Organic Oneness
The word "organic" is not used in the New Testament, but the fact is there. We are organically joined to Christ and to our Christian brothers and sisters. There is a life relationship between us that was formed on the day of Christ's resurrection, and it should be experienced by us from the day of our regeneration. We should never replace this organic relationship with anything artificial.
Our Organic Relationship with Christ:
The Vine with Its Branches
The Lord Himself unveiled our organic relationship with Him in John 15. In verse 5, He says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." It is hard to tell when looking at a vine where the trunk ends and the branches begin. One thing is for sure - if you sever the branch from the vine, it will die. The relationship is organic. The branch cannot live without the vine, and the vine depends on the branches for fruit.
The verse before this says "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me," and the verse that follows says "If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." Everything of value depends on our maintaining an active, organic relationship with Christ the vine. Without it, we will cease to bear fruit and our spiritual life will dry up.
The Head with Its Body
The second picture of our organic relationship with Christ comes from the Apostle Paul. In Colossians 1:18, he writes, "And He is Head of the Body, the church," and in Ephesians 4:15-16, he says, "But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love." Who can deny the organic relationship pictured here? He is our Head and we are His body. Our spiritual growth is "into Him." Our being joined and knit together is "out from" Him. Any member severed from the Head will surely die!
Our Organic Relationship with One Another:
Members One of Another
Our relationship with one another is equally organic. On this point the Apostle Paul is extremely clear. Romans 12:5 says, "So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Yes, we are many, but we are each members of the one Body of Christ, and thus members of one another. This organic connection affects our relationship with one another, as Ephesians 4:25 shows. "Therefore having put off the lie, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." Why should we speak truth to one another? Because we are members one of another! To Paul, it seemed inconsistent for one member of the Body to live or speak a lie before another member.
Paul told the Thessalonians "Because now we live if you stand firm in the Lord" (1 Thes. 3:8). His organic bond to those in that young church was very real. Their stand affected his life. What happened to them mattered to him because his relationship with them was organic. He likened himself as their "nursing mother" (2:7) and as "a father to his own children" (2:11). He told them, "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you? For you are our glory and joy" (vv 2:19-20).
This is emphasized in 1 Corinthians 12. Verse 12 says, "For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ." This chapter goes on to describe the great variety that exists among the many members of that one body. But this is not a problem because, as verses 24b-27 say, "God has blended the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked, that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same care for one another. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." The results of our organic blending, even in the midst of great variety, are oneness and mutual care. Our organic relationship rules out competition and pride. There is genuine mutual suffering and mutual rejoicing as we experience one another's pain and glory.
The Warning of History
God has provided a marvelous relationship between the Vine and the branches, the Head and the Body, and between the many members. It is a relationship of life. It is organic. History however shows a very inorganic picture. Christians, it seems, do not trust what God has done and inevitably try to improve it with something of their own.
Instead of keeping the headship of Christ, organizations and institutions take His place. Just about every denomination started through some genuine move of God among His people, but today they are all institutionalized, controlled by some central board or hierarchy of men.
Christians also find it difficult to trust the organic flow of life between the many members. It is much easier to bring in control and conformity. "Oneness" is then tangible, measurable, and manageable. The variety among the members as described in 1 Corinthians 12 all but disappears.
It is doubtful that Martin Luther understood the organic nature of our relationship with Christ and with his fellow Christians. This understanding is our privilege. It is part of today's recovery. Praise the Lord! We are one because He has made it so! The divine life flows between the Head and all the members! We must treasure our organic relationship and guard it jealously. We must not repeat history.
Our Organic Relationship with Christ:
The Vine with Its Branches
The Lord Himself unveiled our organic relationship with Him in John 15. In verse 5, He says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." It is hard to tell when looking at a vine where the trunk ends and the branches begin. One thing is for sure - if you sever the branch from the vine, it will die. The relationship is organic. The branch cannot live without the vine, and the vine depends on the branches for fruit.
The verse before this says "Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me," and the verse that follows says "If one does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is dried up; and they gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." Everything of value depends on our maintaining an active, organic relationship with Christ the vine. Without it, we will cease to bear fruit and our spiritual life will dry up.
The Head with Its Body
The second picture of our organic relationship with Christ comes from the Apostle Paul. In Colossians 1:18, he writes, "And He is Head of the Body, the church," and in Ephesians 4:15-16, he says, "But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love." Who can deny the organic relationship pictured here? He is our Head and we are His body. Our spiritual growth is "into Him." Our being joined and knit together is "out from" Him. Any member severed from the Head will surely die!
Our Organic Relationship with One Another:
Members One of Another
Our relationship with one another is equally organic. On this point the Apostle Paul is extremely clear. Romans 12:5 says, "So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Yes, we are many, but we are each members of the one Body of Christ, and thus members of one another. This organic connection affects our relationship with one another, as Ephesians 4:25 shows. "Therefore having put off the lie, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." Why should we speak truth to one another? Because we are members one of another! To Paul, it seemed inconsistent for one member of the Body to live or speak a lie before another member.
Paul told the Thessalonians "Because now we live if you stand firm in the Lord" (1 Thes. 3:8). His organic bond to those in that young church was very real. Their stand affected his life. What happened to them mattered to him because his relationship with them was organic. He likened himself as their "nursing mother" (2:7) and as "a father to his own children" (2:11). He told them, "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you? For you are our glory and joy" (vv 2:19-20).
This is emphasized in 1 Corinthians 12. Verse 12 says, "For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ." This chapter goes on to describe the great variety that exists among the many members of that one body. But this is not a problem because, as verses 24b-27 say, "God has blended the body together, giving more abundant honor to the member that lacked, that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same care for one another. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." The results of our organic blending, even in the midst of great variety, are oneness and mutual care. Our organic relationship rules out competition and pride. There is genuine mutual suffering and mutual rejoicing as we experience one another's pain and glory.
The Warning of History
God has provided a marvelous relationship between the Vine and the branches, the Head and the Body, and between the many members. It is a relationship of life. It is organic. History however shows a very inorganic picture. Christians, it seems, do not trust what God has done and inevitably try to improve it with something of their own.
Instead of keeping the headship of Christ, organizations and institutions take His place. Just about every denomination started through some genuine move of God among His people, but today they are all institutionalized, controlled by some central board or hierarchy of men.
Christians also find it difficult to trust the organic flow of life between the many members. It is much easier to bring in control and conformity. "Oneness" is then tangible, measurable, and manageable. The variety among the members as described in 1 Corinthians 12 all but disappears.
It is doubtful that Martin Luther understood the organic nature of our relationship with Christ and with his fellow Christians. This understanding is our privilege. It is part of today's recovery. Praise the Lord! We are one because He has made it so! The divine life flows between the Head and all the members! We must treasure our organic relationship and guard it jealously. We must not repeat history.