Joined and Held Together by Every Joint

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)

So, what is our modern situation here in America with regard to what this is teaching us here? There are probably few gatherings of the church, of the body of Christ, which are operating as the biblical body of Christ, where each part/person is necessary to the proper building up of the body of Christ to true walks of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus, and where Jesus Christ is the true head of the body, and not man.

So many gatherings of what are called “churches” are just businesses of human making and origin, and they are being run by businessmen who are marketing “the church” to the people of the world via worldly means and methods intended to attract the ungodly to their gatherings. So, in order to attract the world they have become more like the world, and they have thus altered the truth about Christ and his gospel and his salvation.

And what so often is commonly referred to as “church” is not the biblical body of Christ, but they are institutions of man being marketed to the world just like other businesses, and their goal or mission is to do what will “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings. So their “God” is often not God at all but it is church denominations and marketing books and schemes and seminars which teach them how to attract the world to their gatherings, and how to keep the ungodly coming back for more.

And so the focus of these gatherings often becomes more geared toward attracting the ungodly rather than encouraging, exhorting, building up, nurturing, and training the body of believers in Christ in holy living and in the work of the ministry (God’s ministry) so that they can minister to one another and so that they can go out into the world and share the full truth of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world.

So, if “the church” no longer is the body of Christ equipping, nurturing, training, instructing, teaching, encouraging, comforting, counseling, and building one another up in our walks of faith and obedience to the Lord, then it ceases to be the true church, the body of Christ. For we are all needed and necessary to the proper working of the body of Christ, and we are to help one another to not be led astray by men who in their cunning and craftiness and deceitful scheming are leading many astray, in the name of “church.”

And so many people have this false notion that only those designated as “pastor” are to do all the preaching. But we are all God’s holy people, and we are all to proclaim (preach) the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. And we are all to speak the truth in love to one another, and to warn one another against false teachings, and to teach and to admonish one another in all wisdom. But women should not be in authority over men unless there are no qualified men to do the job.

And we are to exhort one another every day so that none of us are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to stir up one another to love and to good works, which are the works God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:14). And if one of us drifts or wanders off from the faith, those of us who are walking by faith should bring back that wanderer to a right relationship with the Lord which will save his/her soul from death (eternal wrath of God).

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

So, if we find ourselves attending gatherings of these market-driven “churches,” i.e. businesses which are being marketed to the world, and which are altering and diluting the truth of the gospel in order to make the character of Christ and of his gospel and of his church more attractive to the people of the world, and so the gatherings of what are called “churches” are really more about entertaining and appeasing and attracting and not offending the people of the world, then what should we do?

And especially if we have no place, no part in these gatherings other than as spectators in an audience, or as participants only in singing what are often not very biblical and spiritual songs, or as workers in assignments given out by men which have nothing to do with how we are to operate as the biblical body of Christ, and so there is no room for us and our spiritual gifts and our ministry callings of God, then what should we do? Should we compromise our faith and our callings and just blend in to keep peace?

Well, the Scriptures teach us that we are not to partner with the ungodly and that we are not to have fellowship with those who do not believe in our Lord, which includes professing Christians who are still living like the ungodly and whose lives are not surrendered to the Lord. So we are to come out from their midst, and we are to be separate from them with regard to fellowship and partnership and agreement and support of them and what they are doing. And we are to touch no unclean thing, and God will be our Father.

And we are not to turn God’s temple, his church, the body of Christ, into a marketplace and into a place of business, which is what so many have done and are doing by the masses. But zeal for God’s house, his body, his temple, should consume us (not a physical building but the people of God). And our gatherings are not for the purpose to attract the world, but so that we can all work together in ministering to one another and to helping one another to stay true to the faith and to not be led astray by sin and by deceitful people.

So, we are to come out of these gatherings which are being called “churches” but which are about altering what is of God to make it all more attractive to the ungodly in order to win them to their gatherings. For “the church” that is worldly and which blends in with and partners with the ungodly, and which dilutes the gospel message so as not to offend the people of the world, has her sins heaped high as heaven, and so we are to come out of her so that we don’t take part in her sins and in her punishment.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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