Have you ever found a nut or a bolt on the floor? What do you immediately start to think about? Well, you probably wonder, “Where does this little nut or bolt go?” You might even put it in your pocket thinking, “This must go to something—maybe some kind of machine.”
If just one little bolt or nut goes missing from something bigger, the whole thing breaks down and is wasted. Just one loose nut on the space shuttle and billions of dollars and several human lives are lost in the void.
You know? Nuts and bolts are a great picture of spiritual gifts and even of each one of us. Did you know that your gifts, abilities and simply your unique self are much like a nut or bolt? You and your gifts are actually an integral part of something far bigger than just you.
In Ephesians 2, we read: “We were once separated from Christ, alienated…but now, in Christ Jesus, we who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… that he might create in himself one new man. We are now… being joined together, growing into a holy temple in the Lord… into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Whether we know it yet or not, we are all part of the Body of Christ, and our uniqueness and our gifts are an integral part of that Body.
And did you know we are being built into the Body of Christ for a specific purpose right now? “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
We are also being built into the Body of Christ for a specific purpose for the fullness of time: to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10).
So, God has created us and our gifts and abilities for a purpose: that we might walk in good works (revealing that He is good), and that we might be one with Him and one with each other—all united in Him.
You know? In Genesis, Adam dreamed about building himself up. He and Eve tried to create themselves in the image of God but it didn’t work.
In Genesis, God also dreamed. He said, “Let us make Adam (humanity) in our image, in our likeness and let them have dominion over creation.”
Paul teaches there is another Adam. Jesus is the last Adam: The Eschatos Adam (Eschatos Adam means “Super Man”). He is the finished Adam, the perfected Adam, the ultimate Adam. He is called the “firstborn of all creation,” “the firstborn from the dead.”
The first Adam is the old man.
The last Adam is the New Man.
Paul writes, “Put off the old man…” “Put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” The “New Man” that Paul is talking about is a God man, which each of us will one day fully put on. Paul told us that we were “chosen in Him [in that Man—Christ] before the foundation of the world” to be finished, holy, and righteous.”
God’s dream—the New Man’s dream—is far greater than the old man’s dream. God’s dream leads to the reconciliation of all things (Col. 1:20). The old man’s dream led to isolation and death (Gen. 3).
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul writes, “The first Adam became a living being; the Eschatos Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”
Scripture says that He is “the light that enlightens all men;” He is the “Logos,” “The Meaning,” “The Word that creates and sustains all things.” He is The Way, The Truth, The Life, and Love.
God breathed His breath—His Spirit into every lump of clay that we call a person. His breath, His Spirit forms a void in every earthen vessel, a void in which a piece of the Eschatos Man is formed.
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). Verse 49 says, “Just as we have born the image of the man of dust, we shall bear the image of the man of Heaven”—The Eschatos Adam-The Super Man.
Ultimately, we all will be who Jesus chose us to be. We will be the walking, living, breathing, life-giving dream of God in flesh.
God has made each of us to be a gift to each other. And each one of us has a gift or gifts that God has given us. Right now, you have a gift; it’s like a bolt or nut in your hand or pocket. What do you dream about doing with it?
Do you dream about building yourself up or do you dream about being built into the Body of Christ?
Dare to dream Jesus’ dream.
Dare to surrender your gifts to Him—to His Body.
Dare to believe your little nut or bolt is an integral part of God’s plan to unite all things!
Then, with new eyes and an open heart, watch as His life rises in you . . . and in all of creation!
This devotional was prepared by Kimberly Weynen, Peter Hiett’s assistant. It is a compilation of devotional thoughts from Kimberly and excerpts from Peter’s sermon titled: (Body Building The Nuts and Bolts) To read, watch or listen to the sermon in its entirety click here: Body Building The Nuts and Bolts
*Discussion questions are available here:Discussion Questions Body Building (the Nuts and Bolts)