Derek

I fear that my replies may give the impression that I am being unnecessarily controversial, but the studies and questions have helped me to think through my own beliefs and to clarify them. For this I am most grateful and for the work that has been put into the studies. I suppose I am not ecumenical in the sense of the World Council of Churches for example, but I recognise the truth that we are all one in Christ Jesus - with the emphasis on "in Christ Jesus" and this conditions true unity in the spiritual sense and as fulfilling the prayer of Christ in John 17. Thank you Pastor, and my apologies if I have not conformed to your own thinking.

I cannot accept that the Church is our own body. It is the Body of Christ by definition. We are members of the Body of Christ as we are born again of the Spirit of God. We , as that Body, are the Bride of Christ and Christ loves that Body. Our love is towards the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Bride as depicted in Song of Songs. I might despise the human institution but that is not the true Church of God.

The Church, the Body of Christ is glorious and resplendent because it is the Bride of Christ. We must clearly distinguish between any human institution and the spiritual entity which is of Him. The Church, in these terms is always, always has been and always will be glorious and resplendent

The Word of God must be applied in order to cleanse and purify. It is as the Word is absorbed in a congregation that it does its work. The Word of God has to be taught in its entirety, leaving nothing out and putting nothing in. In this way a balanced Gospel will be taught which isthe whole truth of God.

The holiness of the Church signifies separation, dedication and consecration. This cannot be achieved by individual members of the church, but the church is the Body of Christ and it is sanctified through the blood of Christ alone.

(Ephesians 5:25) What does it mean that Christ "gave himself up" for the Church? What does this teach us about God's commitment to us? Was this sacrifice altruistic or self-serving or both? Exposition Christ went as a lamb to the slaughter - fulfilling all the OT types of sacrifice for sins. God's commitment to us in giving His only begotten Son is absolute. I don't think it is appropriate to compare self-serving or altruistic of God. Certainly the sacrifice was being concerned for the welfare of His people but can God serve Himself when He is complete in Himself. I wonder whether using these terms is too redolent of anthropomorphism?!

Submission in regards to the Church's relationship to Christ, means that as Christ is the Head of the Body the Church is reliant upon Him for guidance, strength and leadership generally. My own submission to Christ in practical terms has meant that I trusted Him although sometimes I could not see just where He was leading me. As Head of the Church Christ is the source of all our being, providing for the needs of the Body in every way.

The purpose of constructing a healthy local congregation is unity in the faith and knowledge of Jesus, which is to be mature, reaching what we are meant to be in Christ. We are no longer to be babes, easily misled into errors of doctrine and faith, but we are to be prepared to build each other up in the faith, always in love and recognising each other's function in the Body of Christ.

Pastors cannot have all the gifts themselves, but they can teach and encourage others to read their Bibles and learn from them. Moreover the pastor is engaged in producing ripples which spread out from the centre of the church to the far reaches of the chuch's area and even further. The command given by Jesus was : So it is important that pastors teach their people to obey!

When God equips for a ministry He does not change the recipients appearance! Although anyone may exercise the GIFT of evangelism this is not the same as the MINISTRY of an evangelist. A local church is fortunate if it has someone called to be an evangelist and it is not likely that the paid or full-time leader is pastor, teacher and evangelist as well as functioning as all the other ministries in the church. However God does equip church members who are able to approach people and introduce them to the Lord Jesus as Saviour. The fact that some may have this special ministry does not exempt the rest of us from exercising the gift of evangelism and introducing others to the Saviour. In this way men, women and children are added to the Church and the Body is built up.

Pastors and teachers have the responsibility to shepherd their "flock", caring for them spiritually and providing for other needs as they are able. I suppose I would qualify as one who has had and has a pastoral and teaching ministry, having had 17 years as an unordained lay pastor in a Baptist Church and now continuing to preach and teach in an Anglican Church. We also have 14 fellowship groups, quite a lot for a village church which is probably called small by American standards, and the leaders of each of these and some of the members of the groups undoubtedly have a pastoral and teaching ministry. Without such folk many church members would be only nominal Christians. Small group leaders and Sunday School teachers develop faith and understanding and thus build up the Body of Christ

I believe the apostles built up the Body as they used the ministry and the gifts with which the Spirit of God had endowed them. NB

The RSV translates it as

Q6. What act of Christian unity could you practice over the next two weeks that would help you live out this truth in your life? In what area do you need to repent? Over the next two week I could pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ, especially remembereing Christian leaders and those suffering persecution in Christ's name. I feel the need to repent of my failure to pray for the persecuted Church.

When we speak of one baptism, which do we mean, John's baptism or the baptism of Christ? If we are speaking of baptism with water then Romans chapter 6 speaks of baptism as being buried and raised in a figure. Is the "baptism" of a child in its infancy truly in the context of "one faith, one baptism", or are we speaking of believers' baptism? On the other hand there can be no disagreement between believers on the baptism of Christ since if we have not received the Holy Spirit we do not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9) In spite of this I do not feel that the waters of baptism should divide believers. In some churches there is confirmation, when a mature decision can be made on the question whether or not to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. In love we are able to disagree on our interpretation of Scripture but I do not believe we should STRIVE for unity. I believe we should allow the Holy Spirit to draw us together and not resist His work in us. True unity comes through the organism of the Body not through organizations of men.