Our Daily Bread - Spiritual Life Basicsናሙና

IV. The Picture of Head and Body

The primary analogy the New Testament gives to help us understand God’s intention for the church is that of a body with Jesus Christ as the head and all believers as various body parts responding to the leadership of the head.

Paul explains this as he speaks of God’s honoring of Jesus:

“He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23 NKJV).

When Jesus left this world, He promised His followers that He would send the Holy Spirit to live inside them and, in that way, His presence would be magnified in this world through Christians. The Holy Spirit, alive in us, is what gives life to the body of Christ, which is the church, and control of the various parts of the body is through the head, Jesus Christ Himself.

Again, Paul helps us to understand this when he says,

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and all have been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NKJV).

One of the implications of the body analogy is that we as Christians are united. In describing the church, Scripture not only says that we are members of one body, the body of Christ, but also that each part of the body has a particular function that works in conjunction with the other parts. Paul specifically says that just as our physical body has eyes, ears, nose, hands, and feet, so the members of the church have varying but complementary roles, designed to support and work with the other parts (1 Corinthians 12:15-27).

An example Paul gives is that if one part of the body hurts, the whole body hurts (1 Corinthians 12:26). We know this to be true with our physical bodies. When we cut our hand, the hurt is felt in the hand, but the entire body responds. Our mouth cries out in pain. Our white blood cells get busy fighting off infection, and the cells organize to form a scab and to heal the wound. Many parts of the body work together to make this happen. In the same way, Paul indicates, we as members of the body of Christ rush to the aid of a member who is suffering. In short, the members of the body work together for the good of the whole and for the accomplishment of God’s work in this world.

V. Spiritual Gifts

God has promised He will assign to us a function in the body and, in doing so, He will give us the abilities to perform that function to benefit the body and to glorify Him. He calls these special abilities spiritual gifts because they are given by the Holy Spirit. When we put into practice the gifts God gives, we are able to do things we could never even dream of doing on our own. When we rely on the Spirit’s gifts, we find that what we do and what we say have power and effectiveness that we don’t have in any other way. We are supernaturally gifted to do supernatural work.

What are some of the gifts or abilities the Spirit gives?

We find lists in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:10-11. These gifts include serving, faith, teaching, prophecy, evangelism, giving, leading, showing mercy, wisdom, knowledge, and healing. They are to be used to strengthen the church and to share the message of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:4-5,26; Ephesians 4:11-13).

As we look at these gifts, we begin to see that if the various parts of the body exercise the functions they have been given, the needs of the church, as a whole and as individual members, will be met. For example, those who have the gift of teaching teach God’s Word, and all the members benefit.

Those with the gift of evangelism are eager to bring others into the body by introducing them to Jesus, its head. Those who have gifts of administration take care of the organizational leadership of the body, and those who have gifts of mercy lead others in meeting the physical, financial, and emotional needs of the members of the body. Those who have the gift of faith take us to new levels of service both in the church and in the world around us.

How can we know which of these gifts are ours?

First, we ask the Holy Spirit to show us. He may draw us to a particular gift as we pray and as we observe needs among the believers with whom we worship and serve.

Second, we try out our gift by serving in areas of interest or where we sense a tug. If that service results in a good response from those with whom we work, and if there is an echoing approval from the Spirit within us, we can move forward, expanding our use of that gift to the glory of God.

VI. A Beacon of Spiritual Light

The local church is an imperfect institution because it is made up of imperfect people. Invariably, there will be some discord at times in the fellowship of the redeemed. Yet our mission to be a light to the world and providers of spiritual truth must outweigh any minor differences we may have with others.

“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:14-16 NKJV).

When, instead of complaining, we ask God for positive solutions, we can make progress toward being a spiritual beacon to those who have not yet found the Savior.