The early Christian community regarded themselves as a community bound together by covenant, through the death of Christ, in line with God's covenant people throughout their Scriptures (ie our Old Testament). The life of the Christian community was characterized by an atmosphere of love that spilled over into the world around, as they lived in the power of the Spirit, celebrating the Lord's supper, praying together and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They proclaimed the good news that God had come in Jesus Christ, into our world; that He had taken the initiative in human history and by Christ's death and resurrection had established the basis for a new relationship with him for all of the human race. Those who recognize and accept this call from God in Christ are included in those who form the people of the covenant.
In the world, however, the covenant people are called to live their lives in relationship to this God who comes and who cares. Their mission is that of Christ, the mission of the kingdom of God. In Jesus' message and ministry the fulfilment of the reign of God has already begun. The covenant people are to live as sons and daughters of the King. They are to live for the kingdom, the power and the glory of God.
When we look at our church family we often only see glimpses of this glorious living and we are led to ask many questions. The people of the covenant live in the world and exist for the world... Yet in so many places they fail to fulfil the mission of the kingdom. In some of the older churches there is a weariness with life, a lack of vitality and joy in sharing the good news. It is almost as if the light has gone out. In some of the younger churches the light shines brightly. Others see it and are being called by God into communion with him and his people.
Divisiveness is a failing that we are all aware of, even where there are uniting churches. We claim to be "one in Christ", but we fight each other. We may even go about evangelizing other Christian groups according to our own light. Often we commit the sin of mistaking our human divisions for the diversity that is given by the Spirit. Within Christian unity there will always be diversity - a diversity that must enrich the unity; a diversity that means the variety of the gifts of the Holy Spirit spread amongst the members of the body of Christ.
The unity of the people of the covenant is already a reality with its foundation in the Trinity. From the recognition of this unity comes the possibility for the confession, " Jesus is Lord". When we raise questions about Christian unity we may be recognizing that such unity should become visible. "St Paul insists that the body of Christ is made up of the vast variety of mankind who have been made one. Jews and Greeks, male and female, circumcised and uncircumcised, Barbarian and Scythian, bond and free, united by their common baptism into Christ's death and resurrection (Col 2.12-3.11 and Gal 3.28). This fellowship in the Spirit given by Christ precedes all else."
Christian unity is a relationship. The covenant is a relationship - a partnership between God and the people. Our common calling as Christians is to serve, to mission. As Christ was sent by the Father so He sent his disciples to participate in the mission of the kingdom. So He sends the people of the covenant still, into the contemporary world. We have need for a strong emphasis on the proclamation of the word of God, the good news, the victory over sin and death. A living church is always a mission church, because it is the mission of the kingdom that determines the existence of the people of the covenant.
We must ask ourselves the question - are we prepared to make the sacrifice, to put ourselves out, for the gospel? In other words, how far are we willing to put ourselves into this relationship with the living God? "Human beings have only two possible modes of existence: to be a slave to sin or to be a slave to God. There is no possibility for a person not to be enslaved to sin unless he presents himself to God. For the people of the covenant, obedience to God is the only criterion for claiming their relation to God as the Lord and their covenant relationship with him. Paul stresses the obedient life of the believer to the degree that the believer is called to be the slave of 'obedience'. The truth is that the significance of the believer's participation in the death of Christ lies in their obedience to the reign of God in Christ. Thus, the obedience of the believer can never be maintained in a submissive attitude, but must be extremely radical: the kingdom of God is credible only in the confrontation of this world with the gospel of the crucified Lord. In other words, in striving to be loyal to the reign of God in Christ, the Christian community must confront the values, structures, ideologies and practices of the society in which it is a part.”.
Here is the difficulty for many of the covenant people. Our church communities have become too conformed to society, too much part of the political system, too respectable, and it is too comfortable for them to retain the status quo. We are challenged to mission, responsibility and growth and we often prefer to remain static and without vision, because we sill not face the issues in our world. We are exploited and 'we exploit; we weep and cause others to weep; we are not exempt from the ambiguous existence of sinners even though we are the people of the covenant. We must recognize the sin in ourselves and in our society and face up to it in the power of the Risen Christ with the promise of victory over evil.
There is poverty, oppression and injustice rampant in the world - eg among Palestinians, South Africans and in countries where Christians are being persecuted because of their belief. It is futile for wealthy churches in wealthy nations to speak about the Lordship of Jesus Christ without changing their way of life.
Members of our section felt that there was too little time spent on being practical. The best way to be practical, however, is to start from a good theory. We would, therefore, strongly urge our member churches to ask themselves what they can and ought to do about sharing amongst themselves, with other Christian groups and with the world. We ask them to see how they can receive and live the message and the realities of the kingdom