The Work of the Church
One of the most subtle misdirects prevalent in mainstream Christian culture is the promotion of the idea that a church must be doing some organizationally directed, collective work. The concept arises from a corporate mindset, which demands that every organization must be focused on creating some particular product or providing some particular service. However, the Church of Heaven is not an organization. The members of the Church of Heaven are not engaged in doing any particular work. The Church is a body, not an organization, so all the members cannot be focused on any particular work, because a body requires a wide diversity of functions to remain viable. If every member was focused on the same work, the body would be rendered impotent. Each member of the body must perform a unique function in the body in order for the body to continue to live, so we should not be surprised that the concept of “the work of the church” does not appear anywhere in scripture.
Most evangelical Protestant denominations have imagined a collective work for their churches, and this work arises from a presumptuous interpretation of Jesus’ words regarding the Olivet Prophecy.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt 24:14)
We should immediately recognize that this verse is a prophecy, not a directive. Jesus prophesied that this gospel would be preached, but He did not say anything about who would preach it. Jesus’ words do not demand that any particular member should preach the gospel, let alone every member. The word “church” does not even appear here, so one cannot conclude with certainty that Jesus' statement prescribes any work for a church. The Bible does not associate the word “work” together with the word “church” anywhere in scripture. The concept of "the work of the church" is a figment of the imaginations of the leaders of most organized churches.
The leaders of the congregations of the Church of Heaven make no effort to organize or direct the activities of the members, because each member is personally and individually directed by the Head of the body to accomplish a unique purpose in the body. In a physically focused church, the members are strongly encouraged to participate in the “work of the church” or to work together to accomplish a church’s “mission statement.” These serve human attempts to create physical unity in a physical church. Physically focused pastors direct members to preach the gospel, even though few know what the gospel is, and they keep their members busy organizing activities, going to meetings and doing this ever-pressing work or, at the very least, praying for those who appear to be doing it. Physically focused pastors attempt to direct everybody to do the organizationally defined “work of God,” as if human beings could possibly be doing God’s work. Most church leaders ignore Jesus' plain words about the nature of God's work and the implicit reality that God alone is able to do His work.
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
(John 6:29)
God is about the spiritual business of creating believers. God’s work causes those whom He calls to believe. Human beings cannot cause anybody to believe. Human beings cannot instill faith. Human beings can only do physical things, but God’s work is spiritual. We can’t do God’s work. God is about the business of calling sinners to His Son and placing His faith in those who believe, so the spiritual realities God teaches in the Bible can be believed. Spiritual truths require faith, because they are not true in the physical realm. God’s work equips us with the spiritual vision to believe the simple, yet profound, truths of the spiritual realm. When we believe in Him and we are believing what He says, spiritual vision may allow us to see the result of His work, but we don’t do God’s work. No human being does the work of God. Only God can do His work.
Another passage evangelical churches use to validate "the work of the church" can be found at the end of Matthew's gospel. This passage is taken out of context and used to claim that the collective church should work together to evangelize, baptize and teach all nations. Those who examine the context of this passage carefully will recognize that Jesus' instructions are only for the apostles.
"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them...And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, …Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you..." (Matt 28:16-20)
Only eleven disciples were present for these instructions, because Judas had already hung himself. These instructions were only intended for the apostles. The Greek word "apostles" is the noun form of the Greek word which means "to send out." Jesus' words were specifically for eleven disciples who were "sent out" to establish churches and teach those congregations. These words were not spoken to all of the disciples generally and cannot be used as a basis to promote the concept of "the work of the church."
The purpose of the Church is to remain focused on Jesus Christ and obey His direction. Each member must listen to the Lord speaking through the Spirit in order to accomplish what God wants each individual member to do. Each member of a body is unique, and each member fulfills a unique function in the body of Christ. Paul criticized some of the members of the Corinthian church for trying to mimic what other members of the church were doing.
"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." (1 Cor 12:14-18).
Diversity is absolutely required in a body. Every member must perform a different work, and each member must be placed in the body by God, not by the recognition of human authorities. Human beings have no ability to organize a physical body, let alone a spiritual body. A spiritual body cannot be seen by human eyes, so human beings have no capacity to even see the body of Christ, let alone place members into that body. The body of Christ is being organized by God alone, and God is placing members into the body as it pleases Him. God is doing His work through His Word, Who is personally directing all the members of the Church on earth. Each member takes personal direction from the Lord, but no member knows the overall purpose He is working to achieve beyond what we know from scripture. Jesus Christ is accomplishing a multifaceted work through the collective membership of the Church, but there is no “work of the church” in which every member must participate. Each faithful member does a different work in the congregations of the Church of Heaven.
