ANATOMY OF THE CHURCH

Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. ~Colossians 1:18 (NLT)

 

The human body is made up of cells, tissue, organs, and organ systems that together make one organism. Like the human body, the Church is one organism made up of believers that live all over the world. Its cells are individual believers, its tissue are family units, its organs are assemblies, and its organ systems are spiritual gifts.

Spiritual gifts are given to the body of Christ by Holy Spirit Mother to help the body live and maintain its health (1 Cor. 12:7). These gifts are not offices, titles, or positions of authority, but are instead measures of grace given to the Church as divine assistance, something that God has always done for His people as He is the source of help. Each gift is valuable, no one gift is greater than the other, and though one person may have multiple gifts, no individual has all of them. Their purpose, therefore, is to glorify God.

  • The gift of helps is an extension of the grace God has shown mankind since the beginning of time through His Help, the Holy Spirit (Wis. 8:4). Therefore every spiritual gift given to the body has its source in Help and is a gift of helps.

    But just as Holy Spirit Mother helps in a number of ways, there are individuals who have been gifted a number of skills by Her to assist the body in multiple ways. These gifts include marriage, as wives are given to help (Gen. 2:18-20; Sir. 36:24), and the Levites of the Tabernacle and Temple time periods who assisted in priests in multiple ways (Num. 3:5-9; 1 Chron. 23:28). The priests helped in a number of ways by aiding in the nation’s worship and teaching them the Lord’s commands. The Old Testament prophets helped by declaring God’s messages and writing them down. (Some used scribes, which is also a form of help.) The apostles also helped in many ways by preaching, teaching, and writing.

  • To be an apostle means to be sent. Therefore, the call to apostleship is the call to go.

    The apostolic gift for the Church (New Covenant body of believers) is a continuation of God’s redemptive call to restore humanity to fellowship with Him as they did before the fall (Gen. 3). Since God’s desire is for all of mankind to be saved, He sends human messengers as His representatives to deliver messages of repentance and salvation. In this way, Moses (Ex. 3:10, 12, 14-16), Jonah (Jonah 1:2; 3:2), Jeremiah (Jer. 1:7, 17), and the rest of the Old Testament prophets who traveled to deliver God’s messages were all apostles.

    The apostolic gift is different from the New Covenant office (title/position) of apostle. Those who held the office of an apostle were the unique twelve that Jesus called out, personally trained, and gave authority to (Mark 3:13-19). They were a unique group of men who came from a variety of backgrounds. After His resurrection and ascension back to heaven they continued His ministry by spreading the Gospel message, starting churches (assemblies), and teaching and training believers in the Way of Christ and the New Covenant.

    Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus (Matt. 27:3-5), was an apostle. After he committed suicide the remaining apostles determined he needed to be replaced. The replacement had to have been with Jesus during the entirety of His earthly ministry. They knew, however, that this apostle had to be the one chosen by God (Acts 1:24). So after praying and casting lots (something done during Old Testament times to determine the will of God, [Num. 27:21]), Matthias was selected. More became apostles later, including Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament, and James, the brother of Jesus (Gal. 1:19). (Also Barnabus [Acts 14:4, 14], Silas, and Timothy [1 Thes. 1:1; 2:4-7].)

    All of these apostles died (most were martyred) by the end of the first century. Therefore the gift of apostleship that is still present and active in the Church today does not carry the same authority as that of the first-century apostles. This is because the command that Jesus, the first Apostle and cornerstone of the New Covenant Church (Heb. 3:1; Eph. 2:20), gave His apostles to go and spread His teachings throughout the world (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8; 13-28) has already been fulfilled. (Christianity is a worldwide faith). Furthermore, the worldwide Church canonized their written works as Scripture centuries ago.

    The gift of apostleship is expressed today through missionaries. Like the first-century apostles, they go where God sends them and deliver His saving message of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Their work includes traveling to foreign countries, teaching the Bible, and training ministers in the service of the Lord so that ministry may continue after they leave. The call to missionary work is therefore a call to sacrifice personal wants and comforts, as going into foreign territories is not always safe and the Gospel message is not always warmly received. Biblical evidence of this is seen in Paul, who endured many hardships as God’s chosen apostle to the Gentiles (2 Cor. 11:22-33). But one who is called to help the body this way will do so, understanding that submitting to God’s call and obediently following HIs leadership is their worship.