Part of One Body in Christ

December 16, 2012 Background Scripture: Ephesians 4:1 – 16 Lesson Passage: Ephesians 4:1 – 16 “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called” is an admonishment to Christians to work hard at your ministry to help to bring about or maintain unity within the body of believers so that all can grow together in the spirit of love. Christian maturity is aided when all ministries work together to support unity and peace. God has not called us into separate entities but into one spiritual body. That body is Christ. Jesus is the head. Jesus is the one who directs all things associated with his body. As head of the body, he has sovereignty over it. The body is not a democratically run mass of individuals deciding their own fate. Rather, it is a unified collection of members under the singular head of Christ. The instructions Christ give to the members always supports the unity of the body. Christ is not divided and he calls us into this singularity of peace and love. Christians are given ministries for the benefit of the whole. None of us can exist and function properly with only the gift(s) God has given us. Each of us depends on the gifts of others in the body to help us mature in Christ. Ministries are not exclusive of each other. Ministries are mutual for the benefit of the whole. The body of Christ is built and sustained by its own components. Each part has been gifted by the grace of God to contribute to the whole. The end goal of the work of the individuals is to move the body towards maturity. The body is mature when it performs the same works as Jesus Christ while being led by the Spirit of Christ to do so. It is of necessity that this be done in the spirit of love with each esteeming others better than themselves. The gifts edify the body towards maturity but the medium whereby this takes place is love. All spiritual gifts are given to be used in love. In love, the many parts of the body serve and nurture each other. In love, the many parts of the body work in concert to drive confusion, schisms, and sin from the body that the body would not become sick. No one person does it all neither should one attempt to do so. It is arrogance to think that one Christian can get along just fine without others because of the gift(s) of that one. As the body matures and nurtures itself, then the work of ministry beyond the body (evangelism and mission) is made possible. The spread of the gospel is more effective when the individual parts are not preoccupied with destroying each other. The body is under a mandate to spread the gospel to every person throughout the world. The saints must be mature or perfected spiritually to accomplish this. The gifts within the body contain everything that is needed for this maturation process. Each individual comes to maturity as they are ministered to by others so that they can become a part of the same process. None of us are saved to work in isolation. We need each other. Although we are many parts, we are each a part of one body in Christ. Robert C. Hudson December 5, 2012