04 Apr The Rising Body of Christ

Over the weekend just gone, millions of believers all around the world have celebrated and remembered the death and resurrection of our Lord. Through his death we have atonement, redemption, justification, and in fact are given everything we need for life in Christ. But a dead giver leaves no posterity. We are not left orphaned however because Christ is not dead, but alive.

On Sunday we celebrated the physical resurrection of the body of our Lord, Jesus. What a crowning achievement for Christ, defeating death, once and for all time, and for all people. He is our risen King, and we have hope of the resurrection for our own lives and bodies when that time comes.

But the hope is not finished there, the Body of Christ has come to mean more than just the physical body our Lord occupied during his tenure on earth. The “body” is also all the believers in Christ who are present on the earth today, and in a grander sense, in all time.

In the same way that God raised the physical body of Christ from death, the spiritual body of Christ, the Church is also being raised up around the world. There is a raising going on in our days that is different to anything God has done in the past. He is bringing better wine out to serve to this world.

Since the reformation began, and much truth has been progressively restored, one of its side effects has been to separate people on doctrinal lines. Yet in these recent times, there is a grace being given which is joining God’s people together from the heart. It’s a lot like the vision Ezekiel saw of the valley of the dry bones. The pieces of the body are coming together to form a living breathing warrior.

In the same way that the Spirit of God raised Christ from the dead, that same Spirit is working to build His body on earth into a cohesive unit that loves each other, serves each other, and works together for the cause of Christ. So there is another body that is being raised up, and you and I are a part of it.

We are seeing more and more heart in ministers fellowships, more pulpit swapping, more serving of other believers and more sacrificial giving to other ministries in our own cities. The believers are learning to love and serve each other.

It’s God’s plan, and it’s good. Keep believing, keep praying, and lend your heart for the work that Christ is doing in building His Church, which is all of His people with one heart.