People of God (Keeper)

Intro

We are working through a series of messages systematically examining many of the basic things which we believe as Christians. Today, in light of the “Fishing Together” conference the last couple of days where our sister churches gathered together here, I thought it fitting to look at what we believe about the church.

We are the people of God, but what does that mean? Are we children of God? Are we followers of Jesus? Do we work together or do we work alone? What is this building? What is this congregation? What are all believers? There are hundreds of questions we could ask about any component of what we believe, and we strive to answer to such questions. You never know when someone might ask it of you. And if you are not prepared to give an answer, who knows what opportunities we might miss because of it.

As with many of our messages of late, we will be examining a few different scriptures today and so I encourage you to start by opening your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

One of the ways that we look at the church is as the Body of Christ. This is an important metaphor used in scripture to describe corporately the people of God. It is used of both Jews and Gentiles and in such a way as to eliminate any notion that there will be any barriers between people in eternity. It is also reflective of a Church that is spread far and wide through many different localized congregations.

Belonging to and being active in a local congregation is a vital component for spiritual health and well being. It is in the church that a Christian ought to receive training and instruction for daily living. It is in the church that a Christian ought to learn about evangelism and discipleship. But it is outside of these church walls that the work of growing the church truly happens! So, what can we as Oakbank Baptist Church learn from the scriptures today about how we function as a Church?

People of God as Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 NIV

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

I love this passage of scripture because it really highlights what it means to be a part of the body of Christ… the church. Everyone is needed and needs to be involved. There is a place for everyone in the congregation! Not everyone needs to be up at the front in front of everyone. There are many vital roles that make church happen that an average person might never think about on any given Sunday. There is a place for everybody to serve.

It could be making coffee in the morning for Sunday School. It could be the baking that gets shared. This place wouldn’t be nearly as pleasant if it wasn’t for our janitorial couple! There wouldn’t be much of a youth group if we didn’t have someone in charge of that ministry, but you can ask Cam and he’ll tell you that there wouldn’t be much of a youth ministry if he didn’t have volunteers that help him and Stephanie out! And special events like what we just had can’t happen without incredible volunteers taking care of meals, music, administrative tasks and so much more!

This passage in particular points out the necessity of the different parts. Paul uses the example of a foot or an ear complaining that they are not a hand or an eye. Jealousy can be a problem in the church… is there ever a case where jealousy isn’t a problem? Problems arise when we allow those thoughts to affect our ability to be a part of the body. The person behind the pulpit is no more or less valuable than the person in the nursery, or the person greeting people at the doors. The body needs those who are equipped differently than one another just as the body needs eyes, ears, hands and feet.

One thing that I love that Paul includes in this passage comes in from verses 22-27 where even those members of the body that we deem less honorable or as weaker are just as vital to the body as the rest. I think I’ve given this example before about this passage, but we might not think much about a pinky toe, but when we stub it on the corner of a desk or something, you immediately understand that it is in fact a very important part of your foot. There probably isn’t a person sitting here today that doesn’t have some story to share about how a certain part of the body gives grief and affects our daily functioning. From fingers and toes, to joints and muscles, to internal and external organs. It’s all part of it and it all works together for the betterment of the whole. And Paul ties all of that in with the notion of the body of Christ. Verse 26 says: “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” So regardless of what part of the body you think you are, you are a valuable and needed part and what you do matters! You contribute in ways you would never have imagined. And you absolutely would be missed if you weren’t there and the ministry of the church as a whole would suffer! And as with any muscle, you will grow stronger the more you use the gifts that make you a part of the body that you are! And as with muscle growth, sometimes those processes might be uncomfortable in the moments, making you question your role, but the stronger you grow, the more effective you are at what you do! God equips each of us uniquely. Discover those gifts and use them to His glory!

People of God Equipped to Benefit the Church

Ephesians 4:4–12 NIV

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

This passage adds to what we read earlier in 1 Corinthians in that it emphasizes the unity of the body. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all… This emphasis on one God would have been incredibly important for the early church as they began to wrestle with the doctrine of the Trinity even as it became clearer in their minds. I have said many times throughout this series and in messages over my years of preaching that there is no word: “Trinity” in the Bible. But the context of what we read and certain statements and declarations that specifically and distinctly mention all three aspects of the Trinity are evidence that even in the earliest stages, the church knew the importance of declaring faith in one God, and that one God as revealed in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! They would have understood the implications of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. But even here in a passage about spiritual gifts, we see the importance of Father, Son and Spirit in their distribution.

But our focus today is not on the gifts themselves, but rather how God has designed those gifts to work together. Again, emphasizing unity and oneness, Paul declares that some are called to the office of apostles, some to be prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and some as teachers. Each of these leaders has a distinct emphasis to their teaching and training. And every person is gifted differently, and most of those gifts will have something to do with one of these. Did you notice what verse 12 says? These gifts are given and distributed “for the equipping of the saints for the work of serice, to the building up of the body of Christ.” Everything is for the glory of God and oftentimes that glory is specifically directed towards Jesus Christ, other times to the Holy Spirit, or to God the Father. But it all serves one unified purpose! Build the body and praise the Lord!

Christ as the Head of the Body

There are a great many scriptures that I could use as I shift our attention to Christ as the head of the body, but I notice that many are coming from Ephesians and so for this part of the message, I want to pick this one theme woven through the letter. Therefore, for those interested in digging deeper into this specific subject, you will find plenty, particularly in Paul’s writtings.

Ephesians 1:22–23 NIV

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Right from the opening chapter, Paul emphasizes to the Ephesian Christians the importance of seeing Jesus as the head and all of us being subject to Him. And notice too, that Paul clearly is making use of the body analogy in that Christ is the head and the church is the body. There is no mistaking it. Christ is in charge and we listen to Him! Turn to chapter 5.

Ephesians 5:23 NIV

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

I won’t dive into the details of God’s intentions for how the family ought to function today, but perhaps another time we will take a closer look at this passage and do a more thorough examination of that topic. What I do want us to notice here is that as Paul is making an analogy for how a family ought to function, he points to the metaphor he has already been developing where Christ is the head of the church. Here though, Paul adds the fact that Christ is more than just the head… more than just in charge. Christ saved the body… He is the “Savior of the body.”

And how did Christ save the body? He died on the cross for the sins of all people who would believe in His name and receive Him into their hearts as Savior and Lord! Remembering that fact ought to dramatically alter how someone might perceive the passage as a whole, particularly as it is talking about a husband’s role towards his wife.

Turn back to chapter 4.

Ephesians 4:15–16 NIV

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. 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.

This is an interesting passage in that not only does it identify Christ as the head, but it says that we are to grow up into all aspects of Him who is the head. We are to become like Christ.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, all themes throughout scripture are woven together in such a beautiful way. Here we have Paul using the metaphor of Christ as the head of the church, which is the body. But even in the midst of this, we get touches of what discipleship looks like, we get touches of what it means to be in the family of God, adopted into the family through faith in the Son!

But this passage in particular emphasizes how Christ as the head not only leads the church, but unifies the church and brings it all together. We get more details about how the body fits together and what joins it. More than that, we see that we are meant to grow as Christians, not just individually, but corporately. Christ, as the head, is working towards something pretty amazing and He has the plans in place to see that it is accomplished!

Conclusion

Bringing this message to a close today, I will emphasize again the importance of Christ as the head of the church. If we are His body, we need to listen to His leading. Just as our heads give direction and process information, so too does Christ give the direction according to the plan set in place by His Father.

We are His body in this world. We carry on the work that He was doing. We need to go where Christ wants to go. We need to reach out to those whom Christ wants to reach. If Jesus would heal the sick, then as His hands and feet, let us go and touch and pray as Jesus would have done, because that is how He does it now. If Jesus would teach and preach, then we need to boldly go and teach and preach the messages He would say.

This is a call to those who are faithful to Jesus. Be the body of Christ. Glorify the Father and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.