When too much power is concentrated in one person, body, company, organisation or ministry it could necessitate the sudden implementation of drastic changes at times, that could be too sudden. An organisation is like a human body - a personality. There are various parts which are expected to work in sync with each other. When Paul described the Church as a human body he meant that even though we are numerous individuals we have an impact and effect that rubs off on each member. Of all of the positions in the body, Jesus was referred to as the most significant - the head!
If the Church, made up of many individuals constitutes of just one being - one person ( Jesus Christ) and Jesus is the head, it means that for each organisation, For each body, the members are linked to the leader. Since the leader is the head of the body once a person is a member of an organisation the actions, words and thoughts of the head will have an impact on the individual members of the group.
For instance, Jesus said that in my father house there are many mansions there. He said that he goes to prepare a place that where he is we will be with him in heaven. Jesus, while on earth was the head of the church. While in heaven he is still the head. Every head must have a body.
This body is made up of various sub-parts.
Each day and moment I mentally address(at times I do it verbally) parts of my body. I get them to work in synergy with each other. I get them to love each other. At times, they might want to work contrary to each other (like the teeth might want to bite the tongue while feeding) but because they don’t want me to be hurt myself they obey my general promptings. It is my body. I feed it mentally with love joy and goodness. And when I am able to afford it, I dress nicely to show off my body.
All parts of my body work in synergy with each other. They are proportionate, comely, lovely and considerate of each other. The loves that flows through my body gives it joy. The members are pleased. My body feels good while in my head I take decisions that are in favour of my body and all of its members. That is the situation of my body.
The body of Jesus constitutes of individual members of the church. As Christians we have the spirit of Jesus within us. This spirit, being the Holy Ghost is what controls us and make us more like Him. It make us lose less of our ungodly qualities- such as hatred, murder and fear and makes us have more of his Godly qualities such as love, joy, peace and compassion.
Since we are like Jesus then it means we are influenced by his person. This happens because he is the head. The head contains the brain which controls the body. The thoughts of the head have an impact on the body. It is the brain that tells the body that it is cold or warm outside. Anything that Jesus does has an effect on the body of Christ. Since it is his body it will affect him as well. If the body is in pain he will feel the pain. He will hurt himself if he judges his body too soon (you do not just give consent for an amputation if one part of your body is malfunctioning.) Who wants to hurt his own body? This is why the son is advocating to the father “please do not execute judgement yet. Give my body (the Church) time to change." The father will then say. “You are the head, so change the body to work in line with your thoughts.“
The influence of Jesus on the body of Christ is also similar to the influence of a Pastor on his ministry; a Managing Director on a company or a business owner on his enterprise. Each of those mentioned serve as the head while members of their organisations serve as the body. The body is controlled by the head. When the head takes a decision and effects it, it impacts the body.
The head, as an individual in this case, needs to be very careful. Each time a decision is taken he or she needs to understand that there are many people within his or her body that will be affected. Jesus as the head takes his subjects to heaven. Heaven represents a place of joy and pleasure. Many organisations set up structures that are heaven like - the closer you get to the top - the more perks you enjoy. The Head of the body can tells those interested in his company: “within my organisation I have many staff vacancies to fill. I am the head, while other members form the body of the organisation. Any decision that I take or any thing that I do will have an impact on the company. That is why I am careful with what I do.”
The body reflects what is going on in the head. The organisation reflects decisions taken by the leader. Jesus said he was a temple. He said that in his father house there were many mansions. He said that people can live in these mansions with him in heaven. Jesus described the mansion as his fathers house. Since Jesus belongs to the father. His body which is the temple belongs to the father.
A temple can contain many people. Those who accept Jesus enter into his temple. He said that he is the door - the way, the truth and the life. No one cometh unto the father except through him. This means to see the father you have to enter into the temple that Jesus refers to as his body. He has to open the door to let you in and when you come in you will see the father Who looks like Jesus and Jesus looks like him because they are the same, they are one – the same being ,the same person. “ I and my father are one.”
Something similar is seen in a company. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) sits at the top. He exudes an aura that reflects his status in the outfit. When he walks within the company it is as if there are many people accompanying him , all approaching at the same time. You feel his presence and personality. This is what it means to be the head of a body.
Many people, those that control bodies (churches, companies, banks etc) have forgotten how influential they are. The entire body looks up to the head. People in an outfit are influenced by the boss. There are some bosses who need to take decisions that will make their organisations more acceptable to the society. They need to improve themselves by improving their organisations. They need to take decisions that will have a positive impact on the society, village or world the body finds itself in. As the head you always influence your body.
Don’t cut off parts of your body. Don’t hurt it. Don’t try to expand too much by being greedy and eating too much. At times you need to shed weight to remain healthy. When a person is overweight the person will create a lot of problems. He or she will find it difficult to move. Others will have to make unnecessary changes to accommodate the person. And if the person eats too much food it might have a negative effect on the purse of the host. When this happens the head needs to take a decision that will adjust the body.
Some organisations are like that greedy person. They want to grow to fast, they try to influence too many people or have too many workers at the same time. Some of them don’t even want to pay such workers. These lead to strikes that affect the society. The problem is that the head is the problem. He has so many people that he is influencing, and is probably doing it in a wrong manner. The head can take decisions to effect a change. He can bring in another manager who will have influence and come up with ideas that are favourable to the company. Or, he could make those decisions himself.Just as some human being need to shed weight some organisations need to do so as well. There is what is described as load shedding in organisations.
Back to the church. Jesus is the head of the church. Jesus is full of the fruit of the spirit. He is full of love and goodness but there are many in the church, who head particular ministries that are no longer like Jesus.
Jesus is hurt by such churches. He wants the leaders to take decisions that will be in accordance with his will. He died for the church, rose again, to die no more. If he cast them out of him they will not be a part of his kingdom any longer.
If Jesus is love then let us love. If Jesus wants joy then let us give joy. If Jesus ask for peace then let us be peaceful.
Churches should stop competing with each other. They should show more love to each other. They should de-emphasise their various names and emphasise the will of Jesus.
Let me ask a question. Will the likes of Pastor E.A Adeboye, Dr D K Olukoya, Bishop Oyedepo, Chris Oyakhilome, Pastor Tunde Bakare and other men of God tell people how closely related they are to each other? At times, their members feel they don’t love one another and Jesus is not too pleased with such. It is like the time of the disciples when they frequently quarrelled amongst themselves.
You can only please Jesus and represent him on earth when you are more like Jesus. Competition among the churches is like when parts of the body are fighting each other. The body will not enjoy it. The head will remain awake to find a solution.
Jesus is pleading with his body members - His body parts: “Don’t fight with each other. Don’t hurt me. Tell people that you love each other. Show love to each other. Help each other. Stop competing. Stop fighting over the location and ownership of these gigantic buildings. Stop taking decisions that affect your members negatively; that make your members unhappy.
LOVE is the answer. Your members want you to say it from the pulpit. Love is the answer; tell them that Jesus told you to embrace each other. Settle your differences. You know what you are fighting over.
Jesus is coming with joy, Love and prosperity soon. We all will be part of it.
Let’s prepare for him!!!
