By Tom Shanklin

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:27-31, KJV).

If you have received Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, you individually are part of a supernatural spiritual body of Christ. It is not an association. It is not a company. It is not a fraternity. It is Christ’s supernatural spiritual body.

Through sin man was separated from God. Adam, the first man, sinned and brought death on the human race.

God revealed our sinfulness to us by the law of God and the scripture says that ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We have broken the moral law of God and deserve death, hell and eternal separation from God.

But God in His mercy, sent His only begotten son, who was born of a virgin. He was not like any one else that walked the face of the earth. He was all God and all man. He was God in the flesh. He was the second Adam and the beginning of the new creation order, the body of Christ. He is the firstborn of many brethren. He has the preeminence, but we are his brothers and sisters. Colossians 2:9-10 says, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”

Jesus lived a spotless, sinless life. He was not without temptation, but he was without sin and He became the spotless lamb of God that takes away the sins of the whole world.

Jesus went to the cross. The Jews hung him out of envy. The devil worked to destroy Him. But through it all it was God’s plan to save humanity through the sacrifice of His Son. When Jesus hung on that cross of Calvary, he died as “the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth.”  God had planned His death as a substitution for us. He died in our place. He took the punishment that we deserved. When he gave up the ghost, he said, “It is finished.” The power of sin was broken and the way was made for us to enter into the presence of God and know Him as our Father.

They laid “the body of Christ” in the grave. His disciples wept and mourned. On the third day, the women came with spices for his body, but it was too late, He was risen from the dead. The body of Christ was alive. Alive forevermore.

Jesus spent time with His disciples after his resurrection and then He ascended unto the Father in heaven where today he sits at the right hand of the throne of God. Thomas said, “My Lord and My God.” and God has made him, as Peter said, “both Lord and Christ.”

But through it all, he poured out His Spirit. It is by this Holy Spirit that we are made part of the “His body.” The scripture says, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:17, KJV). We are joined to the Lord, united with Him spiritually and have become a part of the body of Christ. Now the body of Christ is no longer one person, but many. No longer is the body in one pair of shoes, but many. Not only “the man from Galilee,” but men and women from the far corners of earth, united in faith and by the Holy Spirit, and marching on with anointed footsteps to conquer the forces of darkness and bring release to the earth.

And God has given us power to be witnesses through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He said out of our bellies shall flow rivers of living water. As we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we are empowered as world-changers to bring world redemption.

A Body with a Mission

When Jesus left the earth, He gave His body a mission. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15, KJV).

Our mission is to take this message and salvation to the world—to proclaim the blood of Jesus as the remedy for the judgment and the spirit of death which is upon the world. Go and preach the Good News, He said.

He sent us as sheep among wolves…messengers of light in a dark world. But He sent us with equipment to do the work he called us to do. He gave us the gift of the Holy Ghost. He equipped us. He enabled us. He empowered us to change the world. In the book of Acts, it was said that the Christians had “turned the world upside down.” They brought a divine invasion of reformation and restoration. They were world changers. And that is the call of God upon the Body of Christ today—to go forth in the power of the Spirit to change the world that gravely needs a Savior.

1 Corinthians 12 talks about the gifting and calling of the body of Christ. He says that “ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.” The fullness of the ministry of Christ was found in the person of Jesus. Today, the fullness of that ministry is found in the corporate, many-membered body of Christ. None of us have it all, but we each have a part of the ministry of the Body of Christ. As we work together, the body functions, ministry is accomplished and lives our changed. Every part is important and essential to the work of God. No one is exempt from fulfilling the great commission.

Every Part is Needed

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? (1 Corinthians 12:28-30, KJV).

Not everyone is called into a preaching ministry. He gave the great commission to all the disciples on the day of Pentecost, but it was Peter who stood up and preached the Gospel on the day of Pentecost.

Ephesians 4.11 tells us, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (Ephesians 4:11-12, KJV).”

Verse 12 in the Amplified version reads, “His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church).”

God has a plan for these five ministry gifts. It is not that they should do all the ministry. It is not that they should clean the church, pass the offering basket, counsel all the people, pray for all the sick people, do all the teaching, all the witnessing, all the grass mowing and all the book work. NO, his intention for the 5-fold ministry is that they should equip God’s people, so that they might do the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body, the church. The church is built by the church. God’s work is carried on by his many-membered body.

Every  ministry is valuable and important. God does not lift up a particular individual above another. Those who lead, those who preach and teach are not any better than those who function in other ministries. To minister means to serve. And God says that He chooses servants to be leaders. People who are “natural leaders” or who are the dominate personalities in the natural often make poor leaders, until that part of their nature is broken and brought into submission to Christ. It is the humble servants who make the best leaders, because they view their leadership as a service, rather than a position of status in the church or community.

The Ministry of Helps

One of the ministries mentioned in 1 Cor. 12.28 is the ministry of helps. In the Greek, this is a very deep theological word which means “to help” or to aid. In other words, it means, helping out. When you help in the church or with the work of the ministry, you are a very valuable and intricate part of the body of Christ. Like the function of  all the various ministries in the Body, this ministry can bring increase to the body and can cause people to be saved, set free and to become mature in Christ.

God is bringing light to the Ministry of Helps in this day. Many of God’s people are coming alive to the fact that God has a plan for them in the ministry of helps. God’s work is not limited to preachers and teachers, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, but includes a great variety of ministries.

The ministry of helps is a supernatural anointed ministry, as much a preaching, teaching or praying for the sick. God will give gifts of the Spirit to enable you to function in the ministry of helps.

I’ll never forget the woman who was in charge of turning on the furnace at a church where I pastored. She would go early in the morning to turn the heat up and then return home. One Sunday morning, she was on the way home and the Lord prompted her to go back to the church and check the furnace. It had never misfired before, but this time the furnace had failed to light. She restarted it and our building was warm for service that morning. Thank God for the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of helps.

Ushers, greeters, nursery workers, television technicians, sound people, musicians and others are realizing that they have a great part in the move of God today and that by their hands nations shall be changed, in Jesus name.

Small Group Ministry

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, (Acts 2:46, KJV).

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Acts 5:42, KJV).

In the days of the early church, the ministry of Christ was carried not only in the “temple” (large gatherings) but in small gatherings in homes. The ministry of small home groups is another area that is coming to the forefront in these days.

As we are realizing the need for close fellowship and ministry to individual needs, God is revealing the model of small groups to meet those needs. This again is a release of the ministry of the Body of Christ. Through this model, the body of Christ is released to fulfill the scripture to care for one another.

In contrast to the old model, where all the ministry came from the clergy, where the professional ministry did all the preaching, teaching, praying and counseling, God is now releasing His church to function under anointed leadership, and to minister to the needs of believers and unbelievers through small groups.

As a pastor, I have come to the realization that there is no way that I can meet the needs of all the people. Even in a relatively small church, it is impossible for one person to do everything. It requires a team. The small group ministry releases the team to do the work of ministering towards building up Christ’s body, the church.

In the small groups, people worship together, study the word together, ask questions, pray for one another and fellowship together. In this way, needs are met that cannot be met in the large gathering. People begin to pray for one another and care for one another, according to the Lord’s will.

Pastor Paul Yonggi Cho of Seoul, Korea discovered the value of small groups through a tremendous trial in his life.

Pastor Cho was a very aggressive, ambitious minister, to a fault. He set tremendous goals for himself and his church and was able to achieve many things. The problem was, whatever was done, he was the doer of it. He thought that nothing could function properly without his personally being involved. Admittedly, he thought of himself as “the great Cho.”

But one day, “the great Cho” fell. He was baptizing believers in water. Others offered to help with the baptismal service, but Pastor Cho thought that he was the only one who could do it properly. As he insisted on personally baptizing a multitude of believers, his body grew weaker and weaker and head started spinning and he collapsed.

Pastor Cho had hit bottom physically, mentally and emotionally. He was totally drained.

From that time, he could not find the strength to do his daily tasks of ministry. Often he could only preach for a few minutes before collapsing behind the pulpit. The “great Cho” had fallen.

He sought God with great fervor for His healing, quoting and confessing scriptures and with continual prayer, but to no avail.

During this time he grew concerned for the welfare of his church, since he was not available to counsel and pray for everyone. God gave him a plan to establish small groups in his church. He would appoint leaders over the various groups and they would help him to shepherd the flock and reach out to the community.

He presented the idea to his board of deacons, who thought it was a wonderful idea, but  said that there was no way that they could find the time to lead these groups.

Pastor Cho went back to prayer. Now, at this time in Korea, the culture was such that the men worked long hours and most of the women stayed home and took care of the families. The Lord began to deal with Cho about using the women as leaders of the groups. This was a revolutionary idea, since women were not highly esteemed in the church or the country.

However, he started the groups with women leaders and his mother-in-law helped him organize and oversee the groups. When people would complain about the female leadership, he would tell them that the women were operating under delegated authority from the pastor which validated their ministry. As long as they would work with the leadership of the pastor there would be a proper line of spiritual authority.

At first the people of his church resisted, but in time the groups took off and began to function in a powerful role of ministry in the city of Seoul. The groups grew and multiplied. Many people were reached for the Gospel and the church through the groups and consequently Pastor Cho’s church multiplied.

At the time of his breakdown, Pastor Cho’s church was numbered at 2,500. After the groups started, they lost track of the number of people who were involved in the ministry of Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea. By the time they were able to count again, the church had grown to over 17,000. . . and all without the “great Cho.” The great Cho had died and a new Cho had arisen. A preacher, yes, but also a leader of leaders, who had learned to delegate authority and release the body of Christ into it’s mission. The last I heard, Pastor Cho’s church numbered 750,000 people, by far the largest local church in the world.

Pastor Cho’s groups had their problems. There were those who wanted to be “Absolons” and rebel and start their own churches. There was erroneous doctrine which had to be corrected. And there were other issues. Pastor Cho learned by experience how to govern the groups and how to lead them to “bear much fruit.”

In the small group, not only the leader becomes a minister, but the whole group. The people minister one to another. Some people are put in charge of worship, others in charge of outreach, others in charge of fellowship. . . and through it all, God creates ministry.

One of the most exciting aspects of the small group ministry is its potential for evangelism. It is a great non-threatening environment in which people can invite their unsaved neighbors and friends for a time of fellowship. As the Gospel is shared through testimony, scripture and prayer, others come to realize the life available for them in Christ.

An other added benefit of the small group ministry is a training ground for ministry. Those who are called into the 5-fold ministry can be trained and forged by ministering from “house to house.” My own ministry in the word of God began in home Bible studies.

Ministry Motivated by Love

In 1 Cor. 12.31, Paul said that he would show them a more excellent way. The more excellent way is love. He was talking about ministry, spiritual gifts, various ministries, etc., and then he said, “I shew you a more excellent way—love.

Jesus said, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”(John 15:9, KJV). God’s love flows out of heaven through Jesus and unto us. Like Jacob’s ladder, Jesus became our divine connection with heaven. Now by the Holy Spirit He flow to us and through us to reach out to a lost and dying world.

Love is the key to all successful ministry. I have found, in my experience, that the flow of life that God brings through ministry is a flow of love. When I get in the pulpit, full of love for God and love for the people, there’s an anointing from heaven to set the captives free.

Our motivation for ministry, whether it’s working in the nursery or preaching to 10,000 people must be the love of God. Only then will it have meaning.

Out of Maintenance, into Invasion

We need to recognize the changes that God is bringing into the body of Christ in this hour. Many who have been “warm-the-pew” Christians are learning that their function goes beyond one or two hours on Sunday morning. They are part of a supernatural, anointed many-membered body that is changing the world with Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are living in the hour of revival. God is bringing a spiritual hunger and a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But in this hour, we cannot sit back and expect the harvest that God is bringing to take care of it self. We need to ask the Lord of the harvest to laborers. We need to release the Body of Christ to bring in a preserve the harvest.

It is time for new wineskins to contain the new wine. We need structures in our church that will insure people don’t “fall through the cracks.”

It time for God’s people to get off the bottle and become nurse maids themselves. The time is come that ye ought to be teachers. God is no longer satisfied with maintenance ministry. He is looking for an invading force that will preach the Gospel and set the captives free.

That invading force is the body of Christ, a many-membered body with many differing functions, a body equipped by God to change the world. We are not called to be conformed to this world, or to let the world-system invade us, but we are to bring Christ into this world with power.

Today, we must make a choice to get in, get out, or get run over. The move of God is on, and much is required of us all. If you have not accepted Christ as Savior, call on the name of the Lord today and be saved.

If you have received Christ, you are part of the body. If you need healing, get your healing and get busy helping someone else. Find your place of service, do your part and enjoy, in Jesus name.