by Pieter De Vries
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
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…”
Ephesians 4:11-13
Paul is describing the body of Christ and how the Lord has given each part a specific purpose. It gives an image of the overall picture of the Church and at the same time shows the seeming ‘insignificance’ of how we are standing in there as part of the body. It in a sense captures the greatness of our God with an image of our selves. God created us and we cannot but be subjected to that thought. Then we are shown a picture that signifies us, but is actually a representation of the body of Christ.
When thinking this through, we are standing in awe of how great our God actually is. In that, I find again the incomprehensiveness of our God whom through Jesus Christ is bringing His children to Himself. Paul signifies that we should work together in ‘the unity of the faith’ to equip and edify the body of Christ. Paul is looking forward, and understands that only by working together the body can be build. He’s saying that if one part of the body loses, then the body cannot be build. If my hand is cut off, then surely I cannot pick up that stone to build that part of the house. If then my eyes are spiritually blind, then surely false doctrines are not understood and easily accepted.
Paul then warns the church of Ephesus saying that they need to stop acting like Gentiles, because it only destroys the body and doesn’t edify. He understood that the church can only be built when all the body-parts are working together in ‘the unity of faith,’ and only then can it function properly. What we learn from this is that the Church can only work accordingly when all its parts are working according to how God intended it to be.
We need to ask Him to tell us how the different parts need to be structured. Only then, in unity, edifying itself in love can the body grow. I find then that from this passage comes an understanding of who we are to be as ministers of Jesus Christ. If we are working in the body to come to the ‘fullness of Christ,’ then we have a responsibility to see that body come to fruition. In this passage I find myself and see in the bigger picture how He wants me in there, and through that I stand in awe of His greatness and almost feel unworthy of even being a part of that. How privileged are we to be a part of His Bride, and how much more should we then work together for the glory of God so that His Kingdom can be established!
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