Is there a difference between assembling in person versus assembling online?

Last time, we argued that Scripture commands believers to assemble (Hebrews 10:25). But with the advances of modern technology, that command must be further elaborated. Why does it matter if we gather digitally instead of physically?

The answer to this question lies in biblical anthropology—the study of humanity.

Embodied Souls

To begin with, humans are not merely souls. John MacArthur writes, “God made human beings body and soul together. He ‘formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature’ (Genesis 2:7). We consist of an inner self and an outer self (2 Corinthians 4:16).”^[1]John MacArthur, The Glory of Heaven, 2nd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 140.

That is commonly called the “dichotomist” view of humanity. It simply makes the biblical case that humans are both material and immaterial at the same time. John affirms elsewhere, “The material (body) and immaterial (soul/spirit) function together in one person, embracing both unity and diversity. This complex unity is conditional, since death in a fallen world separates body and spirit (James 2:26). Yet this separation is temporary, since all people are headed for resurrection, a reunion of body and spirit in eternal forms.”^[2]John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds., Biblical Doctrine (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), 424.

Early Christians defended this biblical perspective against a philosophical system commonly called Gnosticism. One writer summarizes it this way:

What [Gnostics] held in common was an understanding of the human being—an anthropology—that sharply divides the material or bodily, on the one hand, and the spiritual or mental or affective, on the other. For Gnostics, it was the immaterial, the mental, the affective that ultimately matters. Applied to the human person, this means that the material or bodily is inferior—if not a prison to escape, certainly a mere instrument to be manipulated to serve the goals of the “person,” understood as the spirit or mind or psyche. The self is a spiritual or mental substance; the body, its merely material vehicle.^[3]Robert P. George, “Gnostic Liberalism” https://www.firstthings.com/article/2016/12/gnostic-liberalism

As you can see from the verses referenced above, the Gnostic body-soul divide flatly contradicts Scripture. Furthermore, it is incompatible with the fact that God called His own creation, encompassing both material and immaterial, “good” (Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25) and “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Nancy Pearcey explains,

The Bible proclaims the profound value and dignity of the material realm—including the human body—as the handiwork of a loving God. That’s why biblical morality places great emphasis on the fact of human embodiment. Respect for the person is inseparable from respect for the body. God could have chosen to make us like the angels—spirits without bodies. He could have created a spiritual realm for us to float around in. Instead, he created us with material bodies and a material universe to live in.^[4]Nancy Pearcey, “Why Our Bodies matter” https://modernreformation.org/resource-library/web-exclusive-articles/the-mod-why-our-bodies-matter/

Not only does the Bible teach that humans were created body and soul, it also teaches that we will remain body and soul for eternity.

Resurrection Bodies

We know that a bodily resurrection lies in everyone’s future because Scripture plainly says so. John MacArthur explains the danger of denying this truth.

This doctrine of bodily resurrection is absolutely essential to the Christian message. First Corinthians 15 is the definitive chapter on the subject. . . . To deny it is to embrace something other than genuine Christianity: “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (vv. 16–17).^[5]MacArthur, Heaven, 142.

At death, the body and soul are separated (James 2:26; Ecclesiastes 12:7). But in the resurrection, soul and body will be reunited once again. We have a living illustration of this reality in the resurrection of Jesus. John continues,

Christ’s resurrection body was the same body as before, not a whole new one. After he arose, the tomb was empty. The body itself was resurrected—the very same body, but in a glorified state. The wounds from his crucifixion were still visible (John 20:27). He could be touched and handled—he was not merely an apparition or a phantom (Luke 24:39). He looked human in every regard. He conversed a long time with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they never once questioned his humanity (Luke 24:13–18). He ate real, earthly food with his friends on another occasion (vv. 42–43).

Yet his body also had otherworldly properties. He could pass through solid walls (John 20:19). He could appear in different forms so his identity was not immediately obvious (Mark 16:12). He could suddenly appear out of nowhere (Luke 24:36). And he could ascend directly into heaven in bodily form . . . (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9).

Our bodies will be exactly like that. They will be real, physical, genuinely human bodies—the very same bodies we have while on this earth—yet wholly perfected and glorified.^[6]MacArthur, Heaven, 141.

Just as humans were created soul and body, they will be resurrected and glorified as soul and body for eternity. Again John explains,

Our ultimate perfection demands that both body and soul be renewed. Even the creation of a new heaven and earth demands that we have bodies—a physical earth calls for its inhabitants to have physical bodies. An honest approach to Scripture does not permit these realities to be spiritualized or allegorized away. Eternal life as a mere state of mind would defeat the whole point of many of the promises in Scripture.^[7]MacArthur, Heaven, 140.

Disembodied Fellowship

Even though Scripture clearly teaches that man is made up of soul and body, proponents of the meta-church and virtual congregations ignore that fact. They do not despise the body as the Gnostics did, but they treat the body as at best unnecessary. This is an unbiblical view of mankind.

For example, The Christian Post promotes “a church that solely exists in the metaverse, which Facebook describes as ‘a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.’” The author adds, “Some technology experts say [online engagement] will continue to displace physical churches that refuse to adapt to the digital revolution.”

But as we have seen, to abandon a physical church is to abandon the physical component of humanity. So, whatever a digital assembly is, it is not a gathering of human beings. It may be an assembly of human voices, images, and avatars, but no humans—body and soul—are actually present. And we intuitively know this.

Any homebound believer can tell you there is a substantive difference between a phone call and a personal visit from their church members. Any married couple will tell you a video chat is different than a face-to-face conversation. Even the apostle Paul valued face-to-face meeting over other means of communication (Romans 1:9–12; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; cf. 3 John 1:13–14).

Each of those examples bears witness to the biblical truth that God has made us body and soul together. To say we can be truly present without a body is like saying we can be truly present without a soul. But everyone who has attended a funeral understands that a body separated from a soul is not a fully present human being.

Serving Christ with Body and Soul

Throughout the centuries, Christians have defended the fact that we must worship God with our entire being—body and soul.

During the Reformation, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) taught that our only hope in life and death is “That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ” (emphasis added).

More recently, Francis Schaeffer wrote,

Platonism says the body is bad or is to be despised. The only thing that matters is the soul. But the Bible says that God made the whole man, the whole man is to know salvation, and the whole man is to know the lordship of Jesus Christ in the whole of life. The great teaching of the resurrection of the body is not just abstract doctrine; it stands as a pledge and reminder of a very important and a very hopeful fact. It says that God made the whole man. God made man spirit and body, and He is interested in both.^[8]Francis A. Schaeffer, Death in the City (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 84.

Behind each of these statements, of course, is God’s own Word. He commands Christians to both “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) and to “worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Corporate worship cannot overlook either reality.

Sadly, the meta-church encourages believers to “gather” in a false and incomplete way that ignores what human beings are. We live body and soul, we die body and soul, and we will be resurrected body and soul. To downplay this truth is to ignore the very purpose for which we were created: to glorify God body and soul (1 Corinthians 10:31).