Based on “The Church—Why We Do What We Do, Part 3” by Pastor Mark Balmer;
2/20-21/10, Message #MB408; Daily Devotional #5 - “The Body of Jesus”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): The Church is described in Scripture as being the body of Christ. In regards to Jesus and the Church Paul writes, And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:22-23) Jesus directs the body which is made up of Christ followers who, by using their gifts, fulfill His purposes until He returns. This is confirmed by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:27-28) In this week’s service I felt an appreciation for the amazing consistency of the Word, in that the attributes of a good Church are the attributes that Jesus Himself displayed throughout the Gospel.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): We were taught that a healthy Church is a loving Church. Throughout His Gospel, Jesus taught that next to loving God the most important thing we can do is love one another. Jesus went as far as to issue a new commandment, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35) Prayer is also an important factor in the Church. In Scripture we are told that Jesus sometimes prayed all night long. The last recorded prayer of Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane where the intensity of the events caused Him to sweat blood; but He still asked that the will of His Father be done. A healthy Church is empowered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. There has never been a man who demonstrated miracles like Jesus did. He healed the sick (Luke 6:19), drove the demons out of violent men (Matthew 8:28-32), and raised three people from the dead (Luke 7; Mark 5). The generosity of Jesus is demonstrated in many verses, but no more than in the fact that He was willing to be publicly beaten, humiliated, and put to death on a cross so that His followers, whom He loved, could share in everlasting life.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): The healthy Church is made up of healthy Christ followers who follow the examples Jesus gave us, as documented in the Word. If we, as Christ followers, are active in service and giving to the Church while trying to emulate Jesus, the Church will be effective in its purpose of being the body of Christ. It makes perfect sense that the attributes of a Church expected to be the body of Christ would be consistent with the attributes shown by Jesus Himself.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Matthew 8; John 11
WSK
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.