Chereads / TRUE EMOTION / Chapter 16 - TRUE EMOTION.

Chapter 16 - TRUE EMOTION.

The local church exists to glorify God the Father by making disciples of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. As members of the local church, we play an invaluable role in the body by caring for others. As Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-16,

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

According to this passage, the church (the body of Christ) has been given ministers that have the express purpose of "equipping the saints for the work of ministry." The types of ministry that the saints are called to will differ from person to person on account of the fact that they all possess different gifts. While the types of ministry will differ, the commands to be obeyed in the context of ministry will not differ. For example, while one may have the gift of service and another has the gift of leadership, both are expected to show forth the love of Christ to others. We are not exempted from showing care and love for others because we are "introverted."