Epiphany 3
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Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:12–21, 26–27
12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we all were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free people, and we were all caused to drink one Spirit. 14Furthermore, the body is not one member, but many. 15If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not on that account cease to be part of the body. 16If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not on that account cease to be part of the body. 17If 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? 18But now God has arranged the members in the body, each and every one of them, as he desired. 19If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20But as it is, there are many members, yet one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.”
26So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27You are the body of Christ, and individually you are members of it.
Paul uses the picture of the human body which is made up of different members. He compares it to the church which is one but made up of different types of people.
People with different spiritual gifts.
People with different ethnic and economic backgrounds.
We may refer to this as ethnic diversity.
Word Studies in the New Testament Chapter 12
14. The body. The student will naturally recall the fable of the body and the members uttered by Menenius Agrippa, and related by Livy, 2:32; but the illustration seems to have been a favorite one, and occurs in Seneca, Marcus Antoninus, and others.*
We don’t see too much ethnic diversity in our area. We do have some who are not of European ancestry from Africa, Central America, and even Asia. But our county is not nearly as diverse as Madison or Milwaukee. But we do understand what Paul is saying. People who were once sharply divided have been united into one faith in one God.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
In the deep South segregation was very prominent and its practices came to a head during the Civil Right Movement. We may have thought about that recently since last Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and he is honored as being an advocate for civil rights.
Separate but Equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law according to which racial segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed "equal protection" under the law to all people. Under the doctrine, as long as the facilities provided to each race were equal, state and local governments could require that services, facilities, public accommodations, housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation be segregated by race, which was already the case throughout the former Confederacy. The phrase was derived from a Louisiana law of 1890, although the law actually used the phrase "equal but separate".
This is not the teaching of the Bible when it comes to unity within the Christian church. St. Paul does not talk about two bodies of Christ or more. He teaches that there is one and regardless of a person’s background, they are to be united in faith in Jesus Christ and work and worship together. Jesus himself prayed that we might be one in our faith and teachings and that we were to express that unity.
St. Paul says that the we are all given one Spirit to drink?
What does it mean to drink of the same Spirit?
all made to drink into one Spirit—The oldest manuscripts read, “Made to drink of one Spirit,” omitting “into” (Jn 7:37). There is an indirect allusion to the Lord’s Supper, as there is a direct allusion to baptism in the beginning of the verse. So the “Spirit, the water, and the blood” (1 Jn 5:8), similarly combine the two outward signs with the inward things signified, the Spirit’s grace.
St. Paul uses the illustration of the human body to teach the importance of separate gifts among its members.
A one dimensional organization has its limits.
In the military, the most effective armed forces are those who have strengths in all phases of battle. Over all, a global conflict does best with a strong ground force, air force, and naval power. Even on a smaller scale, a platoon will have a balance of weaponry and skills. For those who enjoy sports analogies, a basketball team with only point guards is not going to fare as well as a team with those who can also rebound and shoot. A symphony would be another example.
St. Paul uses the example of the human body. We realize that we function at our best when all of our members are working well and together. We also realize that even though they have different functions, we would be hard pressed to determine which are most essential. Paul teaches that all the members of the body and the church are essential.
If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus;
You can say he died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked
With the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior’s waiting arms.
If you cannot be a watchman,
Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Offering life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what God demands;
You can be life faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet’s hands.
Verse 18 is a statement of belief about God’s creative work. Scientists would say that over hundreds of thousands or even millions of years of evolution bodies developed so that the animals and people would be best suited to their environment. The Bible teaches us that we are the way we are because that is how God created us. Our ancestors did not crawl out of the sea and gradually develop legs so that we could walk, skip, and run. Martin Luther teaches us to confess this in the explanation to the Apostles Creed.
What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
St. Paul applies this to the Christian church as a whole and we can see how this is expressed in the local congregations. As noted last week, we have people who are gifted in different way but together we are united to work together to serve God. This does not guarantee that we will always have an organist, generous givers, etc. But that is more the exception than the rule. Paul’s point here is that those who serve have not only a variety of gifts but also come from a variety of backgrounds.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 12
Because God assigns functions within the community of believers, no believers have a right to boast about their assignment as though they earned it. Instead, they must be humble—recognizing that their gifts are for the benefit of the community and the glory of God.
He advances his thought with the encouragement that we are all a valuable part of the team.
This isn’t always recognized by the world. Have you ever been on a sports team where you were not the star? In softball you played “left out” or in football “end, guard, and tackle”. You were that basketball player in high school who got to play the last minute because your team was either way ahead or way behind. The message is clear. You aren’ t that good and we don’t really need you.
Paul warns against this happening in the church. We do not have the same gifts but we are each important. (See biblical examples and worldly illustrations that reinforce this.)
Several weeks ago we heard about the anointing of David to be next king of Israel. Even though he was the youngest of Jesse’s sons and not even considered eligible, he was called from tending the sheep to shepherd Israel not because of his physical abilities but because of he heart for the Lord.
Some of the men whom Jesus called to be disciples were described as “unschooled, ordinary men” yet they became the greatest pillars of the Christian Church.
St. Paul confesses about himself: Ephesians 3:7–11 (NIV)
7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Application: When we moved here in October, we drove through Rozellville and saw the signs announcing the fact that Rich Seubert is from this little village. I must admit that I don’t remember having heard of him before but in researching him, I discovered how he used his talents to great advantage for the teams he played for. I also found out that in lieu of the NFC Championship game missed pass interference penalty call, he is listed as being involved in one of the ten worst calls in the NFL through no fault of his own.
Seubert was born in Stratford, Wisconsin[1] attended Columbus Catholic High School in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and was a standout in football, basketball, and baseball. He helped lead his football and basketball teams to two state championships each.
[2]Seubert was at the center of an officiating controversy in the 2002 NFC playoffs, where the Giants faced the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants, who had led by a score of 38-14, were trailing 39-38 when Matt Bryant had a chance to kick a game-winning field goal. When Trey Junkin botched the snap, Seubert, an eligible receiver on the play, went out to try to catch holder Matt Allen's pass. Allen under threw Seubert, who was grabbed and pulled down by Chike Okeafor, apparently drawing a pass interference penalty. Instead, an illegal man downfield penalty was called on Seubert, ending the game. The next day the NFL revealed that Seubert had checked in prior to the play, but one of his downfield teammates, Tam Hopkins, had not. Okeafor's interference call and the Hopkins call would have offset the penalties and forced a replaying of the down. The NFL drew a fair amount of criticism for the non-call on Seubert's play.[5] The NFL later issued an official apology to the Giants in the offseason.[6] The play ended up on NFL Top 10's Top Ten Meltdowns[7]at #10 and #7 on Top Ten Controversial Calls.[8]
The point is that a local man has achieved a certain amount of fame and fortune using the abilities that he has and he is honored by many.
What about us? Does you hometown have a sign saying that you were born there? Do you have a street named after you like Holmgren Way or Favre Pass? (Some of you may have a road named after you family. We almost did.) When people think of our congregation, are you the first person they think of? Most of us live lives of quiet anonymity and do not become rich and famous or important. Well, that isn’t true. We may not be rich and famous and receive worldly accolades. but we are important and valuable members of the team. That is the encouragement that St. Paul is giving us here.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.