"Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church... When you may come together, each has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."
1 Corinthians 14:12;26
The Pharisees of Jesus' day were phenomenal builders. They erected hundreds of oral traditions, essentially religious rules, regulations, customs, and traditions, which they attributed to Moses. They built an unrivaled system of rabbinic legalism still in effect today. They built the Sanhedrin and synagogues, which were never instructed by God. And they built a dividing wall that prevented non-Jews from ever getting too close to the temple.
Contrastingly, the biblical concept of edification, rightly understood, is beautiful. Ephesians 2 paints a picture of God's masterful construction of Christ's Body & Bride. First, Paul exposes the reality of universal human depravity in 2:1, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins," which is then contrasted with God's unrelenting covenantal love in 2:4-5, "But God, who is rich in covenant loyalty, because of His great love for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!"
Sadly, personal salvation is where many churches and Christians screech to an abrupt halt, and, like the fools of Psalm 107, they willfully return to sit in darkness and gloom—prisoners of self-imposed chains because they rebelled against God's Word and despised the counsel of the Most High. Personal salvation is never heralded as the goal or message of The Gospel. Instead, as Ephesians 2:10 reveals, our being made alive with Christ as His workmanship is for the good works God prepared beforehand in community as our collective, collaborative, synergistic, and united act of worship. The Gospel invites us into identification and collaboration with Christ.
Ephesians 2 goes on to reveal that we are now "no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole building, being masterfully built, is growing into a temple set apart in the LORD."
Ephesians 4 articulates the tangible process of building up Christ's Body & Bride:
v.1 "Live worthy of the calling you have received..." Being a Christian isn't all about our personal needs, opinions, and preferences... it's a divine calling to be seized or squandered.
v.2 We are to live up to that calling "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love..."
v.3 We live worthy of the calling with all humility and gentleness by "making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." We should never confuse silence with peace. Avoiding necessary conversations regarding hindrances to edification exacerbates conflict and division. Conflict deferred is conflict multiplied.
v.11 "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor-teachers," Leadership is essential because accountability is essential. Churches choosing to operate without biblical leadership are clubs, not churches.
v.12 "equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the Body of Christ," The primary role of church leadership is not to appease, entertain, enable, cater to, or seek the approval of the congregation, but to equip and mobilize the saints for the work of ministry.
v.13-16 The litmus test of a legitimate "Body of Christ" includes:
v.13 UNITY: in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by the fullness of Christ. There can be no unity in Christ where there is no authoritative biblical revelation of Christ.
v.14 STEADY: no longer little children tossed about by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching by human cunning with cleverness in the teachings of deceit.
v.15 HONESTY: speaking the truth (sound doctrine, correction, rebuke, etc.) in love rather than ignoring difficult conversations or accepting the patterns of the world, i.e. we must continually grow in every way into Him who is the HEAD — Christ.
v.16 INTEGRITY: through this process, "the whole body is fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promoting the growth of the body for building itself up in love..." to achieve...
v.16 FUNCTIONALITY: "by the proper working of each individual part." Where there is no functionally missional community advancing against the Gates of Hades there is no church. Passive and sporadic attendance, while perfectly acceptable for season ticket holders, is revealed as unacceptable for members of Christ's Body & Bride.
The Greek word in the New Testament for building up is οἰκοδομή (oy-kod-om-ay'). The word depicts the concept of masterfully skilled artisans or craftsmen at work. It's very much like the Old Testament Hebrew word חָכְמָה (khok-maw'), which transcends philosophical wisdom and translates to living life skillfully.
The book of Proverbs delineates the only two possible paths in life: the first is that of the fool, (which King Jesus identified in Matthew 7 as the broad path many take leading to destruction), and the second is that of khok-maw', which the LORD said is straight and narrow leading to everlasting life.
Ephesians 5 commands, "Pay careful attention then to how you live—not as unwise people but as wise (skilled)—redeeming the time, because the days are evil. So don't be foolish, but understand what the LORD's will is. And don't get drunk with wine, which exposes unsavedness, but be filled with the Spirit."
If you've been a Christian for longer than a couple of weeks but aren't an official member of a local church with an official role (music, greeter, custodian, bookkeeper, deacon, elder, teacher, etc.), you're either in the wrong place or have the wrong idea. The only thing Consumerism and Christianity have in common is they both begin with the letter c.
Praying for America is as (in)effective as wishing on a star if Christians aren't willing to live accountable and surrendered lives set apart for the edification of the Body of Christ. At the close of Ephesians, Paul asked the church to pray, not for his release from prison, but "to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel... that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should."
Contrary to popular teaching and preaching today, being a Christian isn't about, "Letting all things be done for your personal satisfaction and salvation." Instead, Scripture joyfully exclaims, "Let all things be done for edification." Are you building up Christ's Body & Bride? If not, what are you waiting for?
Blessings,
Kevin M. Kelley
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