Step Eleven – Your Place in the Body of Christ

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Mike

God’s creation is a complex machine of which you are an important part. As a believer, you are part of the body of Christ and He is the head directing and controlling all the connecting members. Each of us has a specific role to play. God has placed you where He needs you to be and has given you the tools needed to accomplish your mission. Your service to God is solely dependent on your devotion to Him and your adherence to following His instructions.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NASB)

“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”

One of the beautiful aspects of God’s creation is the fact that we are all different. There aren’t any two people exactly alike. We each have very specific talents, abilities, and circumstance that make us perfectly adapted to God’s desire for our life. As followers of Jesus a large portion of our mission is to share our faith with those around us. This could be through direct spiritual counselling or it could be by simply exemplifying a dedicated Christian walk that others will see and admire. Those people you come into contact with every day are not there by accident. They are there for you to guide or be guided by, all in an effort to reach spiritual maturity.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NASB)

He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

A primary concern of all followers of Jesus should be to aid, assist, and support other believers. As the part of the body of Christ you are not alone. By design, you need the help of other believers to achieve your mission to minister to those people in your life who have been placed there by God for your spiritual growth. Working together under the leadership of Christ we can guard against attacks by the devil and tap into the awesome power of God’s love.

Ephesians 4:14-16 (NASB)

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Finding Your Role in the Body of Christ

Your specific talent may be very obvious but not everyone is greatly blessed with exceptional gifts; if you are, use those gifts to serve God as best you can without selling out to the world. If your talent is more subtle, God has created you that way for a reason. Supporting roles are just as important as dominate leadership roles. In fact, leaders typically cannot function without a solid support structure. Most people know what it is they do well. Some people try very hard to do something they are not well suited for and fail. Find God’s path and follow what He has planned for you. Don’t go looking for something outside of God’s plan for your life.

Romans 12:4-8 (NASB)

For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Every moment of every day should be viewed through the eyes of God. Look for the path He has placed in front of you and move in that direction. Keep in mind the devil will be trying to deceive you into going a different way. Study the Word of God, pray, have regular fellowship with other believers and your function in the body of Christ will be made clear.

Psalm 32:8 (NASB)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”

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