He has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
God has designed us as social beings, to work in partnership with others in life’s enterprises. I am often intrigued to be reminded when I shop in Waitrose or John Lewis’ that when a staff announcement goes out over the loudspeakers the workers are called ‘Partners’. In every sense they share the gain and the pain of the business. They are more than numbers on a payroll; they are part-owners of the business.
The Church is a partnership enterprise: ‘Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.’ (vv 4-5) God has called us into partnership with his Son, and so also into partnership with each other. The gifts God has given us as individuals are to be used for the benefit of the whole partnership.
I have mentioned this before, but it bears constant repetition. We live in a society that is geared up to a culture of individualism, but as Christians we speak up for a counter-cultural partnership called ‘The Church’. Christian faith involves both a personal belief and a community or partnership lifestyle. This is a constant thread running right through the Bible. One more example will suffice: ‘ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.’ (Ephesians 4:16) Without this togetherness we miss out on being spiritually ‘healthy and growing and full of love.’ The ancient equation is valid today:
Partnership with Christ = Partnership with other believers in Church.