Growing Up Together -- February 18, 2009

According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 4:49

The Levites were given to Aaron, the high priest, to carry out the duties of worship. They were especially responsible for moving the tabernacle so that God’s Presence could continue with the Israelites as they traveled to the Promised Land. Each Levite was appointed a specific task then that responsibility was written down so that there was no ambiguity about accountability.

Like the Levites, we are all given to our High Priest, Jesus. Like them, we are responsible for making a place for the Presence to live so God can live among us as He leads us to the abundant life He promised. We too are accountable for our assignment. This application makes us responsible not only to our Father but to those in leadership over us, but there is a more important reason to do our assigned part in God’s service.

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from 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 of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16

Paul teaches us that it is only when we function together in the assignments given to us by God will we come to unity, understanding, maturity, discernment, and effectiveness. This dynamic applies to us as the group or the individual. You can be a believer following Jesus but He has designed our relationship with Him to incorporate each other for fullness. This is why we cannot remove ourselves from a local fellowship of believers even when they are not functioning properly. Only in the context of the group can we grow to all that God has for us. It is why we remain connected to the larger body of Christ through our denomination. Only as we align with Christ and speak the truth to each other in love (knowing that we aren’t going to quit on each other) that we can grow up into Christ.

Numbered in His Service,

Pastor Jason