In the Body

In the Body

“And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, ‘I have just had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.’” Judg. 7:13.

When this man saw Gideon coming in his dream, he did not see Gideon as a person, but as a loaf of bread that came tumbling down, crushing the entire camp of the Midianites.

After the Israelites had gained a great victory, they came to Gideon and said, “‘Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.’ But Gideon said to them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.’” Judg. 8:22-23.

Here we can see Gideon’s noble and humble attitude that was behind this overwhelming victory. It was God who had given the Midianites and their whole camp into the hand of Gideon (Judg. 7:14), who neither wanted any prominence nor honor for it.

God gives His Spirit of wisdom and strength only to such noble and humble minds. Wanting to dominate and be something on the basis of one’s human strength and talents is foreign to the Spirit by which the kingdom of God is built.

Everything we say and do outside the Spirit of the apostles and prophets does not build on the foundation. It is neither fitting nor righteous to take honor for a work which God has given grace to perform.

Jesus’ work here on earth was not to glorify Himself, but to glorify the Father and reveal the Father’s name to the people whom God had given Him. John 17:6. He was a Master in humility, in meekness, and in hiding His own person. When they came to arrest Him, they had to get Judas to find Him among His flock of disciples. Here we truly have something to learn. All of us should accept His invitation when He says, “Learn from Me”!

Jesus does not want us to be prominent as individuals but as members of His body. It is His body that is raised up over all powers and principalities, and it is His body that partakes of blessing, power, and His fullness. We will not have divine power and authority backing us up if we seek prominence for ourselves. Then we have placed ourselves on the outside.

The loaf of bread that destroyed the whole camp of the Midianites is an illustration of the body of Christ as the true bread that came from heaven. John 6. I am invincible if I share in the life, the fellowship, and the unity that rules in this loaf. Whatever is born of God overcomes the world! When people meet you and me, they should not meet our strong human nature, but rather bread from heaven. They should meet us as unfailing representatives of unity, brotherly love, goodness, truth, and righteousness. In this state Christ is for us, and all those who are in opposition are doomed to destruction. We have nothing else to boast of but that we have a part in this blessed fellowship. Then our boasting is also fully justified.

When we meet people who have difficulty melting together in the brotherhood, we can notice that their words and their conduct do not taste of this heavenly bread. They can make beautiful speeches about unity and wisdom, but they are not living representatives of what they are saying. They do not speak on behalf of the body, which is why their words lack divine authority. If a former American president were to speak radically and powerfully about different things as a private citizen, his words would have little impact. However, when he was president and spoke to the whole world on behalf of America, his words carried great weight, because he had the might of the whole American military and the dollar behind him.

He who has all power in heaven and on earth, says, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We have something completely different backing us than all the military and financial powers in the world. However, then we also have to be Jesus’ disciples and members of His body, and represent His mind and Spirit in everything we say and do. Then we no longer live for ourselves, but Christ lives in us. Gal. 2:20.