The Body of Christ (The Mystery Revealed)

Open in prayer

Speak about the upcoming movie on the 17th and 31st, The Agenda.

Ask Ralph Hoffnecht to come up and share what he’s doing with the “pray for Israel” banners!

I’m going to start off this morning by introducing what may turn into a small series of messages, entitled, “The Body of Christ”, depending of course, on where the Lord leads me. The emphasis of these messages, is to both exhort and encourage all of us, as well as to rebuke and correct all of us, in some shape form or fashion. (Which sounds an awful lot like a passage from the Word of God doesn’t it? II Timothy 3:16-17, tells us that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

This was of course the scripture passage that the men talked about yesterday at the “men’s breakfast”.

But this is, in reality, what the happens with the Word of God, when it’s active in the life of a believer. It profits the believer because they receive blessings through the teaching and sharing of the gospel message with other people; it benefits the life of each Christian through its rebuking (warning) them of sin and wrong doing in their life. The Bible corrects the believer, in the hopes that true repentance and forgiveness will take place and thus grow and strengthen the man/woman of God!

The Word of God ultimately gives the Christian instructions on how to live their daily life, so as to train each and every one of us and help guide us down the path of righteousness for His name’s sake! AMEN!

I really just wanted to include that passage from II Timothy 3, to make a plug for the “men’s breakfast” that we had yesterday and that has started back up again.

We’ll be meeting the second Saturday of each month (usually at Shoney’s) and we’ll be discussing various Bible topics together and praying together and all being lead by our dear brother and friend, John Meckley!

So, for every man here as well as any friends that you’d like to invite, I would personally like to encourage you to plan on joining us, because as John mentioned yesterday at the breakfast, it’s important that the men of the church begin to develop close relationships and bonds together,as brothers in Christ!

OK, onward then!

Let me ask you, “How many of you know and believe that EVERYTHING that God created, He created for a specific purpose?”

I mean, it doesn’t really matter if man and science have deduced why things are the way they are and what their purposes are for being here on the earth, or in the sea or in space, or in the realm of quantum physics, or anywhere else, for it to validate God’s existence and His purposes for creation, right?!

Suffice it to say, that if God put it here, there’s a purpose for it, right?!

So, with the thought in mind that “EVERYTHING that God created, He created with a specific purpose and intent”, let’s move forward.

Let me preface this message by mentioning something that took place decades ago across the globe, on the European continent.

So, there was this man, albeit a deranged and demonic little man, who took the helm as the chancellor of Germany in 1933. Most of us remember him and his plans for world domination and for the eradication of certain ethnic groups that he deemed as inferior and a disease on the world, as he laid out in a book which he wrote, entitled, Mein Kampf (which means, “My Struggle”).

That man was of course, Adolf Hitler.

During the rein of Hitler, the Nazi party used large amounts of propaganda, lies and fear tactics to control and deceive a nation (sound familiar to anyone right now?). Hitler stated, “Propaganda is a truly terrific weapon in the hands of an expert.”

And under the control of his regime and the plans that he laid out in his book, Mein Kampf, (which was actually given as a wedding gift to every newlywed couple in Germany during that time period), Hitler and the Nazi party strived to create and produce the so-called “master race”, the “aryan nation”, which was part of what they called, the “third reich”.

The word “reich” in German, referred to an empire, a nation, or could refer to a realm.

Basically the “third Reich” and the dream of a “master race”, was summed up to mean that Hitler and the Nazi party wanted to create a new race of humans, which they could control and use to replenish and fill their dominated nations with.

They had started “breeding” in controlled homes and places this “master race”, or aryan lineage.

It sounds far fetched and like something from a sci-fi movie, right?

Well, the reason that I mention this specific subject to you, and that of the creation of a “third reich”, a “third empire”, or another race, is because, in all actuality, this very thing is mentioned within the Bible and it actually happened.

NOT THE PART ABOUT THE BREEDING OF A RACE OF PEOPLE AND OF THE HATE AND OF THE DECEPTION of a tyrant , but their was a creation in the Bible of another race, a 3rd RACE of people!

Let me show where this is found and then I move forward.

In Paul’s epistle letters to the new Christians, he spoke about the “mystery of Christ” and the “mystery that had been revealed”, that for ages, was kept hidden; a secret from the world and its peoples.

Paul declares in his messages that the mystery had been revealed and that he was chosen as an apostle of God to teach and to declare the revealed mystery of God to the world!

In Ephesians 2 and 3, Paul discloses this mystery and expounds on it and what it meant to the world then and even more so, what it means even more so for the world today in this place and time in history.

In Ephesians 2:11-14, Paul wrote,

Ephesians 2:11–14 NLT

Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.

And in Ephesians 3:3-7, Paul said,

Ephesians 3:3–7 NLT

As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

So, what Paul is saying is that the “mystery” in Christ, which God prepared before hand, before the foundations of the world, was hidden for generation from men, until the right time to be revealed, as was now being carried out through the Holy Spirit of God.

And as you read through different epistles that Paul wrote, you will see more details about the fullness of the mystery of God, revealed through Christ Jesus and what it means for us!

Paul, much like an attorney in building a case for his client, goes into great detail about the deity and pre-existence and preeminence of Jesus and of the great sacrifice that He had to make to purchase us with His own blood on the cross, as we find in Colossians 1.

And in this chapter, in verses 25-27, Paul states, “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

So, Christ in us, which is our hope of glory, is part of the mystery revealed. And in the passage in Ephesians that we just read, Paul says that the mysterious plan of God was shown to him for all of us.

And that mysterious plan was that God was taking the two existing races on the earth, the Jews and the Gentiles, and through Jesus and His perfect work on the cross, God was creating another race of the people for His Son.

And what was that 3rd race, that 3rd created group that God formed through Jesus?

It was the “church”, us, you and I!

God took the two races, the Jews and the Gentiles, and through the Christ, He made the two into one race of people!

I mean, isn’t that what Jesus said that He was going to do in Matthew 16, when He said to Peter and the other disciples, that “upon this rock (upon the revelation of who I AM), I will build my body”?

God, the creator and Father of all, took the two groups of people, that up until that point in time and history, had always been separated, and He formed the Body of Christ!

Paul elaborates on this same understanding about who we were as gentiles and what we became in Romans 11:24, where he says,

Romans 11:24 NLT

You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.

In other words, what God did with us, through Jesus, was contrary, opposite, to what should have been able to happen. God took us and grafted us into His chosen race, to make ONE TREE, ONE RACE, ONE BODY................the BODY of CHRIST! AMEN!!!

And to the Apostle Paul, getting to declare this mystery to the gentile nations and share with them the riches of Christ, was an inexpressible joy!

In Ephesians 3:8 Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus,

Ephesians 3:8 ESV

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

I rather like the way that the Amplified Bible reads this same passage, as it says it this way, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints (God’s consecrated people), this grace (favor, privilege) was granted and graciously entrusted: to proclaim to the Gentiles the unending (boundless, fathomless, incalculable, and exhaustless) riches of Christ [wealth which no human being could have searched out].”

Other Bible translations have used similar verbiage to describe the riches of Christ, words like, “inexplorable riches, or untraceable, unfathomable, inexhaustible, illimitable, inscrutable, incalculable, and infinite.”

What are these riches that we find in Christ Jesus? I like the way that one commentator put it, “They are saving riches, sanctifying riches, relational riches, practical riches, and eternal riches. And what are the implications of this? Primarily, that Christ always enriches life!”

To Paul, getting to learn and live in the immeasurable wealth of the riches of his Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, was all that mattered!

There is an account that I read of, about the great, now deceased music composer, Arturo Toscanini and of his giving one of his more amazing concerts during his life. The audience was wildly enthusiastic. There were several encores, and still the audience cheered. Finally there was a lull in the din, and Toscanini turned his back to the audience and said so the orchestra could hear, “I am nothing; you are nothing; but Beethoven, he is everything!”

This is where we find the Apostle Paul in his letters and it should also be where every one of us is, if we have truly become a part of that blessed new race of people. To Paul and to us, nothing else should matter in this life, because Christ is to be EVERYTHING to us and in our lives!

I could actually spend weeks, and easily the rest of this message, in talking about nothing more, other than the grandeur and inexpressible wealth that is found in knowing of our great Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ!

But, for the purpose of this message and quite possibly, others to come, I will move forward.

I have laid the groundwork and shown that God created for Himself and for His Son, another race of people, a third race...... the Body of Christ........the church!

And now I move forward!

I stated at the beginning of this message and you all agreed, that everything that God makes, has a designed purpose, correct? (And take note, I didn’t say, “everything that God MADE has a designed purpose”, but rather, I said, “everything that God MAKES has a designed purpose”.) Why did I say it that way, as in present tense and not past tense? Simple. Because each and every time that another person comes to the saving knowledge of who Yeshua is and that person gives their life to Him, God instantly changes them into a new creature and grafts them into this new race! And so, God is always making something new, even today, as we sit here, all around this nation and all around the world new spiritual lives are being created, AMEN?!

So, what was and what is God’s purpose for creating this new race, this new people, which we collectively call, the BODY OF CHRIST?

In a short and general answer, Paul shows us in I Corinthians 12 that we all make up the full body of Christ here on earth. We all make up the eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet and the mouth of Jesus here on earth.

In other words, we, as ambassadors of Christ and as His physical operating body here on earth, are to be going about doing the work of His Father, as guided by Holy Spirit and for the glory of God!

Paul says it this way in Ephesians 2:10, “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

That’s a short and general answer as to why God created the church body, but Paul also gives another more profound and hard to understand, or at least hard to realize in the flesh, reason for the creation of the Body of Christ.

In our passage earlier from Ephesians 3, Paul says this in verses 10-11, “God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Basically, Paul was shown by revelation of Holy Spirit, that God created the church as a means to display His greatness and the mystery of His will to the angels in the heavenly realm.

They watch us, the church, in wonder and splendor, as we live out the greatness and the beauty and majesty of their creator, the Lord God almighty!

And from us and through our lives as the church, these mighty angelic beings see the love and indescribable splendor of God being demonstrated. We reveal to them, the continual unfolding of this great mystery, which is hidden in Christ, until the day when Jesus comes and claims His bride and then the fullness of the mystery of the church will be completely made manifest for eternity!

Peter mentioned the same thing I Peter 1:12 where he said, “And now, you have heard these things from the evangelists who preached the gospel to you through the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—the gospel containing wonderful mysteries that even the angels long to get a glimpse of.”

It was the late English evangelist and theologian, John Stott, who said it this way, “It is through the old creation (the universe) that God reveals his glory to humans; it is through the new creation (the church) that he reveals his wisdom to angels.”

Always remember that what you say and what you do, as a part of the body of Christ, is not just being observed and studied by other humans, but also, you are being used to show the glory of God to His mighty angels!

Let that sink in for a minute. Everything that you and I say and do, is being witnessed by God’s holy angels, as a testimony to His greatness and splendor!

God chose us, as His created race, to teach the angels of how His greatness, through our lives here on earth!

You are talking about created beings who know nothing except the greatness and beauty and majesty and perfection of Yahweh, and yet they watch us to learn more about the mystery and greatness of the very ONE with which they spend 24 hours a day, worshipping and praising and listening to!

And it broke my hearth this morning in thinking about this, because I thought how sad it must be for these angelic beings at times, to witness me, when I have sinned against God and cast a negative image of Him before others here on earth.

I thought to myself, what does it do to them, when they see someone who claims God as Lord of their life, living in a sinful, prideful manner and thus taking away from the glory of the very ONE whom these beings spend all eternity worshiping and bringing glory to! (USE ANALOGY OF A CHILD WHO LOVES THEIR FATHER, or a FATHER WHO LOVES THEIR CHILD AND SOMEONE DEFACES AND TRIES TO HURT THEM OR MAKE THEM LOOK BAD!)

I’m not saying that we are to live our lives to please these angelic beings who observe us, because the Bible clearly says that all that we do, is to be done for the glory of God and God alone!

BUT, what I am saying is that God chose us as the vehicle to demonstrate to His created angels, the vastness and greatness of His will and the mystery of that will, through how we live our lives!

And they will watch us and observe the continual revelation about their Creator as we grow more and more into image of His Son, who is seated at the right hand of God!

Until the day when the Bride of Christ, the church, is called to be with bride for all eternity.

And not just a bride, according to the way the world sees a bride, but the bride that God will call to His house to be with His Son, is going to be a spotless bride, without blemish; pure and holy, as Ephesians 5:25-27 tells us,

Ephesians 5:25–27 ESV

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

If this is the way that we are to be presented before Jesus, (pure, spotless and without blemish), then what does this say about how we ought to be living our daily lives? And this, the finality of our being called home to the bridegroom, is a part of the glorious mystery of God, as Paul mentions in Ephesians that the joining of the husband and the wife is analogous to the church and Jesus and to this he said, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

The wedding ceremony is growing very close and the Father will soon say to His son, “Go and get claim your bride!”

Where will you be found on that day? What will be the condition of your life that He finds you in when He comes?

Will you be ready for His return, to complete the mystery of the ages and join in with the angelic hosts for all eternity, in worshipping our great Lord and Savior?

Are you a part of the Body of Christ in name only, or do you live out your life to fulfill the created purpose of the church?

For this reason, Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:1-7,

Ephesians 4:1–7 ESV

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

In the vastness of His glorious mystery, that is being revealed through you and I and the way that we live our lives, God created us as His people, to be as He and His Son are.........ONE!

One body, on Spirit, one Hope, one Lord, one Faith, one baptism and one God and Father of all and who is over all and through all and in all!

If I feel so lead, I will go talk next week, more about the Body of Christ and its functions, starting with what Paul just mentioned, where he said, “ to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”

So, next week, we may be looking at the “walk” of the Christian!

Dear friends let me ask you right now, are you learning each day of your life, more and more about the vast greatness of God and of His glory and love and mercy? The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 2:9-10,

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 NLT

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.

Is that where your life is today, learning of and growing in the deep secrets of God?

I will close with the prayer of Paul for the church in Ephesians 3:14-21, where he wrote and prayed,

Ephesians 3:14–21 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.