A Body and a Building

God has purposed that all things will be ‘summed up’ in Ch rist (Ephesians 1:10); that Jews and Gentiles are ‘made alive together’ in Him (2:5); that the division between them is ‘broken down’ and they are ‘made one’ (2:14); they are ‘fellow members’ (3:6) of the ‘body’. To Paul, there is no such thing as an independent believer – neither independent of God, nor independent of other believers.

Paul introduces us to two concepts to explain his understanding of the church – the ‘ eklesia ’ (called-out ones) of Jesus Christ: The ‘body’ (Eph 1:23) and the ‘building’ (Eph 2:22).

The Body of Christ : The church is to be thought of as a unity of people, both Jews and Gentiles.

This is NOT uniformity nor ecumenicism (Promotion of cooperation and unity among Christians).

The body’s characteristic is that Jesus is its head and it is His fullness (1:23). It exists to do the will of its head and master. Paul might have been aware of the prayer of Jesus recorded for us in John 17 – “that they may be One as You ( the Father ) and I ( the Son ) are one”. The last prayer of Jesus for all who would come to believe Him, is that we may be ONE. Further, that we might be ‘one’ as He and the Father are ‘one’. There is no tension here – no conflict of differing goals, ideas, etc., but a unity molded in love. The outcome of such unity will be that “the world will know that You sent Me and loved them, even as You loved Me” (John 17:23).

The body is a good example of many differi ng parts functioning as ‘one’. In a healthy body, all parts coordinate well even though some may be ‘in opposition’ to one another. E.g. for progress, one leg pu shes backward as the other reaches forward! The foot cannot say to the hand ‘I have no need of you’ nor can the ear say to the eye ‘I have no need of you’. (1 Cor 12:15). Might one say, “the Baptist cannot say to the Pentecostal ‘I have no need of you’; no r vice versa. The evangelist cannot say to the teacher ‘I have no need of you,’ etc. ?” Where there are parts of the body which do not do what they are designed to do, the body is sick or dysfunctional.

Paul teaches much about the body and its ministry in three places: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and here in Ephesians. It is striking that these are the same three references where he writes concerning the operation of the Holy Spirit in gifting individuals for service. Some are gifted to ‘equip the saints’ (4:12) while others are gifted to minister to a lost world wit h the hands and heart of Jesus. None is gifted for their own, individual enjoyment. How sad it is when we envy others’ giftings and ministry and fail to exercise/those which the Holy Spirit has given to us! Every one of us has been given a Holy Spirit gift for ministering to the common good (1 Cor 12:7). Are you using yours? Do not know what it is? Ask your pastor or some godly people in your fellowship – you might be surprised what they can see that you do not see!

“The whole body, being fitted and held together by what each joint supplies, according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Eph 4:16).

Consider the unity that exists between the Father and the Son.

How do I contribute my part of the functioning body – “so that the world may believe”? (John 17:21) Whenever I am asked semi- seriously, “So, what part of the Body are you?” I usually reply, with an appropriate grin, “Why, I’m a big toe!” I then add in explanation, “I often find myself in the dark, smelly places of the lives of those I am counselling. However, as a teacher/encourager, I count it my responsibility, and privilege, to bring balance to the body.”

The building – a holy temple – a dwelling place of God Paul joins Peter in presenting the church as a building, made of living stones (1 Pet 2:5). It is built on the foundation of both the apostles and prophets (new covenant and old covenant) and is being ‘built together’ to be a dwelling place for God, the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the ‘chief cornerstone (Eph 2:20) that establishes the lines. As in the body, all the parts are bound together in unity and each have a particular function. One does not use door jambs for rafters, nor glass windows for flooring!

How ridiculous such a building would be! Paul calls himself a wise master builder who wishes to lay a foundation upon which others can build carefully (1 Cor 3:10).

We are all to be builders, just as we are also the building. “Do you not know that you are a tem ple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

As we consider these two metaphors for the church, we must come to the conclusion that the church is meant to be a functioning entity, in which each member has a particular and important role to play. Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it (Matt 16:18). Such a church is bonded together in love and ministering in the power of an indwelling Holy Spirit. Naturally, Satan will do his utmost to divide this church, sadly with the aid of many of its members!

If we would know ‘the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints’ or ‘the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe’ (1:18 , 19), it is incumbent upon us that we fulfill our roles as members of the body and as a building fitly framed together as a habitation of the Holy Spirit.

So, what part of the Body are you? Are you functioning in your Holy Spirit giftings, or are you weak because you are envious of another’s giftings?

I was once the guest speaker at a Full Gospel Business Men’s dinner. I arrived early at the hotel and was warmly greeted by two men. A short time later, another brother joined us, but it was soon obvious that he wasn’t in a good place emotionally. As I listened to the conversation that followed, I gathered that his wife was not in harmony with him concerning his coming out that evening.

“Let’s pray together , ” suggested one of my new friends, so in typical FGBM fashion, we joined arms in the hotel lobby and they began to pray for the newcomer. After we finished, I said to him, “I don’t know if this means anything to you, but as we prayed, I saw a house in a rainstorm. The rain was beating down into the house.” He fell to the floor weeping. Finally, getting to his feet, he said, “Brothers, I must go home!” then turning to me, said “Thank you! On my way here this evening, I was complaining to the Lord about my wife when He said, “You are a leaky roof! When you get yourself in order, I will do something about your wife!” God had given me a word of knowledge for that brother. (1 Cor 12:9) John Donne, a sixteenth-century Anglican priest, wrote: No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. These sentiments should be true of all believers recognizing themselves as members of one body, built together as one building, a habitation of the Holy Spirit.

The church does not exist for man’s blessing but for the glory of God – we are created ‘fo r good works’ (Ephesians 2:10). As we function together as a living body, as a building indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the Lord will do His work in calling men and women to Himself, counteracting the humanistic philosophies of this world’s systems and bringin g glory to Himself. In the words of the old Moravian missionaries, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering”.