The Communities in Christ Jesus!

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (1 John 5:1, Romans 12:4-5 NIV)

First of all, we need to know that God is our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6), and He longs us to come to Him by believing in Jesus Christ. This is because Jesus proclaims: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) However, He adds: “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7) The reason for this is that He wants us to know that He is God; the image of God, but only in the human form. Thus, the word of God declares:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Colossians 1:15-22)

Secondly, we need to know we automatically become the children of God, if we believe in Jesus Christ. We can see this in John 1:12-13, which states:

Yet to all who did receive him [Jesus Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Therefore, since we are reconciled by Christ’s physical body (Colossians 1:22) and know that we are the children of God—we could consider ourselves as the members of the church. (1 Corinthians 12:27) Because of this, we are meant to be an ambassador of Christ in every way—since Jesus Christ is the head of the church. (Colossians 1:18)

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. For you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." (Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 John 4:12)

This is why the word of God declares:

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Overall, we are the members of one another in Christ Jesus. We can see this in Romans 12:4-5 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13:

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4-5)

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

This is why there are communities in this world. We are supposed to spiritually encourage and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)—since our destiny is to enter the kingdom of heaven, which is the spiritual world. This is because it is our eternal home as well! (Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:1)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25)

Thus, we could say, “Blessed are the living churches, for there is the kingdom of heaven!”

Now you… are not visitors or strangers, but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation that the apostles and prophets prepared. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building. The whole building is joined together in Christ, and he makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)