Relationship between ministry and authority

Another point we need to see is the relationship between ministry and authority. The eye of the body has its ministry. It controls the power of seeing. If the other members of the body desire to see, they must depend on the ministry of the eye. The meaning of coordination in the body of Christ is that I give others what I have and others give me what they have. The primary condition of coordination is for me to accept my limitation, acknowledging that I am but a member, not the body. If I am an all-round individual, I become the entire body and will need no coordination with others. Yet I am but a member, so I cannot consider myself as having all. However important is the eye, it cannot substitute the ear. Color can only be distinguished by the eye, and sound can only be detected by the ear. Perhaps I can speak but I cannot walk. I need to depend on you for walking. As soon as we see this, we come to realize how truly limited we each are personally. We have observed, however, that very few brothers and sisters really know coordination in practice.

For instance: the head covering of the sisters should speak to the brothers as well: yet frequently it does not. Christ declared: "I spake not from myself" (John 12.49). The Greek word ek used here means "out from." The Son cannot speak anything out from himself. In other words, Christ himself has His head covered before God. In turn the Church today has her head covered before Christ. And this reality of head covering is expressed through the head covering of the sisters. Whenever we are in coordination of the body, we each must lay down our head. It is not fitting for us to plan and to decide. Christ the sole Head is the one fit for such work. Yet how people today want to be the head. Let us therefore learn to resist our own ideas and opinions.