March 1, 2022
The One Body of Christ:
Discovering the Truth That Will Set You Free
Katy Jean Marzolf
Essential Truth Publishing (2022)
Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9855843-0-1
Hardcover ISBN: 979-8-9855843-1-8
E-book ISBN: 979-8-9855843-2-5
New Book Offers Inclusive Christian Message
Katy Jean Marzolf’s new book The One Body of Christ: Discovering The Truth That Will Set You Free is a refreshing look into Scripture, the struggles that Christians endure, and how we have failed to see the wonderful truth that lies right before our eyes by often overanalyzing Scripture.
Katy Jean grew up with a strict Christian viewpoint that believed in putting God first in everything and abiding by the Bible. She memorized tons of Scripture to get closer to understanding God, and she would even write letters to her pastor if she didn’t think her church was following the Word of God to the letter.
Then what she calls the “big bang” happened in her life. I won’t get into that story here, but it led Katy Jean to questioning everything in her life and what was real or not, what was true or untrue. And it led her into a new phase of her relationship with God that made her see things in new ways. In The One Body of Christ, she shares her personal story, using simple examples to make her points and provide revelations into Scripture that have been largely overlooked.
Katy Jean tells us we need to start over, to become like the little children Christ said would inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. We need to quit nitpicking about interpretations of verses, and we need to quit trying to separate the wheat from the chaff to determine who goes to heaven. Ultimately, Katy Jean’s message is that we are all part of the Body of Christ, whatever our faults. Everything is all part of God’s plan, and therefore, we are all saved. I know for some Christians that may seem like a huge statement that needs documentation from Scripture. I won’t get into the theology here, but simply say that Katy Jean explains it all, and she explains it very well. Not only does she support her arguments with Scripture, but she uses simple examples just like Christ used parables. Her goal is to get us to look at Scripture afresh:
“Please look at every Scripture passage with new eyes, as though you haven’t been taught anything at all before. Let your mind be open to possibilities that reveal the goodness of God in every circumstance. I have closed off my mind too many times. Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made.”
Katy Jean equates her former inability to open her mind and see truths evident in the Scriptures with a simple illustration of how a friend asked her to pick her up from a local Hardee’s restaurant. The Hardee’s had been on a specific corner for many years, but Katy Jean had never noticed it, even though she’d driven past it countless times. Only when she needed to find it was she ready to see it. The same is true in our relationship to God through His Word. When we are ready, the truths will be revealed. Chances are, if you are reading this review, God may be telling you that you are now ready.
I fully embrace Katy Jean’s interpretations of Scripture. It has never made sense to me that God would condemn some and not others since people have different situations in life to face. It also never made sense to me that Christianity should be divided into so many denominations who can’t get along with each other. Katy Jean states:
“God has given to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). God has not meant that we should divide ourselves, finding all the ways that our viewpoints differ from one another, but that we might discover what is common and uniting between us all, and focus our attention there…. For so long, we have lived with the reality of being at odds with others, or those others who think differently than we do about COVID vaccinations, politics, religious views, homosexuality, you name it! Perhaps your way really is better, but how can we come to any kind of reconciliation or understanding if we are so focused on our differences that we can’t see anything we hold in common, or see what could put an end to the mental division between us and those others? Hold on to this vision of reconciliation as we continue on, discovering what connects us all to one another.”
What connects us all is that the kingdom of heaven is within us, as Christ taught us. Furthermore, Scripture teaches us that Christ is all in all. “He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). If this is true, then how could some sort of real separation or existence apart from Christ be possible? Katy Jean replies that it is not.
Katy Jean’s message may seem radical to some Christians, but she quotes Scripture profusely to support her arguments. She preaches loving one another, inclusion, getting along, and honoring the Christ within us all. If her message is radical, then so is Christ’s message, for they are one and the same.
More than a century ago, the Christian author G. K. Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” That’s very true, but it is also possible we are simply trying the wrong way, like Katy Jean was. She tells us, “I trusted that memorization of Scripture would somehow transform my temporary flesh-mind to be like the mind of Christ. I believed daily speaking with God would make me closer to Him. I put my trust in my Christian actions or works to become sanctified by God. This is what my flesh-mind was doing. I saw a separation between how I was and how I wanted to be, which was more like Christ. I held an image in my mind of how I should be and used Christian teaching and philosophy to guide me in all I should do to be more like Christ. I did not know just being was all that was needed or that it could never be taken from me. I misunderstood the message of good news, Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).”
Now that Katy Jean understands the good news, she wants to share the message with you. I hope you will listen.
For more information about Katy Jean Marzolf and The One Body of Christ, visit https://theonebodyofchrist.com/.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD and award-winning author of Narrow Lives and The Best Place
