LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
God’s Poem (2)
"…for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:10).
Yesterday we said that the church is a poem, and that only God can write it, or compose it. When we consider what it means to humanly compose a poem, we have a glimpse of how it should be to compose this masterful poem that is the church. When reading classic literature in any language with literary tradition, we see the magnificent art of composition. He or she Who has dabbled in the laws and forms of poetry can agree that writing a poem is a very difficult task, very different from what today most poets understand to be poetry.
Reading, for example, a sonnet by Quevedo, Góngora or Garcilaso for Spanish speakers, or one by Shakespeare for English speakers is a delight of harmony and perfection. In them, the Castilian language or English reached the highest glares. Those who have ever tried to imitate them, know how impossible it is. Trying to translate them is to betray their essence. The art of quartets and tercets, of rhymes and rhythms, is so high-end that only a syllable badly placed, can be a serious setback.
How much more complex is building the church! The fact that the Lord has said, "I will build my church," means that there is no man who is approved for it for the church is a spiritual creation, a masterpiece made by God, whose inner springs only the Creator knows. Any man who puts his hand in the church will spoil it, however gifted he may be.
Building the church is a harmonious whole that involves millions of lives in diverse cultural and racial contexts as well as diverse levels of maturity, idiosyncrasy, and sensitivity. How could someone get in and do something profitable? Paul himself considered himself a mere "master builder" (KJV), assuming that Christ is the Architect. Then, he said that he needed the work of another to build on, and finally, that each one should build thereupon (1 Corinthians 3:10).
The series of ministers in Ephesians 4:11 as a whole and none of them by themselves are necessary to collaborate with God in this work of equipping the saints. They must be men who have proven the impotence of their flesh, and done so in the spirit, as Paul clearly says: "Because we are ... those who in spirit serve God and glory in Christ Jesus, not having confidence in the flesh" (Phil 3:3).
If God had to call Moses to the mountain to show him the tabernacle's pattern, and then train men like Bezalel and Aholiab to make those designs, how much more, in the case of the church, should only those who have been qualified by God put their hands on the chruch! Because, in short, only God knows how to compose this magnificent 'poem' that will be his delight for eternity.