One of the great heresies of the faith has been related to a proper view of Jesus. The Bible teaches that He is fully God and fully man. Yet we struggle to see how these two natures can operate together. The temptation for Bible students is to emphasize one nature over the other, usually Jesus’ spiritual nature. The usually wrong belief comes from the idea that the physical is evil and the spiritual is good. And to be honest Christianity is not the only faith to fall into the trap of emphasizing one over the other. Practically all we followers of Jesus also have a tendency to view the spiritual aspects of our faith as more important than the physical, but this is not consistent with Jesus’ life and teaching.
One of the truths that has been on my heart in my readings from the life of Jesus has been his emphasis on ministering to the physical as well as the spiritual. It seems like every section in the gospels contains an account of Jesus ministering to the physical needs while also bringing a message of the individuals spiritual needs. I should point out that all of Jesus’ miracles were done in the context of meeting physical needs, with the possible exception of casting our demons. But it could be argued that even that ministry influenced the physical well being of those freed.
So here is my point. A real deal faith, while driven by what we know is demonstrated by what we do. The spiritual and physical aspects of your life should not be seen, as two separate aspects of your life, but as the whole. I love the way the Apostle John reminds us of the need to practice a holistic faith. “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)
This past Sunday was a special day at our church. We received a designated offering for our next permit needed for our future church facility. I was impressed in my study and prayer of what I shared above. The Bible clearly teaches that the church is the people and not a building. We also know that God does not need a “house” because He does not dwell in building. The importance of a building is simply as a tool for helping to do ministry. I began my journey as a church planting believing that the church does not need a building to exist, and I still believe that. Yet, a building is an incredible tool for assisting in doing ministry. I think that it also serves a number of other purposes as I mentioned in my message that you can check out here. It is a place where the follower of Jesus can be equipped to do ministry. It is a place that is a testimony to God (because of the ministry of the Jesus’ followers). It is also a place to find God’s truth (again because of Jesus followers.) I guess I have to ask, is your faith holistic?
We have rented a large number of facilities over the years for ministry. I believe that our investment in a building is part of the holistic faith of our church that is committed to diligently teaching and living the truth in our community! Thanks to everyone that participated in the sacrificial gift that will enable us to move forward into the next phase.
-Pastor Joe Parkinson