Building the Body Through Love
In the previous blog, I discussed how important the body of Christ is and how building the Church should be the ambition of our heart. I discussed how we should reject the notion of living as isolated individuals as Christians and enter into the Church of God. Now, we must discuss how we must build the body. Ephesians 4:1-3 states:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
What is this unity of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in this passage? Colossians 3:14 describes love as the "perfect bond of unity". What manner of love unites the Church of God? From my experience, most believers exercise fraternal love or "philia" in Greek. The idea is of cherishing and refers to the union of the soul of one with that of the other. It is a love based usually on similarity of intellectual and emotional outlook. It means more than physical love but it can still be self-centered, for its satisfaction often comes from the feeling that one is wanted, or that one is a benefactor or a protector of that other needy person. This is the best type of love that man can exercise apart from the Holy Spirit and we see this love exercised in many fraternal societies and organizations. It is a tragedy that many of us accept this fraternal love as God's best and build our fellowship based on it. However, there is a deeper love that comes directly from God- agape. This is the love that defines the Church- it is the unique signature that distinguishes the Church from every other fraternal organization on this earth. This sort of love ultimately defines whether or not a person is truly a disciple and whether a local body is the true Church (cf. John 13:34-35). This is the love that God imparted to us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) and refers to the union of the spirit of one with that of the other. It is a self-giving love - the love of Calvary's cross.
William Barclay in `More New Testament Words', says, "Agape is unconquerable benevolence, invincible goodwill. It is not simply a wave of emotion; it is a deliberate conviction of the mind issuing in a deliberate policy of the life; it is a deliberate achievement and conquest and victory of the will. It takes all of man to achieve this love; it takes not only his heart; it takes his mind and his will as well. It is impossible for a man to have this love unless the Spirit takes possession of him and sheds abroad the love of God in his heart." A Greek lexicon referring to agape says, "It chooses its object with decision and self-denying compassion. This is love in its fullest and highest form. It has its source in God. The verb-form stands for kindliness towards its object and has reference to the tendency of the will." Another definition of agape is: "It is slow to suspect but quick to trust; slow to condemn but quick to justify; slow to offend but quick to defend; slow to expose but quick to shield; slow to reprimand but quick to forbear; slow to belittle but quick to appreciate; slow to demand but quick to give; slow to provoke but quick to conciliate; slow to hinder but quick to help; and slow to resent but quick to forgive".
We are able to know this love only through our fellowship with Christ. Jesus is our forerunner and the love that He expressed is the love that we all should strive to emulate. 1 John 3:16 says:
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Jesus gave the definition of love through His sacrificial life and it is through this self-sacrificial love that the Church is built. Paul continues to describe how the Church is built up in Ephesians 4:11-16
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, from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by that which ever 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.
Here, Paul emphasizes how the gifts that God gives sovereignly to each individual member of the body is used to build up the Church. What is important to emphasize here is that love of the brethren precedes the operation of the gifts in the true Church. This theme is found in several passages (cf. 1 Cor. 12-13; Romans 12:4-10; 1 Peter 4:8-11) because love for the Church outranks the exercise of gifts in the Church. Unfortunately, we live in a day where the gifts are emphasized much more than love among the Body. Jesus mentioned that this is a sign of a church primed for deception. In Matthew 24, Jesus said that there would be two characteristics of the end-time world: the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12) and false prophets will perform great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). Many people chase after gifts instead of love because gifts do not cost a person anything. It is in man's nature to offer God things that do not cost them much; however it is a godly man (and a godly Church) who refuses to offer God anything that cost them nothing (cf. 2 Samuel 24:24). To have the love of God in our lives and in our fellowship, it will cost us all of ourselves because this is the love that is selfless to its core. However, gifts are given by God in His sovereignty and require nothing of us except faith. This demonstrates that it is quite possible to have multiple gifts in operation in the church, yet still fail to be a true witness for Christ. Consider 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Consider a church with a testimony like this! Imagine a church where all members prophecy correctly, understand every mystery of God, and have unshakable faith. Yet, because love is not abundant among the members, this church is nothing. Furthermore, consider a church that gives all of its possessions to feed the poor, which is a appearance of self-sacrificial love. The description of this church appears to be no different than the Macedonian church that Paul commended (cf. 2 Cor. 8). What was the difference between the Macedonian church and this church? The answer is found in 2 Cor. 8:7
But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also
Paul is correcting the churches in Corinth by pointing the example of the abundance of love in the churches shown by the Macedonian churches. This is the type of Church that God honors and approves of. When God establishes His Church, He establishes it on the foundation of Christ and protects it through the love He pours out by His Spirit. Any other foundation will prove itself not to be the church that God establishes. Consider the warning given by John:
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14
This is a clear and obvious warning that many, including myself, have ignored in times past. A church without the love of God among the brotherhood is a dead church. No number of gifts, wealth, or talents among members can resuscitate a church that is dead because of the lack of love. Emphasizing spiritual gifts over love is analogous to trying to convince someone that a dead person is alive by putting more clothes on him. When a person has been dead long enough, the stench from his body confirms that he is truly dead, no matter how much we attempt to resuscitate him. The same is true for the church. The stench, so to speak, from the church that everyone can detect is a result of the lack of love in the church. However, just as Jesus raised Lazarus after he was dead for three days, any local body can be raised back to life if God pours His Spirit of love on the church. The love of God among the Body is our protection. A church that has many gifts and ministries in operation without love is analogous to a large, magnificent city without any walls. Without protection, any city is subject to sieges from their enemies. The same is true for the church. Our great adversary, Satan, devises many schemes to make sure that the true Church is never built. However, when the love of God is abundant in the church, God Himself will be a "wall of fire in our midst" (Zechariah 2:5). The fire of God's love is our protection and we, as believers, should endeavor to protect it at all costs.
Finally, what is the result of building the body in love? As stated previously in Ephesians 4, "we are no longer 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". So, what distinguishes children from adults: stability and maturity. As the body begins to build up itself in love, the Church becomes more stable and more mature. The stability of the Church increases in the sense that we are not shaken by the many attacks that inevitably come to the Church. As love continues to grow among the Body, we become more rooted and established in Christ. The maturity of the Church increases in the sense that we are no longer gullible and easily deceived. One characteristic of a Church that is growing is its increasing ability to avoid various distractions. Many churches demonstrate their lack of maturity by following everything that has the appearance of godliness. In this way, churches lose their primary witness by chasing after secondary pursuits. However, a mature Church looks beyond the appearance and uses discernment to weigh the actual substance. This sort of Church avoids many distractions because it has built itself up based on what God desired for them.
Therefore, as Paul warns us, we should be careful on how we build upon the foundation of Christ. There are many good works that a church can do that will prove to be worthless, unless love is first established among the brotherhood. Let's remember the example of the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. This church had outstanding ministries, but because they left their first love, they were in danger of losing their witness (cf. Rev. 2:1-7). Let us not fall into the same example of sin, but let us build the body of Christ through the love of God.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
What is this unity of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in this passage? Colossians 3:14 describes love as the "perfect bond of unity". What manner of love unites the Church of God? From my experience, most believers exercise fraternal love or "philia" in Greek. The idea is of cherishing and refers to the union of the soul of one with that of the other. It is a love based usually on similarity of intellectual and emotional outlook. It means more than physical love but it can still be self-centered, for its satisfaction often comes from the feeling that one is wanted, or that one is a benefactor or a protector of that other needy person. This is the best type of love that man can exercise apart from the Holy Spirit and we see this love exercised in many fraternal societies and organizations. It is a tragedy that many of us accept this fraternal love as God's best and build our fellowship based on it. However, there is a deeper love that comes directly from God- agape. This is the love that defines the Church- it is the unique signature that distinguishes the Church from every other fraternal organization on this earth. This sort of love ultimately defines whether or not a person is truly a disciple and whether a local body is the true Church (cf. John 13:34-35). This is the love that God imparted to us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) and refers to the union of the spirit of one with that of the other. It is a self-giving love - the love of Calvary's cross.
William Barclay in `More New Testament Words', says, "Agape is unconquerable benevolence, invincible goodwill. It is not simply a wave of emotion; it is a deliberate conviction of the mind issuing in a deliberate policy of the life; it is a deliberate achievement and conquest and victory of the will. It takes all of man to achieve this love; it takes not only his heart; it takes his mind and his will as well. It is impossible for a man to have this love unless the Spirit takes possession of him and sheds abroad the love of God in his heart." A Greek lexicon referring to agape says, "It chooses its object with decision and self-denying compassion. This is love in its fullest and highest form. It has its source in God. The verb-form stands for kindliness towards its object and has reference to the tendency of the will." Another definition of agape is: "It is slow to suspect but quick to trust; slow to condemn but quick to justify; slow to offend but quick to defend; slow to expose but quick to shield; slow to reprimand but quick to forbear; slow to belittle but quick to appreciate; slow to demand but quick to give; slow to provoke but quick to conciliate; slow to hinder but quick to help; and slow to resent but quick to forgive".
We are able to know this love only through our fellowship with Christ. Jesus is our forerunner and the love that He expressed is the love that we all should strive to emulate. 1 John 3:16 says:
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Jesus gave the definition of love through His sacrificial life and it is through this self-sacrificial love that the Church is built. Paul continues to describe how the Church is built up in Ephesians 4:11-16
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, from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by that which ever 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.
Here, Paul emphasizes how the gifts that God gives sovereignly to each individual member of the body is used to build up the Church. What is important to emphasize here is that love of the brethren precedes the operation of the gifts in the true Church. This theme is found in several passages (cf. 1 Cor. 12-13; Romans 12:4-10; 1 Peter 4:8-11) because love for the Church outranks the exercise of gifts in the Church. Unfortunately, we live in a day where the gifts are emphasized much more than love among the Body. Jesus mentioned that this is a sign of a church primed for deception. In Matthew 24, Jesus said that there would be two characteristics of the end-time world: the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12) and false prophets will perform great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). Many people chase after gifts instead of love because gifts do not cost a person anything. It is in man's nature to offer God things that do not cost them much; however it is a godly man (and a godly Church) who refuses to offer God anything that cost them nothing (cf. 2 Samuel 24:24). To have the love of God in our lives and in our fellowship, it will cost us all of ourselves because this is the love that is selfless to its core. However, gifts are given by God in His sovereignty and require nothing of us except faith. This demonstrates that it is quite possible to have multiple gifts in operation in the church, yet still fail to be a true witness for Christ. Consider 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Consider a church with a testimony like this! Imagine a church where all members prophecy correctly, understand every mystery of God, and have unshakable faith. Yet, because love is not abundant among the members, this church is nothing. Furthermore, consider a church that gives all of its possessions to feed the poor, which is a appearance of self-sacrificial love. The description of this church appears to be no different than the Macedonian church that Paul commended (cf. 2 Cor. 8). What was the difference between the Macedonian church and this church? The answer is found in 2 Cor. 8:7
But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also
Paul is correcting the churches in Corinth by pointing the example of the abundance of love in the churches shown by the Macedonian churches. This is the type of Church that God honors and approves of. When God establishes His Church, He establishes it on the foundation of Christ and protects it through the love He pours out by His Spirit. Any other foundation will prove itself not to be the church that God establishes. Consider the warning given by John:
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14
This is a clear and obvious warning that many, including myself, have ignored in times past. A church without the love of God among the brotherhood is a dead church. No number of gifts, wealth, or talents among members can resuscitate a church that is dead because of the lack of love. Emphasizing spiritual gifts over love is analogous to trying to convince someone that a dead person is alive by putting more clothes on him. When a person has been dead long enough, the stench from his body confirms that he is truly dead, no matter how much we attempt to resuscitate him. The same is true for the church. The stench, so to speak, from the church that everyone can detect is a result of the lack of love in the church. However, just as Jesus raised Lazarus after he was dead for three days, any local body can be raised back to life if God pours His Spirit of love on the church. The love of God among the Body is our protection. A church that has many gifts and ministries in operation without love is analogous to a large, magnificent city without any walls. Without protection, any city is subject to sieges from their enemies. The same is true for the church. Our great adversary, Satan, devises many schemes to make sure that the true Church is never built. However, when the love of God is abundant in the church, God Himself will be a "wall of fire in our midst" (Zechariah 2:5). The fire of God's love is our protection and we, as believers, should endeavor to protect it at all costs.
Finally, what is the result of building the body in love? As stated previously in Ephesians 4, "we are no longer 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". So, what distinguishes children from adults: stability and maturity. As the body begins to build up itself in love, the Church becomes more stable and more mature. The stability of the Church increases in the sense that we are not shaken by the many attacks that inevitably come to the Church. As love continues to grow among the Body, we become more rooted and established in Christ. The maturity of the Church increases in the sense that we are no longer gullible and easily deceived. One characteristic of a Church that is growing is its increasing ability to avoid various distractions. Many churches demonstrate their lack of maturity by following everything that has the appearance of godliness. In this way, churches lose their primary witness by chasing after secondary pursuits. However, a mature Church looks beyond the appearance and uses discernment to weigh the actual substance. This sort of Church avoids many distractions because it has built itself up based on what God desired for them.
Therefore, as Paul warns us, we should be careful on how we build upon the foundation of Christ. There are many good works that a church can do that will prove to be worthless, unless love is first established among the brotherhood. Let's remember the example of the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. This church had outstanding ministries, but because they left their first love, they were in danger of losing their witness (cf. Rev. 2:1-7). Let us not fall into the same example of sin, but let us build the body of Christ through the love of God.
posted by The Emissary at
11:15 AM
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