On page 210
Bonhoeffer tells us that the Body of Christ takes on visible form in the
preaching of the word, in baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper; all three of these
are sacramental, all three of them mediate Christ Jesus, and community in
Christ, all three form us as Christ’s community. While forgiveness of sins is
indeed present in the sacraments, Bonhoeffer writes:
“Nether the gift
of baptism nor the gift of the Lord’s Supper is fully understood if we
interpret them only in terms of the forgiveness of sin. The gift of the body
conferred in the sacraments presents us with the Lord in bodily form dwelling
in his church – community” (page 211).
On pages 211 – 213
Bonhoeffer touches on expressions and forms of the visible church – community.
He does this both quickly and in-depth, yes, this seems like a contradiction.
He does it quickly in that he points us to a number of Biblical considerations
in just three pages, but he also does this in-depth if we will read and
ponder the Scriptures to which he points us. There is no point in reading Bonhoeffer
is we are not going to read the Bible, if we are not going to read and ponder,
in context, the Scripture passages which are his frame of reference and his authority.
“This community
is a differentiated whole. The body of Christ as church-community includes both
differentiation and a common order. These are characteristics essential to the
body itself. A body lacking differentiation is in the process of
decomposition” (page 211, italics mine). Bonhoeffer cites Romans
12:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:12ff.
Bonhoeffer is
saying that the visible church-community will have common expressions
everywhere it gathers, and that it will also have expressions peculiar to its time
and place. These expressions ought to all originate in Christ and be sustained
by Christ, and we can anticipate that they will change over time – after all,
the visible church-community is the Living Body of Christ; it is a Person, yes,
a unique Person, but nevertheless a Person.
On pages 211 – 213
Bonhoeffer cites around 30 Scriptures to help us see the visible Body of Christ
and understand the Holy Spirit’s working within us as God’s People. He
emphasizes that the “order” of the church is of “divine origin” and that it is
intended to serve and not to be served. The offices of the church are appointed
by God within, but not by, the community. “Even where the church-community
itself assigns offices, it does so in complete submission to the guidance of
the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2)” (page 212).
Bonhoeffer holds
that “different congregations require different offices or ministries.” This
is, I think, a high view of the organic Nature of the Body of Christ and the
Headship of Jesus. Bonhoeffer trusts Christ to lead and care for and form His
Body – that is a higher trust than most of us are likely to have ourselves and
tolerate in others. Bonhoeffer writes that the “specific form [of our visible expression]
is open to change” (page 212).
Can we imagine a
local church climate in which congregations are seeking to sense and respond to
the Holy Spirit and our Lord Jesus as a way of life? A climate in which we are
open to changes in the forms of our expressions, in ministry offices, in the forms
of our gatherings?
Bonhoeffer sees
all ministry offices and gifts as functioning “for the benefit of the church-community,”
and as being “servants of the church-community” (page 212). This is hardly a
picture of the clergy – laity dichotomy that we see today, or of the sacred –
secular dichotomy.
A visible
church-community is more than a group of people who gather to listen to others,
to give money, to pray as they are given permission, and to whom baptism and
the Lord’s Supper is a routine. We are
to be living and vibrant expressions of the Incarnation, members of one another
and members of Christ Jesus. We are to each share the grace of God and the life
of Christ with one another – we all have faith and hope and love to share. We
ought to be encouraging one another in the koinonia of the Body of Christ
(Ephesians 4:14 – 16).
There is always
a cost of discipleship, both as individuals and as a people. Those who
follow the Christ of the Cross will always be a minority among professing
Christians, as will those groups of disciples who seek to be expressions of the
Body of Christ – new wine cannot be contained in old wineskins.
The Church of
Jesus Christ must always be separate and distinct from the world, for its Nature
is Christ and He is transcendent.
Bonhoeffer’s German
contemporaries sought to maintain the status quo, most of them rejected his
Biblical teaching as they sought alliance and accommodation with the social and
political and military forces around them.
Just as we are
doing today.
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