The past couple of weeks, I’ve been engaged—on and off as time permits—in a do-it-yourself home improvement project. As of this writing, I’m not done yet. I want to make sure that the work is completed well. The purpose of such projects is to better living conditions—whether functionally, or even just aesthetically. The operative word is “improvement.”
With the project going in and out of my consciousness, I got to thinking about the New Testament image of the church as the “house” of God—either as a building (“house”) or a family unit (“household”).
1 Peter declares: “You yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1Peter 2.5 HCSB). Here the “house” metaphor is most likely that of the temple, which was for Israel the place of God’s presence. The church as God’s house is supposed to become a people who live out the reality of God’s presence in the world. Yet the church occasionally falls short of the purpose for which it was established. And so God, on those occasions, calls on his church to measure up to its calling. The church is not exempt from God’s judgment when it wanders away from its calling: “For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God” (1Peter 4.17 NET). Indeed, the church must be alert to make sure that it remains in the condition that God intends for it. Using the analogy of a house, we may say that the church of God must engage in home improvement projects to ensure that “repairs” are made where needed, or “enhancements” are made where appropriate.
Paul uses the image of the church as a family unit. His immediate concern is “how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household” (1Timothy 3.15 NIV). There is behavior that is appropriate to those who belong to God’s household—that is, godly behavior. And so Paul instructs followers of Christ—especially those who have leadership responsibilities: “train yourself to be godly” (1Timothy 4.7 NIV). Training in godliness is the stuff of true discipleship. Again, using the analogy of the “house” of God, discipleship is the home improvement project of the church—with the spiritual disciplines and exercises designed to enhance different aspects of godly living. For the church, home improvement should be a constant, ongoing project.
It must be clear that all the “home improvement” of the church is ultimately God’s work. But we ought not resist or ignore him. We simply submit in humble obedience to his leadership so that he may complete his work in us. For “unless the LORD builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain” (Psalm 127.1 HCSB).
—Keith Y. Jainga