1 Corinthians 12:12-26 - The Body of Christ
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
We will begin reading in chapter 12 verse 12 and we will read down to verse 26 before pausing to pray for understanding.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 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.”
22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Lets Pray
When God created the vast beauty of the universe what was his intention?
What was his aim when he decided to make particular musical notes and rhythms work together to make music?
Why would he make such diversities like color schemes, dry ground, sky, and sea, or male and female?
What was his goal when he created the whole animal kingdom with all of its unique and varied wonder of mammals, and reptiles, and birds, and fish?
What was God thinking when he made the jelly fish?
The bible tells us that God created the cosmos with this one primary intent…. he aims to be glorified through that which he creates.
God aims to be glorified by his sovereign activity of creating diverse but beautifully unified complexities.
It is the way that the oranges, and yellows, and reds, and whites, and blues, work together that make sunsets and sunrises cause us to stop and wonder.
And God did that on purpose.
And what Paul is arguing in 1 Corinthians 12, is that God is actively and intentionally creating and building his church to fulfill his eternal purpose of glory.
Paul illustrates God’s design for the church by comparing it to God’s design for the human body.
The first thing I want you to notice though is that God is Actively Building and Arranging Local Churches on purpose.
Truth #1 God Builds His Church
Truth #1 God Builds His Church
Look at it with me at verse 18.
1 Corinthians 12:18 (ESV)
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
1 Corinthians 12:24 (ESV)
……But God has so composed the body……
1 Corinthians 12:28 (ESV)
28 And God has appointed in the church…
God actively and sovereignly builds and arranges local churches according to his good design….
Paul said something similarly in 1 Corinthians 3.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
Just as God has created the human body with its unified diversity, and breathes life into it.
God also works to build his church for his purposes.
and his purposes for the church are the same as his purposes for the cosmos.
He aims to be glorified through what he creates.
And Paul’s aim here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 is to help you understand exactly what God has created and is creating in and through local churches.
Paul aims to help you the reader understand what it means for you to join what God is doing in the church.
He wants you to understand what a church is,
how the church works,
and how you are called to be involved with its mission.
And Paul wants to accomplish all this clarity through analogy….
He wants you to understand the concept of church through the analogy of the human body.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Paul wants you to understand yourself not primarily as attenders of an event once a week on Sunday....
Rather, he wants you to understand yourself primarily as someone who joins yourself to a group of people.
He wants you to be an active member of a church body.
Truth #2 Church Members Join Together By One Spirit
Truth #2 Church Members Join Together By One Spirit
This illustration assumes a kind of commitment and connection between church members.
A church member understands himself or herself to be committed to and connected to fellow church members in a deep and meaningful way.
As meaningfully as my right hand is connected to my body, so Christians are called to be connected to a church body.
We join ourselves to one another for the mission of God.
We take church membership seriously here at St. Rose Community Church, but we do so because we are compelled to by the witness of Scripture.
We are compelled by this analogy which describes the very essence of a church……a group of members that are connected to one another as meaningfully as the members of my body are connected to me.
This joined togetherness we pursue together is God’s idea, and it is empowered by God’s Spirit.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
In the background of this verse is a robust theology of what the Holy Spirit of God does in an individual when they put saving faith in Jesus.
We are saved from our sins when we put faith in the message of the cross.
But it is the same Holy Spirit of God who empowers both the preaching and the believing we experience.
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
When we put faith in Jesus, God’s Spirit does a miracle in us.
We become walking miracles of the Spirit’s power.
In fact, the Spirit of God takes up residence with us and in us and continues his work through us.
According to Paul, as we join together, we become like living temples.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
God’s Spirit indwells us,
There is a unique way that we experience the Spirit of God when we gather together as the living temple of God.
The Holy Spirit indwells us
AND he gifts us for the work and purposes of God.
Thats what we saw last week.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
So if you are a Christian:
You have saving faith in Jesus because of the Spirit’s work in your life
You are indwelt by the same Spirit of God
You are gifted by the same Spirit of God.
And that same Spirit of God now has a unifying, binding, power which enables very different kinds of people to join together for the mission of God in the local church.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The unity we share in the same Holy Spirit is stronger than any kind of difference that might divide whether that be racial, or cultural, or social, or just relational.
In the first century, people groups who previously would have never spoken to one another, were changed by the Spirit, and they became a new kind of community of incredible closeness.
That means… you belong here…
You don’t have to look or talk a certain way to be here…
We have one primary thing in common.
God’s Spirit has worked in us to believe in the free grace of God through Jesus.
We are all sinners, saved by grace, through faith, in Jesus, and we have received the gift of the Spirit of God.
We have been baptized into one body…
Now its unclear in the language here whether Paul is referring to baptism in the technical sense of a water-baptism or if he is just using the Greek word “immerse” or “submerge”
The Greek word baptidzo means literally just to be immersed into something or totally covered or submerged into something.
This is why we do not do sprinkle baptism. It is literally contradictory to the word itself. The word means total immersion.
Paul could just be saying we all have been totally and entirely immersed into this one spirit and this one body the church,
OR he could be making a reference to the unifying work of the act of baptism.
Either interpretation can work contextually.
Remember that Corinth was actually using baptism as a point of contention and division.
They were arguing about who was greatest among them based upon who baptized them.
Paul actually began the letter rebuking them for this.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
The physical act of Baptism is meant to have a unifying effect on the church.
When someone gets baptized they profess publicly that they have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ… they believe Christ was crucified for them.
Baptism functioned as an initiatory right of the church…
It was the public and symbolic proclamation that we are united by our same profession of faith.
Everyone in the first century who placed faith in Jesus would have professed the same faith through this same symbol….
Whether you were Jew or Gentile, or rich, or poor, or slave, or master… you got into the same water and made the same profession of faith even at risk of your own life…
We are united as a church primarily by the same spirit who enables us to make this same profession which is symbolized by this same act of baptism..
Every time someone gets baptized here in this place, they profess to you, I am one of you, I share the same spirit, I share the same confession that Jesus is Lord.
It is a unifying act which symbolizes a theological reality.
Truth #2 Church Members Join Together by the Same Spirit
Truth #2 Church Members Join Together by the Same Spirit
But this togetherness does not mean that we are all exactly the same.
Members of a human body are unified, but members of a human body do not all exercise the same function.
We have unique personalities,
unique spiritual giftings,
unique opportunities,
unique desires,
unique stages of life,
unique backgrounds and experiences…
and according to Paul all of that diversity is a very good thing.
Truth #3 Church Members Work Together Through a Variety of Valuable Giftings
Truth #3 Church Members Work Together Through a Variety of Valuable Giftings
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 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.”
This analogy is meant to explain the nature of the local church, but it is also designed to confront what seems to be some unhealthy ways of thinking in the Corinthian church.
There seems to be some within the church who have a kind of self-loathing perspective.
They don’t think they are valuable.
They don’t think they can be used by God.
They are not engaging in the mission, because they don’t think they can contribute in valuable ways.
They say things like, “Because I am not _____, I do not belong to the body.”
They think that because they don’t have particular gifts, they should just give up trying to contribute to the mission of God.
There are others within the church who have a kind of self-exalting perspective.
They look at others in a condescending way.
They say things to other members like, “I have no need of you.”
These assume that their giftings are the most valuable giftings.
These two perspectives are aided by faulty understanding of what God values most.
The assumption is that God values most the same things that the natural world values most…
The assumption is that God values most the giftings and the people who stand on a stage, whose giftings are loud, and in your face.
Paul confronts this faulty assumption.
22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
Paul takes the analogy a step further with the body analogy.
He argues that there are certain parts of our body that are covered up.
They are rarely seen by anyone else, but no one would deny that those particular parts are pretty important.
They may not be shown on a stage, nor should they be, but they are essential parts of the body for the flourishing and the multiplication of human beings.
It is not the public nature of the giftings that determine their value in the kingdom of God.
No person should slip into either self-loathing, or self-exalting, based on the public nature of the ways God has gifted them.
Paul is confronting both faulty perspectives and he is emphasizing the inter-dependence of the differing people within the local church.
He is emphasizing this fact…. You NEED the local church full of very different but united people…. and the local church NEEDS you.
Your personality, and giftings, and particular season of life, and particular sphere’s of influence, and and particular missional opportunities are unique and they are necessary for the flourishing of the church and the accomplishment of God’s mission.
God has arranged you to operate in a community of people for the work of the ministry.
The question is not whether you can be useful, the question is whether you are being faithful with what God has given you?
Are you stewarding what God has given you that you might be a blessing to others in the church and in the world?
There is a pervasive misconception when it comes to spiritual gifts in the modern American Concept of church.
We tend to think of church as primarily a Sunday morning event… we think of church as a program we attend rather than a people we join...
Because of that we most naturally think of giftings as they relate to the Sunday morning service…
So people typically think that there primary options are to preach, teach, sing, play an instrument, help in the nursery, or help with the welcome team or tech team.
And it’s certainly true we need gifted people to do all those things….
We need people who know about construction,
we need people who are willing to help clean the facilities,
we need people who can direct parking,
we all chip in and have a part to play in the Sunday morning moment,
But Those things don’t define your contribution to the church.…
The primary ministry of the church is the ministry of caring relationships.
We care for one another by sharing the word of God with one another through our personalities and giftings.
Notice how Paul brings the paragraph to conclusion
that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Truth #4 Diverse Church Members Join Together to Create a Community of Care
Truth #4 Diverse Church Members Join Together to Create a Community of Care
The ministry of the variously gifted members is a ministry of care for one another.
It is a ministry of relationships.
We use our giftings, abilities, personalities, and opportunities, to care for each other.
We use our giftings to suffer together when our fellow member suffers.
We use our giftings to honor one another, and to rejoice together.
We want the spiritual progress of each other and we celebrate when we see it.
This weekend we had a men’s retreat through which we saw a whole variety of giftings get put into action.
Zach Huhner arranged the transportation,
Jarrod, Fabian, Ronnie, Stephen and others prepared and served food for all the men
Drew and Randy led music
Cole Smith directed and planned the retreat
Kody and Drew and Darrin and I preached sermons
Ray put together a break out on discipleship
Graham, Wayne, John, and Willem shared their testimonies
Christian ran the technology for the services
Several others led small discussion groups
But spiritual giftings are not just seen in those kind of tangible contributions to a program.
There was one moment on the retreat where I felt the intangibles come to life right in front of me.
Alexander and I were talking with a brother who was opening up about some very difficult things in his life.
As this brother spoke about the difficulties, my mind was racing, sort of assessing analytically for some kind of solution I could offer, some kind of word of wisdom, or direction that I could take the conversation.
Before I could start trying to speak some sort of solution into being…, Alexander stopped us with tears streaming down his face and he grabbed this brothers arm and said “can I pray with you”…
Through a trembling gentle loving voice and through tears he prayed for this man a short and simple prayer and he embraced him…
It is what the action that the moment called for…
And it was God using the unique giftings and personality of Alexander to care for another person in a better way than I could have in that moment.
As Alexander prayed…, I thought this is the body of Christ.
This is the beautiful collection of diverse people caring for one another.
This is God glorifying.
This is a good gift of God.
This is a joyful gift of God.
When Paul teaches on the church as the body of Christ…, he is not heaping up condemnation, he is casting a vision for a beautiful way of life.
Every human being has certain unexplainable cravings.
We want friends.
We want someone to cry with.
We want someone to rejoice with.
We want to make a difference in the world.
We want to live for some kind of purpose in the world that is bigger than us.
We want to feel valuable and used.
We want to be accepted despite our differences and failures.
We try to satisfy those desires in all the wrong things, but what if many of those desires are actually satisfied in our relationship with Jesus and our relationship to his church he is building.
Let me leave you with a few points of application.
#1 Be Joined to Jesus in Faith
#1 Be Joined to Jesus in Faith
In keeping with the body analogy, Paul elsewhere refers to Jesus as the head of the body.
We are first and foremost joined to him.
He directs us, and guides us.
Without him and the gift of his Spirit we can do nothing.
If your not a Christian here this morning, your primary need is to be joined to Jesus in a relationship with him through faith.
He invites you to be forgiven of your sins and filled with his Holy Spirit.
But you have to trust him to be the Lord and Savior of your life.
You cannot be a part of the church body, if you are not first joined to Jesus.
In fact, every disaster of divisiveness and sin within the church can be traced to the fact that somewhere along the way the members stopped prioritizing their relationship with Jesus first.
As we all walk closer and closer with Jesus, we will find ourselves walking closer and closer with each other.
#2 Be Joined to a Bible-Believing Church
#2 Be Joined to a Bible-Believing Church
Casual attendance to a weekly event is not God’s design for human flourishing.
It is not God’s best for you.
There is a better kind of life, that glorifies Christ and is filled with joy.
I love the first description of church life in Acts 2.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Lets be a part of that kind of life.
#3 Be Active With Your Various Giftings in the Ministry of Care
#3 Be Active With Your Various Giftings in the Ministry of Care
A ministry of care through your spiritual gifting doesn’t just happen.
It requires initiative.
You have to watch for needs in the church, and you have to assess how you can meet those needs.
You have to pursue relationships,
make yourself available,
you have to change how you think about church attendance.
The analogy of the body of Christ changes our perspective of the gathering.
We are not here just to fill our spiritual tank… We are not here just to consume spiritual truth…,
We are here to use our giftings in the lives of the people around us.
We are called to care for one another.
Lets put our lives on the table before the Lord, and lets ask his Spirit to guide us and to empower us to be what he has made us to be.
Lets Pray