Yesterday, we moved to Week 3 of the 21 Days of At.One.Ment Fast by focusing on Jesus’ desire for the Body, summed up in these words from his prayer: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21)

Today, we remind ourselves of the design Jesus had in mind for the church and revealed to us through the apostle Paul.

The first part of the design is captured in these words found in I Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Please note that according to the apostle Paul, the body is not an analogy for the church, but the reality of the Church. The Church IS the Body of Christ.

Every part needs to contribute to the well-being of the Body. In practical terms, this means that every one of us needs to use our spiritual gifts in order that the Body may function as it was designed.

When the body parts are not doing what they are supposed to do, then at best the Body is dysfunctional, at worst diseased.

Dear friend, would you take a moment now and ask Holy Spirit if you are using your spiritual gift appropriately in the Body?

The second part of Jesus’ design for the Church is found in Ephesians 4:11-13: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”   

This is often referred to as the fivefold model. When you look at the book of Acts and read through the epistles, it is easy to see that all five offices were active and functioning.

Sadly, over the centuries, pastors have played a leading role with teachers and evangelists relegated to the supporting cast. Prophets are granted guest appearances on occasion. Apostles seem to play “the heavy” if they ever show up at all.

The passage from Ephesians 4 seems to suggest that all five offices are needed for the Body to be built up, for us all to retain unity and attain maturity. Elsewhere, Paul stresses the significance of the first two offices when he says that the Church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”(Ephesians 2:20).

Jesus’ design for the Church is key to realizing His desire for the Church.

Would you say that this design is part of the Church where you are situated right now?

So, friends, on this Day 16 of the Fast, shall we pray that the Body of Christ around the world will implement both critical components of Jesus’ design?

Let us pray that every follower of Jesus will discover and deploy his/her spiritual gift(s) for the building up of the Body.

Let us also pray that the leaders of the Church will recognize the need for the fivefold ministry to be in place first of all. Then, may they have the courage to make the necessary changes to ensure that Jesus’ design is honoured and His desire fulfilled.