Sermon Tone Analysis

Members of the body of Christ (Part 1)

(The Lord’s Supper: A fellowship feast)

Introduction: Review the 6 purposes of the Lord’s Supper.

1.

A Thanksgiving feast - vs. 24

2. A Fellowship feast - vs. 24 “Broken for you.”

3. A memorial feast - vs. 24-25 - “In remembrance of Me...”

4.

An evangelistic feast - vs. 26 “You proclaim the Lord’s death...” Share the Gospel.

5.

An eschatological feast (feast of Hope) - vs. 26 “Until He comes!”

6.

A diagnostic feast - vs. 27-30 “Let a man examine himself...”

Today I’m continuing this series called “Spiritual Goals for 2022” and today and Lord willing next Sunday discuss the importance of church membership.

Our Lord’s Supper observance is built around the Biblical truth right here in our text that the spiritual family is part of the body of Christ.

It was in that close, intimate fellowship of disciples where our Lord chose to reveal a new covenant by taking the old covenant instituted at the Passover meal requiring a blood sacrifice and make a new covenant around His body and blood with His spiritual family.

It was not open to anyone and everyone off the street, it was for the Lord’s followers, His disciples.

This discussion about meaningful church membership is critical for us as we endeavor to be a NT church body of believers.

Why?

Because we live in a day when people treat church membership as if it is no big deal.

I believe we have a lot of what I call “buffet Christians” (assuming they really are Christians); they travel from church to church, because they like the music at this church, the preaching at another church, oh and the one down the road has the best potluck fellowships; and the one over there has a great children’s ministry or youth group - why they entertain our kids over there so well we never have to worry about them!

When they don’t like what the buffet is serving, it’s okay, they just move on down the road to another one.

Many, not all, but many Non-denominational churches have just said “Ya’ll come” - we don’t expect you to join, just come and enjoy the show, come a little, give a little, serve a little, maybe go to a small group a little.

We live in an age where we want zero commitment, zero accountability about anything.

“You’re not the boss of me” and I can do my own thing & you do your thing is the prevailing attitude of the day.

For just a few moments this morning before we observe the Lord’s Supper as a Fellowship feast, let me make a Biblical case that being a member of a local body of Christ, a local church is still important.

1. NT Church membership is expected - Many of the commands given to believers are impossible to correctly observe if you are not a member of a local church.

Jesus knew every single one of those disciples in that upper room, even better than they knew themselves.

They knew each other well and there was no guessing who was a member and who was not.

It wasn’t like they attended the meetings off and on and could take it or leave it; or that they could not be seen for months on end and no one notice.

They literally did everything together for 3 1/2 years or so as Jesus preached the Kingdom of God.

In context, when Jesus broke that bread and poured that juice, He made this beautiful ordinance a church ordinance, for His spiritual family.

The other ordinance or command for the spiritual family to observe is believer’s baptism.

These two ordinances go hand in hand, Baptism is an outward picture of what Christ has done in our hearts and lives.

It was literally the profession of faith that proved you were part of the spiritual family because it was a picture of your allegiance to Jesus Christ.

I like to say Baptism is like putting on the uniform of a Christian to let everyone know publicly, unashamedly, that you are in the Lord’s army!

The Lord’s Supper is an ongoing reminder of the high cost of our sin and the entrance fee to the spiritual family & the kingdom of God has been bought and paid for by the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the perfect and divine sacrifice for sin in general and my sin and your sin in particular!

The pictures the NT uses for church membership are that of a spiritual body for example.

Look across the page at 1st Cor.

12:12ff (read 12-27).

Romans 12:4-5 mirrors this.

Church membership is expected but it is also…

2. NT church membership is directed - It is directed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Body.

God has called and appointed men to be the spiritual leaders of this spiritual body.

They are under-shepherds, who serve under the Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ.

In the NT, the terms for these leaders are Pastors, Bishops, Elders, Rulers a synonymous terms; all referring to the office of Pastor.

God has high standards for those who would hold such an office because of the seriously high responsibility and accountability the pastor has before Jesus Christ in 1st Tim.

3:1-7.

At the end of the day, the buck stops here.

I’m the one who will stand before Jesus Christ to give an account for how I shepherded, led, and cared for this local body of believers.

I don’t pastor the universal church, Jesus does.

It’s hard to do if I don’t know who’s a member and who’s not, who all I’m truly accountable for and who’s not my responsibility.

How can Jesus hold me accountable for people who are full time visitors?

Church membership is directed by pastors, but also right behind the office of Pastor, it’s directed by deacons.

The pastor’s job is to pray, preach and teach, the deacons have the same qualifications but a different scope of responsibility, to care and meet practical physical needs.

The office of deacons was established in Acts 6 as the church was growing.

Our deacons are assigned a family ministry team they care for.

If you’re not a member, you will not be assigned to one of those men to care for you and your family.

These Spirit filled men have the same calling from God and spiritual qualifications as the pastor.

You can trust them the same way you would trust me.

They help me make spiritual decisions, they pray, they care for our church and make my arms longer to hold my church family.

Now why in the world would God create formal offices of pastors & deacons to lead, oversee & care for His bride if there wasn’t formal organization of a church that would not only receive members but actively disciple (in obedience to His command to make disciples); those members as part of a spiritual family, a little colony of Heaven right here on earth; made up of family units led by the spiritual leaders of the home in the person of a husband and father?

The answer of course is He wouldn’t, but because church membership is expected and therefore needs directed leadership under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Not only is NT church membership expected & directed, it is also…

3. NT church membership is protected - This is best illustrated in Ephesian 5:22-33 (have them turn to it) where Paul discusses the marriage relationship and directly ties it to church fellowship and Jesus being the head of His spiritual family the church.

Paul begins by commanding the wife to submit graciously to the spiritual leadership of her husband.

Paul clearly ties the family unit to the bigger spiritual family unit of the church - The husband is the head of the wife, just like Christ is the head of the church!

Some women get all wound up at being commanded to submit.

This command has nothing to do with value or somehow mean the wife is of lesser value than the husband or his slave.

It has everything to do with role and function in the family.

Because God is not the author of confusion and someone has to be in charge and God has chosen the husband to be the spiritual leader of his family.

The word for “submit” is the Greek word “Hupotasso” it is a military term - Hupo, means under & tasso to arrange.

Literally to arrange, or line up under in an orderly manner.

A silly illustration: Ice cream at grocery store & only buy 1.

Can stand there & argue or one graciously submits - wife to let God sort him out.

When you submit wives and graciously line up under your husband’s leadership, there is a canopy of blessings that overshadows you!

You’re protected because you’re under the umbrella of your husbands leadership.

So when he makes what you believe is a disastrous decision, you speak your peace, if he’s smart he’ll listen but; if he doesn’t and it goes south, you’re protected by God b/c you lined up under him.

Stinks to be him.

The husband’s job is to love his wife Paul says like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.

He is to literally love her with sacrificial Agape, love like Christ did loving his church and gave Himself for her.

Wives, this does not mean you’re a doormat, that he can ask you to do things that are immoral, illegal, unethical or degrading by any means.

But you can state your opinion respectfully, (vs.

33) but rather than argue, surrender the battle of the wills and line up under him.

Paul repeatedly & interchangeably speaks of marriage relationships and church relationships tying it together in vs. 32.

This is a positive example of being protected by lining up under God given spiritual leadership in the home and the church.

A serious illustration - There’s a negative example of lack of protection given by Paul to the Corinthian church in 1st Cor.

5:4-5 with a man who was engaging is gross sexual immorality.

Summarize - Paul commanded the church to excommunicate him until he repented & literally hand him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh and the saving of his soul.

To remove him from the protecting hand of God and hand him over to Satan to wreak havoc in his life until he repented.

We call this church discipline.

They did it and according to 2nd Cor. the man repented and Paul wrote to them to restore him to the fellowship!

Church membership is expected, directed and protected.

4. NT church membership is connected - Develop the relationship aspects of church membership.

In chapter 12:25ff we looked at earlier, we are to have the same care and concern for every part of the spiritual body.

Life is all about relationships, and being a member of the body of Christ carries with it great responsibility.

We’ll talk more next week about those responsibilities We see glimpses of this in the “one another passages.

Consider:

John 13:14 - “Wash one another’s feet” - in other words serve one another.

John 13:34-35, 15:12, 15:17 - “Love one another.”

1st Cor.

12:25 - “Care for one another”, vs. 26 suffer with and rejoice with one another.

Rom.

14:19 - Edify one another - means build one another up.

Gal.