What does the body of Christ of the church look like in action? How does the body function with different members working together? Every single member of the body is vitally important. No single member is more important than the other either. There is diversity in the body, but the body must still function in unity under the direction of our Head, Jesus Christ.

We consider the church as the body of Christ. We are literally bone of Jesus’ bone and flesh of Jesus’ flesh, one flesh, one body with Jesus Christ as the church, the bride of the Lord. We need to properly understand how a healthy body functions. A body cannot function for just a few hours a week and be healthy. Instead, the church is a 24/7/365 living organism that needs to be functioning and lively to honor the body’s head, Jesus Christ.

One of the most amazing and precise prophecies of Jesus Christ and the cross is found in Psalm 22. We find Jesus speaking in the first person describing his vantage point from the cross, as he was scourged, beaten, blasphemed, with nails driven through his hands and feet, prophesied by David hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented as a means of capital punishment. Let us consider the great suffering of our Savior on our behalf on the cross with finished the work of our eternal salvation – “he hath done this!”

It can be very easy to become in despair when things look bad around us and a bad situation seems to be coming in the future. There was arguably no worse situation that the Jews in the Persian empire thinking they were going to be slaughtered in 11 months. Even though many of those Jews could not see it, God was powerfully working to deliver his people from that destruction. When the news came that the Jews now had the legal right to defend themselves and stand for their life, there was great joy, gladness, and a good day. God will never forsake his people, no matter how bad the circumstances. God will always deliver his people.

We consider the church from the perspective of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has many dimensions in scripture, just like the church – the eternal heavenly kingdom, the kingdom in our hearts, and particularly the church kingdom. Jesus set up the church kingdom during his ministry, and now we called to “press into” this kingdom. We must forsake the entanglements of this world to diligently seek first the kingdom of God and sell all that we have to possess the treasure of the kingdom.

In the ministry of Jesus Christ, the visible manifestation of “his church” was established in this world. Jesus told Peter, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Upon the rock of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God by Jesus Christ in the new birth, and a confession of Jesus as the Son of God was established as the bedrock principles of the church that we still have today.

We see the dramatic climax of Esther going in before the king to save her people from destruction. Not only does the king eventually hear and grant her petition, but Mordecai is exalted and Haman is eventually hanged on the same gallows he built for Mordecai. God’s providence can act fast, and we never know what mighty things God might do to depose wickedness and exalt righteous in the world around us.

God has set up his church to be the pillar and ground for his truth in this world. God has given us the truth in the word of God and in the witness of Jesus Christ. It is up to the disciples of Christ to defend God’s truth to a scoffing world. If the church doesn’t stand for truth in this world, who will?

As we reach the climax in the book of Esther, Mordecai calls upon Esther to intercede with the king to save her people, the Jews. Mordecai believes that perhaps God has providentially put her in this position “for such a time as this”. In our own lives, God is guiding and preparing us for such a time as this as well. We cannot fully know the full extent of how and where God is guiding us and preparing us to serve him in a might way now or in the future, for such a time as this.

The primary purpose of the church is to glorify God. Probably the primary way we glorify God is obeying the greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love others as Christ has loved us. We show love to God when we love others unconditionally, freely, and graciously, in the same way that God has freely loved us.