Areas of Edification

Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

When there was peace, the church was built up and then it multiplied. Like a person who is born, before he starts producing more offspring, the church has to grow physically and all his limbs are expected to grow. Let us see in which areas the church should concentrate on growing.

1. Love

As per Ephesians 3:17, we are rooted and grounded in love. If this love fails, our foundation fails and we shake. In 2 John 1:6 we read love is obedience and in 1 John 2:5, this love is perfected as he grows. If our love does not increase, we are not in Him. In Rev 2:4 we read about the Laodicea Church which has lost its first love. This means that it is possible for a church to lose its love just like a wife who hates her husband but still serves him. This attitude which longs to have a relationship with the world by looking for excuses to be conformed to the world is dangerous to the church.

And it is important for us to love others and specially our neighbor as per 1 Thes 3:12.

2. Faith

This is the basic and the first expectation from the Church. It has to be faithful to its husband and it has to believe in its head or otherwise, the church cannot be a wife. There are many instances we read where Jesus was not happy about other people’s faiths. Ex: Mat 8:26, Mark 4:40 etc.  As per 1 Peter 1:7, our faith will be tested and perfected at every stage and when faith is strengthened, we are more and more ready towards glory. In Jude 20, we read that the faith is considered most holy as this is the first step we show to God. This is the only area where we are seen righteous.

As our faith grows, it is our responsibility that we encourage the faith of others to grow as per Romans 14:1-2. A person who eats anything for the glory of God is considered of more faith and a person who does not eat is considered of less faith. But the church has to accept and not criticize these men.

3. Prayer

As in Colossians 4:2 and many other verses, the church should devote itself to prayer. Prayer is the only time where the wife communicates with the Husband. Prayer keeps us dependent on God. This is also another area where we can lose our growth and so, we have to be sober as per 1 Peter 4:7.

4. Gifts

As per 1 Cor 14:1, we desire gifts and it is God who decides (Romans 12:6), we should earnestly try harder to excel in the gifts (1 Cor 14:12). A church prospers only when we excel in our gifts and not when we receive them. A lot of people may receive gifts but only when we excel in them, we become useful to the Church.

5. The word

II Timothy 3:16,17 says that scriptures are there for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness that the man of God becomes complete. Here the steps should be noted really well and it is really good for us to hear, study, memorize and mediate the word as much as we can as in 1^st Psalm where a righteous man delights in the word. In Hebrews 5:14 we read how a person matures in the word that he constantly practices.

6. Fruits

In John 15:1, we read about the branch that does not produce. Unlike a human body, Christ teaches here that there will be limbs which are not fruitful and God’s plan on the Church is so high that He constantly cleanses and prunes it. As per Hebrews 12:11, the fruit of righteousness is brought forth when the Church disciplines its branches well.

7. Knowledge and Discernment

The growth of love should not be on emotions alone but in knowledge and discernment as per Phil 1:9. Like a bride which knows what the husband desires and how her man acts in different situations, the wife prepares herself. The bride also eventually knows who the husband trusts and who he does not. As per Hebrews 5:14, the power of discernment increases as the food solidifies more and more.

8. Holiness

When love abounds and increases, God measures us in terms of holiness as per 1 Thes 3:13. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirt as per 1 Peter 1:2 and Lev 20:8. We present ourselves blameless before Him but He sanctifies us. This is done at the Cross (Hebrews 10:10 and Col 1:22). We shall let the Holy Spirit work more for sanctification.

Let the Church grow well so that it prospers.

Amen.