The Whole Body

“Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬

“It takes a village.” was a term coined by Hillary Clinton that basically meant we needed community to grow our children. We also need community to grow as believers. We need community to grow the church. We are one body and Jesus is the head of the whole body. We need each other to grow and build up the body of Christ.

It is not just a church, it is one body. If you think of a church or a denomination as the only part, you are missing out on the growth that is only available when each separate part of the whole body works as it should. This scripture tells us that is what it takes for the whole body to grow and to build itself up.

I see people often get upset about being corrected by other believers Or being disciplined by church leadership. I know I have personally been upset about being disciplined over something that I felt was trivial by church leaders. But when I consider that we are all part of a body and not a lone individual does that make a difference?

I know I have to discipline myself, and still don’t like it, when I am trying to grow in a particular area. To not do so means that I will stay the same. If I don’t discipline myself to exercise, I’m not going to have a healthy looking body. I don’t discipline myself to study, I’m not going to excel in learning.

The same is true of our children. Our children are disciplined because we want them to grow into productive adults. We know they need a good foundation to build on.

It is the same for the body of Christ. We need to be disciplined in order to be a productive part of the body. If we think that we can do things our own way we’re missing out because we are meant to operate as one body.

We are responsible to each other to grow. We are responsible to each other to build one another up. We are responsible to make sure each of us is doing our part in the Kingdom of God. Yes it does need to be done in love, but we do need to be able to correct each other. We need to hear the hard truth. Because in order for a body to function, each part has to do its function. When that doesn’t happen other parts have to compensate and it takes more work. It is only when each part works together cohesively, doing its part as it should, that we can grow and be what God created us to be in the world around us.

Prayer – Lord help me to be correctable so that I can help the body of Christ grow and build itself up. Lord helped me to listen to your voice if you want me to correct others, and make sure that I do it in love. In Jesus’ name I asked this amen