Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV) 11 So Christ himself
gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people
for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we
will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here
and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people
in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to
become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is,
Christ. 16 From him the
whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and
builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
I Peter 4:11 (NIV) 11 If
anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If
anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the
power for ever and ever. Amen.
Christian community
happens when there is a meeting and melting together of the gifts we have
received from the life of Jesus Christ. Not until and unless we have that kind
of sharing can we experience the reality called community. We have a challenge
in our effort to be community, and the problem has to do with pressures that
encourage isolation and conformity.
When we look at the
thirty or so different gifts mentioned in the New Testament we can begin to
sense and see the different ways different people contribute some measure of
Christ’s gift to the community in general and the community called church. Christian
community pulls us out of isolation and instead of pressuring us into
conformity, demands that we contribute the diversity of our gift for the common
good. In fact, this diversity is vital for the health of the Christian
community. As we contribute the measure of our gift, we measure up to the life
of Jesus Christ. Like pieces of a puzzle, we come together contributing our
part and display a more complete picture of the life Jesus Christ.
It is not false humility
to think that it is hard for us to be like Christ individually, and is probably
a fairly accurate reading of our human frailties. But when we come together, and
each contributes some portion of gifts, we become a community where the living
Christ can be met, worshipped, and served. Not only do we display the life of
Christ more completely as a community than as isolated individuals, but a strange
reciprocity takes place. We give and we receive all aspects of His life.
From a sermon preached by
Henry Dobbs Pope January 23, 1994
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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