Christian growth requires submission to the work and influence of other Christians in the local church to help you grow in Christ and observe all that Christ commands. If you don’t submit yourself to the ministry of other Christians in a local church to disciple you, can you really call yourself a faithful disciple of Christ? Are you really submitting to him as your king? Can you be an authentic and maturing disciple of Jesus Christ apart from membership in a local church?

As a pastor in Australia, there are two questions I must constantly answer in conversation: “What is the gospel?” and “What is a church?” I have come to see that they are, in some respects, the same question.

After 17 years in the US, I returned to Australia two years ago. Getting outside the US has given me an opportunity to look back in with fresh eyes. The following two articles are some of my reflections.

I wrote the first article with Australian Christianity in mind. I have printed it and use it in conversation with unchurched professed Christians. When Rooted Thinking came across the article and wished to publish it, I asked to write the second article. The first article presents the problem. The second presents what I think is the biblical solution.

I pray that the Lord would use these articles in the USA, Australia, and beyond, to cause a more biblical Christianity to flourish, not so that we may have something but so that Christ may have something—the reward for which he died, a people, the church.

Their Numbers are Growing

I have met them all over the world. They say, “I am a Christian, a follower of Christ, but I am not a member of a church.” “The Lord is my shepherd. Why do I need a pastor?” “The Bible never commands Christians to join a church.” “I am a Christian, and I used to go to church, but not anymore.” The Scriptures speak so clearly to such people that I am surprised they make such statements.

Below are four biblical matters I think you should ponder. If the Scriptures say what I think they say, local church membership is vital to Christianity. These matters lead me to the conclusion that authentic Christianity requires local church membership. If we refuse to submit ourselves to a healthy local church, are we following Christ?

The Holy Spirit

Every Christian possesses the Spirit of God. If you don’t, you don’t belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). Why does Christ give his followers the Spirit? One of the main effects of Christ’s gift of the Spirit is to unite believers into one body (Eph. 4:3). Because there is one Spirit, the body of Christ is one (1 Cor. 12:12–13). Disunity in the body of Christ contradicts the unity produced by Christ’s gift of the Spirit.

Beyond unity, the Spirit of God also gives spiritual gifts to the individual members of the body. These gifts are for the edification of the body (1 Cor. 12:27–28; Eph. 4:11–16). So, the Spirit of God creates the body and gifts the members so that each may contribute to the growth and edification of the other members. That means that every member whom the Spirit includes in the body and gifts is needful for the spiritual growth and health of the other members (1 Cor. 12:21–24).

Christianity is not a religion that’s just between you and God. Christianity is a religion that puts God’s Spirit within you to unite you with other members of the body of Christ because you need those other Christians if your Christianity is to be genuine. Far from making Christians autonomous, Christ’s gift of the Spirit makes Christians dependent on the other members of the body for edification and spiritual growth.

A Big Question

The big question to settle is this: What is the scope of this “body?” If every member of the body that the Spirit adds is needful, who are those members? If it is the “whole body” that causes the growth of the body (Eph. 4:15–16), what are the boundaries of this “body?” Is this the universal church or the local church?

Two considerations settle that question. First, Ephesians 4:11–16 makes clear that this “whole body” is equipped for ministry to itself by pastors who teach (Eph. 4:11–13). Pastors minister locally. They equip that local body in that place to build itself up. That means that the whole body that contributes to your spiritual growth is a local body—a local church.

Second, can we really say that every member of the universal church is needful to the spiritual growth and edification of every other member (1 Cor. 12:21–24)? Does that mean every Christian in the universal church today is “needful” to your spiritual growth? Has every saint from the past contributed to your spiritual growth? Can you say that every saint in the universal church who will live after you is “needful” to your spiritual growth?

A Big Answer

These two considerations drive us to the necessary conclusion that the “body” referred to in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 is the local church. Christ has given you the Spirit, and the Spirit unites you to a specific local church because every member in that local church is necessary for your spiritual growth, and you are to theirs.

Can I ask you a question? If this is the shape of your salvation—being given the gift of the Spirit to unite you to the body of Christ—can you live as a spiritual recluse and be a faithful follower of Christ? If you refuse to commit to a healthy local church, are you actually growing in Christ? Can you be a healthy Christian outside of a local church?

The Great Commission

Because Jesus Christ possesses all authority in heaven and on earth, he commands his followers to make disciples of all the nations (Mat. 28:18–20).

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