Have you ever gone to your church and wondered what it was all about? Perhaps you have been raised attending church, so it has always been a part of your life. Still, you may have wondered before what the purpose of the church is and what your part is in it. From Nehemiah 3, we can see three parallels of the wall-building work and the New Testament Church.
First, the work was set apart to the Lord. “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.” (Nehemiah 3:1) The wall-builders realized that they and their work belonged to God. This mission was not about them, their abilities, their merits, or their glory. It was all about God and what He wanted to accomplish through them. Like the wall-builders and their work, the Church and her mission to evangelize the world is set apart to God. Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” So, the church is God’s idea! The Church’s people and the mission also belong to Christ. Just as Nehemiah and the wall-builders stood out among the people of the earth as holy (or separated) unto God, so the Church should stand in stark contrast to the rest of the world. Just as Nehemiah recognized God as the Redeemer of Israel, Christ is the Redeemer of the Church. The church is all about Christ. It is His idea and His work! If you are a member of the Church (meaning you are a born-again believer), then you are sanctified (or set apart) to God. As it did for the Hebrew wall-builders, standing out in this world may bring persecution our way. But since we are God’s and our mission is His, then we can have confidence that the Church will prevail come what may.
The second parallel we see of the wall-builders and the Church is that the work was made up of individual members. Chapter three begins with listing Eliashib the high priests and the priests under him and then continues with “and next unto him . . . and next to them . . . and next unto them . . . and next unto them . . . and next unto them . . .” followed by other hard-to-pronounce names. (Nehemiah 3:1-5) Every person mattered and made a difference in the work. They were individuals working side by side for a common goal. Similarly, the Church is made up of individual members working alongside each other for a common goal. I Corinthians 12:12, 14 says, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. . . .For the body is not one member, but many.” Like the wall-builders, we are one team, bound together by a common mission, but we are individual members. Every member of the Church body matters. As I Corinthians 12:18 says, “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” We are where we are in the Church, not by our own merit, but at the pleasure of God! Just as God placed certain people in certain places in the wall-building project, so God has placed certain members in certain positions in the Church.
There is no room for pride or pettiness in the work of Christ. We see that this was a problem among the wall-builders. Nehemiah 3:5 says, “And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.” These members of the wall-building project—the nobles—perhaps felt above the rest of the members and too good for the work. The phrase “put not their necks to the work of their Lord” carries the idea that they did not submit to the Lord and the position that He would have for them. God’s work went forward without the Tekoite nobles, but they certainly missed out on God’s blessings. In the Church, there is no member who is above another member and no member too good for the work of the Church. I Corinthians 12:19, 21-25 says, “And if they were all one member, where were the body?. . . And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, and are necessary: and those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” We are all individuals, meaning we are not all the same. As this passage says, if we were all the same member (like an eye), then there would be no body! The body is composed of individual members! So, it is ridiculous to think that because someone else is not just like you, they are somehow less than you. Just because you are a noble (based on our Nehemiah illustration) does not mean you cannot take part in particular work at your church. Every member matters. You matter, and so does another individual member of the Church. Just as every member of the wall-builders had to do his part so that no breach would be left in the wall, so every member of the Church must do his part so that there is no schism (or divide) in the Church. What you do or don’t do in your church does make a difference to the function of the whole. We should care for each other, knowing that each member is important to the body of Christ and to the mission He has given us.
Not only was the work made up of individuals, but the work was also made up of individuals with different skill sets and positions. “Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. . . . And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. . . . From above the horse gate repaired the priests . . . After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son unto the place of the Nethinims, and the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.” (Nehemiah 3:8, 12, 28, 31, 32) The wall-builders were made up of goldsmiths and apothecaries (or pharmacists we might call them), of sons and daughters, of rulers and merchants. Each of these members brought with them a different skill set suited for a different position in the wall project.
The same is true for the members of the Church! I Corinthians 12 says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. . . . . Now there are diversities of gifts, but it is 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 . . . . . For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of the spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” This passage uses both the words diversities/differences and the words same/all. In other words, we have all been given different spiritual gifts and skills, but those differences come from the same Spirit. That Spirit is the giver of all of our different gifts; He is the creator of our diversity. And He has done this so that He might place us in different positions in the Church. Just as the daughters in Nehemiah 3 may have brought a unique set of skills to the work that suited them to a different position than the sons, so the daughters of Christ are suited to different positions in the Church than the sons of Christ. Just as the goldsmiths had different giftings than the rulers, so different members of the Church will have different giftings that suit them to different positions in the Church. Like the wall-builders, we should not focus so much on our differences, but on the Spirit that makes us the same. If we do, we will be “striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:27)
Next time you go to your church, remember that your church is God’s idea. The Church is sanctified to God for the purpose of shining His light in this dark world. Remember that your church is made up of individuals, and that includes you! Every individual member matters because they all make a difference in the way the body functions. And then remember that each member will have a different skill set, gifting, and position in the body. Isn’t God’s design amazing? He knew exactly what was necessary for the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt, and He also knows exactly what is necessary for His gospel to go forth in this world. He has chosen to use the Church. Let this encourage you to find joy, excitement, and purpose as a member of the Church. Don’t be like the Tekoite nobles who missed out on the work. What is your part on the wall? Roll up your sleeves like the other wall-builders did and discover your part in the work of Christ’s church.