Home  Articles  Site map

It is inevitable that what we do defines us to some extent, and this is applicable to the ministry each of us has in the body of Christ. So, one is known as a pastor, another as a teacher, another as an administrator, etc. God has placed each of His born-again children as parts in the body of Christ, each to do some particular function in that body. But we tend to forget that "the body is not one member, but many" (1Co.12:14). It is natural for the flesh to think that whatever function we do is more important compared to what someone else is doing! The teacher thinks that no one else bothers about an accurate interpretation of the Bible, and the evangelist thinks that no one else seems to care about perishing souls! But the fact of the matter is that each one of us is important to God. What we need to keep in mind is that if the body of Christ is to do the will of the Head, all of us need to learn to work together with the other members of the body.

What will a pastor do without an administrator? Who will a teacher teach if the evangelist didn't bring in people to the church? If there aren't helpers in the church dealing with many practical things that have to be done in the church, can the preaching or the Bible study alone keep the church going?

"Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Ep.5:21). (Nowadays feminists are misquoting this verse to override the following verse which tells wives to be subject to their husbands (v.22)! V.21 is not saying that husbands should also submit to their wives! What the passage from 5:22 to 6:9 gives are specific examples of submission in different areas.) Let us look at v.21 in the context of the different members of the body of Christ working together.

In this case, submission depends on the task involved, rather than one's rank as in the military, where rank outweighs all other considerations. If we were to follow the military convention, in the church everyone has to do whatever the pastor says even if it is a matter of paying taxes or designing a building! But what we need to do is to recognise who is gifted in different areas and submit to them when it comes to that function. This may mean a 'higher ranking functionary' like a pastor may need to submit to a plumber in his work, and the plumber to the pastor when it comes to how to manage the spiritual aspects of the church. A pastor or an evangelist may need to submit to a teacher regarding doctrines, and all of them to a prophet who warns them about a deviation the church is taking.

This cannot happen until all of us understand what the Lord wants us to do and our boundaries, and learn to overcome our fleshly desires for prominence, having our own way, and dominating others. Our goal has to be that it is the will of Christ as the Head that needs to be carried out by the body, and that the function that each of us has to carry out is not more important than that. We need to learn how to work together with others.

Tweet