The Body of Christ (Life)
The Purpose of the Church ( • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Text: Hebrews 10:5-7
Intro: We begin our study here today in Hebrews to remind of us of this amazing conversation between God the Father and God the Son prior to Christ birth. We see that a physical body had been prepared for Christ but that this was only the beginning. Per our previous lessons we know that along with that physical body, there was also a spiritual body being prepared. We learn about that spiritual body in,
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Remember that we are working from the biblical premise that we as the spiritual body actually have the DNA of Christ. Genetically, those things that He did, the marks He bore, and the very nature of Christ in His Physical body, is now to be put on display by us, His corporate, visible, spiritual body known as the local church! This means that God’s plan is that the glory of Christ, is now manifest through us!
From the beginning of our study we laid out seven attributes that were displayed in Christ’s physical body. We are going to continue to look at those attributes. Here is the thing…
Once we have identified what those attributes are, we must then embrace an uncompromising priority toward them!
We do not get to pick what those attributes are, we have His DNA. This means that everything is determined for us by Him...
Attribute/Priority #1 Because Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1,14)
We must embrace an uncompromising priority on Expository Preaching.
Attribute/Priority #2 Because Christ is the Image of God (Col. 1:15)
We must embrace an uncompromising priority on Biblical Discipleship.
Attribute/Priority #3 Because Christ is the Power of God (Romans 1:16)
We must embrace an uncompromising priority on Missions.
Tonight: We will look at our 4th Attribute/Priority of the local church…
Attribute/Priority #4 Because Christ is the Life of God (John 1:4, 15:4-5)
We must embrace an uncompromising priority on Exponential Reproduction.
If you have every studied or read the life of Christ in your Bible then you will see without any doubt that throughout His physical life, and His resurrected life, that Jesus put on display for all the world to see, what Life is and was intended to be in Him!
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This probably goes without saying but notice that Jesus didn’t say, that the teaching of Christianity is the way, the truth and the life? It is important that this is said, we are not Christians because of Christ’s teaching… We are Christians because of His person… We are Christians not just because of what Jesus said. We are Christians because of Who He was… We are Christians because He was the WAY, because He was the truth, because He was the life,! He is all of those things which is why He goes on to say, no man cometh...
Remember that the Apostle John begins his Gospel account in;
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
It is important for us to remember that when Christ made His physical entrance on this earth that for 4000+ years, since the sin and spiritual death of Adam, the world had been in darkness...
For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Son (earthly body)
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
John came to end of his life and wrote...
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
Do we see that in verse 1, we see the elements of an earthly body? We have heard, see, looked upon, and handled...
We could go to many more places to see this and we will go to one more, so that you all know from the Bible that I did not just entitle Christ with this, but it is defined from the Bible that He is the LIFE!
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
So if that is Who He was in His physical body, and Life was on display in that body, then we must also, be Life… But, what does that look like?
God’s “LIFE” in the spiritual body of Christ...
You see the very moment that God saved you, you were put in Christ, and He is you… The Bible teaches us that, and in that moment, you became Life!
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Not who gave His life shall appear… “WHO IS”
These attributes that Christ possessed and displayed for us, have been the same attributes that have now been entrusted to us that we might make manifest them to the world. If you are saved here today then, you have recieved life, (not because of good deeds, or because of a certain amount of faith, or giving, or smiling) but for no other reason than this, because you have recieved Christ!
His life is now in us!
I think we would all agree though that at times that life is not manifested through this body (me), and I think we would all agree that at times His life is not always manifested through this body (church).
That is why Paul said what he said in,
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
You see the life is in us, but in order for that life to be manifested in and through us, we must bear in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus!
Question: Can you get there?
The cross was the instrument of Christ’s death that brought me life!
Now that same cross, is the instrument of my death, that brings Him life!
It is the life that is manifested through dying, which allows His life to be manifested in and through us!
God’s “LIFE” as it was intended to be manifested from the beginning.
God through the Godhead makes the declaration that He is going to make man...
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
God explains what took place in the next chapter.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God took of the dust, he made the earthly tabernacle of that man, or his physical body.
Into that physical body, which was just a shell at that point, God breathed into his nostrils, that very life! God breathing His life, into that man… The result was that man became a living soul… An eternal being, because he had the life of God.
This first man, was created, and God intended for Adam, to have an intimate, personal, love relationship with the God Who had created him. God’s intention for that man who bore the life of God be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth...
Man had a problem in that moment however… Do you know what it was? man was alone… He needed women, and God in verse 18 created from man, but she was different man because she was a woman, and now God’s commission could be fulfilled through them.
However, before this could get started there was a problem… Genesis 3 came into the picture...
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
So instead, of replenishing the earth with life, the earth was replenished with death...
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
This means, that the children of Adam, possessed Adam’s fallen image...
This is the case in the entire Old Testament.
But, then we come to the New Testament and a little town called Bethlehem. Where there is one who is born with no earthly father. He is born of a virgin, so He comes into this world, born possessing the life of God, and the image of God, and with the title of being the second Adam?
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
As the second Adam, He was the second human who bore Gods Image, and God’s Life and God had a plan!
The plan was for the second Adam, was very similar to the first Adam. God’s plan for the second Adam was to take a bride. You see, we are not just the body of Christ, but we are also the bride of Christ. God intended that first Adam, take the women, whom God had created “bone of Adam’s bones, and flesh of Adam’s flesh: Why? because she had been taken out of man… Through the intimacy of there relationship, God intended that they would be fruitful and multiply. That the “Image” and the “Life” of God would be spread through the whole earth. (We already looked at the problems here…)
You see the second Adam (Christ), who bore and was the “Image” of God, and Who bore and was the “Life” of God, was to take those, who had recieved His Life, and who now represent the bride and body of Christ. And it is now through our intimate relationship with Him, that we bear His fruit, which is His Image, and which is His Life.
But, we are not only fruit bearers, you see we, who are the body, and bride of Christ, are to produce spiritual offspring! We are to reproduce, ourselves, not as who we once where, but who we are in Him!
The fruit which is born through the womb of our life, and has taken our One Husbands name, now possessing His life and His image, the fruit that is born, is intended to be brought to maturity and remain, so that they, (our offspring) through their relationship with Christ should too, bear fruit that remains!
God’s plan through the second Adam is the same as it was through the 1st Adam.
1st Adam was to fulfill this commission through physical reproduction.
2nd Adam was to fulfill this commission through spiritual reproduction.
But, the end result was intended to be the same…
So what are the marks of the local body that embodies the “life of God”
#1 Every person is focused on developing an intimate, personal, love relationship with Christ… Resulting is bearing fruit.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
This is not salvation, but how we go about our commission...
Every one of us, who has the life of God in us, God wants us to bear fruit, spiritual offspring.
The way that bear spiritual offspring, is through the intimacy of our relationship with Christ.
We understand how this works right? If there is no intimacy, then there is no offspring… I am not trying to be mean, but some of think we have grown to spiritual maturity, and that we have this intimate, personal love relationship with Christ. He has chosen and ordained, that we bear fruit… Can I challenge us with this, if we are now bearing fruit, rather than passing it off as “that” is not my gift. Maybe, we can take a step back, because it is likely, that we are not as intimate as we think we are… I think we will see, that even with all we know about Him, that maybe we just don’t know Him.
If we could cry out with Paul… “that I may know Him”
He has chosen and ordained that we bear fruit, and it will happen (not may) through an intimate, personal, love relationship with Christ!
God gave us His word, not just so that we could fill our heads with knowledge. Not so that we can walk around and Bible thump people over the head with a vast knowledge of Him… God gave us His word so that we could bear fruit… And if we don’t see it that way then we are missing the point....... How can we every as His body, as His bride get to the place of reproduction as God intended if most of the people in the church have barren wombs?
In a local church that embodies the Life of God...
#2 Every person then focuses on investing in their spiritual offspring, so that the fruit remains.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
If we would invest in them, that fruit will remain. And that fruit will not just show up in church, but that they will be reproducers…
Note: “Investing” = seeing our spiritual offspring (fruit) grow to maturity by them developing an intimate, personal, loving relationship with Christ that results in them bearing fruit.
Reminder: This is the end goal of discipleship. Not to walk around all studly with the Bible, and show up anyone who makes a mistake.
This is what it is all about, investing in other people, which causes them the have a personal relationship with Christ, and eventually bear fruit...
Example: Paul had Timothy, Titus and many others.
Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
Peter had Marcus, and many others.
The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
John had Gaius, and others, and said,
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
If you are here today and you are saved, it is because of God’s plan, of reproduction. Without it we perish, but in it, we have “LIFE” because in it, we have Christ!