Exodus
chapter 36 speaks of the unity we have in the Holy Spirit of God. It
begins, “every
skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know
how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do
the work just as the Lord commanded“.
In describing the building of the Tabernacle, there is order as they
took God’s instruction from Moses, and there is a sense of all the
parts coming together. “All
the curtains were the same size… they joined five curtains
together… the two sets together so that the Tabernacle was a
unit… they made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as
a unit“.
All these talented craftsmen working on their individual part, but
with God’s Spirit guiding them, everything came together as one.
We
read, “They
received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to
carry out the construction of the sanctuary. And the people
continued to bring free will offerings morning after morning“.
They were bringing so much the workers came to Moses to make them
stop giving, Moses gave an order, “No
man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the
sanctuary“.
It says, “the
people were restrained from giving“.
There is such an abundance in God’s economy, if we would just trust
God to work in the hearts of those that are willing, we too would
hear, “We
have more than enough to do all of the work“.
First
Corinthians chapter 12 speaks of how God works with individuals to
build His church. The apostle Paul says to you and I, “Now
there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are a
variety of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are a variety of
effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But
each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Verse 13 emphasizes, “For
by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or
Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one
Spirit“.
Ministry is not a competition and church titles are meaningless
unless we remember the reason for the title is to follow Paul’s
command to “care
for one another“.
The church is the body of Christ, and in the body, every part is
necessary. Verse 17 asks, “If
the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole
were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has
placed each one of them in the body, just as He desired. Now there
are many members, but one body“.
We each have ministries individually, but more importantly, we are
all members “joined together as one unit”. May God use
your talents to minister as a vital part of the body of Christ today.