Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Today's verse is Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 23. We're going to just jump right in. It says, “And the church is His body. It is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.” This is a really powerful verse for those of us who are followers of the way of Jesus and attend what we would call a local church body.
How the Body Functions
That word there, if you've never made the connection, comes from this idea that Christ is the head and we are the body. In other words, we're carrying out the mission and the message that flows from the thinking of the headship of Christ. It's interesting when this analogy is used. Paul references it often here in Ephesians, also 1 Corinthians. This idea of being a body is really important because when you think about a body and how it works, we know that a body needs all of the parts to work together so that it operates the way that it was intended. We also know that it is very easy for a body to begin to operate differently than it was designed to operate when you are putting the wrong things into your body. There's so many different examples of how this could play out, but I just think about how eating different types of food affects the body in different ways.
Sometimes you can eat things and it starts to make the body feel a little bit sick. Sometimes you can eat certain things and it shows on the body as you continue to consume them. There's also really good things that you can put in your body that fuel and fill your body, and make it work more efficiently.
Applying This to the Church
Think about this in terms of the church as well. Christ is the head and we are the body, and the scripture talks about how we are certainly and absolutely called to live from the reality of His leadership. You and I know that as human beings, even though a part of this body, there are things that we can allow to infiltrate the body that start to affect the way the body works.
Before we know it, this body, which was designed to fulfill the leadership of Christ, begins to do things differently because we're not solely receiving what Christ wants for us to be and do, but we allow the influence of other voices, the influence of the things that can taint and affect our humanity, to begin to live out things according to what we think is best or what others think is best.
As that infection begins to permeate, the body stops reflecting the headship of Christ. Today, when I think about applying this verse, I think about how we can consider our part that we play in the body. Where do we fit in this equation? What has God called us to do and be as a part of the body? What are we allowing to fill and fuel our hearts and minds that affect the way that we live out this call to be a part of Christ's body?
