SUMMARY: Body Life: The Church Comes Alive

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Body Life: The Church Comes Alive
by A book Summary by Jim Dernocoeur



Body Life: The Church Comes Alive
By Ray C. Stedman
Publisher: G/L Regal Books, Glendale, CA, 1972

Executive Summary
"The ultimate end of evangelism is to have people conform to the image of Jesus."
This short book, written 30 years ago, points out how today’s church must follow the principles used by the early church to be vital and successful.

A key part of these principles is to develop all church members as “saints” to serve in ministry and expand the church with their evangelism. The duty of the church leaders is to equip the “saints” to do their job effectively.

Each member has unique spiritual gifts to be used for God’s purposes. To have life in the body (the church), we must become mature Christians, not spectators. It is the spirit of Jesus Christ that will energize today’s Christians just as it did centuries ago.

Koinonia is needed … a fellowship of Christians supporting each other. The author points out the effectiveness of small groups and built his own church - Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California - starting with such groups. So much of what the author, Ray Stedman, wrote is still working today.

Chapter 1. The Most Powerful Force on Earth
The word church conjures up negative, imperfect images for many. This is not the true church of Jesus. Churches combine weeds with wheat. The weeds will burn and the wheat will be harvested. This book describes the nature and function of true Christianity. Most Christians don’t know the Biblical pattern for the operation of the church. We need to rediscover the Biblical pattern. It is written in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians “The church is the world’s most powerful force for good.

Chapter 2. Highest Priority
If Christians are to give intelligent obedience to their Lord, they must give highest priority to understanding what it is He wants them to do and be. We must start with the truth. God chose him (Christ) before the foundation of the world. As Christians we should reflect the character of Jesus. The first aim of the church is to live to the praise and joy of God. God made Jesus the head over all things in the church, which is his body. The task of the church is to make known the manifold wisdom of God. It must be a witness to Christ. We must witness humbly with patience. The church cannot save the world, but the Lord of the church can. Through love we can maintain unity. A risen Christ changes people and societies if we implant Him in our lives.

Chapter 3. Not Union – Unity!
The ecumenical movement has tried to put divergent Christian churches together. Instead of a union, Apostle Paul said we should “be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The church is a body of thousands of cells with one mutually shared life. The hope of all Christians is to be like Jesus and follow Him. Only Jesus is Lord. With Christians, there is one faith, one body of truth. Unity of the spirit overcomes denominational boundaries and urges us to reach out to non-Christians.

Chapter 4. No Exceptions
The life of Jesus is still being manifest among men through the church worldwide in any age. The church operates “by the grace given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Every Christian is provided with spiritual gifts. The Bible enumerates 16 or 17 basic gifts. Some gifts are grouped as ministries and some as workings. All are given through the Spirit. Various gifts are discussed from wisdom and knowledge through prophecy which is stated by Paul as the greatest gift of all. Prophecy speaks to men for their up building, encouragement and consolation. To be successful, church members must recognize and exercise their spiritual gifts … no exceptions.

Chapter 5. Understanding Your Gift
God has equipped us all with a unique set of spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift differs from a natural talent because it improves the spirit of another and helps that person love life and God more. You discover your spiritual talents just like you discover your natural talents. Try those things that appeal to you the most. As you go along, do you see improvement? Be aware of what gifts others see in you. Gifts of the Spirit should be used in the world as well as the church. Christ wants us to reach out to the needy of the world because He loves them all.

Chapter 6. According to the Power
How does the church expect to influence society? Through spiritually gifted people powered by Jesus Christ, His life and death and resurrection. His resurrection power is like no other. It makes no noise. It can overcome all obstacles. It is available to every Christian through faith. The church will never again affect the world as it did in the first century until each Christian utilizes the gifts God has given them through the resurrected Lord.

Chapter 7. How the Body Works
Paul likens the church to a human body and also a building. Four gifts from God make the church work: Apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers. Apostles declare the whole body of truth concerning Christ. Jesus is the foundation. A prophet speaks for God and unfolds the mind of God so it is clear and compelling. Evangelists are responsible for growth of the church numerically. Pastor means shepherd. They maintain life in the body by feeding it and preserving its vitality. Some churches evolved into a few super-Christians doing all the work. The early church called all Christians into ministry. Church members have become spectators leaving an unbearable burden on pastors. Pastors must restore ministry to the people and let the Holy Spirit take over. Boldness and power will result.

Chapter 8. Shaping up the Saints
The four offices – apostle, prophet, evangelist and pastor/teacher exist for one purpose—to equip common Christians (the Saints) to do their work of ministry and build-up the body of Christ. Paul said “the men of God must be equipped for every good work.” Preachers comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Preachers took over as evangelists in the frontier days and churches got boring and shrank. On page 86, the author tells how he pastored a church for 20 years and never held an evangelistic meeting. Evangelism was done by properly-equipped church members. Pastors and elders must be careful not to be powerful, but to serve others. Pastors must capture the interest and attention of their audiences. On pages 91 & 92, the author shows how Paul reached all the people of Ephesus: telling the gospel through common, ordinary saints.

Chapter 9. The Work of the Ministry
Jesus is still at work in the world today through the church – his body. The church is God’s instrument to reach the world. Jesus came to heal people’s spirits, not just their bodies. The divisions of ministry are guided by these Bible verses (Luke 4:18):

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has anointed me.
He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
To proclaim release of the captives and recovering of sight to the blind.
To set at liberty those who are oppressed.
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Many people live in fear and feel history is out of control. But, God is governing human events on his timetable. Ministers are needed to evangelize, teach, pray and explain the times. Christians in their work-a-day lives must do this.

Chapter 10. Keeping the Body Healthy
For the church (body) to be effective, it must be spiritually healthy, vibrant with the spirit of Christ. Body life needs Koinonia (fellowship of Christians). But, many churches concentrate on proclamations instead of Koinonia, which is best done in small groups meeting in homes. There we bear each other’s sins and leaders can offer prayers and consolation. A listening ear can be the greatest Christian gift. We should not be afraid to lovingly point out disagreeable habits of others in these groups. We should “wash their feet” as Jesus did. The work of evangelism cannot be done unless the body is healthy and vital.

Chapter 11. The Goal Is Maturity
We reach our “mature manhood” by fulfilling our humanity, being what God had in mind when he made man and woman in the first place. The ultimate end of evangelism is to have people conform to the image of Jesus. The church, the body is designed to take on a mature humanity and fulfill its calling in the world. To do this the body must grow, increasing in the unity of faith and in knowledge of the son. We need to have child-like faith, not a childish, naive faith. Your maturity can be measured by the degree to which you accept the truth about yourself and others in honesty and love. Christianity takes away our worldly props and confronts us with the shock of self-discovery. God has put you where he wants you to be: joined to and working with other Christians in harmony to achieve maturity and growth of the whole body.

Chapter 12. Impact
If the church follows their principles, it will have the same success the early church had. The church must continue the healing ministry of Jesus. Each Christian must put his own spiritual gifts to work so the church can become salt and light in a world of darkness. The author’s own church (PBC) started as a small group and grew from there. He believes that the laymen, not the pastors, should do ministry and evangelism. Small groups in his church multiplied and unique new concepts developed. Their Sunday night Body Life service attracts 850 people regularly, where very personal stories and problems are told spontaneously. New Christians are welcomed on the spot. Love, joy and acceptance prevail. The principles of ministry in Ephesians 4 are still making an impact on the world.

What I got most from this book:
It amazes me how many of the principles stated in this book are being followed by Saddleback Church and thousands of other churches—30 years after this book was written.

Evidently, Ray Stedman was one of the proponents of the use of small groups, which today is the body life of mega-churches, making them real, relevant and personal. I don’t think big churches really work unless they are built on small groups.

And, I totally agree with the author’s thinking about the “saints”. These are common, ordinary people who are energized by the Holy Spirit to do the important daily work of building the church. These are people truly doing what God wants them to do.