The Body of Christ
Notes
Transcript
What is the Church?
What is the Church?
Introduction
What do you think about when you think about the church?
A Little White Building
A room with Blue Chairs and Blue Carpet
A place where we come to sing songs, hear the word, and Worship
Steeples, Bulletins, Hymnals, Organs,
When the Israelites where saved from Egypt and they were living their lives in the Desert, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle.
The Tabernacle was the place where God came and dwelled with his people.
God’s presence on earth was represented in the Tabernacle, then later the temple.
God was with his people, but he was separated from them as well.
Only those who met strict requirements were able to come into God’s presence.
The High Priests.
Then Jesus came and and lived outside the temple.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
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Literally the Word became flesh and “tabernacled” among us.
Jesus’ death put an end to the need for a physical dwelling place on earth.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
The need for the Temple, God’s Dwelling place, had become obsolete at the Death/Resurrection of Christ.
Why Because God now dwells with his people.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
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What is the church?
The church is not a place the church is a people.
God no longer dwells in a building, but he dwells in His people.
So…If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ and you are following after Him you are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
It’s nice to have a building to sit in and TVs to aid us in the worship experience.
It’s nice to have air conditioning. Running water and Electricity.
These things are nice, but they are not the church.
You are the Church.
God has uniquely chosen you to be a part of this local assembly of believers. You are here not by accident. Not by happenstance. Not by blind luck. You are here for a purpose. You are here to help build up the body of Christ.
You are here to uniquely help FBC Louise spread the gospel to those who don’t know it.
There are many images used to describe the church in the NT, but the one we are going to look at today is the Body of Christ in 1 Cor. 12:12-31.
Main Idea: The Body of Christ is designed by God to do the Work of God through Unity, Diversity, and Love.
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The Body of Christ Lives in Unity
The Body of Christ Lives in Unity
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The Body of Christ Lives in Unity
The Body of Christ Lives in Unity
What is unity?
Accord or Harmony
Working together to accomplish a goal or mission
Where do we get our sense of unity?
The Trinity
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit working together to accomplish their mission of salvation.
God the Father is the Author of Salvation, Jesus The Son is the pathway of Salvation, H.S is the communicator of Salvation.
Unity. Perfect unity.
Where do we as the church find our unity? We have a Shared Identity, Shared Spirit, Shared Mission.
We find it through a Shared Identity.
When we have an encounter with God, our lives change. Not just our lives, but our very identity.
I am no longer merely an individual I have been made a child of God. I don’t live in isolation. I am called to live in community.
As Children of God, we are royal ambassadors for the King of the Universe
We represent Him as our King and our Father.
Our citizenship has changed.
We are no longer beholden to the things of this world, but we are about the things above. The Kingdom of Heaven.
We have become a new creation.
We are in a right relationship with our Creator.
Our Desires, affections, and motives have changed and should be driven by God’s motive of love and desire to see lives changed.
When God calls us to himself, he is making us into his masterpiece. Fit for doing his work the way that he has designed us.
We are called to God to do good works for him.
We are invited into His mission, not because he needs us but because he wants to have us involved.
We are a royal priesthood.
We have access to the Father. Unfettered access never granted to people before Christ’s salvation.
We are allowed into the presence of the King. Boldly approaching the throne of grace and asking for wisdom and power to accomplish his works.
Every time we gather to worship this isn’t a mundane thing. We are here to be together and celebrate the life that we have been given.
This is YOUR IDENTITY, an ambassador, a new creation, a masterpiece, a priest working on behalf of God.
This is Our SHARED IDENTITY. THIS IS WHO WE ARE AS THE BODY OF CHRIST.
We also have a Shared Spirit.
Each Born Again Believer has the Holy Spirit Residing with them at all times and in all places.
The HS doesn’t change depending on who has him. He is consistent and unchangeable.
He is calling us each to sanctification and urging us to live a live worthy of the calling that we have recieved.
We are on the journey to become more like Christ through the empowering of the HS.
This shared Spirit that we have enables us to love, care for, and work with one another.
Remember You are the temple of the living God.
That means that we should be careful how we speak and think about one another.
How I treat you or how you treat me reflects what we really think about God.
If we have hostility, anger, frustration or hatred toward one another we need to remember that each of us is an image bearer and temple of the HS.
We are all on this road to sanctification together. It may look different for each of us, but we need to encourage, love, and support one another if we seek to run the race and finish well.
In addition to a shared identity and a shared spirit, we have a Shared Mission.
What is our Shared Mission?
To continue the work Jesus Started.
To make disciples of all nations.
All people need to hear the good news of the Gospel.
All people need to know the reality of hope.
All people need to hear that God loves them and wants them to be in a relationship with him.
All people need to know the love that brings about change.
We must not loose sight of that mission.
When I first met with the leadership team here, I posed a question to them.
I want to pose it to you. If we as a congregation stopped meeting tomorrow would anyone notice. Would anyone care other than ourselves?
If the answer is no, then we are not doing the work of Jesus.
If the answer is no, then we need to reexamine why God has called us to exist.
If the answer is no, then we need to repent and do the work of spreading the gospel to the people in this community.
This is our mission. This is our calling. We cannot be inward focused. We exist to bring glory, honor and praise to the one that saved us by telling others about the life transforming reality of God.
“Missions Exists Because Worship Doesn’t”-John Piper
Jesus has called us to live in unity, but he has created each of us individually and purposefully.
The Body of Christ Thrives in Diversity
The Body of Christ Thrives in Diversity
Unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Thank God for that.
We are each created to play a part in the Body of Christ
For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
If all were a single member, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
The Body of Christ Thrives in Diversity
The Body of Christ Thrives in Diversity
Think about it this way:
A football team has many players that make up that one team.
They aren’t all Quarterbacks. They aren’t all Linemen. They are on the team providing their skill set to accomplish a mission.
But if one player doesn’t do what he is supposed to do the team suffers.
So it is for the church.
The church exists for our good and for God’s Glory.
We should marvel at the fact that God has chosen to place us in a church body.
Because we all know that the Christian life is difficult. It is difficult to always be keeping our eyes on the things above.
It’s difficult to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
The Christian life could never be lived in Isolation.
You aren’t an Island. We need each other.
However, the sad reality is that many of us feel like we can do this Jesus thing alone.
Then we get overwhelmed, discouraged, and ready to give up. All the while we have a family that wants to see us, that wants to encourage us and wants to help us walk this life well.
We all have an innate desire to be known and to be seen. Known and seen by each other and known and seen by God.
Well God knows you and sees you and he created you for a specific and unique purpose.
He called you to himself and allows you to partake in his mission. He also equipped you to serve his Body uniquely.
The fact that God has made you a part of the church should encourage us to want to serve the mission of the church and serve one another to aid in that mission.
YOU ARE UNIQUELY GIFTED TO SERVE THIS BODY.
If you call FBC Louise home you are called to aid in the ministry of this body.
In your bulletin you should have recieved a card that has a list of different areas of ministry that need some volunteers.
Worship Team, Care Team, Hospitality Team, Children’s Ministry Team,
The Ministry of FBC Louise is your Ministry. You have a place to plug in. If you haven’t found one, talk to us about about it and we will aid you in discovering where you should be serving.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
The Body of Christ Thrives in Diversity
The Body of Christ Thrives in Diversity
Here is the reality:
If you aren’t serving the Church Body:
You are ROBBING the Church of YOUR Unique Gifting.
You are ROBBING YOURSELF of YOUR Full God-Given Potential.
You are DISOBEYING GOD by not submitting to the calling he has set before you.
Whichever area God has gifted you in, it is not insignificant.
Each and every gift that God gives is good and important for the life and health of the church.
God doesn’t waste his gifts. He gives according to his glory, his goodness, and his mercy.
Using the gifts that God has given you allows the Body of Christ to Work as it Should.
We are each important and necessary otherwise God wouldn’t have called us to this church body.
We Should rejoice at the gifts that God has given to us.
What are you good at? What are you passionate about? What do you think God’s gifting to you has been?
USE IT. Not for self-glory or praise, but Because God has graciously provided it for you.
You may be wondering what your gifting is. You may be asking yourself how am I to find out how God has gifted me. Lets find out together.
The Body of Christ Loves Authentically
The Body of Christ Loves Authentically
which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
The Body of Christ Loves Authentically
The Body of Christ Loves Authentically
Sometimes we know how God has gifted us. Other times we need to learn what are gifts are.
Some of us are teachers, some of us are fixers, some are prayer warriors, some good with numbers, some are really good helpers, some good singers or musicians, good with kids, super friendly or kind.
Regardless of how God Gifted has gifted you, you should use that gift for the edification of the body and the mission of God.
You demonstrate love for God and your fellow brothers and sisters when you serve the Church.
How do you truly Love the Body of Christ?
You Love Through Service to the Church
Sometimes you can only find your gifting when you start serving.
You may be interested in helping with a worship team. But you’ll never know until you do it.
You may be interested in helping with the children’s ministry. But you’ll never know til you do it.
Serving in one capacity or another allows others to see your gifts in action and that may spur them on to serve too.
The more you serve the closer you will feel to God.
You Love Through Intentional Community
This is one of the drums you will hear me continually beat.
We need to Know, Love, and Grow WITH ONE ANOTHER.
You can’t grown in your relationship with Christ in isolation.
You can’t see the needs of one another if you live isolated from others.
We all have stories. We all have something to contribute. We all have different giftings.
Get to know someone. Be Vulnerable. Be Honest. Be Open.
The best way to get to know someone is through Serving With them.
You Love Through Empathy
Mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice (v.26)
As one body we need to work together. We should remember that any joy is all of our joy and any pain is all of our pain.
Someone has probably been through a similar situation that you are going through right now. Lean on them.
But the only way that you will find out is if you truly get to know them.
If we become apathetic toward the mission of God or towards one another we will cease to exist as a church body in the future.
We need to take seriously the calling set before us. We need to Love God and Love People. Including the people already a part of this family.
We need to stay focused on the Message of the Gospel.
We need to stay focused on love for one another.
We need to stay focused on the mission of the church.
If we lose sight of any of these we are in danger.
Conclusion
Why are you here? Where can you serve? Why has God Placed you at FBC Louise?
We can have an excitement for what God has done in the past, but let’s not forget that
GOD ISN’T DONE WITH US.
Are you commited to serving him?
Are you committed to Serving the Church?
Are you commited to telling others about the greatness of our Savior?
Are you functioning as a Member of this Body or as a spectator?
Make a commitment today to find the calling and gifting that God has uniquely Created you for.
If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, Follow Him, Serve Him.
If you don’t know Jesus as Savior, Submit to him and allow him to reveal to you why you were created and how you can serve him.
Don’t Hold back from what God has in store for you. God gives freely, but expects us to act on the graciousness that we have been shown.
Pray