The Body of Christ

October 03, 2014

There are several passages which refer to the church community as “the body of Christ.” We have looked at one, 1 Corinthians 12. Here is another: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:4-8)

It seems that the church is doing better, in recent years, at understanding the fact that each has a different part to play in God’s work. The thing we still tend to often forget is Who is the Head. The definition, determining, and ultimate use of one person’s gifts are not up to the pastor, conference official, or conference president. They are up to the one and only Head, Christ.

It is certain that these leadership roles are also given by God, and do have a leadership role to play. God says leaders’ jobs are for equipping the saints for work, therefore seminars to define and determine someone’s gifts, small groups for training people in the use of them, and accountability partners for continuing guidance and support have important roles to play. But ultimately, the choices are up to God and the individual, and we might bear in mind that the God of the Bible tends not to call the ones we would expect, to do the jobs we would have predicted!

Each part of the body has its purpose. It is up to each one to make a lifelong study of where he or she fits in the body of Christ. It is up to the group together to study the constantly changing ways that the different parts work together. Most of all, it is up to the group together to prayerfully determine what the Head thinks they ought to do in order to work together more effectively.

All that diversity, accepted, nourished, and honored, strangely enough leads to unity. Real unity, not lockstep conformity.

Ephesians 4:13 summons God’s disjointed body to a beautiful end: “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” that the body might “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (NIV). If this is the glorified end that God envisions for His church, then Jesus alone is the means to that end. He is the Way!

But it is critical to bear in mind that our God-given diversity ceases to be a blessing and becomes a curse when Christ is made subordinate to the mores of our cultural heritage and practice. We need to remember, not only to refrain from trying to do Christ’s job as Head of the church, but also to let Him do it! That is, we must act as He asks us to, study the way He did things and imitate them, and meanwhile, stick together. If my brother thinks I may be giving more power to the culture with which I am surrounded than to God, and he lovingly says so, it is up to me to listen, to take the concern to God and ask for clear sight, and to be ready to change my actions if necessary.

The primary unifying element in the church is Jesus Christ. This unity thrives on support and encouragement of one another; a church with deep divisions can be doomed. In a culture of mutual support and love, even if I decide not to take the advice of my brother, he may be able to continue to love and pray for me, because he knows I heard him, and he knows God will continue to lead us both. We will both be saved from causing a community breakdown if we both honor each other and God.

As members of the body of Christ, we have the privilege of serving Him as a church family. We must strive to remember our purpose and maintain true unity in Christ. God-designed communities of faith were created to be a blessing—both to themselves and to the world.

Dwain met Gladys at the funeral of her granddaughter. Later he sought out an opportunity to encourage her and get to know her better. They talked about her granddaughter’s untimely death, but then the conversation turned when he asked her about the changes she had seen in the area in which she had lived her entire life.

“Son,” she began, “I’ve seen more changes than I’d like to see. I remember when you could walk the streets late at night and never worry. I remember that my mother and the other women would take care of new mothers when they brought their babies home. Adults would look out for kids, and kids would respect adults. People cared about one another.”

Then with resignation in her voice she added, “It’s not like that anymore.” What Gladys was lamenting was a loss of community. As she spoke, it struck Dwain that God created His church to meet just such a need.

Which will it be? A community dedicated to serving self, or one dedicated to blessing “all the families of the earth”?