Earlier this month I shared some thoughts about the purpose of leadership, I stated that authority, leadership is given for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.
In that post I shared a list of all of the places the word that is translated “build up,” οικοδομη (oikodomē), is used in the New Testament. One of those references, 1 Corinthians 14:3, came up in my reading a few days ago.
In 1 Corinthians 14:3 Paul is speaking about the effect of the gift of prophecy on the Body of Christ. There are three effects of this gift on the Body, edification which is our word οικοδομη (oikodomē), exhortation, and consolation. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 12:7 that the gifts are given for the common good. That is reinforced in Ephesians 4:16 where Paul tells us that each of us, each part of the Body, as it works properly causes the building up, again οικοδομη (oikodomē), of the Body.
Bottom line? All leadership and every gift of the Spirit given to the Body, of which each believer is a recipient, has the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.
Each of us. Not just leaders. Each of us is gifted for a purpose. Each of us is to steward the gift the Spirit has given us and use it in building up our communities of faith.
As the commercial says, “Just Do It.”
In 1 Corinthians 14:3 Paul is speaking about the effect of the gift of prophecy on the Body of Christ. There are three effects of this gift on the Body, edification which is our word οικοδομη (oikodomē), exhortation, and consolation. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 12:7 that the gifts are given for the common good. That is reinforced in Ephesians 4:16 where Paul tells us that each of us, each part of the Body, as it works properly causes the building up, again οικοδομη (oikodomē), of the Body.
Bottom line? All leadership and every gift of the Spirit given to the Body, of which each believer is a recipient, has the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.
Each of us. Not just leaders. Each of us is gifted for a purpose. Each of us is to steward the gift the Spirit has given us and use it in building up our communities of faith.
As the commercial says, “Just Do It.”
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