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, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 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 (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Anyone that thinks they do not need the Church, is missing something or has been abused by doctrine. Jesus did not set up an order of dictatorship, but of servants and service. When you step out to serve, the world (not the flesh, but the enemy acting on the flesh) will knock you down. Others will not let you serve; they will block your attempts to serve, until they have destroyed your heart. Once the heart is out of your service or once you bow to their authority, then you will be allowed to do service.
Who are they? Ones that once had the same heart to serve, and were held back until their heart was lost and they bowed to another’s authority. Jesus answered and said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10). “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth’” (Matthew 28:18). With that authority He said, “Go!”
We need to receive “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.” Giving glory to God and not man! “So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately’” (John 13:31-32). Our Lord Jesus glorified God and not Himself; God glorified His Son. Jesus gave glory to God, even in the way He died. Jesus had need of the wholeness of God, being glorified in God. We also need the wholeness of the Christ, in Christ. That is the “… effective working by which every part does its share – by what every joint supplies.” To whom do the joints belong? The joints belong to the Body of Christ.
With that said, the Church is not an administrative incorporated tax exempt business. The Church is not a building. The assembling of ourselves together is not only a Sunday morning or Wednesday evening event. “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20) does not requires a steepled building or letters of corporation. Neither does sharing the gospel require ordination. The Church is the body of people with Jesus at the head.
© 2008, 2017 Tim D. Coulter Sr.