PARTS, JOINTS AND BANDS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
(mr 01/11/19)
OLUBI JOHNSON
1Corinthians 12:12-21 NKJV: For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (14) For in fact the body is not one member but many. (15) If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? (16) And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? (17) If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? (18) But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (19) And if they were all one member, where would the body be? (20) But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. (21) And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
Ephesians 4:16 NKJV: from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Colossians 2:19 KJV: And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
The scriptures above show us that the body of Christ is a gigantic spiritual creature or organism of the same order of magnitude as each of the persons of the Godhead: made of up of the Person of the second Person of the Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head, and billions of members or parts connected by joints and bands.
In fact what God did was to take the fulness of the second Person of the Godhead and divide Him into billions of smaller parts with Him, the Lord Jesus, as the Head as shown in:
Ephesians 1:22-23 AMP: And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church], [Ps. 8:6] (23) Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].
So every Christian isa member or a part of the body of Christ as illustrated in:
John 15:5 NKJV: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
What then are the joints and bands?
A joint is a connection between two or more members AT THE THOUGHT LEVEL, as shown in
1John 5:16 KJV: If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
The ‘see’ spoken of here is not only seeing with physical eyes, but also in the mind with our thoughts.
So joints are to supply God’s mercy (Heb.8:12), which gives the Blood of Jesus to cleanse sin (1 Jn.1:7), and the life of God (Jude 1:21) and so MAINTAIN THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT in the Church.
So every time the thought of a Christian or a group of Christians comes to your mind, the Holy Spirit is creating a joint or connection between you and them and you should supply it with God’s mercy, giving them the cleansing of the Blood from any sins they may have or are committing and then also giving life to them, even if they are not sinning.
If EVERY Christian does this, there would be a dramatic INCREASE IN THE SUPPLY of the life of God to the body of Christ, leading to great spiritual growth and victory over sin and death!
A band is a connection between two or more Christians WHEN they pray for one another especially in the Spirit in tongues and travail (Rom.8:26, Jude 1:20).
Bands supply the power of the Holy Spirit for the strengthening and edifying of the body of Christ and so EDIFY THE BODY IN LOVE (Eph. 4:16, Col.2:19).
It is the life that joints supply that becomes the ‘fuel’ that the bands use to deliver power to the body to edify it for spiritual growth and victory over sin and death.
Now, there are different MEASURES of bands, or bandwidths, depending on the spiritual capacity of the Christians who are praying as typified in
Deuteronomy 1:15 KJV: So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
Every saint can pray for others in the Spirit as shown in
Romans 8:26-27 NIV: Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (27) Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Ephesians 6:18 KJV: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Now, for the ordinary saints, their prayers will supply sufficient power for saints numbered between 10-50 (captains over tens).
For leaders of groups in local churches, the power will be sufficient for saints numbering 50-100 (captains over fifties).
For local pastors the power they generate will be sufficient to supply saints numbering 100-1000 (captains over hundreds).
For regional (national and continental) apostolic and prophetic leaders, the power they generate in prayer will be sufficient to supply saints numbered in the thousands and tens of thousands and even millions (captains over thousands).
It is instructive to note that joints and bands are not restricted to man-made denominations and groups: they are SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS that God uses to supply the body of Christ IRRESPECTIVE of man-made denominations, doctrinal differences, language, tribal differences or geographical locations.
The purpose of God is for EVERY JOINT and BAND IN THE CHURCH TO BECOME FULLY FUNCTIONAL AND EFFECTIVE so the Church becomes spiritually healthy, strong and grow into the perfection and fulness of Christ (Eph.4:13, 15): hence this prophetic and apostolic message NOW.
Finally, it is those parts or members of the body of Christ that are faithful (Lk.16:10) in supplying their joints and bands with the Blood of Jesus, the life of God and ‘earnest’ or the power of the Spirit with measure NOW, that will be entrusted with the power of the Spirit WITHOUT MEASURE (Jn.3:34) that is about to be poured upon and through the body of Christ in this season of the fulfilment of feast of Tabernacles.
Selah!
