When Each Part is Working Properly

“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)

When we, Christians, believe in Jesus to be Lord and Savior of our lives, in truth, and in practice, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, to empower, strengthen, train, instruct, counsel, and help us in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And we are given gifts of the Spirit which are to be used within the body of Christ to encourage and to help strengthen one another in our walks of faith. And we are given instructions in how we, as the individual parts of the body of Christ, his church, are to work together toward the spiritual maturity of us all in Christ.

God also assigns us our individual body parts which are to be our roles and our ministries within the body of Christ which may change with time as we grow in our walks of faith and become more mature in Christ, and as we learn more and understand more of the teachings of the Scriptures with regard to how we, as followers of Christ, are to conduct our lives. And more gifts of the Spirit and more ministries within the body of Christ may be added on to our walks of faith the longer we serve the Lord with our lives and the more that, by the Spirit, we bear fruit for the kingdom of God.

Now, like I said, we are all given different gifts and different assignments of God (our body parts). But all the body parts are necessary for the proper working of the body. So when we gather together there should be opportunities for all of us to encourage one another, to instruct, to comfort, to uplift, to exhort, to urge with a holy urging, and to help one another to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands in holy living. And all of us are to speak the truth in love to one another so that we are not deceived by human cunning, craftiness, and deceitful schemes by false teachers.

And our shepherds should be men of God (or women, when there is a shortage of godly men) who will train us in godliness and in holy living and who will prepare us spiritually for ministry within the body of Christ. They are NOT to be regarded as “the ministers” while the rest of us are regarded as “the congregation” or the “laity” who are not the ministers. They are to equip us spiritually in order to prepare us for ministry so that each part of the body is working as it should and so that we are all ministering to one another. For we are to be stirring up one another to love and good works.

But so much of what is called “church” today is not the biblical body of Christ operating as the body of Christ with each part doing its work. What we largely have are institutions of men which have been turned into businesses to be marketed to the people of the world. And one or two men serve as “the ministers” while “the laity” sit and listen to the preaching and sing some songs that usually one person selects, and then they go home and live their daily lives as usual. And there are exceptions to this, but this seems to be the “norm” for what are called “church” gatherings today here in America.

But that is not how the biblical body of Christ, the church, is supposed to operate. We are all to be ministering to one another, encouraging each other in our walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord in holy living. We are all to be using our spiritual gifts in the areas of ministry assigned to us by God for the mutual encouragement and spiritual maturity of one another. And we all should have a part, not just a few. And we are to be addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and we should all be admonishing and exhorting and teaching one another how to live for Jesus Christ.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

So pray and ask the Lord Jesus to show you the part that he has for you within the body of Christ and how he wants to use you within the body of Christ to encourage one another. And ask him what gifts he has given you, and how he wants you to use those, too. And then step out in faith and in obedience to the Lord, and begin using those gifts in the areas of ministry to which the Lord has called you. But first of all make certain that you are walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living, and not in sin, so that you can help others to walk in obedience to the Lord and not in sin, too.

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

Caution: This link may contain ads