1) The body of Christ is one. “There is one body.” There is only one Church. There is only one Christ. The body of Christ is one because all of the members that make up the body share the same life, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the brothers and sisters in Christ in any city are one as well, because we all share the same life. The Holy Spirit will always lead to unity in Christ.
Unfortunately, the body of Christ, the Church, is severely divided, is severely fragmented. The Lord’s people are separated from one another, often by “church” structures and organisations. The Holy Spirit does not lead this way, man does. The breaking of this “system” will set the captives free.
The body of Christ in the New Testament had only one Church in each city, because the Lord’s people were one. This, of course, does not mean that they met in the same place, rather in many different homes. However they were still one body, they saw themselves as one, they had the same name and they submitted to the same leadership.
2) The body holds fast to the headship of Christ. “God placed all things under His (Christ’s) feet and appointed Him to be Head over everything for the Church, which is His body”. The Church has only one authority – the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church knows no other Head.
The Church holds fast to the headship, the leadership, the rulership of Christ. The Church exists and lives out from the life of Jesus, in humble subjection to His Lordship. So the COVERING, the Headship of every member is Christ. When a people are joyfully enthroning Christ as Head, there we have the Church. The Holy Spirit always points to Christ.
Unfortunately, many fellowships have not enthroned Christ as Head. Decisions are made in a meeting room where men discuss and deliberate, and then pray afterwards for the Lord to bless what they have already decided. In Acts no church was governed by a single pastor, senior pastor, or head pastor because that would supplant the headship of Christ.
Also, in many fellowships, members are told they need a COVERING, meaning they need the headship of a fellowship or church “system” rather than the headship or COVERING of Christ. These fellowships have therefore supplanted themselves over Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit never leads this way.
The Church rests on the Headship of Christ and under Him stands a plurality of leaders who are submissive to His leadership as well as to the remainder of the body. Wherever two people make a decision in the Church independent of the Head, meaning Christ, they have committed conspiracy.
3) Every member of the Body is active. “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Every part of the body, the Church, supplies God’s life. It is called the “priesthood of all believers.”7
The function of priests is to serve, to minister, to supply, to give, to love, to prayer for, to assist, to encourage etc. as the Holy Spirit leads. “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the Church.”
Unfortunately, most of the Lord’s people are passive spectators in today’s churches of monologue sermons. The churches have become institutional, something of man rather than a heavenly organism.
4) The goal is for each part of the body to become mature, attaining to the fullness of Christ. “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
God gives the body of Christ gifts in order to increase the life of Christ in every part of the body, to bring the body into conformity to His Son, through the Holy Spirit. In the body we grow through the lessons of the cross, interdependence, love, self sacrifice, unity, humility etc attaining to the full measure of Christ.
Today’s church is largely carnal and lukewarm, with sin rampant. Leaders endeavour to change men by their programmes and courses. The work of the Holy Spirit is largely ignored. The true gospel is not preached.
Post published in: Faith