The Soul In the Body

[Chad]

The Soul In the Body
A.W. Tozer

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. --1 Corinthians 12:18

Let us review something here that we probably know: the doctrine of the life and operation of Christian believers on earth--starting with the fact that the Christian church is the body of Christ, Jesus Himself being the Headship of that body. Every true Christian, no matter where he or she lives, is a part of that body, and the Holy Spirit is to the church what our own souls are to our physical bodies. Through the operation of the Holy Spirit, Christ becomes the life, the unity and the consciousness of the body, which is the church. Let the soul leave the physical body and all the parts of the body cease to function. Let the Spirit be denied His place in the spiritual body, and the church ceases to function as God intended....

According to the Bible, the whole body exists for its members and the members exist for the whole body. And that, of course, is the reason God gives gifts, so that the body may profit spiritually and maintain spiritual health and prosperity in its service for Jesus Christ in an unfriendly world. Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, 14-15.

"Lord, I pray today that we in our church might be aware of Your presence, that we might be faithfullly exercising the gifts You have given, and that we might be a healthy Body that pleases You. Amen."

 

[Gracealone]

That is my prayer too, as in Eph.4:13

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

Seems because we are all growing at a different level, unity is hard to see sometimes, but one day that will be ,for we then will know, even as we are known. :friends:

 

[DeeperStill]

That makes me ponder and issue very near to me.

Let me use your words and call the subject of my post, The Missing Gift..

There are many abuses in the world today; Abuses in marriage, abuses in family life, abuses by professionals against others, and to each other, Abuse of Money, abuse of drugs....,abuse... abuse... abuse.. and sadly, abuses in the church.

There are so many divisions in the church today that we can pretty much pick our favorite doctrine and find a church that focusing on that one doctrine to the exclusion of all others.

We hide ourselves away in a pool of our own juices. If anyone comes in adding life to the group, they are swiftly shunned. Either by force or lack of nurturing love, they are pushed out the door.
And much worse.

what this comes down to is a heart issue. We are living in that time when the love of many has grown cold.

I could share with you my own personal experiences with this but I wont. suffice it to say that when a person is pushed out of fellowship and shunned by others because they do not toe the line of their favorite theology, then this tells us more about their own desperate need than the need of the person being shunned and cast out.

As the first post declares, God has given gifts unto men for the benefit of the church. We cannot function correctly as a church by pushing out people who have a gift which may cause us personal conviction, or correction. God places these people in the body to keep the body balanced. He knows that every person who has a gift, also has a weakness. He knows that one mans weakness is another man's strength. We need each other.

If I am gifted with black and white, and another is gifted with Grey. Do we toss out either one? No, we grow together.

It is my desire that wisdom is found in this. "What God has joined together let no man put asunder. "

If you are in conflict with a fellow brother/sister, do not assume that forsaking them will benefit you. It wont. what will really happen is that the body as a whole will suffer because you have cast out a person who is gifted in an area ( by God), to perform a function in the body for your benefit.

There should be no missing gifts in your fellowship. And if you see a brother or sister struggling, help them, don't toss them away.

just my thoughts.

T