ICS Daily Devotions
Working in Unity to Edify the Body of Christ
One of the most powerful testimony for the church to portray to the world is our ability to work in unity out of our love for the Lord and one another. We are all aware that it is very difficult to get a lot of things done when the body of Christ is not functioning well as one body. We need to have a paradigm shift where church is just a place for us to worship on Sunday and we will have no part of it thereafter. The church is a collective body called out to worship God and to make Him known.
Ephesians 4:11-12 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.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, it is the wisdom of God that He distributed the gifts to the body of Christ and not allowed it to rest solely on an individual. If all the gifts rested solely on an individual then there would be a tendency for us to “hero worship” the person. It runs contrary to God’s instruction not to worship idols including an individual. It would cause the person to fall from grace very quickly because of pride.
The role of the fivefold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) is mainly to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
Once you are trained and equipped then you are able to do the work of the ministry that’s assigned to you by the Lord in the various spheres of influence including the family sphere. When all of us are contributing with our gifts THEN THE BODY IS EDIFIED. There is going to be no edification of the body when the body is not working together or worst still embroiled in schism.
Ephesians 4:16 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.
The key is when every part does its share then it will cause the body to grow. Many churches reported to have maximum 20% of the members serving while 80% were busy with other commitments. As a result, you will hear of members being burnt out and the church suffers as a result of it.
Therefore many of the churches suffer, stagnate or even die of natural death because it has an aged population in the congregation or the different parts of the body is not contributing to her growth.
Sermon Series: CG Campaign – Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow
