Building Up the Church

“So with yourselves since you are eager… strive to excel in
building up the church” (I Corinthians 14:12).

One of the things I enjoy the most about reading the Bible is the wonderful manner in which God brings passages to light that I’ve never noticed before. Such is the case with the verse cited above. It comes from the pen of Paul in the midst of a lengthy section where he instructed the Corinthians regarding the proper functioning of the church.

Now as you know, the church in Corinth was not functioning in a way Paul approved of. Spiritual gifts were abused, people were selfish in sharing meals together, and in general their worship was confusing and disordered. Yet after admonishing and instructing them in these things, Paul left them with a very simple formula for proper church functioning. He wrote, “Strive to excel in building up the church.” You see, it was not their eagerness that was the problem, but rather the way in which they misinterpreted the best way to build up the church.

As I’ve reviewed the things Paul was concerned about, what I noted was that they were selfish toward one another in meeting physical needs, misguided about the proper use of spiritual gifts, intent on making something of themselves, and in general dysfunctional and ineffective in their witness for Christ. Sounds like much of the church scene today, would you agree?

What does it mean to “strive to excel in building up the church”? Well, as I’ve thought about that, several things came to mind. First, our lives should be such that we bring no reproach to the church. That means that when outsiders see how we live, they think well of the church we identify with. Second, it means that no one in the church has any personal agendas. As a body, we must strive to be unified in purpose and desires, doing as Paul said: “putting the needs of others above our own.”

Third, we should be passionate about serving the needs of the church. Fourth, we serve the church well when we worship wholeheartedly. Yes, worship is a form of serving the church because it puts God where he belongs, fully deserving of our worship. And finally, we serve the church when we honor the scriptures, allowing God’s word to penetrate our hearts and change our behavior.

We are blessed as a congregation to see these things in our midst. Yet for God’s glory and our good, I am jealous for more. Paul said, “Strive to excel in building up the church.” The word strive means to “crave.” By God’s grace, let’s join together and crave to honor Christ as we excel in building up his church!