Practices of the Church 4, Spiritual Gifting, the Fullness of Christ

Last updated on: December 28, 2011 at 12:20 pm by Joel Willitts

Practices of the Church 4, Spiritual Gifting, the Fullness of Christ 2011-12-28T12:20:40-04:00 Joel Willitts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The fourth practice of the church in John Howard Yoder’s book Body Politics: Five Practices of the Christian Community Before a Watching World he calls the “Fullness of Christ”. Based on Ephesians 4:11-13 and 1 Corinthians 12, Yoder defines the fullness of Christ as

A new mode of group relationships, in which every member of the body has a distinctly identifiable, divinely validated and empowered role (47).

Ephesians 4 teaches that an element of Jesus’ victory won on the cross and resurrection was the gifting of believers for ministry. Paul’s vision leads to a radical practice for which the slogan “Every member a minister” is the rallying cry.

The metaphor of the body of Messiah, with Jesus as the head, relativizes hierarchy and establishes reciprocal accountability and interdependence while at the same time maintaining distinction among members. This is not an anti-structural position, but a stance based on the analogy of the human body where dignity in complementarity is upheld. God is not making everyone the same, but “is empowering each member differently although equally” (55).

The practice of the church is to transform , to reform, “to reorient the notions of ministry so that there would be no one ungifted, no one not called, no one not empowered, and no one dominated” (60).

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 25, 2011

A Christmas Prayer

Next Post

December 29, 2011 Excellence in Preaching

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Lands Blogosphere Book Review Calvinism Colleges & Universities Ecclesiology Emerging Adulthood Evangelicalism Foreign Affairs Gospel of John Greco-Roman World Humor Just War N. T. Wright Old Testament Resurrection Terrorism Theological Education Travel Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which is considered the greatest commandment in Christianity?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Go to church Give money Love God Fast often

Books by This Author Books by Mike Bird

See All Titles »