Ephesians 4:12 – Body Builder

… to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up …

Summary: Why does God provide leaders for the body of Christ? The answer is simple; to build up the body of Christ. The surprising part is that he needs us to help.

Is the phrase “the body of Christ” meant literally, or is it a metaphor? Personally, I’ve always considered it a metaphor. But is it really a metaphor?

Here on earth, we exist in a place created by God. A physical place bounded by three dimensions and something called “time.” We are mortal. That means our physical body has an expiration date. When the body dies, our spirit continues to exist (Luke 16: 22-23).

While we live with a physical body, we experience life as God intended. If we disobey his physical laws, we suffer the consequences. If we disobey his moral laws there are consequences for that, too. Sadly, because Adam and Eve rebelled against God, we are born under a curse. Instead of being alive in God, we are born spiritually dead (John 3:3-6). Instead of having eyes only for our God, we were born with eyes that see evil but do not comprehend what it is (Genesis 3:5). Born in sin, rebelling against God and blind to its consequences, we live in sin until we discover Jesus.

When we say we accept Jesus into our lives, what we mean is that we have been accepted by Jesus into his life. (It is because of our natural arrogance that we phrase the relationship the way we do.) Jesus is bigger, more alive, and more real than any human on earth.

In the days of Nebuchadnezzar, he had a dream given by God. An Israelite named Daniel interpreted the dream for him and described the body of Christ six centuries before Christ was born. The dream foretells the coming of Rome and describes how the birth of Jesus would impact both Rome and all of history. Daniel explains:

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2: 34-35)

The rock that “filled the whole earth” is Jesus. When we believe in Jesus, we become part of that “rock.” The work of the Rock is to fill the world with the “kingdom of God” (Mark 10: 14-15, Mark 4:11, Matthew 12:28).

There is work to be done. The NIV translation reads, “works of service” (most translations say “ministry”) so that the body of Christ can be “built up.”

Application: Get to work! 🙂

Food for Thought: How does serving and ministering to each other build up the body of Christ?