Sermon Tone Analysis

I CORIN.

12:12-27

 

           I.

The Unity Of The Body Of Christ

              A.

We Have A Functional Relationship To Jesus

              B.

We Have A Spiritual Relationship To Jesus

 

          II.

The Diversity Of The Body Of Christ

              A.

The Members Are Different From One Another

              B.

The Members Are Dependent On One Another

 

         III.

The Harmony Of The Body Of Christ

              A.

We’re To Cooperate With One Another

             B.

We’re To Be Concerned About One Another

 

             

     These verses occur in the context of the subject of spiritual gifts.

In the opening verses of this chapter Paul has introduced the subject of spiritual gifts, he has said that every child of God has one or more spiritual gifts.

He has also said that these spiritual gifts given to believers are to be exercised by them not for their own selfish purposes but for the benefit of the body, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every believer is to use his spiritual gifts in order that God’s church might be blessed, that it might grow, that it might become everything it ought to be.

Now in order to illustrate what he’s talking about here Paul moves now to a very familiar figure of speech.

When you study the New Testament you will find that there are several figures of speech that are used to describe what a church is like.

For instance, sometimes we’re told the church is like a family, when we’re saved we’re born into the family of God and we are members of God’s family.

We sing the little chorus sometimes, I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God.

So sometimes the church is illustrated like a family.

Sometimes the church is described as a flock.

The Bible says that we are the sheep, that the Lord is the Shepherd, we are the sheep of His flock.

So sometimes the church is described as a flock.

Sometimes it’s described as an army, the army of the Lord, terrible as an army with banners.

The Salvation Army has built its whole church affiliation around the concept of the church as a mighty army of the Lord.

Then sometimes the church is compared to a bride, the beautiful bride of Christ, and the Bible says that one day the Lord is going to present the bride to himself, a glorious bride without spot and without blemish.

So sometimes the church is like a bride, loving the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly bridegroom.

On other occasions the church is described as a building and the Bible says the church is built on the foundation of the Lord Jesus and the church, like a mighty super structure, line on line, piece on piece, is being built together to be the mighty building of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But one of the most familiar illustrations in the Bible of what a church is intended to be like is the illustration of the body, the church is compared to a body.

Now of course it’s very easy for us to understand the illustration of the church as a body, all of us have got one, all of us have a body, so you don’t have to take a college course on anatomy to understand the body, you know that the feet walk, and you know that the teeth chew, and you know that the eyes see, and you know that the ears hear, and so it is an ideal illustration for us to see the church of the Lord Jesus as the body.

Now in these verses you will notice that there is a recurring pattern of thought, you will notice that he over and over again emphasizes that while there is one body there are many members.

The body of Christ is one and yet that body of Christ is composed of many different members.

Now here’s what we’re going to see as we compare the church of the Lord Jesus to a body.

We’re going to see, first of all, *THE UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST; *secondly we’re going to see *THE DIVERSITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST; *and then number three, we’re going to see *THE HARMONY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.*

*     *Let’s begin in verse 12 and following and talk about *THE UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.

*Now four times in verses 12 and 13 he says the body is one, one body.

Four times he makes that emphasis there; he is discussing the unity of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every member of the body of Jesus Christ has *A FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.

*Now you notice in verse 12 he says, as the body is one, and has many member, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body.

When you are saved you become a part of that mystical body of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are members of that body.

Now that’s a thrilling idea.

When you get to thinking about it that just simply means then that we represent the Lord Jesus on this earth.

You may remember this poem, it goes like this:  He has no hands but our hands to do His work today,                   No feet but our feet to lead men in His way,

              No voice but our voice to tell them how He died,

              No help but our help to lead them to His side.

So when you’re saved you are placed into vital union with Jesus Christ, you become a member of His body.

Now I have on my wrist tonight a watch.

I suppose most of you have on a watch.

Now there is a difference between my watch and my ear.

You see, my watch is an attachment to my body, it really doesn’t belong to my body, I have attached my watch to my body, but on the other hand my ear is not an attachment it is a part of my body, it belongs to me, it receives the same blood that every member of my body receives.

Now the unfortunate thing is I fear that there are some people who are merely attachments to the church and they have never been added by the new-birth experience actually to the body of Jesus Christ.

Are you an attachment? or are you a member of the body of Christ by the new-birth experience?

So the Bible says we have a functional relationship with our Lord Jesus.

Now the church compared to a body means to us then that the church is a living organism.

Now I used to preach that the church was an organism and it was not an organization.

I was incorrect.

The church is an organization also.

By the way, your human body, though it is an organism, would be in real bad shape if there was no organization to it.

I mean if your feet just decided to go off in opposite directions you’re in big trouble.

There has to be organization in the body of Jesus Christ and it is a shame and it is a disgrace that some local churches are so unorganized and the body of Christ becomes spastic in its activity and it doesn’t move smoothly and effectively.

But, you see, having said that the emphasis of these verses is that the church is a living organism, it is alive, it is like your human body.

The church is alive.

Well that simply means then that the church is to grow.

If your body is alive it begins to grow.

And of course if there is growth that means that there is change.

There always has to be change.

I dare say that most of you grown-ups are not wearing the same clothes you wore when you were five years old, your body has changed.

In fact some of you guys probably aren’t wearing the same size you wore when you were in the services, probably you’re a few sizes bigger now than when you were in the services.

Our bodies have a tendency to change and they have a tendency to grow.

And the body, like a living organism, also does things.

There’s activity, the feet do walk, and the lips do talk, and the ears do hear, and the eyes do see, and the same thing is true about the body of Jesus Christ: where the body of Christ is functioning properly there is activity going on, God’s people are doing things and the church is alive.

I want to tell you there is nothing more dismal to me than a church that claims to be the body of Jesus Christ that is morbid and dead and lifeless.

The most alive place in the community ought to be the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, you see, there is the unity of the body, we have a functional relationship to Jesus.

But also *WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP TO JESUS, *and we learn this in verse 13.

And in verse 13 he brings up the whole subject of baptism by the Holy Spirit.

Notice verse 13, he says, For by one Spirit (and literally it’s past tense there) were we all baptized into the body of Christ.

Now this brings up a subject that is of great interest to us: the whole matter of the baptism by the Spirit.

In the charismatic movement this is one of the key teachings of the entire movement: the baptism by the Spirit.

Now there is a distinction which you need to make in your mind.

In Luke chapter 2 we are told about the birth of the physical body of the Lord Jesus.

When He was on this earth He had a physical birth, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and He had a physical body.

In Acts chapter 2 we are told about the birth of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, the church.

Now Jesus said in Matthew chapter 3 that when the Spirit of God would come He would baptize by that Spirit into the body.

In other words there would be a Spirit baptism of His coming church.

That took place on the day of Pentecost.

When the church came into existence the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit baptized believers on that day.

But now the Bible teaches that individual believers, when they are born into the family of God, are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ.

That is our spiritual union with Jesus.

It is not so much an experience as it is a positional matter.

Now the moment you’re saved there are several divine transactions that occur, several divine activities which take place in relationship to the Holy Spirit.

For instance, you are in-dwelt with the Spirit when you’re saved, you are born of the Spirit when you are saved, you are saved with the Holy Spirit when you are saved, and verse 13 teaches that you are baptized by the Spirit into the one body when you are saved.