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David Holder
Christians are related to Christ by virtue of being saved by Him, and related to each other through mutual connection with Christ. We are both believers (Acts 5:14) and brothers (Acts 9:30), and thus have responsibilities on two fronts -- what we do in our individual lives before God and what we do together with other Christians. The New Testament speaks the language of Christians' dual identity and responsibility -- what we are and do individually and collectively. There is correspondence between what Christians do individually and do together, and there is also distinction. As the result, we must think carefully.
Individual and Congregational Correspondence - In 1 Peter 2:1-3, the apostle clearly addresses individual believers, since he discusses matters we each must attend to in our own lives -- "Putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word...." Peter's mind then runs to what Christians are together -- "And coming to Him as to a living stone ... you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (2:4-5). Here Peter thinks of Christians collectively -- how together we form "a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him" (2:9).
Peter's discussion shows that what Christians do individually corresponds with what they do collectively. The "collective" action Peter describes is carried out as each Christian longs for spiritual nourishment (v. 2), while together with other Christians offering up spiritual sacrifices (v. 5) and exalting God (v. 9). What the church is and does, to a large degree, results from what its members are and do. We need to feel a sense of belonging and a sense of responsibility. Each member of a congregation is to be actively, zealously involved in the Lord's service. Most of the New Testament pertains to Christians' individual responsibilities to God, though with the understanding that what each member does bears on what the church is.
Individual and Congregational Distinction - In 1 Timothy 5:3-16, the apostle gives instructions concerning the care of widows. Some widows have relatives who can care for them (v. 4), and these relatives have specific responsibilities to 'provide for [their] own' (v. 8). The 'widows indeed' have been 'left alone' (v. 5), meaning there are no relatives to care for them. The widows indeed, whom Paul more specifically describes (vv. 9-10), are to be 'put on the list,' which is a way of describing the church's assisting them (v. 16). In this discussion, Paul makes a distinction between individual and congregational responsibilities: "If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, let her assist them, and let not the church be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed" (v. 16).
A group may carry out its responsibilities in two ways: by the members working or by the members financially supporting a work. These two methods may be illustrated by Jesus' parable about the good Samaritan who both helped the injured man and paid for additional help (Luke 10:33-35). The church's assistance to a 'widow indeed' falls into the second category -- she is 'put on the list' and the church is 'burdened' with her care in the sense that the congregation assists her financially.
Congregational Benevolence - A church can and should be "benevolent" as each member demonstrates kindness, compassion, and generosity toward people in need. Individual Christians are to "do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). This is individual action, yet it relates to the congregation since it is members of the body who are doing good. An illustration of this phenomenon is seen in Acts 8:3. Saul was "ravaging the church," but doing so by "entering house after house." He drug individual Christians to prison, but the Christians were members of the body so that Luke could say Paul was injuring the church.
As the members of a congregation meet the needs of people, the church, though acting distributively, is benevolent. Everyone will not recognize this distinction, but it is nevertheless there. Much of what a "church" does it does as its members serve God in their individual lives. We need to feel individual responsibility to be compassionate and caring. As we do so individually, this relates to and reflects on what we are collectively.
A church can also be "benevolent" by assisting those in need whom the Lord has charged the church to assist. The collective work of benevolence done by a congregation, in the sense of financially supporting the needy, is restricted by New Testament instructions. First, a church is to assist those who are saints (Acts 11:28-29, Romans 15:26, etc.). Second, a church is to assist saints whose relatives do not do so (1 Tim. 5:16). These restrictions coincide with the fact that the church's primary function is to uphold and promote truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Based on the principle of Acts 6:2 employed by the apostles, the church's benevolent work, while important and at times essential, must not be allowed to eclipse the church's primary work.
We should beware of current collectivist thinking which presumes that any work not being done by the collectivity is not being done or is being done poorly. The church's work is often perceived as equipping the "church" to serve, while Paul said the church's role is to equip the saints to serve (Ephesians 4:12). Collectivist thinking robs from the concept of "church" that it is people, and that a vast majority of what Christians do is individual not collective. The church is the people of God saved by Christ, joined together to uphold, practice, and promote the truth in order that God may dwell among us and be our God (1 Tim.3:15; Ephesians 2:19-22). Most of what the Lord's church does is to be done through the fiery devotion and service of individual saints.
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