by Scott Kloster
As believers, we are called to be proper stewards of the grace that God has given to each of us in Christ. For us to be effective in his kingdom, we must be committed to staying united with each other in one body and continually putting off our old selves. Our new selves that we have been reborn into through faith in Christ are all working parts of the complete body. There is no part with more or less importance. We each serve a purpose both unique and common to God’s plans.
Paul portrays this perfectly in Ephesians 4:1-7:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
In the first 7 verses he stresses these points:
1) We are to live with humility, gentleness, and patience with one another.
2) As one body, we strive to maintain unity and peace under the Holy Spirit.
3) That the church, that is the entire body of believers under Christ, is ONE under God.
4) That grace was given to each of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ–the gift of the Spirit, which we share as believers having been justified through the blood of Christ.
How do we stay united with humility, gentleness, and patience given all our different personality types, likes/dislikes, political stances, etc…? Jesus was successful at uniting his disciples despite their differences in background, social status, and temperament. In fact, he convinced them to leave behind their lives and follow him. And after his resurrection he charged them with the task of going into the world and making “disciples of all nations.” And they did this, united together in the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t charge all of us to go throughout the world because he has different purposes for each of us to serve in his body. Praise God for those that do go into the world to bring the message of the gospel to the lost!! And praise him for those that he uses in different capacities and callings in every walk of life.
As Paul leaves his final instructions to the church in Thessalonica:
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. | 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14
This is a call to all of us as to how we should conduct ourselves as members of the body. Respect those who offer correction, because it is the Lord’s will that we remain accountable to one another. And to those who make corrections, do so with love and patience. Because strong or weak, type A or type B… we are all working parts of the body. Both arms and both legs are needed to keep a swimmer afloat, despite differences in dominance. The same can be said about us and our roles in His church.
In the church today, how do we know we are doing our part in the body of Christ? We are to love one another. This doesn’t mean you have to smile at everyone and say “Good morning” all the time. We are called to give of ourselves for the sake of Jesus’ call – not the sake of our reputations, social status, or “karma.” None of those things are relevant when it comes to living out who we are in Christ. Loving others the way we are called to, is selfless, not grounded in any world philosophies or social constructs, and is always rooted in the Gospel. That should be our only driver in how we are to love others. We were created in Christ, for good works (Eph. 2:10) – therefore we should point to Christ through our good works.
Let us strive to remain united in Christ’s love, and to be consistent in our living out the measure of his grace that has been imparted to each of us. Because each and every part of the body of Christ matters. Each part is indispensable.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. | 1 Corinthians 12:18-25
Scott Kloster is a committed member at Living Hope Church. He and his wife, Melinda, have four children.
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