We concluded last week’s Word for the Week asking why we might find ten people who will applaud the Ephesians 4 vision for the body of Christ for every one who will actually find their part in the body, get equipped for it, and then function in it. This may be the most important question we can ask today. The first answer is that the Lord’s exhortation to “seek first His kingdom” (see Matthew 6:33) will result in us seeking our place in His body, which is the first place His kingdom is manifested today. If we are in our right place in His body, the church, it is because we complied with this most important exhortation. 

     Unless we are new believers, it may be wrong to assume that we are called to certain places because they feel the most beneficial to us. Ultimately, our place in the body of Christ may not feel very good or comfortable. It may be a very hard place for us, but it will be the best place for us to find our calling and gifts, and to begin functioning in them to edify others more than ourselves.

     Western Christianity has become a very “me-centered” walk, which is in conflict with the walk to which Jesus called His disciples. Most of what is now preached and taught in the western church is about attaining the promises of God and living the abundant life. These things are good, and, if we stay on the path of life, we should get there. However, our perspective of these can be very different than God’s. 

     It’s not all about us and what we get. It’s about Him and what He gets for the price He paid. Often, walking in His will and His perfect place for us is very hard. However, the more we give ourselves to His will and fit into it, the more fulfilling it becomes, even though it may remain hard. As a near half-century student of church history, I would say “hard” could be the one-word adjective to describe authentic Christianity. In fact, Christianity may be the most difficult life one could live, but it is also the best and most fulfilling. 

     Christians who come to Jesus because of a message that is all about what they can get, how great their life can be, and how the Lord will fix all of their problems will usually fall away quickly, because that is not how Jesus described the life of His disciples. It is the opposite. This perversion of the gospel may explain why today only about 5% of the people who come to the Lord are added to the church, whereas everyone who came to the Lord in the first century was added to the church.

     Church life is meant to be hard and challenging, compelling us to spiritual maturity and a total devotion to the Lord and His truth. It’s meant to fashion us into people God can use, strong people who will not wither under the pressures they will face—because we will face difficult times. While we’re going through the toughest tests, we can also be having the most fulfilling life possible. But what fulfills a mature Christian will almost certainly be different than what we wanted as new Christians. 

     Today, few Christians who stay committed and members of a church actually mature in the Lord, because most churches in the West are more like big nurseries than good examples of the biblical model. This may be why the Lord warned us, concerning the end of this age, “Woe to those who nurse babes” (see Matthew 24:19). This could be interpreted as, “Woe to those who keep their people in immaturity.” 

     Christians who have not matured in the faith will soon be unbearable burdens to their leaders. Those who have matured will become leaders who help many navigate through the troubles, knowing the Lord for themselves, and following Him—not following other people, principles, or methods.

     The job of every true minister, according to Ephesians 4, is to equip the saints—all Christians—to do the work of the ministry. This way, ministers work themselves out of a job, and Christians become co-workers in the faith, not “sheep.” 

     Are not most modern churches more like sheep pens with leaders throwing food to the sheep once or twice a week? These are not true churches. In true churches, the people are living stones who are built together into a temple for the Lord. We can’t pluck a stone out of a wall as easily as we can steal sheep from a pen. Are we being built together into something as strong as a stone building?

© 2024 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.