Calvary “Properly Working Parts” Bible Church

April, 2006

by: Tim Carns

The human body is an amazing creation, isn’t it? It consists of a number of complex systems all working together to allow you to live and function. Even the simple task of breathing requires the brain, heart, lungs, and various muscle groups to all work in concert with one another. If one of these systems fails, a person stops breathing. It is no accident that the church of Jesus Christ is often compared to a body (see Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Eph 4:4-16; Col 1:18, 24). The church is certainly made up of a number of complex systems, isn’t it (i.e. you and me!)?

In the last issue of “The Review” we saw that the purpose of Christ’s body—the church—was to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 to make disciples by bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ AND helping them to be more like Christ. Ephesians 4:11-16 gives more insight into how this was to take place.

And 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. 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, 16 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.

This passage indicates two critical aspects for the growth of the church. The first is that God’s gift of men would write, proclaim, and teach His Word to the saints and shepherd the flock so that the Body would be built up with its members becoming more like Christ. A second critical component to the growth of Christ’s Body has to do with the sheep themselves. Notice in verse 16 that Christ causes the growth of the body as each individual part is working properly. Those individual parts do not just refer to the leaders of the church. They refer to every part of the body. That means all of us. If there are parts which are not working, then growth of the Body is slowed, stunted, or perhaps even stopped. Just like the simple task of breathing relies on so many individual organs and parts in the body to be working together, so too, the Body of Christ relies on its many individual parts for growth as seen in new believers and the maturing of every saint.

Thus, we all need to ask ourselves, “Just exactly what does ‘proper working’ mean and how do I fit in?” The better we understand this question, then the more growth we will see in Calvary Bible Church. To find out the answer to these questions, stay tuned for upcoming articles (for a hint, look up 1 Cor 12:7; Rom 12:10; Heb 10:24-25).