May 11, 2020 MANY BUT ONE
Romans 12:4-5 “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
Ephesians 4:15-16 “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted, and being held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
We must be alert to the fact that most of us tend to have an independent spirit. This tendency toward having an independent spirit runs counter to being a functioning member of the body of Christ, the church. Let me say at the beginning, just to clarify, that in one sense it is good to be independent; we should not expect others to do for us what we should do-you get my point. However, God has designed it in such a way that we as individual believers, need each other, if we are to grow and mature in the faith. The truth is that none of us are complete within ourselves. Each member of the body of Christ has been given a particular spiritual gift or gifts, and it is through the expressions of these various gifts that we grow and mature and become complete. What each member supplies to the body is what holds the body together. The obvious message for us is that we need the body and the body needs us-that’s the way God designed it. The follow up obvious message for each of us is that because we need each other, we are to be a part of the body-to be engaged in the body, the church. This is where the independent spirit so often surfaces. It may sound legalistic, but we need to be committed to being a part of the church gathering-not trying to earn God’s approval, but because we are needed there and we need the input and interactions of others. Tuning in to a television church service is good for those who are home-bound, but it is no substitute for being a part of the meeting together of believers. (It’s another subject, but you and I need to be a part of a church where the gospel is proclaimed and where there is a desire to be the church that God designed.) God works in and through us individually, but He also works in and through the church. The scriptures tell us that God has appointed certain members in the church for certain functions, but it also makes it clear that every member has a place in the body. “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelist, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13. Concerning body life, there will likely be those that we are not naturally drawn to and there will likely be opportunity for conflict and disagreement; however, we are still called to be engaged in body life, and learning how to love and accept one another, and even appreciate one another in spite of our differences. Let us adjust our thinking if need be and let us see that God has chosen to work through His church, in spite of its imperfections at the present, and let us not neglect being an active participant in the body. Whether we know it or not, you and I are needed in the body of Christ.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
Blessings, Buddy
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