People today are more self-conscious about their health, fitness, and appearance than any other time in history. Special diets, equipment, facilities, clothing and programs have been developed with the aim of reshaping flabby bodies into sleek-looking, stealth profiles. Body-building enthusiasts are glad to sacrifice convenience, comfort, time, energy, money and much sweat in the hope that their investment will reward them with satisfying health and a radically transformed body-beautiful.

It may surprise you to know that God is keenly interested in body-building. In fact He is “the” Body-building Specialist! However, His interest is not limited to the physical, but majors on the spiritual, intellectual, and emotional dimensions of our lives. When it comes to building a healthy body, God is “the” Sovereign personal-trainer — He is “the” body-building founder, inspiration and enabler.

Today’s article has nothing to do with building-up physical bodies. It’s about building-up the spiritual Body of Christ… His Church (local and universal). Together, believers are member-parts of the Body of Christ! The Church is built-up through YOU and ME “being” built-up! This has nothing to do with increasing church membership but everything to do with the character of every church member increasing in the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The blueprint for building a healthy church is detailed for us in the Book of Ephesians – Paul says, “He (the Father) has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.”  “…for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ… speaking the truth in love, we must grow-up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part ‘does’ its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (4:7, 12-13, 16).

Friends, two aspects of body-building stand out for me; they are… the “method” and the “outcome”. The method involves three steps… 1. Discover your spiritual gift… your spiritual ability (v.7), 2. Develop your gift (vv. 11-13), and 3. Demonstrate your gift (v.16). The Outcome is five-fold… 1. Unity of the Faith (v. 13a), 2. Knowledge of Christ (v.13b), 3. Spiritual Maturity (v.13c; cf. Rom. 8:29), 4. Sound Doctrine (v.14), and 5. Authentic Love (v.15a).

Apart from celebrating positive temporal outcomes, there’s an incentive of future benefit. On Judgement Day, spiritual fire will test the quality of our earthly labour. Those who have laboured well for God will be rewarded in Heaven! Those who haven’t, won’t! Paul says in 1 Corinthians… “…on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames” (3:13-15 NLT).

Friends, unlike body-building enthusiasts whose interests and efforts are focused on building-up their own “physical” bodies, my commitment, energy, and enthusiasm is directed towards building-up “spiritual” bodies… other Christian believers… the Body of Christ! I am therefore glad to testify publicly that my life’s profession is body-building, so that the Church of Jesus Christ is healthy and growing and full of love. There is nothing in this world I consider worth building-up more than our believing-brethren (the Body of Christ)!

Are you a body-building enthusiast?

Best wishes
Bill
(For earlier articles, visit my website: billjoukhadar.wordpress.com)