Are you still preparing or do you know where your place is in the Body of Christ?

In understanding these scriptures we find our place in the body of Christ.
Through the teachings of Christ and His Apostles.

Ephesians 4:

Unity of the Spirit


1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3, Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4, There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5, One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7, But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8, Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.

9, (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10, He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11, And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12, For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13, Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14, That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15, But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16, From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

17, This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk,
in the vanity of their mind,

18, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19, Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20, But ye have not so learned Christ;

21, If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

22, That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23, And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24, And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25, Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:
for we are members one of another.

26, Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

27, Neither give place to the devil.

28, Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

29, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying,
that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

30, And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

31, Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking,
be put away from you, with all malice:

32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

I'm at a stand still with this. Seeking elusive answers, nothing coming back. Maybe I've given up, but I like to think that I'll get back to my search when the time is right. Maybe I won't though, IDK.

The Spirit of the Lord God Almighty is upon me because He has anointed and appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor, the meek and those whose souls are afflicted; He has sent me out into the world to bring His healing to the broken-hearted, to set free those that are bound in spiritual bondage, to open the eyes of their understanding that they may know God's Love for them, to announce the remission and forgiveness of sins, to proclaim the freedom that is found in being filled with the Spirit of the Living God.

You may recognise this paraphrase of Isaiah 61. It has been my joy to see this scripture fulfilled in my life and I look forward to the ministry God has given me being made all the more fruitful as He continues to both to will and to do His good pleasure within me.

Whilst I have much enjoyment casting devils out and bringing the healing of God to the deep wounds of the heart, my rejoicing is more in knowing Him who has saved me from my sin.

What can I say? HALLELUJAH.

I realise I didn't fully answer the original question......

God makes use of me not so much on account of my ability, but on my availability.

Therefore, whilst I am getting on with 'the ministry' I am at the same time being prepared for the future He has for me.

I am a work in progress, and thankfully I can rest in the knowledge that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it.

And as for my place in the Body of Christ, I know that for the time being it is among the people He has put me with.

But I have been conscious of the fact that down the road God has changes coming, and although I have known something was going to radically change, I had no idea that it included the death of my dear wife a little while ago.

Because I know God works ALL things for good for those whom He loves and has called, even the sudden departure of my wife is good for my soul. Already I can see many silver linings to this dark cloud. I am being prepared for greater things.

Praise the Lord

Amen brother, and welcome to the forums.

Are you an open person? Would you be ok sharing how you dealt with the death of your spouse? I still think of my husband and cry even though I know Who he is with. I held it in because I had a newborn and had to focus on her.

Because I have helped countless people hand over the hurts of their hearts over the years, I knew what to do.

I had to do what I had helped others do. Some can release it to God on their own, others need help. Its not that one is better than the other, just different. And on different issues some can go direct alone on somethings but not on other things.

For sure I wept. No, I sobbed. But in my sobbing, when my heart was overwhelmed I simply yielded my heart to Him and believed He is my comforter. Then I had to do a number of "letting goes".

Like, she is not my wife any longer. In the resurrection she will not be my wife.

I got to the point where I wanted to die. But I was talking to the Lord about it. He showed me it was because when she was with me I didn't want to live without her, but now that thought was not appropriate. Gently He led me to choose LIFE, and to thank Him for the life I now have without her. In this was great peace. Yes, we are to thank Him for all things.

I had to take captive all thoughts of self pity and woe is me, recognise them as being from the carnal mind and to reckon my flesh life that would not accept the situation, DEAD AND BURIED AND THE KEY THROWN AWAY.

I also had tremendous support from my house church, both practical and spiritual. My wife and I had taught them how to minister to one another and now they were able to minister to me. The show of love from the brethren would sometimes bring me to tears.

And now everyone is amazed, though they should not be really. Their prayers for God to comfort me have been answered and now I am having to comfort them for they have lost a dear friend!

Enough for now.

Peace to all in Jesus Name.

The reason I cry when I think of my husband is only because all he ever knew was child abuse and his attempt at survival was too much for him as an adult. His addictions were his comfort, not God. I too have had to give this to God and move forward.

Amen! Glory be to God!

Hey Jessaly, (I wont use your real name on here) How are you?

When we pay more attention to what God is saying and doing, then we can see more clearly our individual place in the body of Christ. Believe me you nothing will ever satisfy us untill we get to that place.

Spiritual gifts provide clues to God's intention for how we should live out our days as bondservants of Jesus Christ. He has named our calling holy and appointed us to be salt and light.

1Corinthians 12:8 "For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues,..."

Ephesians 2:10 says,"For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them"

2Timothy 4:5 You, "however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry".

I think for me, my place in the body of Christ is through sharing the word of God with unbelievers, sharing words of encouragement to the hurting, I'm involved in several church ministries like praise & worship, youth & ladies ministries etc.. I enjoy spreading the Love of Christ to whoever wants to listen. :)

I'm good, how have you been Ladywind? I'm happy to hear from you.

Luv ya Jessally. Hugs. Having a love moment te he.

Love you too Ladywind!