SUMMARY: The Body - Being Light in the Darkness

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Book Summary: The Body - Being Light in the Darkness
by Charles Colson



The Body: Being Light in the Darkness

By Charles W. Colson with Ellen Santilli Vaughn

(Word Publishing, Dallas, TX, 1992)

Book Summary by Dean G. Stathakis


In his incredibly insightful book, The Body: Being Light in the Darkness, Charles Colson vividly articulates how the church of the 20th century's Western society has lost its biblical character and purpose, replacing these core features with secular values and wants. Intermixing fictional tales, real life stories and personal commentary, the author introduces key concepts such as the “church universal/church particular” and the “sin of presumption” to illustrate how this identity crisis occurred.

More importantly, Colson elaborates on the required biblically-based solutions the church must exercise in order to effectively re-establish the Body of Christ as God's witness.

Personal Comment - What I Learned From this Book:
This was such an incredibly insightful and mind-opening book because it aptly illustrated what my responsibilities and obligations are as a Christian to both the church and the world.

PART 1: WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

The Story of a Church: Riverton
The reaction of three churches in the fictional town of Riverton over a proposal to establish a homeless shelter symbolizes the dynamics and attitudes typified by churches in the 20th century's Western culture.

The First Methodist Church wants no involvement and neutrality with this shelter and represents a stagnant church of no growth and passive worship.

The Riverton Community Church represents a prosperous, growing church of petty, self-centered people that have reduced their church and faith to a status symbol to be flaunted and admired with judgmental pride. Their stance on the homeless shelter - “The homeless are not a problem for the church, the government should be handling them.”

The last Riverton church, St. Giles Episcopal, initiated the establishment of the homeless shelter and represents how the church should behave in the world.

Identity Crisis
In viewing the church as a building and not the Body of Christ, the tale of Riverton reveals that most Christians have a misunderstanding of the nature and character of the church and its biblical purpose and mission. The author, Charles Colson, argues that this gives the church a “genuine identity crisis” that results in a loss of church authority and lack of spiritual growth.

He then elaborates, “Our purpose here is to expound the great doctrine of the church, inspire the grand vision of the church and restore a high view of the church.”

Gimme That Hot Tub Religion
The primary cause of the church’s identity crisis lies in the consumer mentality so pervasive in Western culture. Spiritual consumers are interested - not in what the church stands for (Christ-centered) - but whether the church can deliver personal fulfillment (self-centered).

“The aim is support - not salvation - help rather than holiness, a circle of spiritual equals rather than an authoritative church or guide.”

Colson notes that today’s church has succumbed to this consumer mentality, where membership numbers and building grandeur are measurements of a church’s success, not the salvation and sanctification of the Body of Christ.

Capitulating to spiritual consumerism has many profound consequences for the church:

1) it dilutes or perverts the Word of God;

2) it changes the character of the church from a worshiping center to a safe haven from life’s pressures; and

3) it strips the church of its authority.

The Story of the Church: Timisoara
Colson describes how the solidarity and faith of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Timisoara, Romania were pivotal in the overthrow of the Ceausescu regime in December 1989. Using this poignant story, Colson delineates that when believers of a church become the Body of Christ, the church will be moved to do God’s work and evil cannot stand against them.

The story of Timisoara also illustrates that - if the Body of Christ can overcome the repressive regimes of communism - it can certainly overcome the secular, “hot tub religion” of the Western world.

On This Rock
Colson indicates that the mandate of Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13-19 NIV) reveals four crucial lessons believers should know about the church:

1) the church is people not a building;

2) the church is a community of people, not a collection of people;

3) the church belongs to God, not us; and

4) the church will triumph over evil.

The author then introduces the concept of the church universal and the church particular to define the character of the church and clear up our modern day confusion.

The church universal is the invisible spiritual entity that binds Christians together world-wide and is solely the work of God. “He has the people of His own choosing in every nation of every color and political persuasion and for every confessing tradition.”

The church particular contains believers that are committed to one another in small, visible, local confessing congregations in order to fulfill the purpose of the church.

I Will Build My Church
Irina Ratushinskaya is a poet whose work was deemed anti-Soviet since it celebrated Christian faith and human rights rather than the communist regime. This inspiring story tells how, growing up in an officially atheistic country and deprived of both a Bible and any Christian training, she found Christ and became part of the Orthodox Church.

The Sin of Presumption
The life story of Irina Ratushinskaya illustrates the fallacy of the “sin of presumption,” the belief that there is only one prescribed formula by which a Christian can enter heaven. While prescribed methods are useful evangelical and discipleship tools, they are denominational procedures of the church particular and not biblical doctrine of the church universal

(Editor's note: He is talking here of such tools a "The Four Spiritual Laws," or "Evangelsim Explosion." His point is not to knock these, NOR is he suggesting there are ways to heaven other than through Jesus Christ. Rather, that one of these tools is not a sacred method, i.e., the only method, for entering into a relationship with Christ. In other words, God can reveal Himself and Christ's Spirit can enter a person even without the use of one of these helpful, yet man-made tools.)

Colson argues that these traditions “are neither sacred steps to salvation nor reliable rubrics that assure God will work in some pre-programmed way. Nor are they exclusive ways into the kingdom.” The danger is that these denominational techniques become regarded as doctrine and Christians question the faith of other Christians who do not conform to it.

“It sets Christian against Christian, denomination against denomination until we forget whose church this really is.”

Extending the Right Fist of Fellowship
This tells the story of Pastor Donald Waite from Newton, Massachusetts, who encouraged gossip between himself and members of his congregation in order to obtain embarrassing information on other members. He would then blackmail these individuals in order to get his way on church business. This behavior created discord within the church that ultimately ended in a fist-fight between the pastor and a deacon during a Sunday worship service!

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
What Waite apparently forgot was that the church represents Jesus Christ and what the future Kingdom will look like, not a personal fiefdom. Colson articulates that church unity is important because:

1) unity is mandated by God;

2) unity promotes evangelism; and

3) unity provides a common front against aggressive secularism.

Unity of the church universal is maintained by a core of fundamental tenets that all church particulars subscribe to, whereas unity of a church particular is provided by doctrinal agreement. This distinction provides all Christians with a common set of orthodox teachings while allowing for healthy discussions of honest doctrinal disagreements.

Colson argues that “this distinction is critical because it provides uniformity within the church particular, but unity with diversity in the Body or church universal.”

The Flaming Word
Colson recounts a sermon given by Pastor Jonathan Edward’s in 1741 to illustrate that Scripture is the very foundation on which the church rests and the very essence of its unity. He argues that the church must ensure that all believers have a good understanding of Scripture, of doctrine and the application of these Christian truths to all aspects of life.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6 NIV).

Communio Sanctorum
In addition to unity and the primacy of the Word, Colson delineates four other aspects that the church reflects the heavenly kingdom.

Christian fellowship provides help for one another and real accountability and discipline. Administration of the sacraments, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper, provide visible means that Christians celebrate the glorious work of Christ and acknowledge their faith in His righteousness. Prayer and worship are acts of surrender, obedience and reverence as Christians come before the presence of God. Being nder the Seal of the Spirit conveys a supernatural sense of awe and fear of God that a church manifests when it reflects His Kingdom.

PART 2: THE CHURCH VERSUS THE WORLD

What is Truth?
This section recounts the meeting between Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-40) from the Roman governor’s point-of-view. This tale highlights two questions asked by Pontius Pilate. The first question - “What is the truth?” - was asked to Jesus Christ. The second question - “What then will you do with Jesus, who is called Christ?” - was addressed to the crowd outside the governor’s place. The answers to these questions are elaborated on in the following three chapters.

I Am the Truth
Jesus Christ’s response to Pilate’s question was “I am the truth.” It is absolutely critical for Christians to understand that Jesus Christ is the objective truth, the ultimate reality that encompass both reason (the seen) and faith (the unseen).

There is “no distinction between empirical validation and what can be accepted by faith.” The importance of the ultimate truth is that it answers the question “What is the meaning of life?” - thereby providing order and significance to the world.

Colson discusses how this belief in objective truth has historically not only been overwhelmingly significant to the world, but of profound importance to the church because Christian faith rests on the objective truth, the ultimate reality.

Lost in the Cosmos

Colson discusses five characteristics of the prevailing world-view of western culture which embraces relative truth.

First, it is secular, placing all emphasis on the here and now.

Second, it is anti-historical, being skeptical about objective truth and intrinsic meaning.

Third, the world view is naturalistic, that man, and not God, is the center of the universe.

Fourth, it is utopian in that humans are basically good and that evil is a consequence of wrong social structure and oppression.

Lastly, the world-view is pragmatic, since there is no objective truth, decisions are made by choosing which of two possible outcomes is preferred.

The Pillar of Truth
Christians have the absolute obligation to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a culture swept-up in a secular world-view because it is the basis for answering Pilate’s second question.

“For we alone can provide the answer and point a weary and skeptical culture to the ultimate and only reality, Jesus Christ Himself.”

To address this obligation, the author discusses God’s mandate to cultivate and guard the Truth. The antithesis of the secular world-view, the Christian world-view:

• is based on the absolute, objective truth as revealed by Scripture;
• is concerned with eternity and not the present day;
• acknowledges and respects the historical account of God’s work and does not re-evaluate history based on current subjective standards;
• is a God-centered universe;
• is idealistic and subscribes to doing what is right by objective standards, not by what works.

Between Two Crosses
From the erection of a simple cross in an open square in Nowa Huta, Poland in 1950 to the raising of a golden cross during the 1990 May Day parade in Moscow, Russia, this chapter weaves five poignant stories of how the strong Christian faith of ordinary people helped topple the communist regimes in the 20th century. These tales exemplify how Christians must remain confident and strong in the convictions and not allow the secular world-view of the time to corrupt their faith.

The Church in Captivity
The stories of the preceding chapter dramatically illustrate that the church must remain independent of secular state control and cultural values and practices. Colson argues that this autonomy confers the reforming capacity of the church, enabling it to direct society toward the truth.

“The church must be free to address issues biblically across the spectrum and to speak prophetically regardless of who is in power.”

A major threat to this independence is the church’s willingness to accommodate and acquiesce to the prevailing secular world-view. This corrupts its biblical authority and subjects the church to government authority.

The Terror of the Holy
Colson uses the story of Martin Luther to illustrate that Christians can reclaim the faith from the church that has unknowingly been corrupted by secular world-view attitudes.

Justice Unleashed: A World Transformed
Martin Luther’s views of the ultimate reality in Jesus Christ, of God’s objective truth and biblical justice and of how these principles are integrated into a Christian world-view that directs all aspects of our lives launched the Reformation.

The author discusses how Luther’s stand not only restored the biblical purposes of the church, but also provided sweeping political, economic and cultural benefits that are still being felt today. He then argues that the same Christian world-view that guided believers during the Reformation and the collapse of communism can guide Christians in rescuing and restoring the church from secular world-view enculturation of today.

The Body
Using the events of the Last Supper (John 14:12-20), Colson indicates that Christians must not only believe in Jesus Christ, they must belong to the Body of Christ in fellowship.

“For it is only through a confessing, local body of believers that we carry out the work of the church in the world.”

PART 3: THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD

Equipping the Saints
The church’s most fundamental task is to build communities of holy character.

The first priority of the church is to instruct and support believers to live a Christ-centered life. This is the Great Commission, where both salvation through evangelism and discipleship are key.

Second, the church must continually strive to make believers spiritually mature - through sanctification and ministry - in order for the church to grow and become the healthy, vibrant Body of Christ.

Lastly, the church must charge mature Christians to apply their faith in every aspect of life, to defend the Christian world-view against the secular world-view and to effectively spread the Good News through evangelism.


Let This Mind Be in You
Colson cautions that biblical leadership is servant leadership that “reaches out to the least of them.” The danger is that the secular world-view model of leadership, the so-called ‘pedestal complex’ or ‘celebrity syndrome’, will infect the church and its leaders.

This secular attitude of exalting leaders - rather than God - was aptly portrayed in Chapter 9 - Extending the Right Fist of Fellowship. This secular perspective distorts people's worth, skews church theology and results in immoral behavior, ultimately leading to a loss of credibility for the Body of Christ.

Who Are You?
A heart-felt and tragic story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan monk who gave spiritual inspiration and physical care to prisoners of Auschwitz during WWII. A prisoner himself, Father Kolbe volunteered to take the place of another prisoner condemned to die by starvation.

Colson uses the life story of Father Kolbe to make the point that “what you do emerges from who you are.”

Being His Witness
All believers must bear witness to Jesus Christ by modeling true Christian faith and values by their words and actions, living a Christ-centered life. As exemplified by the life of Father Maximilian Kolbe, bearing witness is “the state of our being” where “being precedes doing.”

Proclaiming the Good News is part of being His witness and is the responsibility of every Christian. To effectively evangelize, Colson notes that the church must:

• recognize we are in a post-Christian world
• be sensitive and creative in our outreach to unbelievers
• understand that evangelism flows from worship
• shepherd new converts into membership of a church particular were discipleship can occur
• direct evangelism towards non-Christians

Being the Light
One character trait of living a Christ-centered life is to be an example for others to follow. “... His followers are, He said, by their very character the light of the world. They are to do the same works He did — and as we mentioned earlier, even greater ones — in order that God in heaven might be glorified.” Colson summarizes the stories of four Christians who illustrate this point admirably.

Being the Salt
In ancient times, salt was an essential commodity, being used as both a preservative of meats and as a seasoning for flavor. Another Christ-like trait, the “being the salt” metaphor instructs Christians to preserve the truth that is Jesus Christ and season all aspects of our world with this truth.

“Society exposed to the elements of evil in this world will decay. Christians are to be 'rubbed' into culture, penetrating every aspect of life and preserving and seasoning the society in which we live.”

Using life stories from a broken community, corporate America and accomplished figures from fine arts and professional sports, Colson provides several examples of Christians that personify being like salt.

The Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning
Colson argues that Christians must recover their fear of the Lord, the overwhelming, compelling awe and reverence of the Holy God.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: It provides the right perspective on God’s sovereign rule over all creation; the sense of God’s power and perfection that dwarfs mere men and women, that causes them to bow and worship and glory in His amazing grace.”

Coram Deo
Using the conversion of Rusty Woomer, a convicted murderer-rapist sentenced to death by electrocution, Colson elaborates what it means to fear the Lord.

In speaking about this fear God, Rusty says, “I think of His radiance, His power, His love. It doesn’t scare you that someone loves you enough that He can forgive you of anything that you do? It scares me sometimes. He is something that we have not got any idea what it is going to be like when we meet ... His love is so strong that it might hurt us when we meet Him ...”

THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
Colson indicates that the church at large must have the same kind of fear of the Lord that Rusty Woomer exhibited.

“Do we know the radiance of the Lord? His glory? His love that makes dead men and women sing His praise? Do we know that we are but a breath away from union with Him?”

Interesting Anecdote
The Sin of Presumption. This particularly insightful concept is introduced in Chapter 7. Whenever Christians of one particular denomination begin to think that their way is “the way,” then presumptuousness lies at the door.

Colson articulately points out that this attitude is a perverse form of Gnosticism and is nothing more than the horrible sin of exclusivity. He writes on pages 86 and 87: "The belief that there is but one method or formula by which to enter the kingdom is what we call the sin of presumption: presuming to know the mind of God and to program by human means who is or is not secure in the faith and hence in the church ...” and

“When we regard our own methodology as normative, we eventually question the faith of those who do not conform to it. This presumption, so contrary to biblical teaching, is a major cause of the disunity that plagues and cripples the witness of the church.”