9/18/2025
"...from whom the whole body, joined and knit
together by what every joint supplies...."
Ephesians 4:16
At Harvest Ministries we began a new series called "Upward, Inward, and Outward." Pastor Greg is sharing about how the church has three purposes: the glorification of God (Upward), the edification of the saints (Inward), and the evangelism of the world (Outward), which actually is what the ministry is all about to know Jesus and to make Him known. Of course we know that we are called by God to bring Him glory. That's our purpose, and since the beginning of time, He has desired to have a relationship with us. That was the whole idea in the Garden of Eden when He walked in the cool of the day with Adam. And we know how that ended which jump started the decline of our world and all creation and is rapidly being played out in the evil expressed in the world at large today. But God had a plan, a superior plan, through Jesus Christ, His Son, and although evil does exist, and there is spiritual darkness, the Light of Christ outshines it all.
This week, my group was considering the Inward purpose for the church - edification. What exactly does that look like? In Romans 12:4-5 Paul speaks about the body of Christ, the church being made up of different parts much like the human body, one part complementing the other, each part dependent on the other for proper functioning.
"For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."
Beautifully expressed, it lines up with what was said by the psalmist in Psalm 133:1, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity." Paul speaks later to the church in Corinth about spiritual gifts given by God used to help the church function in the way it was intended to do so, so that each person would grow in the role that God called them to do and in that way be an encouragement or edification to others. Each functioning in their purpose for the benefit of all, and all for the glory of God. In 1 Corinthians Paul is writing to a church that has had some confusion and questioning of many things, so in Chapter 12, Paul is explaining that all believers are given spiritual gifts, and there is unity in diversity of gifts and callings. He explains that, like the human body we cannot all be a hand, there has to be a finger, or a leg or a toe. But each part of the body functions symbiotically with the others.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:27-31).
Paul again provides further instruction to the church in Ephesus: "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." (Ephesians 4:11-12)
So we see that God has given these gifts that will edify the body of Christ. He adds that this is "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 to 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).
Having a medical background and a creative imagination, I tend to visualize ideas, or in this instances, put these truths into a mind puzzle or depiction. So think of this, Christ is the head of the body, and the spine is an extension, an elaborate creation of nerves projecting from the spine reaching all over the body.
The above drawing is not quite as picturesque as I'd like it to me, but you can see the nerves extending from the spinal column into the arms and legs and into the soft tissues of the body.This depiction does not show the body complete with organs for the sake of showing the extension of the nerve endings. The function of the nerves is to enervate or supply what is needed for cells, tissues, organs to function properly and grow, as God designed. Then in turn when organs function, the brain sends signals to the limbs to work in symbiosis or in harmony with the other parts of the body. When someone becomes ill, the balance is off, so other cells, tissues, organs do not function normally. In Psalm 139 David stated that God created us "fearfully and wonderfully," and I would say that is an apt description of what Paul said in verse 16 of Ephesians 4: "...from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies...."
I hope that my description makes it clearer about the importance of each person working together as one, using the gifts God has given for each of us, functioning as one unit, for His glory, praise, and honor.
The next step, the third point, Pastor Greg will discuss is the Outward working of this three part descriptions of the purpose of the church, or as our Lord calls it, the Body of Christ with Him as the Head. The Outward working, of course, is evangelism which fulfills what Jesus told His disciples to do as He departed this earth to ascend back to His Father:
"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When the saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saving, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" (Matthew 28:16-20)
So our job, as followers of Jesus Christ is the same, and we can't function well and do the job God has given us to do unless we cooperate with one another, totally surrendering to His Lordship and guidance. We need each other, working together as the early church is described in Acts. After the death of Jesus and the arrival of Holy Spirit, the church faced persecution, but they continued on in the strength of Christ and His teachings. Acts 2:40-47 the early church is described as a viable and advancing body. I often wonder if anyone would be interested in going as far as they did, giving up possessions, sharing, making certain that no one goes hungry or needing anything. The word says they had all things in common, meaning sharing of everything! They taught the Apostles doctrine, as they called the Gospel, and they grew in numbers daily. A mighty revival and radical transformation occurred, and that is what we need today. They didn't have a Bible back then, but they had the words of Torah and the prophets, and other texts, and today we have the complete Bible, active and alive. The Bible is enough. We don't need gimmicks. As the word says:
"By His divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the One who called us by His Own honor and glory." (2 Peter 1:3)
So now we go and do likewise, obeying the words of our Savior!
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