Topic: BUILDING THE BODY OF CHRIST [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 23 May 2021
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ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
DATE: SUNDAY MAY 23rd, 2021.
TOPIC: BUILDING THE BODY OF CHRIST. .
TEXT: 1 COR 3:5-15, 14:26; EPH 4:11-16; COL 3:16
HYMM: S, S & S 877, Standing on the Promises that cannot Fail.
CENTRAL THOUGHT Every Christian have a role to play in building of the body of Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
The Scriptures liken the church to the human
body. The human body is a composite of many parts or Components.
Each part or organ plays its unique function
which benefits the other parts. Thus, there is a complementary or relationship symbolic
among the constituent parts of the body.
In the same vein, church, is a composition
of all born-again believers either in the
local assembly or the
church universal. Every believer is relevant and useful to God. All
believers are endowed with specific ability,
which harnessed, would lead to growth and proper functioning of the
Body of Christ. It is the focus of
this study, to help believers identify their
roles and perform them for the common good of the church.
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
By the end of this lesson, the believer should be able to:
1.identify his role or function in the Body of Christ;
- discuss the mechanism of growth in the Body of Christ
3.highlight the contributions each member can make to build the Church
- point out hindrances to performance of roles by believers;
and
- briefly explain each of the five-fold ministry gifts.
BIBLE TRUTH:
Q1. WHAT MUST EACH BELIEVER DO TO BUILD UP HIMSELF/HERSELF?
Some believers are not active in the Body of Christ because of inadequate
personal commitment. Before Jesus ventured into full-scale ministry, He adequately built
up Himself by personal study of the old testament Scriptures, reasoning with the
scribes and Doctors of His days as well as intense prayers (Luk. 2:46; Matt. 4:1-2). The
child of God cannot do otherwise. For a believer to build-up himself, he must hunger and thirst after righteousness. (Matt. 5:6). This yearning and craving for spiritual things will manifest in continuous and consistent fellowship with the brethren
both in the study of the word and in prayers (Acts 2:42). The man or woman that God
uses must be separated from the world and fully yielded unto God (Rom. 12:1-2). He
must allow the word of God to dwell richly in him (Col. 3:16) by vigorously studying it
thereby becoming an effective workman for God (2 Tim. 2:15). Above all he should
build up himself in this faith, praying always in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20).
Q2. WHAT IS THE MECHANISM OF GROWTH IN THE BODY OF CHRIST? Eph. 4:14-16
When all members play their complimentary roles in the Body of Christ spiritual growth and maturity is engendered. Members get
So grounded in Christ and His word, that they are able to shun all heretical and
deceitful doctrines and practices that abound in the world. Such a Body is cemented by the love of Christ, hence, there is no deceit but everyone is “speaking the truth” one to another. In this atmosphere, there is wholeness in the church, leading to both
spiritual and numerical growth. This was the glorious atmosphere reported in Acts
21:42-47. The church today needs a return and a renaissance of this apostolic experience.
Q.3 W H AT/CONTRIBUTIONS CAN EACH MEMBER MAKE TO BUILD THE BODY OF CHRIST? Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 1:15-17 Col. 3:16-17
Just as the human body parts or organs dispense separate but functionally- related roles, so is the Body of Christ, the church. Every member of the Body is useful
and relevant. Both adults and children, educated and illiterate , the ordained ministers as well as the rest of the congregants are useful to God. While there are roles which God in His infinite wisdom can elect some believers into, there are some others that appear some what trivial to man but highly rated by God. It is not the size or publicity of a role that matters to God but the level of faithfulness on the part of the believer in he discharge of his function. It is God that has dealt to every man the measure of faith” to serve His vineyard. In the light of the above, there are believers that God has give grace to in the ministerial
function gifts such as prophesy, Preaching, teaching, exhortation of believers,
giving, leadership and showing of mercy (helps) Rom. 12:4-8). The believer can also share his revelation or tongue in a fellowship session while another has the gift of interpretating.(i Cor. 14:26). There are others that have grace for admonition or counseling of members.Others are sanctuary keepers and song ministers that edify members with their ministration (Col. 3:16). In our technological age, other roles believers can play include, photography, working in the technical unit, publication unit, internet services, etc. The vineyard is large; hence the list is endless. In all, whatsoever area of service we are called
into, we should do it as unto the Lord. (Col. 3:17).
Q4. WHAT ARE THE HINDRANCES To EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF THESE ROLES BY BELIEVERS? (Hos. 4:6;
Acts 6:2, 18:24-25; 1 Tim. 4:12;1 Cor. 3:6)
Some of the militating factors against
performance of roles in the
Body of Christ are:
(1) Lack of knowledge: Many believers are bereft of ideas of what to do in God’s house.
(2)Internal wrangling in
the Body of Christ can lead to lack of focus and hinder performance if not swiftly handled like in the case of the early church (Acts 6:2).
(3) Insufficient knowledge of the word of God can also militate against effective playing of roles in the Church. Believers should
not be novice but sound in doctrine.
Other hindrances
(4) include: Pride, self- centeredness, fear,
discouragement, laziness, low
self-esteem, procrastination, disunity, lack of resources etc.
Q5. BRIEFLY EXPLAIN/EACH OF THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY GIFTS.
(Eph. 4:11-12;1 Cor. 12:28)
God has given gifts to the church, the Body of Christ, to effectively do the work of building the kingdom of God here on earth. The ministry gifts are different from the nine gifts of the Spirit. There are five ministry gifts that are given to the church for its maturing and edification. These gifts are the Apostle, the
Prophet, the Evangelist, the Pastor and the Teacher.
THE APOSTLE:
Apostle is the head of the ministry gifts (1 Cor 12:28) The first office of apostle that existed was that of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Hen 3:1).
Apostle is a sent one. He has a commissIon e.g. Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13). The signs of an apostle are
(1). Signs and wonders and mighty deeds follow him.
(2). A deep and real personal experience with God (1 Cor.9:1).
His works include: the ability to establish churches, and a supernatural gift of
“government”. In fact, the apostle could have the ability of all other ministry gifts evangelist, pastor, teacher and establishing people.
THE PROPHET: A Prophet
has visions and revelations in him, there is a consistent manifestation of at least two
of the revelation gifts (word of knowledge, word of Wisdom, discerning of
spirits) plus prophesy. A genuine Prophet puts the Word of God first.
THE EVANGELIST: The Evangelist is one who can bring many souls to Jesus Christ. The Evangelist travels to many places preaching. A biblical example is Philip.The Evangelist’s favorite theme is ‘salvation’. He preaches Christ and miracles and healings follow (Acts 5:5- 8)
THE PASTOR: The office of a pastor is to feed the sheep, care for them and give them
pasture. He organises a group of leaders (elders, deacons etc.) to help administrating of the local assembly.
THE TEACHER: (Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28-29; and Rom. 12:4-11.)
One who operates in the office of A teacher, teaches the word of God by a divine gift of God. It is Supernatural.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
Every Christian should strive to build up the Body of Christ as each one plays the role God has assigned him in the Body. Failure to discharge one’s responsibility in the Body of
Christ is an abuse of Divine mandate for which God will hold the individual
accountable. God rewards faithful service in His vineyard (1 Cor. 15:58).
Therefore, in love, let us
edify and strengthen the faith of one another.
MEMORY VERSE:
EPHESIANS 4:16
From whom the whole/body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase in the body unto the edifying of itself in love”
