But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? (1 Corinthians 12: 18, NKJV).
Heavenly Parent, we come to You in no other name but the name of Your Son and our Savior Jesus Christ to thank You for Your matchless love. Please stay with us and help us to discover what is Your will for us then enable us to live according to that will, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
When we speak about the body of Christ we are usually referring to His church. He is the Rock upon which His church has been founded. Our Scripture for today is most assuring that God’s church will survive for He “has set . . . each one of them (members) . . . as He pleased.”
Oftentimes we are tossed about with many doubts whether or not God’s church will be able to withstand the rigors of absenteeism. criticism, favoritism, and all the schisms set against it by the enemy. By God’s grace it will, for He will bring in, allow to move out, and move around, the members of the body, as He sees fit!
This conversation of Jesus and His disciples, recorded in Matthew 16: 17b-18, I believe, is often misunderstood: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Emphasis provided).
Let us talk about this a while. Peter has just declared: ” ‘ “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” ‘ ” (16). Jesus’ response found in the paragraph above confirms that Peter’s recognition of Jesus as the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God, is not of human origin, but is a divine revelation from God the Father! Can you imagine how proud Peter must have felt? Always anxious to be the first to say something; needing to be reminded to listen to the Son instead (Matthew 17: 4, 5); He must have thought to himself: “Finally.”
Jesus knowing the human psyche, must have seen the necessity to keep Peter grounded after congratulating him, called him by name, for emphasis, and to get his attention, but perhaps, first and foremost, to remind him that he was just a stone (petros); and that it would take The Rock (petra), Christ Jesus, to sustain His church. This would be especially necessary when the gates of hell would attempt to cause it to fall! It is not Peter that God’s church would be built upon; but the Christ he had just confessed as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!
No human being, no matter how consecrated, and, or, how close to God, is able to sustain God’s church which has prevailed against persecution, death, false doctrines, and all the fiery darts of the evil one. So when you sit in church and contemplate the different members and compare them to the great work that lie ahead of us, even if things do not seem to be going just the way you think they should, just remember that Christ, is the “head of the church” (Ephesians 5: 22b; Colossians 1: 18a). And He is a sure foundation (Ephesians 2: 20b)!