Introduction. As God planned and made each portion of His creation, He gave it a responsibility and a specific role, seeking the perfection of the whole. Everything had a role and as each did its part, the whole became perfect. On each day of creation, God saw that all that He made was good. On the final day, He saw the completed creation and declared it was very good. (Gen. 1:31). Birds were given a body to fly and fish were created to live under water. Even the sun, clouds and the earth were given bodies necessary to accomplish their work. The function of each body in the material creation never varied and never failed. They were dependable because having no will of their own, they only and perfectly did God’s will. Since God is faithful and they do His will, they too are faithful.
Man is different. He too was given a work, but had the freewill to do God’s will or his own. Adam and Eve were created to tend the garden and were given an ordinance not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as they did this the creation remained perfect. When Satan’s lies led them to break the ordinance and replace God’s will with their own, they died and the creation was cursed. (Gen. 2:17; Ecc. 1:1-15). Now crooked, lacking, groaning, and travailing, we see clearly that substituting man’s will for God’s only brought sorrow and loss. (Rom. 8:18-24)
- “Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. 91 They continue this day according to Your ordinances, For all are Your servants.” (Ps. 119:90-91).
Man is different. He too was given a work, but had the freewill to do God’s will or his own. Adam and Eve were created to tend the garden and were given an ordinance not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as they did this the creation remained perfect. When Satan’s lies led them to break the ordinance and replace God’s will with their own, they died and the creation was cursed. (Gen. 2:17; Ecc. 1:1-15). Now crooked, lacking, groaning, and travailing, we see clearly that substituting man’s will for God’s only brought sorrow and loss. (Rom. 8:18-24)
God intervened with a new plan to restore His will. After Jesus’ death upon the cross, He built and purchased the church with His own blood. (Mt. 16:16; Acts 20:28). As Jesus left heaven, He said, “I have come to do your will O God.” (Heb. 10:7-9). He spoke often of “not My will but Yours be done.” (Jn. 4:43; 5:30; 6:38; Mt 26:42). The church reveals perfection because it was completely and wholly created as God willed it to be. In this state, the church reveals the manifold wisdom of God, even to angelic beings in heaven. (Eph. 3:10-11). Jesus built this church and the Holy Spirit revealed the exact blueprints man must use to keep the church as God willed it to be.
Just as God made a body for the sun, He made a body for His Son. The church is His body - we are the members and He is the head. If the church is to remain perfect, those within must follow Jesus and do only God’s will. The moment we place our will above God’s, we stop imitating Jesus and begin imitating Adam and Eve. Jesus came to do the will of God and as head over all things to the church, His body must follow His lead. Each Christian was “created in Christ Jesus” and placed in His body. Sinners are dead in their trespasses, but God made those in the body alive together with Him in baptism (Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 2:11-13). Everyone in the church is baptized into that one body (1Cor. 12:12-31) and is a “new creature” in a “new creation.” (Gal. 3:27; 6:15; 2Cor. 5:17).
As members of His one body over which He is head, we must follow His lead. By God’s will, the bodies of birds allow them to fly and the bodies of fish to swim. God gave Jesus a body (the church) to do the good works He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Each member in Christ’s body must choose to do God’s will or their own will. Since God created the body of Christ to restore perfection, when we walk as God prepared beforehand, we perfectly complete what God sought the body to do. Since these works were prepared beforehand, they can only be found in Scripture. If we abide in Scripture, we are genuine disciples, knowing the truth and being made free. (Jn. 8:31-32). If we leave the Scripture, we leave God, just as Adam and Eve did. (2Jn. 9). Nothing has changed! Those who do their own will bring imperfection and a curse into the church just as Adam and Eve brought into the creation. (Gal. 1:6-9). We must learn “not to go beyond the things that are written” if we are to keep the perfection of the church intact.
The human body is a perfect illustration of Christ’s body. As the human body is filled with different members given specific tasks, so also is Christ. Just as members of the human body have no will of their own and perfectly reflect the will of their Creator, each member of Christ’s body must set aside his own will, choose to do only God’s will, and perfectly reflect the will of the Creator.
As the clouds bring rain, the church brings the gospel. The church began its work in the second chapter of Acts. With the Holy Spirit in full control of the apostles’ words, it is easy to see the good works Christ’s body was created to accomplish. First, Peter preached the gospel. This was in direct obedience to Jesus’ command: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature [whole creation]. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16). Then, “those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them, 42 and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” This fulfilled another command Jesus had given to them.
Thus the work of the church is to make disciples of all the nations, baptize them, and teach them to observe all things that Jesus commanded. Since Jesus promised to be with us always until the end of the age, it is evident that this command was passed down from generation to generation. Clearly revealed and commanded as the good works God prepared beforehand, no one has the authority to change, add to, or modify these things.
The final events in Acts 2 revealed a third work God prepared beforehand: “all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.” (Acts 2:41-45). This was also commanded to the churches by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul.
Just as the material creation and the human body “continue this day according to Your ordinances,” so also now must the body of Christ. We have no more ability or right to change the work of the body of Christ as we do the body of the sun or even the members in our own body. God prepared the church to do the work of evangelism, edification (building up the body) and benevolence for needy saints. These are the works God prepared beforehand and when we do them, we set aside our own will and do only His will.
Even the gifts Jesus gave to the church reveal its work. “11 He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying [building up]) of the body of Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-16). The writings of the apostles and prophets are the foundation of every faithful church. (Eph. 2: 20-21). The evangelists take these words into all the world, preaching the gospel and starting new churches. The shepherds remain in the local church working with the evangelists and teachers to equip the saints. Whenever there is a benevolent need of fellow Christians, the church fulfills the commands to the churches of Galatia and Corinth. Each church, built on the foundation of the commands of Jesus revealed by the apostles and prophets, and part of the body of Christ, is doing these three good works. Nothing more and nothing less. When this is done, the eternal purpose of God is fulfilled.
Conclusion. How much clearer can God be? Jesus is head over all things to church which is His body. We were created in Him for the good works that God prepared beforehand. Jesus gave the gifts needed to equip the saints for the work of ministry that will build up the body over which He is the head. Members of the body of Christ need to busy themselves in the ministry of good works God prepared, refusing to substitute or add their own will. As the eye sees and the sun shines, the church, the body of Christ, does its work of evangelism, edification and benevolence under the authority and guidance of her head.
If we are to allow the head to have the preeminence in all things, we must submit to Him. Adding our own thoughts to Scripture will create a church doing our will and not God’s, creating a church that has lost its purpose, is wandering aimlessly, and is no longer holding fast to her head. The Scriptures alone reveal “how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” Only then will it be what God created it to be: “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1Tim. 3:15-16).
Just as God made a body for the sun, He made a body for His Son. The church is His body - we are the members and He is the head. If the church is to remain perfect, those within must follow Jesus and do only God’s will. The moment we place our will above God’s, we stop imitating Jesus and begin imitating Adam and Eve. Jesus came to do the will of God and as head over all things to the church, His body must follow His lead. Each Christian was “created in Christ Jesus” and placed in His body. Sinners are dead in their trespasses, but God made those in the body alive together with Him in baptism (Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 2:11-13). Everyone in the church is baptized into that one body (1Cor. 12:12-31) and is a “new creature” in a “new creation.” (Gal. 3:27; 6:15; 2Cor. 5:17).
As members of His one body over which He is head, we must follow His lead. By God’s will, the bodies of birds allow them to fly and the bodies of fish to swim. God gave Jesus a body (the church) to do the good works He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
- “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10).
Each member in Christ’s body must choose to do God’s will or their own will. Since God created the body of Christ to restore perfection, when we walk as God prepared beforehand, we perfectly complete what God sought the body to do. Since these works were prepared beforehand, they can only be found in Scripture. If we abide in Scripture, we are genuine disciples, knowing the truth and being made free. (Jn. 8:31-32). If we leave the Scripture, we leave God, just as Adam and Eve did. (2Jn. 9). Nothing has changed! Those who do their own will bring imperfection and a curse into the church just as Adam and Eve brought into the creation. (Gal. 1:6-9). We must learn “not to go beyond the things that are written” if we are to keep the perfection of the church intact.
The human body is a perfect illustration of Christ’s body. As the human body is filled with different members given specific tasks, so also is Christ. Just as members of the human body have no will of their own and perfectly reflect the will of their Creator, each member of Christ’s body must set aside his own will, choose to do only God’s will, and perfectly reflect the will of the Creator.
- “4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ.” (Rom. 12:4-5).
As the clouds bring rain, the church brings the gospel. The church began its work in the second chapter of Acts. With the Holy Spirit in full control of the apostles’ words, it is easy to see the good works Christ’s body was created to accomplish. First, Peter preached the gospel. This was in direct obedience to Jesus’ command: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature [whole creation]. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16). Then, “those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them, 42 and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” This fulfilled another command Jesus had given to them.
- “18 All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Mt. 28:18-20).
Thus the work of the church is to make disciples of all the nations, baptize them, and teach them to observe all things that Jesus commanded. Since Jesus promised to be with us always until the end of the age, it is evident that this command was passed down from generation to generation. Clearly revealed and commanded as the good works God prepared beforehand, no one has the authority to change, add to, or modify these things.
The final events in Acts 2 revealed a third work God prepared beforehand: “all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.” (Acts 2:41-45). This was also commanded to the churches by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul.
- “1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also. 2 On the first day of every week, let each one of you lay something aside, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” (1Cor. 16:1-2).
Just as the material creation and the human body “continue this day according to Your ordinances,” so also now must the body of Christ. We have no more ability or right to change the work of the body of Christ as we do the body of the sun or even the members in our own body. God prepared the church to do the work of evangelism, edification (building up the body) and benevolence for needy saints. These are the works God prepared beforehand and when we do them, we set aside our own will and do only His will.
Even the gifts Jesus gave to the church reveal its work. “11 He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying [building up]) of the body of Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-16). The writings of the apostles and prophets are the foundation of every faithful church. (Eph. 2: 20-21). The evangelists take these words into all the world, preaching the gospel and starting new churches. The shepherds remain in the local church working with the evangelists and teachers to equip the saints. Whenever there is a benevolent need of fellow Christians, the church fulfills the commands to the churches of Galatia and Corinth. Each church, built on the foundation of the commands of Jesus revealed by the apostles and prophets, and part of the body of Christ, is doing these three good works. Nothing more and nothing less. When this is done, the eternal purpose of God is fulfilled.
- “15 may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying [building up] of itself in love.” (Eph. 4:15-16)
Conclusion. How much clearer can God be? Jesus is head over all things to church which is His body. We were created in Him for the good works that God prepared beforehand. Jesus gave the gifts needed to equip the saints for the work of ministry that will build up the body over which He is the head. Members of the body of Christ need to busy themselves in the ministry of good works God prepared, refusing to substitute or add their own will. As the eye sees and the sun shines, the church, the body of Christ, does its work of evangelism, edification and benevolence under the authority and guidance of her head.
- “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. ... and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” (Col. 1:18, 2:19).
If we are to allow the head to have the preeminence in all things, we must submit to Him. Adding our own thoughts to Scripture will create a church doing our will and not God’s, creating a church that has lost its purpose, is wandering aimlessly, and is no longer holding fast to her head. The Scriptures alone reveal “how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” Only then will it be what God created it to be: “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1Tim. 3:15-16).