Over the last few days we have been looking at Ephesians 4:11-16 because this is one of the most concise texts in the Bible on New Testament church life. A healthy church life is crucial for a healthy Christian life. When we were called by the Lord, it was to be a member of a body of believers that includes hundreds of millions of others around the world. We have also been joined to the historic church that includes all of the believers who have served the Lord for the last two thousand years. We are not alone!
In verse 16 that we studied yesterday, we are told that the body is built up by that which "every joint supplies." A joint is where two parts come together. The stronger the union of these parts the stronger the whole body will be. As we also discussed earlier, one of the primary burdens of the Lord's own heart is the unity of His people. Unity is essential for the health of the body, and it will be to the degree that we are in unity with the church that we are personally healthy, spiritually and physically. This we see in I Corinthians 11:23-30:
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood;
do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner,
shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
Of course the bread and cup that he is speaking about here is the ritual of communion, as we read in I Corinthians 10:16-17:
Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?
Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?
Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
The Greek word that is translated "sharing" here, and "communion" in other versions, is koinonia, which implies the closest, deepest kind of partnership or fellowship. The word "communion" was originally two words that were merged to form one, the two being "common" and "union." The word "fellowship" that this word is sometimes translated was taken from the phrase "two fellows in a ship," which implied that if they were going to get anywhere they would have to work together.
In these we also see that if we partake of the ritual of communion in an "unworthy manner" we are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and eat and drink judgment to ourselves. To do this in an unworthy manner is to "not judge the body rightly." We bring judgment on ourselves by trying to substitute the ritual for the reality that the ritual symbolizes. The reality is that we have communion, or common union, with the Lord and His body.
To have communion we must "judge the body rightly." We must discern the different parts and where we fit in. The only way that a teacher can have common union with the rest of the body is to understand that not all are called to be just like him, but that he must learn to relate properly to the prophets, pastors, evangelists, etc. Likewise, prophets must understand how badly they need the teachers, pastors, etc. We must see how our ministries compliment each other instead of conflict with each other.
I know a number of great evangelists who lead many people to the Lord. However, all but a couple of these at least project a mentality that everyone who is not an evangelist like them is basically wasting their time. In the first century church when someone was converted they were "added to the church" (see Acts 2:47 KJV). Today it is estimated that as few as 5 percent of new "converts" actually go on to become part of the church. In the first century the evangelists worked together with all of the equipping ministries. Today very few do, and therefore we have this kind of result. Both the body, and the new converts, are therefore weak, sick, and a number sleep.
How much more fruitful would our evangelism be if prophets went into a place to spy it out and discern both the strongholds of darkness and the spiritual openings in an area before the evangelist came? How much more fruit would remain if after the evangelist left, pastors and teachers came to gather all of the new converts to lay a strong foundation in their lives and see that they were added to the church? Our calling is not to just bear fruit, but to bear fruit that remains.
As the text in I Corinthians implies, the main reason why Christians are weak, sick, and die prematurely, is our failure to discern the Lord's body. As the apostle wrote in I John 1:7:
but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
The Greek word translated "fellowship" in this verse is the same koinonia. Fellowship is more than just meeting together, it is having a union where the different parts fit together properly, and function together properly. It is in this kind of fellowship that His blood, which is His life, flows through us and cleanses us from all sin. We were forgiven of our sins at the cross, but there is a cleansing process that comes through fellowship that is essential.
For the life-giving blood to flow to my hand it must be properly connected to my arm. We too must become properly connected to the body. That is why we are exhorted to not "forsake the assembling of ourselves together" (see Hebrews 10:25). This is not just talking about meetings, but about being assembled together just as the different parts of a car must be assembled together before it can actually be used to go somewhere. What good would all of the parts of a car do us if they were just laying together in a big pile? That is what the church is like at this time.
The church is made up of "living stones" (see I Peter 2:5), but presently our congregations are like piles of these stones which have not yet been assembled into a temple where the Lord can manifest His presence. The assembling together of these living stones into a temple is going to take place. The Lord is going to again send His "wise master builders" (see I Corinthians 3:10) which are authentic New Testament apostles. They will be much more than just great preachers, or even great leaders. They will be used to begin fitting the whole body together just as the Lord designed it to be. They will build the prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers into the teams they are called to be. They will train and release them to do their primary job again, which is to "equip the saints to do the work of the ministry." Before the end, the church will arise to be the glorious body of Christ that it is called to be, with all of the parts working!