Dear Minister, your understanding of the structural formation of the Body of Christ, with all its constituent elements, and your disposition to same goes a long way in affecting what becomes of your ministry on the corridors of time.
The Body of Christ is very WIDE and VAST, and no minister should have a microscopic view of the Body in a restricted sense.
In other words, don’t view the Body of Christ from your own “world” but from “the Word of God”, and from the extensive workings of the Spirit covering all its layers and entire formations.
No single member makes the Body of Christ. No single minister makes the Body of Christ. And no single denomination makes the Body of Christ.
Also, it’s important to note that there are three expressions of the Church based on Scripture.
(1) THE MINIATURE CHURCH: That’s where two or three believers are GATHERED TOGETHER in the Name of Jesus (Matt.18:20).
They’re a subset of the Church because they’re part of the Body of Christ. That’s why in the New Testament, you often read the phrase, “the church in thy house.” (Philemon 1:2, Rm.16:5).
(2) THE LOCAL CHURCH: This is an assembly of believers under the calling of a shepherd. In New Testament times, churches were defined predominantly by LOCATION. That’s why we have the seven churches in the old Asia minor as stated in the Book of Revelation.
REVELATION 1:11
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto EPHESUS, and unto SMYRNA, and unto PERGAMOS, and unto THYATIRA, and unto SARDIS, and unto PHILADELPHIA, and unto LAODICEA.
Also, we realize that Paul’s letters in the New Testament were addressed to churches in DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, viz: Rome, Corinth, Galatia Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica.
So, in New Testament times, churches were named by LOCATION, but over the years, the Church has evolved in structure, and now local churches abound everywhere in the world and are no longer necessarily named by location.
(3) THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH: This is the whole company of believers all over the world, denomination notwithstanding, and also it may interest us to know that it also involves New Testament saints who have gone to Heaven. It’s called the Church of the Firstborn (Heb.12:23) and many members of that spiritual family are already in Heaven.
EPHESIANS 3:14-15
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom THE WHOLE FAMILY IN HEAVEN AND EARTH is named,
So, this is the Body of Christ, having members both in Heaven and on earth. It has members ALL OVER THE WORLD, across denominational lines, in every nook and cranny of the earth.
Therefore, when we’re dealing with THE BODY OF CHRIST, we aren’t talking about Nigeria or America alone, except we specify by saying “The Body of Christ in Nigeria” or “The Body of Christ in America”.
Truth is THE BODY OF CHRIST IS VERY WIDE AND VAST, and as a minister, you will get lost in ministry and lose focus if you’re trying to pastor “the whole Body of Christ”.
It is possible to lose focus and bearing in ministry because you’re trying to “pastor” the whole Body of Christ across all nations.
- God has also given different measures of calling and grace to several of His servants and handmaidens across the world to contribute their own quota.
Your entry point therefore into the Body of Christ is through God’s mandate upon your life.
By staying faithful and committed to your assignment in ministry, it will sometimes have ripple and reverberating effects on the Body of Christ.
My little piece of counsel; DON’T TRY TO BUILD THE BODY OF CHRIST AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR MINISTRY AND VICE VERSA — the two should actually work together in a synergistic manner.
Bishop Francis WALE OKE says that we could get lost in ministry trying to build the Body of Christ while neglecting our individual ministries.
Therefore, looking at the vastness of the entity called “the Body of Christ”, I want to state these twelve facts which I believe will be helpful to us Sirs and Mas.
- You cannot pastor the whole Body of Christ:
Jesus Christ is THE PASTOR of the Body of Christ because He’s the Head of the Church (Eph.1:22). All of us are undershepherds under THE GREAT SHEPHERD.
You cannot transpose the specific pattern and instruction meant for your ministry and impose it on the Body of Christ as a whole.
- God is raising men and women in every nook and cranny of the earth:
You’re not the only man of God that God is using and raising on earth; there are several other folks that God is raising in different parts of the world.
As I travel around preaching the Word, I come to realize the vastness and multifacetedness of God’s workings amongst men — God is raising men EVERYWHERE!
- You’re not the only minister getting it right:
It is the deception of the devil for any minister to think that he’s the only one getting in right; others are in error. Such fallacy breeds the formation of a sect and not a church family.
There are many other ministers in different parts of the world who are sound in doctrine. God told Elijah that He had 7000 men apart from him who hadn’t bowed their knees to Baal (1 Kgs.19:18).
- Diversity is not division; and it doesn’t connote superiority or inferiority:
We have different ministries, patterns and expressions of individual ministries in the Body of Christ but that doesn’t mean that we’re divided.
Our strength truly lies in our diversity, and this diversity doesn’t also connote that we’re superior or inferior to one another — we’re simply different.
- What we have is UNITY OF THE FAITH; not UNITY OF FAITH:
Often, we misquote this scripture as saying UNITY OF FAITH rather than UNITY OF THE FAITH.
EPHESIANS 4:13
Till we all come in the UNITY OF THE FAITH, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
There’s a difference! FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1), but THE FAITH is the entire summation of the whole essence of the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the Cross (Acts 6:7).
The main thrust of THE FAITH is THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST — in all the stages of His redemptive work.
So, denominational peculiarities and differences notwithstanding, so far WE ALL BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, then we’re UNITED IN “THE FAITH”.
- No monopoly of ministry or anointing:
It’s important to note that no minister can monopolize the call of God or the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit.
If you’re an Apostle, know for sure that there are many other Apostles in the Body of Christ (young and old), and the same thing goes for the offices of Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.
I will be deceiving myself to think that I’m the only Teacher in the Body of Christ. No, there are several other Teachers in the Body of Christ all over the world who operate in some other dimensions of teaching that I may not operate in.
The Body of Christ is not built around any man; it’s built on CHRIST (Matt.16:18, Eph.2:20).
- Recognize ministers from other parts of the Body of Christ:
If you refuse to recognize other ministers (especially young ministers) from other parts of the Body simply because you weren’t the one who trained them or ordained them into ministry, then you’ve not so learnt Christ (Eph.4:20) and you aren’t rightly discerning the Body of Christ (1Cor.11:29).
It has no other name but PRIDE, ARROGANCE and OVERESTIMATION OF SELF.
There are certain mistakes I don’t make in ministry by God’s grace. It’s a matter of principle and discipline. I recognize ministers by their callings, offices and official titles.
Whether I “know” or have a relationship with the man of God who ordained them makes no difference.
So far they’re called and anointed of God, and the fruits of their ministry are consistent with the New Testament, it makes no difference whether their spiritual father is popular or not.
These are salient matters in the Body of Christ. Never you think that someone is unqualified to be in ministry because you weren’t the one who trained or ordained him into ministry. It’s wrong to be chasing shadows in ministry.
- You can’t father or mentor the whole Body of Christ:
This point is in sync with point number one. As much as you have your sons and daughters in ministry, other ministers do too.
There’s such as called JURISDICTION in ministry. I never call anyone my son or daughter if they’re not — its unethical.
That people follow your ministry online doesn’t automatically make them your sons and daughters, and that you follow someone online or listen to their tapes and watch their videos doesn’t automatically make them your spiritual father too.
Fathers who have ministry sons submitted to them should not look down on other sons submitted to other fathers in the Body.
- There are visible and invisible parts of the Body:
This is the central focus of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. That a minister is not known, famous or popular doesn’t make him less of a minister, and it doesn’t mean he can’t father or mentor people in ministry.
Our values must be straightened out in our generation. Fathering requires a lot of wisdom, insight, balance and authority; not glitz and glamour.
There are missionaries serving the Lord in “the junglest of the jungle” and Heaven knows and recognizes them.
- The Body of Christ is far more extensive than social media presence:
Many Christians and ministers are not active on social media yet they’re part of the Body of Christ. It is error to think that the Body of Christ consists of only those who make use of social media.
Yes we will use social media as a TIMELY TECHNOLOGY to preach and teach the TIMELESS GOSPEL, and no amount of criticism can stop us from doing that, yet we mustn’t forget that there are many members of the Body of Christ who aren’t on social media.
- There can be no “unity” if we don’t respect individual structures and differences:
In one breath, we talk about unity and oneness among the saints, yet in another breath, we attack the structures and peculiarities of other churches especially when they don’t conform to ours.
IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT. Many examples abound here but for want of space. We get divided over things that don’t determine our eternal salvation and we fight over the “minors”.
I can’t be attacking another church because of their peculiar structure (which is really not morally forbidden in Scripture) and be expecting their members to be smiling at me.
- Discerning the Body of Christ makes you to last in ministry:
I cannot overemphasize this point. People fizzle out of ministry when they don’t rightly discern the Lord’s Body (1Cor.11:29).
At times, when we consider the impact of our statements and actions on the Body of Christ, and that guides us, we will not MISFIRE.
We cannot always make GENERAL STATEMENTS because there are always EXCEPTIONS.
Yes there could be a few bad eggs here and there in some aspects of ministry (such as is also common in other endeavours and spheres of life) but we must also leave room for “the holy remnant”.
As such, we must learn to SPEAK TENDERLY TO ZION and desist from any act of spiritual violence against her.
I have brought down posts before. I have edited my thoughts before. I have apologized to people before, not because what I said or did was wrong but because of the impact it might have on innocent members of the Body of Christ.
In it all, I always consider THE BODY OF CHRIST as I seek to communicate the truth of God’s Word in the power of the Spirit, and it’s one of the most beautiful things to do as a minister.
Dear minister, as I close, I like you to know that none of us is bigger than the Body of Christ. Whatever we do to the Body of Christ, we do to Christ.
May the Lord help us all!
Amen!
YADID DAILY DEVOTIONALS.