1
For the Church should be our service,
'Tis the perfect will of God;
'Tis the only way of working
Which the Lord's apostles trod.
'Tis the perfect will of God;
'Tis the only way of working
Which the Lord's apostles trod.
For the Church should be our service,
Not our aims to satisfy;
This, the perfect will of God is,
And with it we must comply.
Not our aims to satisfy;
This, the perfect will of God is,
And with it we must comply.
2
For 'tis God's eternal purpose
That the Church His vessel be;
He intends that all our service
Build His Church continually.
That the Church His vessel be;
He intends that all our service
Build His Church continually.
3
All the gifted persons given
To the Body by the Head
Are to aid the Church's building,
That to fulness she be led.
To the Body by the Head
Are to aid the Church's building,
That to fulness she be led.
4
All the gifts and all the functions,
All the spirit's power shown,
All the ministries are given
For the Church and that alone.
All the spirit's power shown,
All the ministries are given
For the Church and that alone.
5
All the preaching of the Gospel,
All the teaching ministry,
Every other kind of service
For the church alone should be.
All the teaching ministry,
Every other kind of service
For the church alone should be.
6
Ministry is for the Churches,
Not the Church for ministry;
All the lampstands are the Churches,
Not a form of ministry.
Not the Church for ministry;
All the lampstands are the Churches,
Not a form of ministry.
7
This will keep the Church's oneness,
Saving us from every sect;
This will ever test our motives,
And our aim will thus correct.
Saving us from every sect;
This will ever test our motives,
And our aim will thus correct.
8
Lord, deliver us from our work,
From the work of any sect;
For Thy Church alone we'd labor
And its building up effect.
From the work of any sect;
For Thy Church alone we'd labor
And its building up effect.
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Irving, TX, United States
Every time we present ourselves to serve, before we begin we need to pray ourselves into the Spirit to ensure that our service is of God and not anything of ourselves. Then the church will be built, the Saints will be blended together in love, and Christ will be expressed!
Eastvale, CA, United States
This hymn touches the Lord's heart for the church and touches our hearts to function as members of His Body so it can grow. All the gifted ones plant. Water. Perfect. Shepherd. Evangelize. But they cannot make the Body grow. Only God can cause the growth of the Body! When we grow into the Head we produce out from the Head many functions for the building up of His Body. Ephesians 4:6 says that out from the Head the whole Body is being joined together through every joint of the rich supply and is being knit together through the operation in the measure of each one part to grow together and to build up itself in love so that Christ may have a full expression... Every one of us as member of the Body of Christ has a measure through the growth in life and can function for the growth and building up of the Body of Christ (CWWL, 1990 Vol 2, "The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord's Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure" ch 2)
Lubbock, TX, United States
Dear Adrienne, this song can also be sung to Hymn #62, which is a more familiar tune. How this comment is not too late. I see you commented in 2013.
Long Beach, CA, United States
Ep 5:25b …Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her
Ep 5:26 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word,
Ep 5:27 That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.
God is after such a reproduction of himself displayed in his believers. May we be impressed and directed our whole lives to give ourselves to live for this expression.
Rochester, MN, United States
This song is found in the hymnal page 914. For the church should be our service. Amen.
Texas
My church is really struggling with membership and I would love to sing this as a special to help us collectively get inspired to change in order for our church to grow and rebuild but I have never heard it and there is no audio nor have I been able to find it anywhere else. HELP