Christ’s Vision for the Church (4)
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13.14
Built by ministry
We have mentioned that the Lord Jesus is building His Church as a glorious temple and a holy nation unto the Lord. We’re not talking about buildings or denominations here, but of people, men and women redeemed by Jesus Christ and called together into local fellowships, where they labor to build the Church according to Jesus’ designs and plans.
You are the Lord’s temple; you are His holy nation. My prayer is that you’re beginning to realize more and more the glorious privilege and radical power such a calling entails.But how does a church get built-up like this, so that it becomes, increasingly, a beautiful temple and a holy nation?
Paul tells us that as church members take up works of ministry Jesus uses them to carry out His plan for building the Church (Eph. 4.11, 12).This means that every member of every local church is a vital brick in the temple of the Lord, a contributing citizen to the holy nation. Each of us must submit to the teaching and equipping we need to carry out our callings as ministers and servants of the Lord.
Every member a minister
The service we take will be unique to the places we go and the people we meet there. Each member of a local church has a Personal Mission Field to which they have been sent by the Lord Jesus to bring near the Kingdom of God, hoist the banner of God’s glory, and serve the needs of those around them (Jn. 20.21; 2 Cor. 10.13-8).
Every day we encounter people who need to know some touch of Jesus’ grace, truth from His Word, or Presence of His comforting Spirit. Church members are called to be conduits of grace, truth, and comfort to the world (2 Cor. 4.15), just as Jesus was when He walked among us.
But the life of service doesn’t come naturally to us. Rather, we must embrace it in prayer, prepare for it in study and training, and seek it every moment in all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities. We must pray daily that God would help us make the most of our time, and that He would show and lead us into just the works of service that each person we meet may require (Eph. 5.15-17; Ps. 90.12, 16, 17).No local church can seriously regard itself as such which is not diligently equipping and sending every member of its body for works of ministry. This is how local churches grow in unity and maturity; this is how, by word and deed, we proclaim the excellencies of Christ to the world around us. The temple where Christ dwells swells with His Presence and issues in rivers of living water through the citizens of His Kingdom, as they are dispersed throughout the neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools of our communities (Jn. 7.37-39).
Gifts for serving
To help us in this high and holy calling, Jesus has provided gifts for ministry which He bestows according to His good pleasure by His Spirit (1 Cor. 12.7-11). Every church member has access to all the gifts for ministry Christ would give us, according to the opportunities for serving others that crop up before him each day.
It will help us be more alert to such opportunities, and ready to draw on the gifts of the Spirit, if we begin praying more consistently for the Lord to use us as His servants, and if we will prepare ourselves through training and discipline for whatever situations we might expect in our Personal Mission Fields.
Just like our Lord Jesus Himself, the Church is called to be the servant of the Lord (Mk. 10.43-45), and to reach out in love to those around us with the same love that Jesus showed when He walked among us. Unless equipping all the members for works of ministry is our objective, we are not building the Church as Jesus intends.
For reflection or discussion
1. Jesus said that He is sending His disciples into the world in the same way He Himself was sent. How does John 13.1-15 help us in thinking about our calling as the Church?
2. Meditate on John 7.37-39, Acts 1.8, Galatians 5.22 and 23, and 1 Corinthians 12.7-11. What is the role of the Spirit in helping us to be a people who serve others? How do we “tap into” His work?”
3. What would you say is the role of prayer in becoming more consistent in serving the people in your Personal Mission Field.
Next steps: Have you mapped out your Personal Mission Field? Download our free brochure by clicking here, and get started praying and preparing to fulfill your calling as a servant of Lord among the servants of the Lord. Share this exercise with another member of your church.T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Men, check out our Spring Men’s Reading Groups. Great reads, sound learning, warm fellowship.
This week: Our Read Moore podcast is looking at the Kingdom of God in our book, The Kingdom Turn. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are looking at the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our Scriptorium column we are studying the sermon on the mount. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
