Together: The church is the body of Christ (Session 3)
Together: Sermons on the church • Sermon • Submitted
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Recap:
Session One- The Church is a Christ-centered Community
Session Two- The Church is the Family of God
Tonight we are going to look in 1 Corinthians 12 to see the truth that the church is the body of Christ.
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Indeed, the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Christians are called together into the family of God, and as a result they are Body of Christ
(As Christ-followers, you are called together as the Body of Christ.)
Really it’s not just that we are called to work together as the body of Christ, we are the body of Christ.
Paul uses the metaphor of the body to focus in on how the local church functions. Look what he says in verses 12-13. Paul says that our churches are like a body. There is only one body, but it has lots of different parts. A body is made up of legs, arms, etc., but is still only one body. That’s how our churches are. Many people, one church. The unifying theme in all of this is faith in Christ.
The church functions like a body, therefore the church functions properly when all the members do their part.
Every single person in a church has a role to play. Paul helps us see this by using the example of different body parts. It’s foolish to see the foot as less a part of the body just because it’s not a hand. We understand that both feet and hands are a vital part of the same body.
Verse 17 shows us that every part of the body is valuable, just like every member of a church is valuable.
The roles that members play are less about volunteer titles and positions, and more about faithfulness and the use of spiritual gifts.
Each member of the church fulfills their role in the local church, and this includes your youth group.
The local church is the “body” or family of Christians where you are called to use your gifts, build relationships, and be faithful. This is the group that God has set apart to serve as an encouragement to you and for you to be an encouragement to.
Your youth group is a part of the body, and you guys are essential to the work of the church, and like we mentioned in session two, the church is your family and priority.
Does this mean that we aren’t to be a part of other Christian groups, relationships, studies, etc? No, not at all. But, the local church we belong too, including your youth group should be a priority for our relationships and our ministries.
In our southern culture we have a very different way of Christianity from much of the world and our country. Christians in other parts of our country are not surrounded by other people who claim Christianity. So, in those situations the church is the place where they meet and spend time with other Christians. But, here in the south there are so many people who claim Christ and attend churches that we have bible study groups, campus ministries, prayer groups, things FCA. Because we have so many options, we need to make sure we prioritize the body of Christ we belong too in the midst of all the options.
Remember, the church is a family relationship, even though sometimes it feels like another organization.
God has called us together to be a part of a specific church family. We’re not here by coincidence. Just like God created the human body, God creates His Church. And God intentionally created the Church with many different people bringing many different gifts and perspectives to the table.
The Church is the Body, but Christ is the head.
And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.
As the Church, we are the Body, but Christ is the head. Paul says that God the Father gave Jesus, the Son, authority over all things and put Him as the head of the Church.
Jesus is the leader of the church, and the church reflects Him in the world.
Because Jesus is the head, we understand that the church is the reflection of Christ in the world. In the same way that our hands do what our head thinks, the church is to do what the head, Jesus Christ says.
The church cannot fulfill its purpose unless it is under the direction and authority of the head. And God leads the church by His head through His Word, by the preaching and teaching of the Word.
By following the Word of God the church is following Jesus. This is why Paul says that the church that grows in its faith is one that grows up into the head. Jesus is necessary or essential for the Christian life and the church.
In the days of Jesus the head was the source of life. In our modern culture we talk about our hearts as the source of life. So when we talk about Jesus being the head, we should understand it’s not just a knowledge conversation, it is a life conversation. Life flows from God, and if you are going to live the Christian life, you must grow up in Him.
Truths we can put into practice:
You can’t do your part if you aren’t growing in Christ
But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Paul says here that we are to “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” As the head of the Church, Christ is our example. We mentioned last session that Jesus is our older brother, and He has set the example of what it looks like to live a life that is pleasing to the Father.
When we grow in Christ we are able to fulfill the role that God has for us in the body. Your relationship with Jesus is the basis for your ability to have the right relationship with the rest of the church.
Your relationship with Jesus is essential to the churches ability to function correctly. Charles Spurgeon said…
“The head is to the body indispensable to life; it is the seat of mental life, the temple of the soul; even so Jesus Christ is the vitalizing Head of all His people. He is our life.” – Charles Spurgeon
Your understanding of the Bible is so important that God has called the leaders of the church to be preachers and equippers of the church so the church can be the church.
And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
God has given us leaders/shepherds who lead and shepherd by the preaching of the Word. The shepherds staff of the pastor is the Bible and it’s administered through preaching and teaching. The responsibility of the pastors is to truthfully and skillfully teach the Word to the people, and the people are to follow the Word as it is faithfully taught.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Scripture makes it clear that by following the leaders God gives the church you are following Christ. And, that same passage teaches us that God holds the
One thing that being a body requires us to do is to care for the whole body.
2. Every person in the youth group and your church matters
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, which our respectable parts do not need.
Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
(21-23)
Under normal circumstances, we don’t look at our body parts and say, “Oh, this part of my body is not really as important as this other part. I think I’ll just chop it off.” No, that would be crazy! We don’t think of our bodies like that. Paul is reminding us that we can’t think about the different people in our church that way either. All parts are valuable because they belong to the whole. In fact, Paul says, parts that seem like they may not be that important are every bit as important because of the very fact that they seem unimportant! Confusing? Not really! Paul is bending over backward to drive a point home: EVERY person in a church is valuable (simply because they belong to the church) in the same way that EVERY body part is valuable (simply because it belongs to the body).
Look at verses 24 and 25. God, in His sovereignty, knits together the Body in the way He sees fit. He intentionally calls His Church to Himself in a way that honors all who belong. God did this so that the Church, the Body, would be united with no division. Paul says in verse 25 that we are supposed to have the SAME level of care for each other that God has. Verse 26 says it all: if one member of our church is hurting, we all should hurt. If one member is flying high, we all should be. THIS is the picture of the church as a body.
3. You must do your part, and that means accepting your role and learning your gifts.
Questions for reflection:
1. Do you know your role in the body?
We are all called to stir one another up to love and good works, and that means we each are to make sure that we are speaking in love, acting in love, and encouraging in love.
This also means that you are future pastors, ministers, missionaries, deacons, small group leaders. In fact some of you are present day dgroup leaders.
2. Do you make sure that every person in the youth group knows they are important?
It’s impossible to focus on yourself and on others. Remember the calling to put God first, others second, and yourself last. Another way to do this is as a part of the body to make sure the other members know they are valuable.
Responses...
1. To growing up into Christ by growing in the Word.
This is how you grow in your role in the church. There are plenty of jobs and tasks that you can do, but it all depends on your walk with Christ.
You guys have discipleship groups to plug into, Sunday mornings to be a part of, Sunday school classes to be a part of, Sunday nights to be a part of…
2. To encourage others in their walk with Christ, including your pastors and leaders.
3. To share the gospel with others
4. To forgive someone in the youth group or church, or ask for forgiveness from someone in the youth group or church.
The body of Christ cannot work rightly when it is divided and hurt. But, we are a people who know grace and our God can heal. You cannot be unified in Christ without forgiving and being forgiven.