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There are many
movements and organizations that are formed to try to produce a unity that
will enable God to move in power. Psalm 133 becomes the basis of many of
these endeavours.
Psalms 133
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
We read the Scriptures
on unity and the body of Christ and the desire of God and then we move out
of the Spirit back into the energies of the religious old nature to try to
produce this unity. We see many outpourings of God’s Spirit in revival and
then religious man tries to organize it into a structure that he can
control [is comfortable with] and the Holy Spirit is rejected as the
creator of the Church.
This all done ‘for
God’, but the reality is that death replaces life. The revival slowly
dies. The goal is never realized.
In Paul’s letters to
the Churches, we often see the plea of Paul for unity and the basis of the
plea is that, in Christ, we are one. Stay in Christ, in the place He
has put you and function as He directs you in that place and He will build
the Church. He will bring the body to maturity because only He knows how
the body looks and how it is to express His life.
Busy, busy,
busy........
Satan has little
trouble getting us out of our place in 'the body' and into busy religious
activity because he knows that it satisfies the old nature. There is the
feeling of ‘doing something for God’ or being on ‘the cutting edge of what
God’s doing’. The reality is, we are building a structure which cannot be
a dwelling for God in His glory- we are building a body that is deformed.
It is not an expression of Christ.
In all of these things,
we justify them by misunderstanding the presence of the Holy Spirit in our
lives.
Yes, we still
experience the Holy Spirit, but this does not mean that what we are doing
or the direction in which we are heading, is correct. In the natural realm
of family life, we don’t abandon our child the moment he takes a wrong
turn or makes a mistake. We are right there, giving them a lot of
intensive attention in an endeavour to turn them around and correct
their behaviour.
One should also realize
the ministry gift is for the benefit of others and not to show that you
are wonderful and are functioning exactly as God wants. The 'in and out'
experience of the old and new nature can cause confusion. Because one act
you express is from God, this does not mean every act is from God. This is
true also in your interaction with others. Divine wisdom and human wisdom
will flow from the same vessel because it is in the process and not
the place of, perfection.
God is creating One
Body
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live
a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and
gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to
keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body
and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over
all and through all and in all.
1 Corinthians 12:4-27
4 There are
different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God
works all of them in all men.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of
wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9
to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that
one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to
another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different
kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to
each one, just as he determines.
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though
all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or
Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the
foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,"
it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the
ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it
would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole
body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body
were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has
arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them
to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is,
there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot
say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of
the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that
we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts
that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our
presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the
members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked
it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts
should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every
part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of
it.
If one part
suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every
part rejoices with it.
This is not usually our
experience- why not?
We might suffer with those with whom we have a lot to do but is this
really any different from the experience of those who are not in the body
of Christ?
In our suffering and
rejoicing, is there anything supernatural?
One of the reasons we
don’t experience this in a different realm from the unbeliever is that we
are not living in Christ, in our place in 'the body'. We are unconnected
to the part that is either suffering or rejoicing.
You cannot become connected by effort or positive confession. This is a
spiritual experience. This is only experienced by being in Christ. It is a
faith response. If we do not receive this revelation from the Holy Spirit,
we cannot have a faith response. The good news is that this is what He is
seeking to get us to see.
Again, we can think the
activity of The Holy Spirit in our lives is His work of empowering us for
service rather than seeing that He is seeking to place us in 'the body'.
It is in 'the body',
that we will experience the glory of God and be the expression of Christ
that He wants. It is in the body of Christ that we are empowered to
express an aspect of His life that will bring life to others. We are a
part, but as all the parts function, we experience a full expression of
Christ
We keep trying to be an
individual expression of the whole. The whole is an expression of the
corporate individuals.
Another reason we have
trouble receiving this revelation is that we have got caught up with ‘my
ministry’ and ‘fulfilling my calling’ and ‘my reward for service’ and all
of this has focused us on ourselves as individuals rather than as a part
of the whole. We desire, in our old nature, to be successful,
well-thought-of by family and friends and workmates and so we pursue an
individual path. We might be among people but it is as an individual we
operate.
The contribution of
the Body.
Consider some of the
contributions from others that God has used to help us live in Christ.
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We sing the songs of
many different Christians.
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We accept help to
understand Scripture through commentaries. We use a concordance and
Bible dictionaries that help us understand the context of what is
written in Scripture.
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We buy Bibles – what
has it taken to enable us to have a Bible?
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We play tapes and
CD’s.
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What about the
revelation of truth? We know that the Holy Spirit is the one who brings
us truth but who has used to do this?
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We enjoy salvation by
grace through Martin Luther’s contribution.
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We are baptized in
the Spirit through the contributions of many.
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We experience many
things through the prayers of others.
Conclusion.
There is a problem
with people trying to experience the fullness of God as individuals.
The fullness and
therefore the glory of God is to be experienced as a whole, by the Church,
the body of Christ. Such is the glory of God that no one individual is
able to express it, but God has made it possible for us as a group, the
Church universal, to express His nature fully.
God will make us a
perfect expression of an aspect of Him, but we do not have the capacity to
fully express God. This is done through the corporate body.
The local Church that
we belong to is not the complete body but it is a place where the Holy
Spirit builds us into a unified group that is part of the Church
universal. The local Church is the starting point in increasing our
capacity to be part of the universal Church. If we can’t flow in Christ’s
life in a small group, then we won’t as a large group.
John
17:20-23
"My
prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as
you are in me and I am in you.
May
they also be in us so that the world may believe that you
have sent me.
I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we
are one: I in them and you in me.
May
they be brought to complete unity - to let the world know
that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
The fullness of the
expression of Christ is seen in 'the body'. If you try to live as an
individual, you will not experience this. To live as an individual is to
live in the old nature in a religious spirit, for the Life of Christ is in
the body. The goal of God is oneness in Christ. This is achieved in His
body through the provision He has given.
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