What’s Right with the Church
What’s Right with the Church
By Mike Powers
One of the best-known testimonies in Scripture is also a timely illustration of what is right about the Church as criticism of everything that is wrong with the Church continues. Consider Saul the antagonist of Christianity who became Paul the protagonist of the Church and apostle of Jesus Christ.
The zeal of the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus and his hatred of the Church were evident in his callous assent to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1) and his malicious intent to apprehend the disciples of the Way in Damascus (Acts 9:1-2). However, a personal, divine encounter with Jesus Christ radically transformed Saul from one of the most dangerous enemies of the early Church into Paul, the person who, apart from Jesus, arguably has been the greatest influence on the nature and witness of the Body of Christ throughout the centuries. Reflecting on the change in his life, Paul wrote, “I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8).
Fast forward a few years from his conversion to the day Paul wrote a letter to the believers in Rome. Having not visited them in person, note his pastoral concern in chapter 1, verse 11: “I long to see you so I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong.” That sounds right and proper and good that he was ready to provide what was lacking in their faith, and yet, as soon as he wrote those words, something checked his spirit as he paused and then wrote, “that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (1:12). Those two words “…that is…” reveal a 180-degree reversal of thought. Rather than simply making plans to come to address the spiritual needs of the church at Rome, something clicked in his mind, and Paul humbly admitted that he also needed what they could do for him.
What caused that 180-degree shift in this thinking? No doubt the apostle had reflected many times over the years how wrong he had been about the Church before Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus. Obviously, he also had contemplated deeply, preached passionately and written specifically about the ministry and mission of the church. Perhaps during those formative years of his faith and understanding Paul’s early experiences with “those who belonged to the Way” as recorded in the book of Acts became a reference point that occasionally reminded him what was right with the Church. Consider these three moments from the beginning of his spiritual journey as a follower of Jesus.
The Community of Faith
After the light from heaven flashed, blinded, and caused him to fall to the ground, Jesus spoke, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He commanded the helpless Saul to get up and go into the city where he would be told what to do. There Saul fasted and prayed and waited for third days.
This “dark night of the soul” was the setting where Saul would learn his first lesson as to what is right about the church. The Lord appeared in a vision to a prophet named Ananias and directed him to go to Saul and minister to him. “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Gentiles and the people of Israel” (Acts 9:11). A reluctant, but obedient Ananias went to Saul, and as he laid his hands on him, Saul received his sight and was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Saul’s association with those belonging to the Way and publicly proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God surprised and upset the local leaders. Guards were set at the gates of Damascus, ready to seize and arrest him if he tried to leave. It was in this remarkable series of events that Saul, a young believer, learned something that is right about the Church. In the middle of the night, to help him escape from the harm others intended for him, devoted and faithful friends placed him in a basket and lowered him to safety outside the city walls. Ananias might have been one of those rope holders. Regardless, had it not been for the faithful obedience of Ananias and the strong arms of his brothers (and maybe a sister or two), Saul would not have survived. That loving, supportive, caring community of faith made the first impression of the Church upon this young convert uniquely chosen by God for a divine purpose. Without a doubt that first experience with the fellowship of Christ was a powerful memory Paul recollected as he considered what was good and right about the Church.
A Covenant Relationship
A second unforgettable experience for the new convert Paul followed shortly after his escape from Damascus. Heading toward Jerusalem, he surely was anticipating the opportunity to participate in the fellowship and share his story with the original disciples of Jesus as well as other believers. However, upon arriving in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26), Paul tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him, not believing he really was a disciple. They doubted the authenticity of his conversion and suspected that he was being deceitful, still intent on subversively destroying the church.
His second impression of the people who belonged to the Way obviously was disappointing. Undoubtedly, Paul was surprised, hurt, and discouraged by such a response to his new-found faith. Yet, his uneasiness prepared him for his next indelible lesson about the Church. A layman named Joseph stepped forward and defended him before the other disciples. Joseph, nicknamed Barnabas, literally ‘Son of Encouragement,’ put his reputation on the line as he dared to identify with this young, unproven Christian when no one else dared. In that moment, Paul observed another thing that is right about the Church: it is a covenant relationship where one is welcomed, supported, loved, prayed for, and belongs.
The Church is the unfolding story of believers learning to live in covenant with God and live out that covenant with others in Christ to bring others into a relationship with God and others in the covenant community of faith. Barnabas was one of the earliest witnesses of such “radical togetherness” to Saul. His bold embrace was a statement before the dubious congregation that Saul was welcome and belonged to the ‘new covenant.’ That surely was another image Paul would have treasured as to what was right about the Church.
A High Calling
At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, in a resurrection appearance, Jesus gave the Great Commission to his disciples: Go into all nations, making disciples, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). In Acts 1:8, before his ascension, Jesus told the disciples again, “Be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, across the world.” (i.e., “Go. Do not stay. Go!”)
Yet, it is not until Acts 11, when the believers in Jerusalem were persecuted by the Romans, that they scattered far and wide, sharing the Gospel, but only with Jews. Several disciples from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and began telling the Greeks (non-Jews) about Jesus, and many people believed and became followers. When the church at Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. God greatly blessed his ministry there, so he went to Tarsus to get Saul and brought him back to Antioch where large numbers came to Christ. It was there that the disciples were first called “Christians.” Through the generosity of the Antioch Church, Saul and Barnabas provided famine relief help for believers in Judah. On their return, as the Antioch Church leaders were praying, and the Holy Spirit confirmed the prophecy spoken to Ananias: “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Gentiles and the people of Israel” (Acts 9:11). Saul and Barnabas were to be set apart, commissioned and sent as the first missionaries to the Gentiles. It was at the church in Antioch that Saul learned firsthand many lessons as to what was right about the Church, but particularly, he received the confirmation of his high calling to be an apostle to of Jesus Christ to all nations.
Did one or more of these experience pop into Paul’s head as he was writing the Roman church years later: “I long to see you so I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encourage by each other’s faith.” Maybe or maybe not, but undoubtedly, Saul the antagonist of the Church became Paul the protagonist of the Church. His ecclesiology was shaped from the beginning of his spiritual journey on the Way as he learned what was right about the Church from by a reluctant, but obedient prophet and a caring community of loving friends and faithful servants of Jesus at Damascus. He felt what was right about the Church from a disciple named Joseph, nicknamed Barnabas, who dared to reach out in a spirit of radical togetherness and bond himself with a novice disciple. And, he engaged firsthand in a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led church in Antioch which confirmed and partnered with him in the high calling of God to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
What’s right about the Church? It is a community of faith where anyone, even a Saul of Tarsus, can begin, belong, and become what God has created them to be.
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