1Cor 12; 12-27 - Body of Christ - Bacton - 20-8-00
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
13 For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
16 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 cease to be part of the body.
17 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?
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 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!"
22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
23 and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it,
25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.
27 ¶ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.—NIV
1Co 12:12-27
l If I were God I wouldn’t leave my work to someone like me!
m So, good job I’m not like God!
l Start with a story of having to do a task and failing?
l What does this tell us about God?
m Vulnerable
m Let’s go
m Takes risks
m Loving Father (Luke 15:11-32)
m Kenosis of Christ (Phil 2:7)
l Organic, not mechanical
l Interdependence, systemic
l Whole is greater than the sum of the parts
m I used to row. The stroke set the rhythm but without the ‘engine room’ the boat would go
m The cox ‘did nothing’ but probably felt impotent at times
m Sometimes it would all come together and then we’d fly through the water
l Parts work together for same end
m Janitor—I’m putting a man on the moon
l We need each other
l Help each to discern their gifts
l We must build up each other
m Help me by giving me feedback
m “What did I do well?”
m “What could I do better?”
l Jesus is the head
m We have mind of Christ (1Cor 2:16)
m And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church (Eph 1:22)
m He is also head of the body, the church (Col 1:18)
m and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. (Col 2:19)
Service notes
Follow with George Herbert—who sweeps a room… (
170 The Church’s one foundation
SF 27 As the deer
240 Teach me, my God and King
239 Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
Synopsis 1
God’s way is surprising to say the least. He leaves his work to a ragbag of individuals rather than taking charge and making things happen. This tells us something really important about the nature of God.
God is love—we say this and sometimes do not think enough about what it means. Well, love never tries to dominate the one who is loved; love never holds anything back from the one who is loved; love gives itself regardless and so always risks the possibility of failure—that the beloved will not return the love.
Given all this, an organisation such as the church doesn’t seem so surprising.
So, because of love, we are God’s body on earth. It is through us that he works out his purposes—the establishment of his kingdom. And we all have a part to play. When we all work together with God some amazing things can and will happen.
I used to row. Sometimes, all too rarely for we weren’t very good, everything would come together and the boat would seem to fly through the water. It was a great feeling. Yet although we were all ‘in the same boat’, we all had different tasks. The stroke set the rhythm, the big guys in the middle of the boat—the engine room— provided the power, the cox kept it on course. None was more important…
So who is stroke? Who is cox? Or, in Paul’s language, am I a foot or an ear? We can’t all be ears, we can’t all be feet. So how do I know? There are two ways.
Firstly, we can ask God. And then listen for the answer… As we learn to pray better, and make the holy spirit more a part of our lives, so we will be more sure of what God wants.
Secondly, we can share with each other. We can give feedback. What am I doing well? What could I do better? Always being positive; always trying to tell the truth for the benefit of the other and of the church as a whole.
Does God want me to lead worship? I believe so. Does God want me to type and print the service sheets? It seems to be a good use of my talents. Does God want me to preach? I think he might… Does God want me to be a church warden? I’m not sure…
There is a final issue. Even if we have a good idea of what God wants us to do as individuals, how do we manage to all work together, to pull in the right direction?
What gives this any chance of succeeding is that Christ is the head of the body. So we are to be of one mind; his mind—we have the mind of Christ. We study, we share, we act—in his name.
This isn’t always easy. When I’m leading a service it’s not too difficult; when I’m trying to make the kneelers stand up on the pews after a service and they all keep falling down it’s not so easy.
During the sixties a woman was one of many visitors to Cape Kennedy where they put together the great moon rockets in huge hangers. She came across a man sweeping the floor. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I’m putting a man on the moon, ma’am.” was the reply.
We too, need to have one clear and common shared purpose. When someone can come up to me when I am putting up those kneelers and get the reply, “I’m working for the kingdom of God” then we will be closer to the church being what it is called to be.
Synopsis 2
About church…
Famous passage…
God’s word is so rich that you cannot ever exhaust a passage. So I read, study, pray, reflect and wait… to see what bubbles up.
Three things have bubbled up for today: a reflection, a model and a challenge.
A reflection
I’m glad I’m not God. And looking round, I can see that’s unanimous! If I were God, intent on bringing in my kingdom…
God’s way is surprising to say the least. He leaves his work to a ragbag of individuals rather than taking charge and making things happen. This tells us something really important about the nature of God.
God is love—we say this and sometimes do not think enough about what it means. Well, love never tries to dominate the one who is loved; love never holds anything back from the one who is loved; love gives itself regardless and so always risks the possibility of failure—that the beloved will not return the love.
Given all this, an organisation such as the church doesn’t seem so surprising.
A model
A challenge
So when we can say, “I’m bringing in the kingdom of God” …