Understanding the Body of Christ

If you are born-again, you are automatically a member of the body of Christ. It is important that every member of the Body of Christ has some understanding of the significance, benefits, privileges and responsibilities of this most important membership. Our lack of discernment leads to certain patterns of behavior. This in turn may lead to weakness, sickness and death. 1 Corinthians 11:30 (Amplified Bible).

Advantages of discerning the body

The book of the Acts of Apostles provides insights into the unique benefits of discerning the body. This was the time when “all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met” Acts 2: 44-45. In other words, no one lacked. If we practice this in our local churches, no one will go to bed hungry while another church member has food at home. No one will be homeless while another member has a spare room.

“The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn't even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, "That's mine; you can't have it." Acts 4:32, 34-35. Not surprisingly, when such believers pray, venues shake. Oneness of the pew impacts the power of the pulpit. “They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter's shadow when he walked by. They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed” Acts 5:15-16. When members of a local church are in unity, signs and wonders will be commonplace. When they are not, weakness, sickness and death prevail. This principle is so important the devil used it in getting enraged people to stone Steven.

The modern day church is weak because it does not practice love as described in the Bible. We barely tolerate each other. This attitude is hurting us more than any other. Compare your life with the following counsel: “Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Romans 12:13, 17-18.

The Biblical standard of oneness among brethren is so high we are not encouraged to take another member to court for any reason! 1 Corinthians 6:1. A believer is admonished to love his enemies; how much more fellow believers. My beloved Christian, I am not advocating some mysterious doctrine. “If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Philippians 2:1-2.

The Strategy of Satan
When there is division, plans cannot succeed. Dreams do not come through. Visions are lost. Power dissipates. The enemy gains a foothold. Our fellowship is powerless and routine. There is no evidence of divine presence. This is the reason Satan does everything he can to cause division among Christians. Luke 11:17, 18. When Christians are united, nothing can prevail against them. You can build anything with unity; you can destroy anything without it. When mankind came together to build the Tower of Babel, listen to what God said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language…now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (Gen 11:6). This is God’s assessment of mankind in unity. May it become His assessment of our gatherings in Jesus' name. Amen.

Caveats
You are not called to be clones of each other. That is uniformity which means to look alike, talk alike, and behave alike. You lose your identity and personality. This is not what the Bible advocates. The Apostles were all different personalities which impacted on the way they carried out their ministries. You are called to be unified with other believers. Unification means you share a common purpose and a set of objectives while maintaining your unique personality and identity.

The Greatest Sign of a Disciple
Disciples behave like their master. A disciple of Prophet Mohammed will exhibit violence just as his master did. How are the disciples of Christ identified? Is it by their wealth? Boldness? Speaking in tongues? Great miracles and healings? No. The Lord Jesus said, “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other” John 13:35. The more we act in love, the more like Jesus we become. The closest disciple to Jesus was John the Apostle. He wrote extensively about love in 1st John. If you do not love the brethren, you are either not born again or you are a very poor reflection of your Master.
“The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. 1 John 3:14, 16-17.
“The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. 1 John 4:8

Love as Jesus loved
Jesus said: "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.”(John 15:9-12). This is not natural love. You can’t will it. It is unconditional. It is supernatural. God has deposited this agape love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We yield to the Holy Spirit in order to release this love into the world around us. In other words, you love by faith. Many of us are unlovable in the natural. Loving the lovable is easy. Loving the unlovable is challenging. Our imperfections, faults and weaknesses rub off on others negatively. Without God’s help, it is impossible to love others as you should.

Note that faith and love are intertwined. You cannot love as Jesus loves without faith. However, without love, you cannot practice faith because faith works by love. Galatians 5:6. When you come across difficult believers, ask the Holy Spirit to love them through you by faith. As you do this your faith will grow in leaps and bounds.

Practical Issues
No believer should have an unmet need when there’s another believer who can meet that need. No believer should starve when you have food. No believer should be homeless when you have a house. No believer should have difficulty getting around when other brethren have cars. No believer should be lonely in the presence church members.

In 1765 John Fawsett was called to pastor a very small congregation in England. He labored there diligently for 7 years, but his salary was so meager that he and his wife could scarcely obtain the necessities of life. Though the people were poor, they compensated for this lack by their faithfulness and warm fellowship. Then Dr. Fawcett received an offer from a much larger church in London. As his few possessions were being placed in a wagon for moving, many of his parishioners came to say good-bye and pleaded with him to reconsider. Touched by this great outpouring of love, he and his wife began to weep. Finally Mrs. Fawcett exclaimed, "O John, I just can’t bear this. They need us so badly here." "God has spoken to my heart, too!" he said. "Tell them to unload the wagon! We cannot break these wonderful ties of fellowship." This experience inspired Fawsett to write the hymn, “Blessed be the tie that binds”.

The Great Mystery
God presented Eve to the first Adam. When Adam saw her, he exclaimed:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:23-24.
Sometime in the future, God will present a bride to the last Adam, Jesus Christ. “For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. For this reason a man (Christ) shall leave his father (God the Father) and mother (God the Spirit) and be joined to his wife (Church), and the two (Christ+Church) shall become one flesh (Bride). This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:30-31.

The Godhead is made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are one. They created man in Genesis 1:26 “in our image, after our likeness”. This means that from the beginning, the Godhead had plans to bring man into oneness with the Trinity. On the last day, the body of Christ (Church) shall become one with the Head thereby fulfilling the original goal set forth in Genesis 1:26.

God spoke in the Old Testament mainly through the prophets. He is speaking in the last days through the Son. However, in the last chapter of the Bible, God shall speak through the Spirit and the Church. Why? Because the Bride has become one with her husband, the Lord Jesus. “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22:17. This is man in God’s image, after His likeness.

This is an answer to the prayer of Jesus in John 17:21, “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me”.

This is what the Bible means when it says that “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7. God is Love. He is Grace personified. He wants to show the limitless boundary of His grace by lifting man from the depths of depravity to oneness with Him.

Prayer:
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 5:14-19.