This question was submitted from the web. It is important because it touches upon matters of authority. Sometimes the argument is made that "what the individual can do, the church can do." Thus, if the individual can be involved in social and recreational functions, so may the church. If the individual can support a college, so may the church. On and on the list can go.

There is no doubt that individual and church responsibilities overlap at places. The individual should try to teach others the gospel, but this is also the work of the local church. The individual has benevolent responsibilities (Jas. 1:26-27), and so does a local church (2 Cor. 8-9). There is overlap in these areas, but this is not proof that therefore anything the individual does is approved for the local church to engage in. That logic would require a huge leap. We know that certain responsibilities overlap because the Scriptures show just that.

The Scriptures show a distinction between individual activity and church activity. Though the church is composed of individuals, the individual alone is not the church. The term Ekklesia (i.e., "church") indicates a group or assembly, and is not properly applied to a single person (just like the term "flock" would not be applied to a single goose).

Several passages show this difference. Before the church, as set up by Christ, existed (either universally or locally), the individual existed and had functions to perform in relation to marriage. Marriage, as an example, is something for individuals. The activities in marriage are honorable (Heb. 13:4), but would be dishonorable and absurd in a "church" context. The instructions concerning marriage are applied to individuals acting in that capacity; and though instructions regarding marriage are given in assemblies of God’s people, only the individuals can carry out the responsibilities and share in those blessings. Try arguing that "what the individual can do, the church can do" in this context.

Being a Christian affects every relationship in life. We are to strive to do God’s will at home, in business, in relation to civil government, and in social activities. Nothing from life is exempt. So to distinguish the two is not to say that there are some things we do as Christians and some things we don’t do as Christians. We are always Christians, no matter what arena of life we are discussing. However, there are some duties we engage in as individual Christians, and some intended to be carried out in congregational action (the local church, not universal). For example:

1. Working to provide for a family (Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:8, 16). Note in 1 Timothy 5 there is a clear distinction made between the individual’s responsibility and what the church is to do. It is only when the individual cannot meet the needs given in this context that the church is to "be burdened" (vs. 16). If they are the same, this passage is meaningless.

2. Engaging in business and occupation (1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:10; Jas. 4:13-17). The individual may "buy and sell" and make a living. What passage ever indicates that such is the work of the local congregation?

3. Parents and children in the home (Eph. 6:1-4). The individual has the right to discipline his/her child. Will anyone argue that such discipline is the church’s work?

4. As noted, the individual may have a spouse and fulfill the responsibilities to that spouse (1 Cor. 7).

5. An individual may engage in exercise to care for his/her body. Should the church then sponsor calisthenics classes or operate a gym?

6. Common meals are for individuals. Note that in 1 Corinthians 11:18-34, Paul distinguishes what they were doing "as a church" and what they should be doing at home. This would show that there are some things we may do "at home" that are simply not meant for us to be doing "as a church."

7. Secular education is the work of the home. I may send a child to school, but this does not make it the church’s reponsibility.

8. The home is responsible for recreation and social activities. When the church, "as a church," gets involved in these matters, it is acting out of its place.

The individual has greater freedom to act in various areas of life than what God has permitted for collective action as a local church. Further, there are individual decisions and actions that should not affect the church as a whole (e.g., Rom. 14). We must be careful not to confuse the individual with the church. Let the individual fulfill individual responsibilities, and let the church be the church.

Doy Moyer