The body of Christ is bigger than our church.

As a church plant, when we talk about the body of Christ, we most often think about this in terms of our local church. We look around on a Sunday morning and see the people we’ve gathered with and think: here is the body of Christ. Of course, this is true! Paul seems to have the local church gathered at Corinth in mind when he writes of the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12.

Yet, as we turned to 2 Corinthians 8 this week, we’ve been reminded that the body of Christ extends beyond on our own local congregation. The gospel knits us together in Christ with other believers from around the world. Paul has sent Titus and two other gospel co-workers to gather a financial gift that the Corinthians have collected for the church in Jerusalem. Paul encourages the Corinthians to open their hearts and their wallets for their fellow believers in need hundreds of miles away. In the same passage, we hear of Titus’s heart for the Corinthians. His care for the church at Corinth is “earnest,” and Paul describes him as “very earnest” in his desire to visit the Corinthians. He loves the Corinthians—a church who has shown itself to be difficult to love. It is only through the gospel that Titus can love the Corinthians and the Corinthians can love the church in Jerusalem. Our Lord Jesus came for us as the “first born among many brothers.” Through him, we are adopted as brothers and sisters in Christ—made to be part of God’s family. His love transforms us to love one another.

Church planting is hard work for the entire congregation, and so it is easy for us to focus solely on the work that is directly in front of us. We want to work hard by God’s grace to see this church come to a place of sustained life. But a passage like 2 Corinthians 8 challenges us to look up, see where God is at work around the world, and consider how by God’s grace we might join in by opening our hearts to our fellow believers in generosity and prayer.

Reach out if you want to learn more about how we at CTK partner with gospel work around the world.