Life in the Christian Community

MEMORY VERSE: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” —Romans 12:2

ROMANS 12:1-8; I CORINTHIANS 12:12, 13

IF WE think of a community as being a village, a town, or a city, it is well to remember that on earth today there is no such thing as a Christian community—nor has there ever been such a community. The reference in the caption of our lesson is therefore obviously to the community of people which the Bible refers to as the church.

The word “church” is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia used in the New Testament. The meaning of this word is a called-out people, a class. This people is called out from the world to be a separate people. James declares that God did visit the Gentiles to take out from them a people for his name, this call having first gone to the Israelites.—Acts 15:14

The terms of God’s call to these is the complete dedication of themselves to know and do his will as they find it revealed in the Bible. In the first two verses of our lesson Paul writes, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Paul makes his appeal to present everything to the Lord in sacrifice upon the basis of God’s mercy. This is quite in contrast with evangelistic efforts usually made in which fear is used to induce the hearer to surrender to the Lord. No one ever became a true Christian through fear.

As Paul clearly indicates, there is a work to be accomplished by those who have devoted their all to the Lord, and that work is the renewal of the mind in order to know what the perfect will of God is. We are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be transformed through attaining a new outlook on life, and approaching every detail of life with the desire to know what God would have us do. Verse 3 reads, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

How different this is from the viewpoint of the world! Generally speaking, a man of the world who is not considering the will of God in his life, likes to think of himself as wise and accomplished, and certainly superior in many ways to his neighbors. A candidate for political office is willing to spend huge sums of money to tell the world that he is far superior to those who may be running against him for election to a certain office. But this must not be the way of those who are transforming their minds and hearts to the doing of God’s will.

These, while not concluding that they are worthless—not capable of doing anything in the Lord’s service—are to make a proper appraisal of themselves, and be ready humbly to serve the Lord in whatever way or ways divine providence may open up for them. And in their service of the Lord they will seek to glorify him, not themselves, and will ever recognize that it is only by divine grace and mercy that they are able to serve the Lord at all.

There are many members in the Christian community, or, as Paul puts it in I Corinthians 12:12,13, the “body” of Christ. But these various members of the body, the church, are not all able to serve in the same way. The important thing is that we use whatever opportunities and means of service the Lord gives to us, and at the same time rejoice that our fellow members, although serving in other ways, are also members of this wonderful Christian community, and do all we can to cooperate with them. It is in this and other ways mentioned by Paul that we are transformed to the will of God. See the remainder of chapter 12, and also chapters 13 and 14.

QUESTIONS

What is the Christian community?

How do we prove “what is that good, and perfect and acceptable will of God”?

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