Now the “Body of Christ” becomes a continuation of the embodiment of the Word of God. Like Israel, its life includes both obedience and disobedience although it is aided by a model of what obedience means. You can extend the metaphor to include the fact that there is a certain randomness built into both the universe and the atom and yet the structure, while allowing for that freedom, still accomplishes its purpose. So it is with congregations. While there is a randomness or freedom which is built into the nature of the church, God continues to accomplish God’s purpose through the church without violating her freedom. So the challenge of the exegesis of the Word of God as it is embodied in the Body of Christ is to discern God speaking through this people to the world. While it is clearer in moments of obedience, it is not completely blotted out even in times of disobedience.
We will explore this further in future blogs.
