Body Building

My friend Derek, who makes amazing salads, has well developed biceps. Probably not as bulging as the picture below but way above the average males definition. Our House Church group knows that he works out about 4-5 times a week. I’m sure if I went to the gym and worked out like he does I would have well defined muscles also. I choose not to.

Although I don’t look like this in the natural, I sometimes imagine myself looking like this in the spiritual. Have you ever imagined what you look like spiritually? Do you picture yourself as a mighty Warrior pulling down the strongholds of the dark one? If not, the question arises…how do we get there, how do we ‘work out’ spiritually?

Sometimes it’s easier if we all work out together, helping each other grow. 1 Corinthians 14:26 says…

 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

Edification or body building occurs when we all participate. Over the years, being a facilitator of House Church, this has been the greatest hurdle to overcome. Most people have been accustomed to going to a conventional church where there is no expectation of giving (except money).

There must be a paradigm shift in thinking. At first it is a struggle to engage and hear from the Lord. We are too busy or we just don’t know how to hear. It could be we don’t know what our gifts are or we don’t know how to minister our gifts in a small group setting. Ephesians 4:7-16 is another great passage…

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The last verse above is so important, especially where it says “…every part does its share…”. The mystery is that as we all share we all get built up! As a group we must be committed to going to this gym and putting in the work! It’s difficult at first but it does get easier over time.