesiology is simply Christology and vice versa” (III:512).

I’m not saying we have to agree with KL Schmidt who researched and wrote that article, but to me, his arguments are fairly persuasive.

http://www.alanknox.net Alan Knox

Jeremy,

If I understand him correctly, then I agree. However, I think he’s shifting categories, because he’s using the term ekklesia in two different ways.

1) ekklesia can be used in the spiritual/eschatological sense of God gathering/assembling his people out of the world. However, in this sense, no believer is ever alone, because they are part of that spiritual/eschatological gathering. Physically, the believer may be alone, but the usage is not physical.

2) ekklesia can be used to refer to an actual gathering/assembly of people. In this case, again, the person who is part of the ekklesia is not alone, since in this usage the term refers to more than one person.

It sounds like Schmidt may be shifting categories between those two usages of the term ekklesia. What do you think?

-Alan

http://www.tillhecomes.org Jeremy Myers

Alan,
In his article, he goes into great detail about the various types of physical gatherings that were common in NT times, and then he also talks about the spiritual/non-physical types of gatherings. After this, he basically asks, “Of which type is the NT ekklesia?” and concludes that is primarily the spiritual/non-physical type of gathering. He even goes into detail on the various places in Scripture which seem to refer to only a physical gathering (e.g., “the ekklesia in Rome”), and shows how even there, the physical gathering is representative of the entire spiritual gathering.

I probably need to wade through it a little slower, but it is a challenging article.

Sam

We understand church as all followers of Jesus, past and present. We think it is important to gather with other believers, but this may happen in many ways.

When I hear the idea of gathering with other believers discussed, it is almost always defined as gathering in a certain way, such as going to a building at a certain time and engaging in or observing certain activities. I have participated in this type of activity in the past and have noticed that in many groups, most people do not know each other and accordingly have no way of knowing if the other people present are believers.

Sitting on a cushy chair listening to songs that use the name Jesus and listening to a speaker make a speech that may or may not have anything to do with Jesus by themselves don’t necessarily constitute a gathering of believers. For us, we gather to discuss Scripture, to encourage each other, to hear each others stories of where we saw Jesus working, to work alongside each other as we serve the community in Jesus’ name Then we each depart to follow Jesus in our everyday day lives, to find opportunities daily to love our neighbors.

My wife and I recently made a couple of trips to the winter homeless shelter to deliver clothing, blankets and other items to help homeless people make it through what was probably the most dangerous two nights of the year, considering the cold, rain and sleet. While we were there, we talked to some of the people. We encouraged them and they encouraged us. We told them we brought the items to show Jesus’ love. They told us how Jesus was helping them and taking care of them. No songs, no announcements and no sermons. But we met with other believers. The church met. If you will, we “did church”.

http://www.tillhecomes.org Jeremy Myers

That’s what I’m talking about! The church is the people of God who follow Jesus (or act as Jesus) to the world.