Are You Christocentric or Churchocentric? Part 2
For starters it is the will of God that believers be Christ-o-centric.
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
Phil. 2:9-11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus confirms He wants us to be Christ-o-centric.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
The Holy Spirit is Christ-o-centric.
John 15:26-27 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John 16:13-15 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
The receiver of the Grace Message, Paul was Christ-o-centric.
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
The apostle Peter was Christ-o-centric.
1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.
Luke was Christ-o-centric.
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
The Hebrews author was Christ-o-centric.
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The central focus of the Community of the Redeemed should always be on Jesus Christ. Any denomination that has for its focus someone or something other than Jesus Christ is apostatizing. Most segregated, denominated denominations are just that...in apostasy. You cannot be a member of the Community of the Redeemed if Christ is not the "center point" of the past, present and future. Thus, the Community of the Redeemed is to be Christ-o-centric.
Are you Christ-o-centric? If you are...in all you are, you will seek to honor and bring glory to Jesus Christ, not to yourself or your denomination. You will rest in the truth that Jesus is in you and you are in Him and He does His work through you. You will not conclude that Church is a building you go to for a two hour meeting where the focus is not Christ...you will accept that the Community of the Redeemed is the Church and that it is a daily life living experience seven days a week and not just a two hour Sunday-go-meeting. You will interpret the scripture and your understanding of God as revealed through the lens of Jesus rather than through how writers write or what people say about Him.
Jesus is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15) ‘for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him’ (Colossians 1:19).
Jesus is the central subject matter of the Bible. ‘You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life’. John 5:39-40.
Jesus is the interpreter of scripture. , "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago…But I tell you…" Matthew 5:21-34.
Therefore, Jesus is the primary interpreter of the Bible and if we are not Christocentric we will draw wrong conclusions about God, the Bible, the Community of the Redeemed and the eternal purpose of God for the Community of Humanity.
If we as believers are Church-o-centric instead of Christ-o-centric our Christ-ology, our God-ology, our Theology, our Doxology, Ideology and our Church-ology may be WRONG-OLOGY!
I am both. I agree with you when you say we should be Christocentric but I am also Churchocentric.
ReplyDeleteChrist was churchocentric, Paul was churchocentric and so was the other apostles.
Paul said in Ephesians 5:25 that we are to love our wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it. It doesn`t say that Christ gave himself for His community but for His church.
Paul said the church is the manifestation of God`s manifold wisdom of God.(Ephesians 3:10)
Paul said that the church was bought by blood of Christ. (Acts20:28)
Paul said that the church is household of God.(1Tim.3:15) Every Christian is a part of this household.
Paul taught that the church is a saved body. Christ is saviour of the body.(Eph.5:23)
Last but not least we cannot be a part of this church unless the Lord adds us as He did in early church.(Acts 2:47)
We might think today that the church is in a mess with all of the different denominations and different beliefs. But the church was in such a mess in Paul`s day that he had to write so many letters.
The recipients of these letter were debaucherous and immoral. Infighting was common, and they were quick to sue each other. They entertained false teachings and lacked spiritual maturity.
Even the churches of Revelation was in such a sad state that Christ had to reveal through John what he would do if they didn`t repent.What I like about Christ being churchocentric was that even though He rebuked them He also commended for the good works that they did by saying I know thy works.Those today who are not churchocentric are always putting the church down but never seeing any good being done. Not so with Christ.For instance Christ said I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee.
So I like being Christocentric and being Churchocentric. It is not one or other but both.