One
Body with Many Members June
9, 2018
Have
you ever thought about your Body and how marvelous it is made?
Every
part has its own function. We all know that our Body is made up of many
different parts and it takes all of these parts to make up our Body, example,
As we might be older group, we tell our grandkids, ear hears, eye sees, foot
walks we hold hands.
Did
you know that the Bible also talks about a Body? The Body of Christ.
We
understand that
the Bible is talking about a spiritual Body by
using the natural
Body as an illustration.
When
we receive the Holy Spirit and Jesus lives in us, then by the Holy Spirit we
have been joined together to make up one Body.
As we grow in grace and knowledge, we follow His commands and example
and He forms us to be what He wants us to be and we are members of His Body.
Jesus
is the head of the Body and we are the feet, hands, toes, fingers and other
parts of the Body. Jesus being the head tells and directs us what to do since
we are the members of the Body.
One
of us may be a hugger, or an
encourager like Barnabas, praying
for others, put others needs before their own, acts of kindness to others, put
Jesus first in their lives, teach their children and grandchildren, show love
to others, etc, which are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Just being there gives support to the Body. We all have a purpose in this wonderful Body, which
is called the Body of Christ.
*Galatians
5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
(23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law.
We
do not have the same abilities, but what we have is important to the Body of
Christ. It takes every one of us to make
up His Body.
Let's
see what Scriptures says about the Body.
Ephesians 2:16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,
by which he put to death their hostility.
Ephesians 4:3-6 Make every effort to keep
the unity of the
Spirit through the bond of peace.
(4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were
called; (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism; (6) one
God and Father of all, who is over all and through all
and in you all.
The
Body Illustrates Our Unity in Christ
One Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit
who baptizes each believer into the Body of Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit
is to unify believers in Christ. This is the unity that the believer is
instructed to keep.
The Word of God says "There is one Body" (Eph. 4:4), not
two, nor three, but one - only one. That "one Body" is the Body of
Christ (Eph. 1:23); that is, -every true Christian is to Christ what a man's
foot, hand, etc., is to that man.
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must
put off falsehood and speak truthfully to
your neighbor, for we are all members of one Body.
We
are called to promote truth and unity.
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of
the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the
Body.
Ephesians 5:29-30 After all, no one ever hated their own body,
but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— (30) for we are members of his body.
The only thing found in Scripture,
there is the one Body of Christ, formed by the
"one Spirit" of God and this ties all
Believers together.
We know the members of that one Body
are scattered all over the earth. We cannot assemble together in one place,
therefore, we assemble in any convenient location for those who lives in that
area.
There may be "two or three,"
or ten or more. Jesus, the Savior and Head of the Church, has committed Himself
to be present in the midst of us when we assembled together in services in His
Name. We know, more of us can gather
together a few hundred around the world during the Feast of Tabernacle at a planned
location.
*Matthew
18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst
of them."
This
verse show there is organization to the Body of Christ.
*Colossians
1:18 And He {Jesus} is the head of the Body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the
preeminence.
Jesus is our center of services and the
Temple was the center of Israel worship service.
Our
church here does affect others in the Body of Christ. Prayers, Cards, feasts, etc. We know the
Churches of God does not agree in all doctrine and other things from the
Scriptures, in fact we have divisions over small things. What are we going to do? Not meet with different members
of the Body at the various High Days or the Feast of Tabernacles. That is one of the reasons why we have so
many different members of the Body.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one
of you: Do not
think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of
yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed
to each of you.
Romans 12:4,5 For just as each of us has one Body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function, (5) so in Christ we,
though many, form
one Body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Each of us is
connected with every other member of the Body and that is what counts.
Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to
each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance
with your faith;
(7) if it is serving, then serve;
if it is teaching, then teach; (8) if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;
if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy,
do it cheerfully
The Body of Christ, like all bodies, is comprised
of many parts. There are limbs, organs, and various members that, when left
alone, are useless, but when assembled make up the entire Body
Taking
of the bread and wine at Passover
*1
Corinthians 10:17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
Let’s
go to 1 Corinthians 12 and go through this verse by verse
Verse
12 and 13 is the only place in the entire Bible where the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, what is consists of and when it occurs, is explained to us, but we have
read where it is referred to in a number of places.
Paul has been talking to the
Corinthians about their spiritual gifts and their part in the Body of Christ,
and then he goes on to say these words:
1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the Body is one and has many members,
but all the members of that one Body, being many, are one Body, so also is
Christ.
Again
the Body Illustrates Our Unity in Christ
The
local church is to be united
*1
Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you agree with one another in
what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be
perfectly united
in mind and thought.
*1
Corinthians 1:13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?
Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
*1
Corinthians 11:17-18 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do
more harm than good. (18) In the first place, I hear
that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent
I believe it.
The
Church is not to be a battle zone
*James 4:1
What causes fights
and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that
battle within you?
Now Paul answers the question,
"How did we get into that body?" and shows the Body of Christ does not consist of
everybody in the world, only certain ones.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we
were all
baptized into one Body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free--and have all
been made to drink
into one Spirit. {Greeks or Gentiles)
Important: The body-like unity of Christians is not a goal to
achieve; it is a fact to be recognized. Not
Jewish religion, but individual Jew.
The
dividing lines between individuals is no more, did not matter anymore if they
have the Holy Spirit living in them, because we are now all in One Body. Remember, Jesus and John the Baptist predicted baptism
with the Holy Spirit.
Notice, word, All, is used 2 times, That is why this passage clearly establishes for us that
all believers are both baptized by
and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit to make Jesus Himself
real to every believer.
*John 16:15 All that belongs to the
Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you."
Jesus said the
relationship would be this, a beautiful way of saying it.
*John 14:20
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
When the Spirit baptizes us, received
by the laying on of hand, into the Body of Christ, he puts us into Christ and
then Jesus is in us.
The
Body share a common faith, conversion, fellowship and goal.
*Ephesians
4:15-16 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in
every respect
the mature body of him who is the
head, that is, Christ. (16) From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself
up in love, as each part does its work.
*Colossians
2:19 They have lost connection with the head, from
whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes
it to grow.
The
following verses, shows us the Holy
Spirit gives us a “poster” of the body of Christ (church), displaying its unity
as individual parts join together to function with harmony and be
effective as the Church of God, just like we see in the doctor’s office of the
human body (names, systems, etc.).
The
Body can grow and function effectively because we each and what we do is
valuable in the body today. Paul now
explains to us just how it works. One
attitude, cannot contribute to the body, don’t have any abilities.
1 Corinthians 12:14 For in fact the Body is not one member but many.
Paul
is telling us that each Christian is an equal part of the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15,16 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand,
I am not of the Body," is it therefore not of the Body? (16) And if the ear
should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the Body," is it
therefore not of
the Body? {two examples from
the body)
1 Corinthians 12:17,18 If the whole Body were an eye, where would be the
hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? (18) But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the Body just as He pleased. {simple question to ask us – diversity in Body is
essential}
God
has Designed the Church or Body to achieve His Purposes, serving at His
pleasure. The Father gives gifts are
given in accordance with His design and plans, not ours. Never feel insignificant in the Body of
Jesus.
1 Corinthians 12:19 And if they were all one member, where would
the Body be?
Example: godly example, inspires other, teaches
children, etc. Now It is amazing that so many people get the idea that they do not need the
rest of the body; they can function on their own; they have their own
abilities, their own ministry, and they can do things quite apart from others
1 Corinthians 12:20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one Body.
Now,
Paul gets into the meat of the problem, show less glamorous parts of the body
are just as important.
1 Corinthians 12:21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I
have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
No
one is to be a “church boss” – a dominating individual
*3 John 1:9
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.
1 Corinthians 12:22 No, much rather, those
members of the Body which seem to be weaker are
necessary.
Weaker
members are necessary, too.
*Romans
12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to
associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
1 Corinthians 12:23 And those members of the Body which we think
to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable
parts have greater modesty,
Our
unrespectable parts are treated with even more respect by covering them with
clothes. Opinionated “ranking” of
importance among brethren is wrong. Just
flat out wrong.
1 Corinthians 12:24 but our presentable parts
have no need. But God composed the Body, having given greater honor to that
part which lacks it,
Just
as we adorn our body so that all parts are honorably presented (modest), God
has arranged the Body of Christ (church) in such a way that the honor of every
member is displayed – cf. how we treat one another & others
*James 2:1-4
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show
favoritism. (2) Suppose a man comes into your meeting
wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also
comes in. (3) If you show special attention to the man wearing fine
clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor
man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet,"
(4) have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
1 Corinthians 12:25 that there should be no schism in the Body,
but that the members should have the same care for one another.
Unity
is the principal purpose. No one should
ever be neglected within the church.
“Love thy neighbor as thyself”
Any
gift which does not provoke love, tolerance, and forbearance toward other
believers is not a gift from the Lord.
Love is the final and acid test.
We
are to help one another to remain faithful
*1
Thessalonians 5:14 And we urge you,
brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the
disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1 Corinthians 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members
suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
The
care we have for one another, dependence upon each
other, our devotion to each other in joy & sorrow, in pleasure &
pain, in life & death – of our lives spent together in the Body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.
One
entity without division. Christ loves
His Church or Body. To injure or insult
it is to injure or insult Him. You can’t join it—you must be “born” into it.
Each one of us has been given a special gift and called to a
specific purpose. But we know on our own we will not accomplish much. Joining
together with other believers and using our gifts for the work of Christ is
what brings meaning and fullness to the Body of Christ.
The unity of the Body
of Christ is created in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul explains that each local church is members of the Body
of Christ which we just read. When
someone hurts, the Body of Christ should reach out to comfort and help them,
until they are okay again. We all need
each other, without you I will not be complete and with me you will not be
complete. We are all the members of the Body
of Christ, many members, yet one.
