Following the resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord, the disciples were given no specific guidelines about how to set up a church. All they had was a relationship with Him. They had to reach in daily to hear His voice, so that Yeshua (Jesus) could come forth within a body of people by the Holy Spirit. Their experiences daily were based only on the miracle of His resurrection, His life within them.

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies’” (John 11:25).[i]

The disciples had no doctrines, no history. What they did have was a relationship with the Lord and a relationship with one another. It was a tremendous place to be in. In the Gospels you read about Peter, James, and John growing together through conflicts and personality differences. They were all strange misfits in terms of fitting in with each other. Still, all of them were men whom God raised up, and they dared to let God fulfill His plan and His purpose within them. After the resurrection, not only did they have a revelation of the Lord; they had a tremendous revelation of one another’s gifts and anointings.

Today, each member of the Body of Christ is in a position that no one else on earth is anointed to fill. When Christ ascended to the Father, the Holy Spirit then descended and gave gifts to men (Ephesians 4:8). He literally distributed Himself and indwelled His Body in such a way that it is impossible for one person to replace another, nor is it necessary to compete with one another. No one else on earth can fulfill the unique ministry that you have. As long as you are open to do the will of God, no one else can fill the place God has called you to fill, and no one can take it away from you. God gave you that place and it is yours absolutely. Therefore, you can open your hearts to one another.

“A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men” (Proverbs 18:16).

Now Yeshua is creating something that we have not seen since the days of the early church; He is coming and filling His Body. He is fitting and joining us together with this unique revelation and understanding that out of our diversity—even out of our differences—He is coming forth within us and is making us one (Ephesians 4:16).

The greatest thing you can do to minister to the Body of Christ is to stand in the anointing and the ministry of what you are. It is not a title. It is not a position. It is just you being who God created you to be. We bless and strengthen one another with the resolve to stand in the name of the Lord. In the Body of Christ, differences actually create our oneness. The miracle is that we are going to be welded together in all our vast diversity and in all our uniqueness! Then everything that could cause destruction is going to turn around and cause the blessing of the Lord to rest on us.

[i] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95).