Unity. Body-part 2
Lack of order
A lack of order within the body of Christ is the next reason I believe, is hindering Christians from walking in unity.
Let’s start by looking at the dictionary definition of Order:
The arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method.
1 Corinthians 12:18 tell us:
“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”
God arranges, He places and He chooses
To place is one thing. To place, in this context, was God saying that these particular bits belong in the design and infrastructure of the human body. These parts belong together and the environment they belong in is a human body, not a kettle, tree or computer. Placement is about belonging. Something is placed where it belongs. For those that have moved house, you would understand that one of the biggest challenges before arranging the space is placement. Items must first be placed in the right parts of the house before you then arrange in the plan you have for each room.
When an individual turns from their old ways and believes in Christ, they then become are part of the body of Christ. In other words they are placed in His body
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
If we go to the creation story you will see where this concept of placement begins:
“Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made.”
Genesis 2:8
God creates the context/backdrop for Adam.
Adam in placed in a space where God designed him to thrive best
God creates an ecosystem that is governed by order. There was a structure, there were systems, there were varying functionalities, there were varying capacities, there where different shapes, there were different sizes, there were different strengths, there were differing weaknesses, there were different roles and responsibilities, there were varying modes of operation that were intricately woven together in order to sustain this place that God had created. The thing that is key to this narrative is that God places Adam AFTER doing all the groundwork.
Adam was placed in the Garden to govern and ensure that the domain he was placed in was in order and governed effectively. Up until the fall of mankind (Genesis 3) Adam was successful in his assignment because he followed the instructions given by God. I always find it interesting that God establishes order in creation by bringing different living organisms together in perfect synchronisation for the purpose of fulfilling a common goal — to glorify Him.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.
Psalm 19:1
O Lord, how manifold are thy works In wisdom has thou made them all;
the earth is full of thy creatures.
Psalm 104:24
It is God that has established the order of unity!
GUYSSSSSSS ! In Genesis 1:26 what does the Bible say?
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
Let us…. LET us….. LET US… US
The triune Godhead said let US make human beings in our own image, to be like US. “Us” and “our” are collective words that speak of union, communion, community and oneness of mind and agenda. So this means that in the beginning, the eternal Godhead make a collective decision to build/create the human representation of the eternal mystery of the Godhead.
Now that we can see order in creation, not long after a man called Noah is asked to build something that will help represent the concept of order. In Genesis chapter 6 we see that God instructs Noah to build an ark that would act as a safe haven for his family and any living thing that entered it before an impending flood. The instructions came with exact specifications and specific materials to build with. The ark had a specific height, specific length & breath, a specific shape and openings. Having a specific blueprint and specifications mean that an expected result is guaranteed when executed accurately. If the specifications are not accurate or the blueprint is not followed then the expected deliverable will be unsuitable and cannot be rendered fit for purpose. God gave Noah all the necessary information he needed because if the instruction were followed accurately, the ark would successfully fulfil the purpose for which it was built- a vehicle of salvation. Different attributes, materials, functionalities coming together to fulfil ONE purpose- this is ORDER
Noah, his family and all the living creatures that entered the ark were saved from the flood that God had sent to cover the earth.
** Sidenote revelation: When God establishes His order in a space, salvation in some form should be expected**
So God establishes order in the earth by bringing different entities into alignment, uniting them with the aim of achieving one goal.
The ark is a prophetic representation of God when we join the connecting dots:
- 3 floors in the ark- Father, Son, Holy Spirit
- 1 ark made of 3 floors- One God, three persons
- 1 entrance- One way to access God, through His son Jesus Christ
- 1 window- a window that was used to send the dove (representative of the Holy Spirit, sent into the world to be the intelligence of God in the world, convicting unbelievers of sins and guiding believers in truth)
- 1 roof- one umbrella , Salvation through Christ alone is the passport through which we have an Access All Areas pass with God
There are quite a few scriptural narratives that can help explain order (The ark of Covenant, The Tabernacle, the Levitical priesthood, Elijah building the altar at Carmel, Nehemiah rebuilding the walls, Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones and Solomon’s Temple are a few you can look into) but that would be a year’s worth of preaching content so ……..I’m just going to get back to the narrative of the body.
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”
Psalm 133:1
To dwell means to be together in place.
In other words to “fellowship together in a designated place”
It is like oil that flows upon the head > down the beard > down the garments- There is an order to this thing!
In scriptures oil was used to bless, to smear or to anoint. To anoint was to pronounce a blessing or to consecrate something for a holy purpose. So as much as we read Psalm 133 and think “unity unity unity!!!!”, there is actually a 3-fold cord that is being presented to us.
- Unity
- Blessing
- Consecration
Have you also wondered why Aaron is used in this Psalm? I believe that the Psalmist was trying to highlight that this whole reality is connected to priesthood, OUR priesthood.
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”
1Peter 2:9
Unity is demonstrated in our priesthood
In this scripture, the oil starts from the head and then flows downwards. This presents a prophetic view of what Jesus himself walked out in His time on earth, but also what He desired and required His body to walk out.
In one of his last encounters with His disciples, Jesus prays a powerful prayer (The Priestly Prayer in John 17):
“That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
John 17:21
Jesus is praying that His disciples walk in unity, just as He walked in unity with Father and Holy Spirit.
“That they all may be one”. Different disciples, different experiences, different strengths, different weakness, different abilities, different relationships all coming together, in ORDER, to BE a physical representation of an awesome spiritual reality
It starts with the HEAD
Jesus is the head of the church and so He models it first. Now, it’s time for this reality to trickle down the body.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place..
Acts 2:1
One accord, in one place
Blue letter Bible commentary states the Greek word homothymadon means:
A unique Greek word, used 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to “rush along” and “in unison”. The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ’s church.
Note- pitch- tone. The beauty behind a note, pitch or tone is that they can co-exist harmoniously IF they are matched in an orderly man. This is what we call a harmony in musical terms. This is interesting because one translation of Psalm 133:1 uses “harmony” instead of unity and this paints a beautiful picture of what we see in the reality of unity. The saints in the upper room (in the book of Acts) were diversely gathered and that was the backdrop for Holy Spirit to fill the first church of the New covenant. Irrespective of who they were, where they came from, previous experiences and other matters, they knew that coming together (being obedient to Jesus’ instructions) would deliver the blessing that was promise to them- Holy Spirit
There’s so many ways to break this down but I’m sure by now you get the point. The power of ONE is initiated by harmony, harmony is a function of order/arrangement- There’s a method to the madness! Or should I say…. Goodness haha
Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common
Acts 4:32
Oneness of heart- Oneness of mind
I’m not trying to state the obvious here again BUT………. the blessing that came for the early church was a fruit of their oneness as they aligned in their heart and mind agenda.
So where do I go from here?
As you grow in the knowledge of God and His will, His purpose in your life will be made known and that is one of the key ways for God to arrange people within the body of Christ. The understanding of Gods calling upon your life, the gifting He has placed within you and understanding where and to whom you have been called to serve are also key ways for God to bring us into His divine arrangement.
Arrangement is a key piece because it looks at how the pieces are put together based on their roles, purpose and functions. The elbow does not belong on the head and the heart is not located in the thigh. Every single part of the human body is intricately wired in a way that in natural order should function in a way that allows every single part to thrive and flourish. Each part of the body function optimally when they are arranged in the right manner.
One beautiful thing that I have learnt about arrangement is that proper arrangement in the body requires agreement. Some of you must be thinking how does agreement come into it? Well, In order for the the body parts to be arranged in an orderly manner there must be connectivity. This connectivity dictates that the relevant parts are joined in order for the body to function according to its original design. This means that part A must acknowledge part B and also recognise that part B is needed in order for it to function as it was created. This brings the agreement because each part understands their remit, role and jurisdiction in the grand scheme of things and so subsequently they allow themselves the time and space to do what they need to do.
God wired the human body in a way the every of part of the body acknowledges the existence and purpose of the heart and they collectively and intrinsically agree that the heart must do what it must in order for every other part of the body can do what it was designed to do.
In the beginning, the writer of Genesis describes to us that God brought order to the chaos. He brought order by putting things in place and then arranging them according to His purpose for each of them. The sun, moon and stars each are unique entities and have their place. But they have unique characteristics, responsibilities and remits which determined how they were arranged by God. Each of those entities understand their role as well as the roles of the other parties. This understanding and natural wiring allows an agreed way of working between them and a synergy that allows them to function at an optimal level because they are not working in competition with each other but completion.
Jesus wants to establish order within His body because He wishes to bring the unity that will guarantee the completion of a mature body (Ephesians 4)
Order disrupts the power of chaos and enforces the power of a functioning original design.
Jesus did not die so that there would be chaos in His body but rather that His body will come into alignment.
As I round up, I want to ask you something.
Do you know a key reason as to why Jesus also wants to establish a mature body?
A mature body is able to handle the weight of it’s head.
If we want to see a body that fully represents that heart, mind, nature and government of Christ then we got to get back in order, get back in alignment, get back to understanding, get back to being connected with others
“Foxes have holes, birds have nests ……..” if you don’t know the rest (Matthew 8:20)
Order is not optional.
Order is the standard
“Make sure you take time to reflect- inspect- take account in retrospect. When you prayerfully introspect then you’ll see the bigger picture as the dots connect”
Love & Peace from Above — GC
