Significance of the Church as the Body of Christ Order Instructions: This module/week, you have been studying the significance of the church as the body of Christ. In chapter 9 of Core Christianity, you read about what the church is supposed to look like within society. Some people have said that Christians, both individually and corporately, are not an accurate representation of Christ.
On page 108 of Core Christianity, Elmer Towns asks the questions, “What is it about local churches that so many misunderstand Christianity? What can churches do to become a better reflection of Christianity?” Then, he provides a brief answer to these questions on page 109. Keeping this context in mind, respond to the following prompt: Provide 2 or 3 specific and practical steps Christians can take to help the church to reflect Christ better within their community/culture. Explain why you think the steps you have provided will help to change the perception of the church within society. Include at least 2 quotes from your assigned reading to support your points.
Significance of the Church as the Body of Christ Sample Answer
Significance of the Church as the Body of Christ
There are several steps that Christians can take to help the church reflect Christ better in their community and/or culture. For the church to reflect Christ, it is important that people in the church are focused on Christ. Christians should direct all their focus on Jesus Christ and not on church leaders, pastors or any elders of the church; this is mentioned in Chapter Nine of Elmer Towns’ Core of Christianity. This way, the light that Christ cast on Christian believers can be reflected the people who are outside the church.
In essence, “every Christian believer should join a local church – the body of Christ – and become a member” (Towns, 2007). The word church as used by Elmer Towns essentially suggests the “notion of a unique community that commits itself to serving The Almighty God and to serving one another” (Towns, 2007). As such, Christians should also form a unique community which is really dedicated to serving God as well as to serving one another. This actual earthly community would be reflective of a heavenly community that is comprised of all believers. “Every believer in this universal church will enjoy oneness with Christ” (Towns, 2007). Christ’s power is reflected when Christians engage actively in the example He set with His own life. The third step is that Christians in the local church should revive, renew, and repent as Towns (2007) suggested in p.109 of his book Core Christianity. They can use Philippians 2:3-16 to guide them in this.
These steps will help to change the perception of the church within society in that the church would be seen the way it should actually be seen, that is, as a body of Christ wherein every believer is totally devoted to serving and worshiping the almighty God, as well as serving one another. Christians would also be seen as people whose actions actually reflect Jesus Christ; they would be seen as righteous and Christ-like people.
Significance of the Church as the Body of Christ References
Duvall, J. S. (2009). Journey into God’s Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible. Boston, MA: AMG Publishers.
Towns, L. (2007). Core Christianity: What Is Christianity All About? Crescent City, CA: AMG Publishers.
