Week Six

The Church is One Body

The church is referred to in the Bible as the body of Christ or the bride of Christ. This isn’t referring to a denomination, but all true believers whoever they are and wherever they are. Anyone who accepts the gift of grace that God has offered by believing that Jesus Christ came to earth in the form a man, that he was fully God and fully man. Believing that Jesus willingly died on the cross for the sins of all mankind. Believing that he rose from the dead and that he is coming back for all those who believe in him. That is the church.

As a body of believers how do we fit together to be the one body that Christ intended us to be? Who am I within that body? This is the mystery that Paul talked about in the new testament. Each believer has a part to play in the building of the kingdom of God. It is up to us to find out what God’s plans are for us.

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, he sends his Holy Spirit to live inside us. The Holy Spirit gives each one of us a gift to be used to glorify God. God never expects us to be someone we aren’t. He wouldn’t expect us to do anything out of character for us. Instead, he uses each one of us, right where we are to be Christ to those around us.

His ways are perfect and as the Psalmist said, “For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16

It is up to each one of us to discover what our gift is and how God wants us to use it to strengthen the body-the church.

That is the purpose of each gift, to edify the body. These gifts are not given for personal gain, they are not given for us to profit from or misuse, but always only to glorify the Father and to become more Christlike. Romans 12:5 tells us that each member belongs to all the others.

It has taken me years to find my gifts. I didn’t even know that God would use me to edify the body for years after I became a Christian. This whole Chrisitanity lifestyle is a process and the sooner we start to move forward, the quicker the process goes.

If you are new in the faith, I urge you to take an inventory of your life and maybe take a spiritual gifts test to help you define what your passion is.

For years I carried burdens around with me not knowing how to unload them. God had given me the gift of intercession, but I didn’t know that was what I had. I just knew that at times the weight of the world would press on me and I felt so responsible for fixing everything. I could hardly stand the pressure. When I finally realized that the burdens were placed in my heart so that I could pray for those people and intercede on their behalf, it was the most wonderful day of my life.

Suddenly I knew that God had a purpose and a plan for my life. God didn’t expect me to fix anything, Jesus had already done that. All that he wanted me to do was to bring requests to him. He just needed me to stand in the gap for those who either couldn’t pray for themselves or maybe those who didn’t even know that they needed prayer.

We are on a journey to find out what it is that Christ wants us to do. Once you understand your place within the body, there is such joy in fulfilling your purpose. It is not a chore, it is not an impossibility, it becomes a passion within you.

How can we know where we belong? Sometimes we have to step out and try something on to see if it fits. Your spirit will tell you almost immediately if you are in the wrong place doing the wrong thing. If something seems like a chore, like it is taking all you have to perform a duty - then it probably isn’t a gift you have.

Until recently I always thought of the body as parts that we could see, like eyes, ears, legs, etc., but in reading a book on prayer, I heard Peter Wagner put it another way. He referred to intercessors as glands in the body. You don’t see them, but they are vital to the function of the body. We all understand that glands are important. Anyone who has ever had swollen glands knows that they play a major part in fighting infections and keeping the body healthy. So it is with intercessors, you may not see them, they may not be visible parts of the body, but they are important.

Find out what your gifts are and you will be on your way to becoming all that God intended you to be. There are spiritual gifts tests you can take. Pray and ask the Father to reveal your gifts to you. What do you have a passion for?

Dear Holy God,

You are so awesome and so wise. You have given each one of us the ability to serve you in special ways and you are the one who gave each of us different gifts. We praise you for the wonderful way you give us what we need and we pray that today, you will show us what we can do to serve you in spirit and in truth. May we become the people you designed us to be and may we glorify you in all that we do. Thank you for being a God of such diversity and such amazing love.

Show us just where we belong in the body of Christ and empower each of us to do the work we were created to do. These things we ask through your Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen