The Church, Christ's Body

What does it mean to be part of the body of Christ? This message takes us deep into that question, beginning in Ephesians 1 and moving through a rich collection of Scripture to show us that the church is far more than a gathering of like-minded people. We are a congregation of priests. Drawing from 1 Peter 2 and the language of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31, we discover that believers have been given direct access to God and his word through union with Christ. There is no mediating class standing between us and our Father. The priesthood of believers is not a footnote in church history. It is a living, breathing reality that shapes how we pray for one another, how we engage with Scripture, and how we take responsibility for our own spiritual growth. When we grasp that God has pressed his word into our hands, not just the hands of leaders, something shifts in how we see ourselves and one another. We are not passive spectators. We are a royal priesthood with authority to receive and remove members, discern and defend truth, as well as raise and recognize godly leaders.