[W]e are not only committed to Christ, we are committed to the body of Christ. Indeed, we cannot be one without the other. For the church lies at the center of the purpose of God. God's purpose, conceived in a past eternity, being worked out in history, to be perfected in a future eternity, is not just to save isolated individuals and so perpetuate our loneliness, but rather to call out a people for himself and to build his church. Indeed, Christ died for us not only to redeem us from sin but to purify for himself a people who are enthusiastic for good works (Titus 2:14). So, then, the reason we are committed to the church is that God is.
-Stott, in Through the Bible Through the Year, page 305.
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