15 November 2006

More on the body of Christ and the new human being - Bonhoeffer.

The "new human being," which is the church, is "created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness and truth" (Ephesians 4:24). The "new human being" is "being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator" (Colossians 3:10). It is none other than Christ himself who is described here as the image of God. Adam was the first human being bearing the image of the creator. But he lost this image when he fell. Now a "second human being," a "last Adam," is being created in the image of God - Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:47). The "new human being" is thus at the same time Christ and the church. Christ is the new humanity in the new human being. Christ is the Church.

The new human being is more than one person. In Christ, it is the Church - the whole body. Rather than a sit back and wait for the coming of the Lord at the end of time, this reality places us in the world as the one for whom the world is waiting. The body of Christ is placed into a situation in time that calls us to follow...not the structures of institutions...or the rules that attempt too keep order for the sake of fighting back fear and anxiety. We are called to live as the body of Christ. Therefore, the death he suffers becomes "the death of us" and the resurrection of the Lord becomes the order of the day as the body of Christ that now lives that new life as the "new human being." We are witnesses of a grand adventure and a gracious story and our witness is to be the life we are entering today. That kind of life will have an impact on the world today just as the one life of Jesus so long ago. This sounds like sweet talk but I do not mean it that way at all. We are being called forward into this body...and the call pulls us out of the way things are and the bumbling and stumbling that creates the brokenness of the world. In Christ we really are a part of this new life. Now, how will it take the shape of Christ for the world?

Connection: The daily exercise of the body of Christ begins with a focus and simple disciplines. Then within that humble beginning of each day, we stretch a bit more - like those who warm up prior to a sporting event. So, today, stretch a bit into the body of Christ and remember to stretch according to who you within the body of Christ and not according to others.

Lift us this day, O God, and bind us together that we will keep in sight the vision of the Christ and the vision of the life into which we are all called by your grace. Amen.