And He Himself Gave…

Eph 4:11-16

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Aren’t you glad that the church is not an organization but is rather an organism? The analogy used in the verses above is that of a body. It has life! Even when a non-biological object is used to describe the church, such as a house in 1 Pe 2:5, the fact that there is life is still emphasized as we see this house is constructed of “living stones.” Living things can adapt. They can respond differently to circumstances depending associated factors. They grow. Isn’t life amazing! Cut a gash in a stone, and it will simply remain that way. Cut a gash in flesh, and it will begin to repair itself!

What a treasure we have in the body of Christ! Its design is unique and perfectly fitted for what is required of it. Why is that so? Because God made it that way! As our text begins above, “And He Himself gave…” God did it! He’s chosen each member, and set each one in its proper place. He hasn’t left this to chance. The body is His design. He is the Potter that has power over the clay, and He shapes it and fashions it according to His purpose. (Rom 9:20-21) Aren’t we thankful it’s that way? We don’t always understand it. Sometimes we, like Moses, are sure God’s picked the wrong man for the job (Ex 4:10-11), but can you imagine anyone else leading the Israelites out of Egypt? God knows what He’s doing. Our job is to do what He told Moses in Ex 4:12, “Now therefore, go, and I will….” In other words, “Obey Me, believe me, do what I said, and I’ll take care of the rest!”

And just look at what our text above tells us God is going to accomplish by this design that He has chosen for His church: “…for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Eph 4:12,13) Wow! I’d say God’s got a pretty good plan, and we’d do best to not second guess Him! He’s designed the body for these purposes, and if He says it will work this way, then it will work! Don’t question. Don’t doubt. Just believe and obey. Look Who’s leading this work. The natural body’s controlled by the brain which is in the head, and the head of this spiritual body is none other than Christ Himself! Now therefore, go, and He will…

Jamie

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