In our series ‘Battles & Blessings’, we looked this morning at ‘the Blessing of Body-Building’ – not, as some of you may think, the kind of body-building done by people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the kind Paul describes in Eph 4:7-16, where the body of Christ builds itself up to become mature and stable. This body-building involves every part of the body of Christ as it grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph 4:16) It’s a body-building where God has given gifts to the church, ministry gifts to help build up the body of Christ – gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – to prepare each one of us for works of service. (Eph 4: 11-12) It’s a body-building that isn’t dependent on steroid drugs or weight-lifting or healthy diets for growth, but is dependent on the grace God gives out as He decides. (Eph 4:7) Most of all, it’s a body-building which leads to maturity so that we can all grow up in Christ and not be tossed around by every wind of teaching or led astray by people’s scheming. (Eph 4:14) It’s the kind of body-building which Paul says we should pursue for the sake of ‘mutual edification.’ (Rom 14:19) This kind of body-building helps the church to grow and people to mature, with love as the lubricating oil which helps us all to work together. If we want to see our church grow and flourish, we need this blessing so that we can see the body of Christ built up.

We need always to be very aware that Christ is the head of the church and that He gives grace-gifts as He sees fit through His Spirit (Eph 4:7, see also 1 Cor 12:11, Rom 12:6, 1 Pet 4:10) Christ is qualified to give these gifts to His church because of His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, as Paul’s reference to Psalm 68 in this passage makes clear. He is in total control and has made it clear that He will build His church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matt 16:18) This gives us confidence, because Jesus is Lord over all (see Eph 1:19-23, Eph 4:6). Our part is to be involved in works of service as we are built up by the ministry gifts God gives to the church, so that ‘the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work’ (Eph 4:16)

God’s aim for each one of us that we grow up and become like Christ. This is done as we speak the truth in love, rejecting lies and falsehoods, not being taken in by people’s scheming. It’s done as we allow Christ to be the Head of the church, directing us, leading us and guiding us. It’s done as we all take responsibility for our part in the body, not assuming others will do everything, not thinking we have nothing to give. We all have a responsibility for our own spiritual development, but we also have a responsibility for each other, to some extent. Paul tells us to ‘carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.’ (Gal 6:2) That means getting alongside each other and sharing our loads: our joys, our sorrows, our anxieties, our griefs, our hopes and our dreams, and looking how we can build each other up. It means being prepared to get involved.