Following the introduction, in which he identifies the parties to the covenant and the qualifications by which one may enter into this agreement, J. N. Brown begins to explain the duties and obligations being promised in the covenant.
“We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit…”
The duties of church membership are fundamentally spiritual, and therefore they require spiritual power to accomplish. It is with this in mind that we expressly declare our dependence on the Spirit of God who’s ministry to believers is one of equipping and enabling. Not only are we saved by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are sanctified or made holy by the same Spirit of God. It is as Paul asked in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” Just as we cannot hope to save ourselves by our own strength, neither can we hope to perfect ourselves apart from his gracious power. And so the covenant appeals to the Holy Spirit of God for that help.
“…to walk together in Christian love…”
The NT repeatedly calls us as Christians to love one another. James 2:8 says that to love your neighbor as yourself is to “fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,” and Paul says in Romans 13 and Galatians 5 that loving one’s neighbor is the fulfillment of the law. Clearly this is an obligation that we must take seriously, and so we commit to “walk together,” that is, to live with one another in a posture of love. This is described in Ephesians 5:2 as imitating Christ who loved us and sacrificed himself for us. So when we covenant to walk together in Christian love, we are really saying that we will choose to love one another and to sacrifice for one another just as Christ did for us.
“…to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort…”
There ought to be a sense of loyalty to the local church body to which we are joined as obedient followers of Christ. To that end, we commit to work for the progress of this local congregation in 3 specific areas. First of all, we are to build up our brothers and sisters in true knowledge. This doesn’t mean that we hold informational meetings about retirement planning, raising children, job skills, or local politics. It means that we, like Paul in Colossians 2:2, labor long and hard to see our brothers and sisters “attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding.” Second, we concern ourselves with holiness. This is not holier-than-thou-ness that so many have perfected, but a genuine desire to see righteousness and godliness in the lives of our fellow members. We must begin, then, by pursuing holiness ourselves and striving to put sin to death in our own lives and then we will be able to engage with our brothers in this war against the flesh. And finally, we covenant to seek the comfort of this church. This must mean, not the external feeling of ease which easily slips into apathy, for 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” No, we must not become at ease until our warfare is ended and we are called home to be with Christ. But the Christian church is to be a place of comfort and hope for those who have been wounded in the battle. We are to comfort each other in times of suffering with the knowledge that trials are to be expected in the Christian life. We are to comfort one another concerning the return of Jesus Christ and our gathering together to be with him. We are to comfort the repentant brother and restore him to the fellowship. And we are to speak God’s word to one another to bring comfort and hope. In this way we may strive for the advancement of this local congregation.
“…to promote its prosperity and spirituality…”
Part of our commitment to the church includes being for the church. That is, whether in public or in private, we ought to support the goals, ministries, and well-being of the church. He’s not referring here to financial support (that comes into view later) but of our personal support. Decisions made by the congregation that do not contradict Scripture ought to receive the full support of the members, even if a minority do not agree. To maintain such an attitude, we must commit to pursuing true spirituality within the church, so that we can say, when the congregation has decided, that the Spirit of Christ has led his church. Paul says in Romans 8 that “those who live according to the Spirit [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit.” This is the true spirituality that we seek, that as members of this church we would set our minds on the things of the Spirit, rather than on our own preferences or opinions about how things ought to be done. Too often churches have conflict because as members we put our own selves ahead of the prosperity and spirituality of the congregation. But Paul says that “to be spiritually minded is life and peace,” so in our covenant we commit to pursuing life and peace by promoting the church’s prosperity and spirituality. Lord willing, we will consider the rest of this paragraph in the next installment.