Originally Posted by Trapped
I was thinking about the one church one city, ground of oneness, "no divisions" issue again today.
The thing that makes anyone’s physical body "one" is that all its actions go through the head and are controlled by the head. That is the common ground of all the members in any one person's body - those members are controlled by the head. This is the ground of oneness in a physical body.
Many parts of the body are grouped together.....for example, fingers and thumbs in the hand, but none work 100% in isolation. There are always muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, nerves, connective tissue all working together to perform any action or carry out any function.
So we can group things based on “locality” in the body – hands, feet, head, arms, legs, elbows, etc. Those things are grouped by locality. However, there is also a way to group things based on the function they emphasize – connective tissue, nervous system, vascular system, lymphatic system, digestive system, etc. So one Protestant group is the water content of the body. The local churches are the connective tissue. Other groups are the lymphatic system. Others are the digestive system. Etc. All different emphasizing different things but working together to carry out the needs of the entire body and all functioning according to the direction of head.
On the other hand, there are some parts of the body that will never ever meet directly - the tips of my fingers and my elbow joint, for example, will never meet (on the same arm that is…..unless my radius and ulna are broken in half!). Same with the back of my head and my knees. Same with my ears and my tailbone. This does not mean that they are not part of the same body and does not mean the body is divided. It’s just the nature of how a body works.
What causes problems is when two parts that need to come together REFUSE to meet when they should or REFUSE to follow the direction of the head to work in mutuality. If I need to lace the fingers of both my hands together to give someone a leg up and my two hands refuse to listen to the direction of the head and refuse to come together, that is when problems and divisions occur. Additionally, the same problem can occur when one part refuses while the other is willing. I would liken this to the local churches statement that anyone can come to us but that we won’t go to others. If I have an itch on my foot, usually both my foot and hand need to come together somewhere in the middle to take care of the need. If my foot always has to come up to my hand height, but my hand will never move down towards my foot, then that is a problem and not the normal functioning of a body.
It is important to note that naming different systems and groups different things does nothing to affect the proper functioning of the body, as long as all are willing to go through the head. (here, however, I will concede 1 Corinthians 1:13……best not to name yourselves “of [another person]”)
It is also important to note that the members of a physical body don’t operate under the constant awareness and repeated trumpeting of their standing of oneness through the head. It is just their objective reality. They just respond. Earlier today I took a shower while thinking about this topic, and I could not figure out how my hands knew to scrub the shampoo into my head, swish it around, and then wash it out. The head wanted it and the hands just responded.
Are there cancers in the body? Yes. Are there diseases in the body? Yes. Are there problems in the body? Yes. Each system and group within the body is more than prone to problems, in the Body as well as in the physical body. That is why all the Christians within a city need to be willing to work together and come together. It is okay if they come together for an occasion and then “part ways” the next weekend. My hands and feet are not always in close proximity to each other. The crucial thing is that they come together when the body needs it and when the head tells them to.
Anyway, these are just some thoughts I had to get down. Feel free to rip it all apart. I am sure my body metaphor breaks down in some areas, but it is the metaphor the Lord has given us to understand His Body, so I think it is worth thinking about some. For me personally the general analogy I’ve laid out above helps to reconcile the concept of “one church one city” with having “different” gatherings of Christians being a legitimate and necessary part of the entire Body. The one church in the one city truly is all the believers in that city, not just one of the gatherings that calls itself such.
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