But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. (1 Corinthians 12.18-21)

Ephesians 4.16 describes the organic unity of the congregation using the most close-knit illustration available – that of the physical body. Under the direction of the Head – ‘the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.’

The idea of joints and limbs being freely interchangeable between different bodies is unthinkable. The notion that a knuckle or elbow could unilaterally migrate to another body is ludicrous. The illustration of the body shows how seriously

God takes his sovereign right to place his people in particular churches, according to his overall plan. Our God insists that we see our lives and our service in the context of the particular church family to which he appoints us. Verses such as this place great emphasis on a group of people being edified together, so that they relate together in love, mutual care and dedicated service for the Lord, showing forth God’s power and grace.

In the light of the fact that the New Testament urges us to have a high view of the local church, how is it that so many evangelical believers have come to take such a low view? One possible reason is that they misunderstand our evangelical rejection of earthly church power. They notice that we repudiate human domination, such as church government by centralised councils or hierarchies, and that we shun human priesthood, emphasising instead the priesthood of all believers, and the direct access to the Saviour for all who seek him. However, they carry the liberty of individual believers too far, and come to think that the believer should not subordinate himself in any way to a church. They see no obligation at all, regarding the congregation as nothing more than a practical arrangement to facilitate worship and instruction.

Obviously, if the local church is no more than this, then it has no more claim upon anyone’s allegiance than a school or university or supermarket or bank. As long as believers contribute towards the benefits they receive, they should not be inconvenienced or required to make sacrifices for their local church.

While it is true that the local church has no dominating authority over the lives of its members (other than to apply the standards clearly announced in the Bible), God insists that his people should feel obligated to their churches in a special way, striving to worship and serve as a co-ordinated unit, a society of people called to prove him in the closest harmony. And they are to be loyal to their church until God himself calls them elsewhere by unmistakable guidance.

All this is taught in the various biblical pictures or metaphors of the church, particularly those of the body, the Temple building, and the family unit. Church members are pictured as integral and irremovable parts performing vital functions. God’s special regard for the local church as a cohesive unit is to be seen in the warning of 1 Corinthians 3.16-17, where Paul writes to that congregation: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile [or destroy] the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’