Third in our series on ‘God’s Purpose for Mankind,’ our topic is about being connected to the Body of Christ (fitly joined together, Ephesians 4:16) to serve others.

First in our ‘Purpose’ series is that God created man for a relationship with Him. Second, is that God called man to reconcile others back to Him. These first two topics show us that God is a relational God; He wants us to have a personal and eternal relationship with Him. God also desires for all of mankind to spend eternity with Him. So, He calls His children, His followers, to restore others back to a personal and eternal relationship with God.

Do you remember when you were in junior high school? Well, I guess that dates me now that it is called middle school. Anyway, at that age, everyone wants to belong and to feel accepted. We all have stories of how we changed who we were to be accepted by others who were also changing who they were to be accepted. What a mess! And that desire for acceptance and belonging doesn’t change.

I think of the theme song to the sit-com, “Cheers”: “Sometimes you want to go… where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same. You wanna be where everybody knows your name” (Everybody Knows Your Name).

God built us for relationships — with Him and with others. Then, He designed the perfect plan for us to have that sense of belonging and acceptance. Once we establish that personal relationship with God (the whole reason we were created in His image), we immediately become part of God’s family. In that family, we share God’s love with others who are also part of the family of faith with the common bond of being forgiven, eternally saved, and accepted as God’s child.

The Apostle Paul describes it a couple of ways to help our understanding. Paul tells the believers at Ephesus (Ephesians 2:21) that as a building — the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19–20), we are joined together to become that holy, consecrated temple designed for worship and service. Later in the same letter (Ephesians 4:16), Paul describes believers as members of a body that, like a jigsaw puzzle with different shapes, colors, and connectors, we are fitly joined so the body works in harmony.

With a similar analogy, Paul writes to the Corinthian believers (1 Corinthians 12:12–31), that just like the human body, we are gifted to serve in many parts, yet we are unified as one body. He then explains that no one part of the body is more important than another and that, without all the functioning parts joined together, the body would be incomplete and incapable of working like it should.

God has given each believer a spiritual gift to use in serving Him and each other. Paul tells us we are to prefer one another over ourselves (Romans 12:10). This preference offers multiple rewards and benefits:

• It offers encouragement to each other to remain faithful to God (Romans 1:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:11).
• It prepares us to “bear one another’s burdens” so as not to go through trials and troubles alone (Galatians 6:2; Romans 15:1; Ephesians 4:2).
• Our gifts prepare others for ministry and to serve one another in love (Ephesians 4:11–13).

Our spiritual gift connects us as God’s provision for fulfilling His call to the ministry of reconciliation — bringing others into a relationship with God (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; Ephesians 4:11) with the predominant nine gifts designated as “ministry” gifts for serving.

Every believer is uniquely designed by God and given at least one of these gifts. Because each person is unique in personality, looks, mannerisms, background, experience, thought, etc, people can have the same gift, but each person will use it according to how he or she has been created. In other words, even if every person was given the same gift, the gift would manifest differently for and by each person.

With the human body analogy, every person with a spiritual gift has a specific and unique place in the body. Just as a team is unified, yet has individuals who are assigned different roles and positions, the Body of Christ is made of believers who, when fitly joined together, allow the Body to work as designed.

Every member of the team or the Body is important. Each one has a role to play, whether representing the nose, the eyes, the ears, the foot — there cannot be a body of all feet or all ears. Every part serves a purpose.

Every believer and follower of Jesus is connected for the purpose of serving God and others. Every believer has a place to belong and a place to be, where all are loved and all known by name (Isaiah 43:1; John 10:3, 14).

How do we fulfill our role in the Body? The writer of Hebrews says it like this: “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) so that you can exhort, encourage, love, serve, and lighten others’ burdens by using your spiritual gift and demonstrating God’s love for each other (John 13:35; 1 John 3:11; 1 John 4:11).

Oh, Christian, are you encouraged to know your life has purpose, that you belong and are accepted by God Himself, loved by Him and by His adopted children through Christ? You have value and an important place in God’s family and kingdom. Make sure you are connected into His Body for service.