The Body Of Christ Working Together - Part 1
"...try to resist the temptation to covet the gifts that other people have, because God knew what He was doing when He gifted you in a specific way."
How should we conduct ourselves as church piano players and church members? Why does this even matter?
Well, over the next two posts, we're going to be looking at how this relates to us and how the body of Christ should be working together in a way that brings Him glory.
Just before I get to that, I really hope the content we’ve covered over the past several weeks has been a benefit to you. Any church would be happy to know that their piano player recognises the responsibility they have to treat their fellow members and their leaders in a Christ-like way.
Of course, this is not always easy, and the main reason is that we all still struggle with remaining sin. And yet, we have been placed in close community with other believers, who also still struggle with remaining sin.
However, the reassuring thing is that God knows this. The truth is, the challenges and tensions that we often experience in those relationships can actually be the very tools God uses to help us learn to be more patient, more loving, more forgiving, and more gracious with imperfect people, and imperfect leadership, as imperfect people ourselves.
It’s so easy to underestimate the growth that occurs in our lives, and the rough edges that the Lord smoothes out, through people that rub us up the wrong way, and those we find most difficult to love.
So my encouragement to you is to step back when you find yourself in a relational challenge or conflict, and consider how God might want you to respond. Also consider how much our enemy, Satan, would love for you to get in the flesh, and dishonour Christ by your reaction.
As we think about the body of Christ working together, remember that it is the loving Christlike relationships which are the glue that holds us together as we co-labour for the Lord. And in these next two posts, we'll be looking at two main ways in which the local church, which is a local expression of the body of Christ, actually and practically works together.
Firstly…
God has given various gifts within the church so that His people can work together in unity and in dependence upon one another
The metaphor of the body, which God has given us in Scripture, reminds us of one very significant and profound truth: we need each other, and we don’t all have the same function.
That’s why we all have different gifts that God intends to be complementary. No one person has all the gifts. This draws us towards unity and co-operation with one another, rather than to operate in isolation from the body of Christ.
Listen to these words from Romans 12:3-5…
[Romans 12:3-5 ESV] 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
I love how Paul begins that passage with the reminder for us to be humble. We are called to not think more highly of ourselves than we should. This is because we actually need other people in our lives who are stronger in areas where we are weak and are more capable in areas in which we have little ability. This keeps us humble and dependent on others in a healthy way.
[Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV] 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
So, as a church piano player, look after your relationships, and never look at your role in isolation from the rest of the church. Rather, see it as part of the whole, where you are seeking faithfully to carry out your function, while other members carry out theirs.
And also, try to resist the temptation to covet the gifts that other people have, because God knew what He was doing when He gifted you in a specific way.
Fight against it! We all need to fight it!
So that’s the first main way that the body of Christ works together: through the different gifts that each member has, working in unity together for the greater cause.
Next week, we'll look at the second point relating to how we should conduct ourselves.
[Return to The Church Piano Player Website]
This blog post was written by pastor and pianist Kris Baines, from The Church Piano Player. Kris lives in the UK with his family, having recently moved back from New Zealand where he worked as a pastor for the past 26 years (also leading worship/worship teams). Kris has also spent over 35 years writing, recording, and performing music and is now bringing all that combined experience together to help equip church piano/keyboard players.
Check out the church piano player website for more information on online courses by Kris Baines.
📧WANT TO RECEIVE NEW BLOG POSTS DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX?📧
SIGN UP BELOW
