A Perfect Body by D. H. Kress

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 21, 1902

A Perfect Body

By D. H. Kress

D. H. KRESS

A PERFECT body is one that is symmetrically developed, one in which each member is perfect, doing perfectly the work for which it was brought into existence. It is so with the body of Christ, the church. In Christ, the living Head, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In him dwells the Spirit of God, with its various manifestations, in its completeness. He gives, or divides, to each member of the church severally as he will. To every member he gives its work. The work of the hand is not given to the foot, nor the work of the foot to the hand.

Perfection does not signify that one man will be in possession of all the gifts of the Spirit, but he will be so fully under the control of the Head that he will do perfectly the work for which he was brought into existence. The gifts of the Spirit are imparted to every believer according to his need to do the Lord’s work. A perfect member in Christ will not feel that he is the body, and that he does not need the counsel and co-operation of the other members of the body to make his work a success. “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” Even those members of the body which seem more feeble are necessary in order to ascertain the Lord’s will.

The Spirit of God unifies believers. He does not create independence or division. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” The body is not one member, but many. When Paul, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” the Lord did not encourage independence, but connected him with his church, and said, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Through his organized church, Saul’s duty and future work were made plain. When the time came for him to go to the Gentiles, the Lord again spoke to the church, saying, “Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”

It takes all the manifestations of the Spirit as revealed through the various members of the body fully to reveal Christ. This is the voice of the true Shepherd, recognized by his sheep. A healthy church composed of members that recognize this, is a perfect church. The ear will not say, Because I cannot do the work of the eye, I am not of the body, and will not do anything. Neither will one member act independently of the others, and say, I have no need of the rest.

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think: but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.” Let each do his appointed work, not saying, What shall this man do? In thus doing, true Christian liberty is not sacrificed, neither is independence encouraged.