So then, we may no longer be children, tossed like ships to and fro between chance gusts of teaching, and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, the prey of the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men - (gamblers engaged) in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead.

Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth in all things - speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him, Who is the Head, even Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One.

For because of Him, the whole body (the church, in all its various parts closely) joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part with power adapted to its need is working properly (in all its functions), grows to full maturity, building itself up in love. Eph. 4:12-16 (Amplified).

Now in order to accomplish His plans and purposes for His Church, Paul tells us in the 11th verse of the same chapter: "He Himself appointed and gave men to us, some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of the flock) and teachers."

In I Corinthians 12:8-28, the Spirit is seen as enduing the members of the Body of Christ with spiritual gifts for various ministries. In the above passage, certain Spirit-endued men are themselves the gifts whom the glorified Christ gives to the Church. These men with various gifts exercise their ministry for the whole Body of Christ under the direct control of the Head of the Church Himself. This is one of the ascension blessings of our victorious Lord.

Notice the repeated word "some." The use of this word reveals the striking fact that these gifted men are directed by the Holy Spirit into their particular sphere of labor for the Lord. At various stages in the development of a local New Testament church to its full stature of manhood in Christ, it needs different types of ministry at different times. While the New Testament church, composed of born-again people, is usually founded by evangelists, it is built up through the ministry of pastors and Bible teachers. Absolutely nothing in Christ's service is left to mere human judgment or self-choosing. Even an apostle wasn't permitted to choose his place of service (see Acts 17:7-8).

These gifted brothers were given to the Body of Christ for a threefold ministry: for the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ.

And it's these same Spirit-anointed ministers whom the Spirit would use to bring revival to an assembly which has fallen below the standard God has set for His church and which languishes in a sub-normal condition. The goal of their ministry is set forth in the foregoing Scripture in a clear, logical fashion: it is that the church might attain to and maintain constantly a oneness in the faith, a full, accurate knowledge of the Son of God, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, deliverance from spiritual adolescence, and a smooth harmonious functioning of the Body, with all its members working properly.

On, dear reader, ponder and pray over this Master Plan. Your heavenly Father can never be satisfied with anything less. Oh, for our blessed Lord to be fully recognized in His Church by the world!

One Lord's Day in London, a father who hadn't been able to attend the morning service asked his little boy at the dinner table what the pastor's message had been about. His son told him that the preacher had spoken from Revelation 1:20 and that he talked about the seven candlesticks which represented the seven churches of Asia. The father noticed that during the mean, his son was unusually thoughtful, but suddenly his face brightened as he exclaimed, "Oh, Father, wouldn't the Lord Jesus look lovely in the center if all the candlesticks were burning brightly!"

The love of Christ must permeate throughout the entire Body. We must "speak truly, deal truly, live truly." How solemn the thought that one individual member can affect the health of other members of the body or of the whole assembly! As A.T. Pierson said, "If the Spirit dwells in the Body of Christ, and if left to work His own will, He will quicken the whole Body. Members will have a new care for one another, suffering and rejoicing together. There will be a holy jealousy for the welfare and happiness of all who belong to the mystical Body and an earnest and loving cooperation in all work. All schism, whether manifest in inward estrangement or in outward separation, becomes impossible so far as the Spirit of Truth indwells; and all apathy and inactivity in the face of a dying world would give way to sympathetic activity when and so far as the Spirit of Life thrills the Body, even as all ignorance of God and superstitious worship of form flee like owls of the night when the Spirit of God shines in His divine splendor."

The Body can only function harmoniously and maintain its position of perfect health when all the members exercise the gifts which the Spirit of God has given to them. Oh, how many paralyzed members there are in the Body of Christ! If these gifts which have been given to the various members could only operate in the love of Christ, what a leap forward the progress of the Body would be. It's the solemn obligation of every believer to contribute to the health and growth of the whole Body. This can only be possible when all believers are filled with the Holy Spirit and have an overflowing love and loyalty to the blessed Head - and thus to one another. Jealousies, back-bitings and gossiping which grieve the Spirit of God and bring discord to the functioning of the Body would be done away with.

Nay, the Spirit of God is grieved and quenched because so many members of His glorious Body aren't manifesting the beauty and glory of their Lord. They have remained spiritual babes; they haven't grown up. When they ought to be giants in the faith, they've become spiritual dwarfs. They have no real deep, accurate, spiritual penetration into the Holy Scriptures and are thus "tossed to and fro like ships, between chance gusts of teaching and waver with every change of wind of doctrine." These babies cause untold harm inside the church, because they are always quarreling among themselves and seeking to quarrel with others. They contribute absolutely nothing to the building up of the Body of Christ in love.

How we need to pray to God to send revival to the Body of Christ! Let us pray: Oh, God, awaken and empower those men whom Thou hast given as gifts to Thy Church! Cleanse and quicken and fill each member of Thy Body that the spiritual gifts may operate harmoniously for Thy glory. Strengthen our hearts with love that Thou mayest rejoice in the unity of Thy Body. Most of all, oh, God, cleanse and fill our lampstands and trim the wicks, that our lights may shine brightly to glorify and magnify our blessed Lord. Revive Thy work, oh, God, and prepare the Bride for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This is copyrighted material from James Stewart's book Come O Breath!, available from Revival Literature, PO Box 6068, Asheville, NC 28816.