- The church is appointed to
be the Body of Christ
As
the body of Christ, the church is subject to Jesus Christ Who is the head of
the body, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things
He may have the preeminence. It is stated that; “For as the body is one and has
many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body,
so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ---
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free --- and have all been made to
drink into one Spirit: For in fact the
body is not one member but many” (1Corinthians 12:12-14).
In
order for the church to experience growth and development as the body of
Christ, it is imperative that she speaks the truth in love, so as to grow up in
all things into Jesus Christ who is the head, and from whom the whole body,
joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the
effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body
for the edifying of itself in love.
God
has placed each member of His body in the position He wants them to be and so
we have been admonished by the apostle Paul saying; “For I say, through the
grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each
one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the
members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in
Christ, and individually members of one another.
Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use
them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let
us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in
exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he
who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:3-8).
For
as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body --- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free ---
and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not
one member but many.
If
the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,"
is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am
not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the
whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing,
where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them,
in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would
the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body” (1Corinthians
12:12-20).
But
what binds and holds the body together as one, is the communion, sharing, or
fellowship of the body of Christ. For it is written; “Therefore, my beloved,
flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for your-selves what I say.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (sharing) of the body
of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake
of that one bread” (1Corinthians 10:14-17).
And
it is by us drawing near to the Father with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water, holding fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And considering one another in order
to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the
more as you see the Day approaching.
We should therefore all be speaking the same
thing and there should be no divisions among us, but that we be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment for God is not the
author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/145385777X
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFP1SMV
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FV4WTWQ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYGDD7M
To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
No comments:
Post a Comment