The Full Picture

Tonight we are going to talk about being joined together as the body of Christ. There are typical scriptures that talk about this in understanding why it’s important to be joined together, but I want to approach this from a slightly different angle.

I don’t want to talk about the efficiency of the body as much as I want to talk about the purpose of the body. Obviously, being joined and united as Christ’s body is helpful in accomplishing the work Christ set out to accomplish on the cross; however, I want to discuss a difficult to see purpose in the unification of the body and the importance of it from this viewpoint.

This different viewpoint is shown to us in Colossians 2:1-3

Colossians 2:1–3 ESV

1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Jesus is the Cornerstone

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

1 Peter 2:4–8 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

The cornerstone, in construction, is the foundation upon which the entire structure is built, providing stability and alignment for all other elements.

Jesus is what keeps us all aligned and unified. Without Jesus, we have a religion that will be jagged and go all different kinds of directions. It is the equivalent of a headless body. First of all, a headless body can’t live. Secondly, if somehow it could live, it wouldn’t be of much good use.

Paul is making this point about Christ here because there were those trying to lead them away from Christ. Taking Jesus out of our faith ruins the entire building. If Jesus never died and rose again, if He lied to all of us about the things He said, and He never even existed all of our faith is completely dead.

We can make other outside beliefs the cornerstone; therefore, uprooting Christ from the foundation, but we can also replace Christ with our own favorite teachings of the Bible.

Yet, there is a tendency to unconsciously avoid the teachings of Christ in favor of some other emphasis from the Scriptures. We make our favorite teaching the cornerstone of our congregation rather than Christ Himself.

Francis Frangipane

We must be careful of even this. Everything hinges and rests on Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Stumbling Block

1 Peter 2:4–8 ESV

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

The very thing that our faith is built upon is the very thing people struggle with the most. The very person they sought to destroy became the very foundation of the greatest revolution in history. Jesus is a stumbling block for many people.

They don’t like a lot of the things He taught. However, Jesus is the door to our greatest desires being met.

Jesus holds the Treasure

God made it so that anyone who truly finds Jesus finds the treasure of all wisdom and knowledge. The story of all creation and the most difficult questions of life are opened up to them and He gives them every good gift found in knowledge and faith in Him.

Jesus is off putting to those who don’t have Him, but when you do finally make Him Lord of your life, you suddenly become aware of everything you have been missing.

How do we gain FULL access to the treasures found in Christ?

We unite with one another in love. The full picture of Christ cannot be seen in isolation. It is only found in unity with His body which is the church. Trying to see Christ without the church is like trying to put a puzzle together with just one piece. It’s useless.

I am convinced that rejection of Christ begins when we start believing that we don’t have to be part of the body in order to be a Christian. If you truly follow Jesus you will have a desire to be united with His body.

If you want all of the treasures and knowledge of Christ you will find it in His body i.e. the church. We are withholding these treasures and knowledge when we forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

Just as Jesus Christ had to take on Himself a body in order to accomplish God’s will on earth, so we must yield our bodies to Christ that He might continue God’s work through us.

Warren W. Wiersbe