Primitive Christianity                  

OUR PERSPECTIVE

By:  The Brothers and Sisters that meet under the headship of Jesus Christ in Brick NJ

What comes to mind when you hear this phrase?  Perhaps it is the stone buildings and narrow streets of Jerusalem, or barefoot disciples walking down dusty roads.  Maybe you imagine early believers, simply clad in meager cloth wraps, walking in thong sandals toward the marketplace.

When we think of primitive Christianity, our minds call up a picture of a vibrant gathering of people, whose hearts are set and centered on a living Lord.  A people who, because of this awesome Lord, are intimately connected to one another... a people who embrace life with a gusto and inspiration that defies their external circumstances.  We envision an organic functioning of this people, flowing much like the human body with all the grace, agility and beauty that God intended. We think of a people who are filled with hope because their lives have been touched and transformed by a God who is there, in their very midst.

As a part of the local Body of Jesus Christ, we relate to each other as family without the encumbrances of hierarchy, systemic theologies, endless scrutiny of the law, or leaning on emotions, intellect, or our natural talents and abilities.  We relate to Jesus Christ as Head of His Body, not separated, but mystically joined in supernatural union (John 14-15).  Because we are made alive "in Christ" by way of our spirits, we endeavor to live, breathe, worship and relate to others by means of that holy habitation, not by means of our souls or our flesh.

Our belief is that the actual person of Jesus Christ, -- true God, true man -- is the center, sum, circumference and, in essence, everything we need for life and godliness.  This glorious Lord is revealed to us and in us by the Father, and He is the image of the invisible God.  Additionally, we recognize that there is but One God and Father of us all, though He is seen through three distinct persons, Father, Son and Spirit.

We value the informality, simplicity and functioning of every member of the Body, knowing how utterly important these issues are to the reality and health of church life. Because it is Christ within each of us, then together as one Body (Colossians 1:27) that His Purpose is made visible on Earth, we place an importance on sharing our lives and meeting together in the Name of our Lord.

Our hearts leap when we consider that God purposed to have a people, -- a living, organic Body --- a way to express His life, love and beauty here on Earth, a way to share the fellowship that continually goes on within the perfect unity of the Godhead. Though we barely comprehend it, we glory and revel in His boundless grace, and the unsearchable riches that the Father makes available to us in Christ.  We are awe-struck when we consider that He has called us each into this living organism, and that He is not only our Head, but our enablement, our source, our strength, truly. . . our all in all!

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Revised:  August 4, 1997