the Body of Christ builds itself up through all the members growing and functioning in their measure

Many Christians wondered and studied this very important question, How can we build up the Body of Christ?

Yes, the Lord Jesus said in Matt. 16:18 that He will build up His church, but how can we as members of the Body contribute to the building up of the Body of Christ? Yes, there are some gifted members of the Body, like the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers – but they all are not for directly building up the Body, but they are for the perfecting of the saints.

When the saints get perfected by the gifted members, they do the work of the ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ. This means that we all the saints are those who build up the Body of Christ by being perfected by the gifted members to do what they do: we are perfected to go and preach the gospel, teach others, shepherd the saints, speak the Word of God, prophesy in the meeting, etc (Eph. 4:11-12).

On the one hand we as members of the Body and as newborn babes drink the milk of the Word(1 Pet. 2:2) that by it we may grow unto salvation, and on the other hand we function in our measure – which is our being perfected by the gifted members in the Body of Christ.

This is NOT something organizational or man-made – just as our physical body does not grow by adding something outwardly to the body but by our proper eating, so the Body of Christ grows, is built up, and develops by our proper eating of the Lord!

One very helpful portion in the Bible about this is Eph. 4:15-16,

Holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ; out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

The best way to help others is to bring them to touch the Lord and enjoy the Lord – simply minister Christ to others. We don’t need to do too much outwardly, and we don’t need to “organize” or perfect others outwardly – the real help which leads to the building up of the Body is for us to “water and plant”(see 1 Cor. 3:6) and God will do the rest by giving the growth!

We need to learn from the apostle Paul in this and do an organic work – not depending on methods, ways, or organization, but being those who impart life to others and bring others to touch the Lord as life!

We can only do our part to nourish others, to fellowship and pray with others, and to supply the brothers and the sisters with the words of life which we enjoyed with the Lord. When we do this, we look to the Lord, in our inner being, to give life to man and work in man.

Also, we can lead and help others to learn to practice holding the truth in love and to grow up in all things into the head, Christ! When the saints are getting into the truth and are holding Christ as the head, they are able to touch and enjoy Christ and give Him the preeminent place in their being and their life. This is the way to grow and be built up.

This way, out from the Head, all the Body, being joined together through every joint of the rich supply and being knit together through the operation in the measure of each one part, will be able to grow gradually unto the organic building up of itself in love! All we need to do is bring one another to enjoy the Lord more, and the Lord will grow in us, will build us up, and the Body will grow and be built up!

[sharing inspired from The Mysteries in God’s New Testament Economy, as quoted in the Morning Revival on the Crucial Elements of the Bible; become a fan on Facebook for more updates. Picture source: Tall Trees and Blue Sky, Fichier, via Wikipedia]

Lord, save us from taking any other way to build up the Body except the organic way! Keep us on the way of life – cooperating with You for the building up of Your organic Body. Lord, add more of Yourself to our being and increase in us! May we learn the best way to minister Christ to others – the best way to give life to the saints! Lord, build up Your Body through all the members functioning and growing in their measure. Gain Your built-up Body with us today!