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~ Positioned, Aligned, and Joined: Finding & Taking Your Place in the Body ~

Eph. 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of Elohim, ⁽²⁰⁾ being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Yahshua Himself being the chief cornerstone; ⁽²¹⁾ in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Master; ⁽²²⁾ in whom you also are built together for a habitation of Yahweh in the Spirit.

Recognizing the Assignment

We are the Body of Messiah and the household of Elohim. We are to grow together into a holy temple, the habitation of Yahweh in the Spirit. In order to do that, we must recognize where we’re assigned – where we’re supposed to be “fitted together”. Just as “Yahweh set some in the assembly” as apostles and prophets (1 Cor 12:27-28), so He has set each and every member in place where it pleased Him.

He’s been dealing with me for several years on this subject. Each believer must be positioned, aligned, and joined in his or her assigned place. Very few believers recognize the importance of this in their spiritual walk: most don’t recognize that they have an assigned place, much less what that means. Too often, believers adopt the lifestyle of spiritual gypsies, wandering from place to place with no sense of commitment or belonging. Some even view the local ekklesia as an orphanage or “halfway house”, rather than the glorious manifestation of His presence that He intended it to be.

Recognizing the Assembly

When a builder begins constructing a new brick building, the first thing he does is gather or position all of the building materials in one place – the job site. But just piling bricks in one location doesn’t make a building. The builder then needs to assemble those bricks according to the architect’s blueprints – he must align them. Even then, though, the building isn’t complete. He also has to mortar or join the bricks together.

Positioned Aligned Joined The same is true of the local ekklesia or assembly: the bricks (individual believers) must be positioned – gathered together in their assigned place; then they must be aligned (they must align their hearts with the purpose of the ministry and take their individual places in the overall structure); finally, they must be joined, mortared together by the Spirit with those around them. Unless all three steps are completed, the structure is incomplete, unstable, & susceptible to the winds of adversity.

The reality is that this is a time-consuming, patience-testing, labor-intensive process. It obviously cannot happen if people don’t have a heart to see it through, no matter the circumstance or adversity. It can be very frustrating to pursue relationships with others. This requires a lot of love and grace. Above all, it requires that all involved be led by the Spirit.

Basic Training

The first step to being positioned, aligned, and joined is recognizing by the Spirit where we’re supposed to be. We have to ask and answer this question – to what part of the Body did Yahweh assign me? Once we’ve answered that, then we must determine what our place is in that local work. The Apostle Paul dealt with this topic in depth in his letter to the Corinthians (see 1 Cor. 12 – 14). We must ask ourselves what our spiritual gifts are and how we are to use them. Yahweh gave all of the spiritual gifts for the edifying (building up) of the Body. It is imperative that we know what our gifts are and become adept at using them.

Paul referred to the Body of Messiah as the ‘church’ or ekklesia (see Col. 1:24 and Eph. 1:22-23, for example) and stated that the local ekklesia is “the pillar and the ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). What many believers haven’t been taught is that our gatherings are more than just times of preaching & teaching of the Word, praise & worship, & fellowship. Our gatherings are actually “boot camp” or “basic training”, where we are to learn to walk in our gifting and develop our ability to hear and obey the voice of Yahweh. It is incumbent upon each of us to make a conscious, deliberate effort to take advantage of the safe and secure environment that the local ekklesia represents. Otherwise, how will the Body of Messiah ever become all that it is truly meant to be?

May each of us find our assigned place and allow ourselves to be positioned, aligned, and joined there by the Spirit!

For a more in-depth study on this subject and more, please request our free booklet I Will Build My House

Yahshua, our Messiah, stated emphatically that the entire Torah is founded upon two basic commandments: love Yahweh with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:37-39, Mark 12:30-33). Let’s talk about the latter. It all comes down to relationship.

Love Must Be Expressed

Love isn’t really love if it isn’t expressed. We know Yahweh so loved that He gave (John 3:16). We also know that we show our love for Him by keeping His commandments (1 Jo. 2:3-5, 5:3). Similarly, we love our neighbor as ourselves by giving of ourselves. It’s not a one-time act but a continual process; it means building relationships with each other.

L-O-V-E Relationship

Strong relationships don’t just “happen”. They require work, and that’s something that most people are NOT taught growing up. That is one of the key reasons why so many marriages end in divorce. Too many people enter into marriage with the notion that it will just sustain itself, that it won’t require any real effort on the part of either husband or wife. This misconception, in turn, is born out of a lack of understanding of covenant relationship.

Yahweh has called us into covenant with Him through His Son, Yahshua, but He has also called us into covenant with each other. The Scriptures say that we are to be joined to one another, knit together into one Body (Eph. 4:16). That’s not some weak, casual way of relating. We are not – or should not be – casual strangers who just see each other once a week on Sabbath, then go our separate ways the rest of the week. Nor are we members of some organization – rather, we are interconnected parts of a living Organism, an organic Body, joined at the heart to each other.

Relationship through Fellowship

Fellowship leads to relationship. In fact, without fellowship there IS no relationship. That is true of our relationship with Yahweh and Yahshua; it is also true of our relationships with each other. We must actively SEEK opportunities for fellowship with each other. With everyone’s lives as busy as they are, true, strong covenant relationships will happen in no other way. Make no mistake – this will require effort, commitment, and perseverance. Friendship

I once heard an evangelist talking about traveling to a remote area of Africa to preach. He said that heavy rains were pouring down and that, after reaching a certain point, he and his host had to leave their four-wheel drive vehicle and walk the rest of the way on foot due to the rough terrain. He was certain that they would get to the appointed spot and find no one there. But he was astounded to discover a crowd numbering in the thousands patiently awaiting him; they’d been there, standing in the open air, rain, and mud, for HOURS.

To me, that puts things in perspective: for those of us blessed to have other like-minded believers in relatively close proximity, we have no excuse for NOT fellowshipping one with another.

Consider this quote from leadership development coach and author Art Turock: “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permits. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

Time to Cultivate

Our relationships with one another must be cultivated, and they must be cultivated deliberately. One of the crucial elements of relationship-building is the one that few seem able to provide: time. Pastor Jimmy Evans stated it this way: “Time is the commodity of relationships.” That’s absolutely true. If we are unwilling to invest or sow time into our relationships, we shouldn’t expect a healthy harvest in that field.

The Scriptures tell us that love is the bond of perfection (Col. 3:14) – it is the super-glue that holds the Body together. Yahshua said that others would know us by our love for one another (John 13:34-35). In his epistle to the Romans, Paul (Sha’ul) echoed this sentiment when he said that we are to be “kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another” (Rom. 12:10). We honor one another by putting each other’s needs ahead of our own. That is sacrificial love.

Don’t Require Perfection of Others

None of us is perfect yet. That being the case, we’ve got to learn to receive others where they’re at. There is a Hasidic proverb that states “One who looks for a friend without faults will have none.”

Yahshua didn’t require perfection when He called His disciples. Yes, He expected them to grow in knowledge and obedience as they matured in their relationship with Him, but even after building covenant relationships with many of them over the course of three and a half years, one of them still betrayed Him and the others all abandoned Him. Peter, one of the great apostles of the 1st century Body of believers, denied Yahshua three times on the night He was betrayed. Yet our Messiah still found the love in His heart to forgive him – and restore him. Should we do any less in our relationships with one another?

We need to remind ourselves on a daily basis of just how gracious and merciful our heavenly Father is. And we must remind ourselves that He is calling us to exhibit His character in our relationships with one another. Each of us falls short on a daily basis in our relationship with Him; yet when we repent and determine to do better, He – in His incredible loving-kindness – wipes the slate clean and welcomes us back with open arms. Do we do the same with our brother or sister, those who we feel have wronged us?

Perfected Love

The true test of a relationship is how one responds in the face of adversity. Proverbs 17:17 says “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A true friend is one who “sticks closer than a brother” (Pro. 18:24) – even in the face of adversity.

“Beloved, if Yahweh so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen Elohim at any time. If we love one another, Elohim dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us.” (1 Jo. 4:11-12)

Let us strive for that perfect love – let us be joined at the heart one to another. Let’s pursue real and living relationships.

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Positioned, Aligned, and Joined