Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Body of Christ ... Equipped for Greater Things (8)

summarized by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com


God manifests Himself today through the Body of Christ.

This is the theme for Chapter 8, In Action, from The Body of Christ by Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft.
We see as we move through 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14 that the Body of Believers is being equipped for Greater Things.

Jesus was the ultimate witness to all mankind.
"He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." (John 1:10-14, NLT)

"God wrapped all of Himself in the womb of Mary. 'We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. '"
(1 John 1:1, NLT)

Then Jesus said it was expedient that He go away so that greater things will be done which may not be done while He was still present on earth.
It was God's plan from all this is that the Spirit we saw with Christ is now with us as the Body of Christ as One in Christ.

What was expected of the physical Body of Jesus while on earth is also now expected from the Spiritual formation of the Body of Christ of Believers which is now presently manifested on earth.


"‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are witnesses of all these things."

(Luke 24:47, 48, NLT)
The forgiveness factor, individually, uniting us in Spirit with others who have chosen to ask God to forgive them. They merge to one in Spirit, those who share in this experience. This is the critical step each must take before bonding can begin, which is where the power is.

For this reason, the forming of believers into the Body of Christ, the bonding, yes Bonding of Believers, is absolutely necessary for the fulfillment of God's purposes... to see the Power of Spirit manifested on earth.


Water Baptism suggests burial, death to the control of the physical nature in our lives. When we come to Christ, surrender our lives to Him, we end the rule of the natural man over us and come under the sovereign rule of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus did. We are to be completely oriented to the Holy Spirit and dedicate ourselves to service to the needs of others. We die to a life of selfishness and come into a life of sharing. When we die to self, we minister to others. All this is contingent to our sensitivity to the needs of the believers or of humanity at large.

The manifestations of the Holy Spirit are not possessions by a certain person, but are functions of the Holy Spirit. It is for the good of all and are not given as an exclusive possession for the use of one individual. There is mutual sharing of need and supply. When Believers as the Body of Christ are in unity there is opportunity to communicate a specific need, and receive an answer to any specific need.

The Body of Christ is the instrument through which God has chosen to reveal Himself and to accomplish His work in the world.
All of it is under the administration of Christ Himself, as the Head of the Body. Jesus is The Body's chief administrating officer, our CEO, as the Body of Christ. Note that a gathering or congregation may not be the Body of Christ. It takes being knit together. Where this exists, this is a true, or the true Body of Christ. Where there is love, mutual sharing, a heart of agreement, Jesus as we know Him manifests Himself not just to the level for while He was on earth, but now to even greater levels.
.. through His Body of those of us on earth.

What we must watch are things that Divide. If it be doctrine, loyalties, sacraments, spiritual gifts, these are faults to power when they become issues of conflict and separation. We are to be reconciled to one Body
(Ephesians 2:16). What brings a group to total unity from their hearts and the love of Christ in action in them... only the Holy Spirit can do it. Talk and negotiations may get minds to agree, but hearts can be distant, and the close knit fellowship not present. Only as we pray together, and the Holy Spirit welds our hearts together as one can divisions be dissolved.


It's equally important that we be not be led away with sensuality in our meetings
. That's emotions that make us feel good, but not motivated by the Holy Spirit. We can be drawn under the spell of the self-life and pleasing one's own sensual desires. Spirit induces a spirit of love and self-sacrifice for the good of others. We are not to be carried away by sense-related experiences. They worshiped dumb idols, but were not aware of the Holy Spirit in some meetings in the New Testament. We must guard against that too. Their objects of worship were material things, or oriented to physical pleasure.


It is so important we become Spirit-led, Spirit-controlled, and that Christ be our consciousness, our life as directed by His Holy Spirit. Simply, Christ lives in us and He must be allowed to run us, to navigate life through us. He is the boss, we are the employee to carry out His orders. Just because we can say the word spirituality and relate it to our ideas, we may not be Spiritual. Only when we are controlled and run by Spirit are we then genuinely Spiritual.


Diversity is allowed to flow in Spirit. We have the same spirit but diverse and different gifts.
There are differences, but not divisions. As orchestrated by the Spirit and we allow our diversities to blend, we create an orchestra of great music, precision in how we do things. We become refined in being efficient in Spirit.


Spiritual Intelligence, communications, physical needs, material necessities are provided under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to the believers in the community: the Christian community. As believers come together in worship they must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to learn from whom and to whom ministry is to be given
. The Holy Spirit is the administrator of all the manifestations which meet the needs of the members of the Body of Christ.


Each time the believers gather in the spirit of unity and koinonia (that's a spirit of sharing), each believer looks about to see whom he may minister to in the Body of Christ. It will be obvious at once that humility and meekness are an absolute necessity for such a fellowship to have God's blessing and approval. There is no room for any self aggrandizement or self exaltation at all.


The human body is what Paul used to impress upon the Corinthians how the Holy Spirit will fulfill the ministry. As we look at 1 Corinthians 12, we see these patterns for us to follow:


1. The believers are intricately woven together. Any action or inaction inevitably affects every other believer.

2. Each part of the body has a unique role to play.

3. The default of any part of the Body to perform his or her role limits the Body in its ministry.

4. To suffer is the degree to which each member must be prepared to participate.


We should have the same care for one another. The manifestation of the supernatural for the benefit of the Body of Christ is a priority. The world outside becomes a beneficiary of the powers of the Holy Spirit. So much hinges upon the practice of caring for one another. "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad."

(1 Corinthians 12:26, NLT)

This implies the degree to which each member participates in the need of other members of the Body of Christ... the entire Body.
This is also the price of discipleship. So much depends upon the application of this practice.


“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me."
(Luke 9:23, NLT)

To implement these marvelous miracles, we have the ministries and gifts within the Body of Christ for that purpose.


Each of us has a distinct ministry to each believer
. The Body of Christ has been given these glorious provisions for the meeting of needs of each member. To be used by God in His Supernatural provision should be the desire, the higher goal of every believer. Once this spirit of ministry prevails within the Body of Christ, it creates the basis for successfully reaching those outside the Body of Christ.

(Scripture references are from 1 Corinthians 12.)

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