The Body of Christ Pt. 1

The Ekklesia

Ekklesia - “assembly.”

The church meeting is for the purpose of reassembling Jesus Christ on the earth.

The first-century church meeting was a fluid gathering.

It was not a ritual. And it was often unpredictable, unlike the contemporary church service.

John Cooper Gets It.

Make Pastors Uncool Again.

“Pastors shouldn’t be rock stars. Yeah I said it. A rock star promotes himself, builds his brand, and entertains people. It’s his job. A pastor is supposed to lay his life down for his sheep. He serves, he protects, and he equips the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). So why does it seem like many of our celebrity pastors are obsessively self-promoting, building their own brands, and protecting themselves by never preaching or teaching anything that would put them in Twitter prison? Yes, it’s sad and devastating to watch our leaders fall into sin, but when the foundation is built so poorly it shouldn’t be all that surprising. Many Christians have been saying this for years and its past time that I join them: I’m tired of celebrity pastors. Pastors aren’t supposed to be cool. They’re not supposed to be fashion trend setters. We are ALL called to decrease, that Christ would increase both in our hearts and in our lives (John 3:30). HIS fame should be known, not OURS. Celebrity Pastors, get out of the way! You’re hogging the spotlight by making yourself the story. Instead, you should be taking some hits on the front lines by stating clearly what God commands. Celebrity pastors seldom do this. Instead, most of what we hear is rhetorical gobbledygook, veiled mysticism, and repackaged new-age movement self-help promotional material disguised as the work of the Spirit. My pastor helped change my life in college. “Really, who?” Exactly. He remains faceless, nameless, and will never get the adoration of the world because his desire was for Jesus to have all of the glory. He taught me how to read and understand the Bible. He took my midnight phone calls, he instigated the necessary but uncomfortable conversations, he taught me the importance of sexual purity, and he even taught me how to paint a house and balance a checkbook. It almost sounds more like being a father, doesn’t it? Working, serving, teaching your kids and never expecting a “thank you” or a hand clap is what pastoring is all about. Pastors, I am thankful for you. Many are serving faithfully and you will be rewarded by God. But for the pastors who are receiving their reward on earth, I have a request for you: please stop looking for adoration from the world. We don’t need you to look “awesome”, we need you to be fearless and preach the gospel according to the unchanging, authoritative Word of God. Stop finding clever ways to evade questions. You know the ones—God’s commands about sexual morality, Gods authority structure in the Church and at home, biblical justice instead of the religion of modern social justice. Answer them. And answer them clearly for heaven’s sake. Please stop trying to find new ways to explain the perceived inconvenient truths of God’s Word. You ought to love what He loves and hate what he hates. This used to be a prerequisite for church leadership. Today, its deemed radical and even bigoted. Play time is over. The spiritual battle is raging, and the field is full of wimps and boys who have never picked up a sword because it just “feels mean.” We need generals and leaders who don’t care about their brand, their look, their “likes”, or making allegiances with the world. In short, it’s time to make pastors uncool again.”

What Are Things the Church is Not?

A Place to Come and Spectate.

A Video Game (Craig Grocell)

An Online Event (There is no such thing as having online church)

A Seminar

A Small Group

A Building

Metaverse! (New!)

The Mystery of the Body

Colossians 1:15–26 (ESV)

Colossians 1:15–26 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

What is a Mystery?

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary the term Mystery can be defined as...

something not understood or beyond understanding : ENIGMA The mystery of his disappearance has never been solved.

a piece of fiction dealing usually with the solution of a mysterious crimeReading mysteries was her favorite pastime.

the secret or specialized practices or ritual peculiar to an occupation or a body of people the mysteries of the tailor's craft

obsolete : a private secret

Mystery - Mystērion

Paul uses this term frequently throughout his letters to the churches to reveal to the entirety of God’s plan to bring salvation through Christ

1 Cor. 2:7; 4:1; 15:51; Eph. 3:4–13; Col. 1:26–27; 2:2; 4:3.

The Mystery Hidden For Ages.

Colossians 1:24–29 ESV

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Ages and Dispensations

Age - A period of time on earth from one major geological change or upheaval of the earth’s surface to the next.

Dispensation - Periods of time when God dealt with man in a particular way as to sin and salvation.

Dispensations occur within a certain/specific age.

The dispensation that were in (currently) is the dispensation of grace.

Also known as the dispensation of the church/spirit.

This dispensation began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 and will end when the rapture occurs.

And why is this relevant to the body of Christ?

Because in KJV, Colossians 1:25 uses the term dispensation, rather than stewardship.

The term dispensation comes from the greek term oikonomian.

Which can also mean administration or management.

Paul knew that this powerful revelation was canceled until this time period.

He also recognized that not only was he was called to steward this revelation, but he was called to fulfill it.

This mystery was hidden from ages and generations.

It was the greatest mystery of the history of man.

And now it has reveled to the saints!

It’s the revelation of the body of Christ!

The Mystery Revealed

Ephesians 3:1–13 (ESV)

Ephesians 3:1–13 ESV

1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

The Church was not revealed during the Old Testament time frame.

There were many truths hidden and later revealed in the NT that are called mysteries.

It was a mystery to the prophets.

But it was revealed to Paul.

Paul’s ministry was to reveal to all men the mystery of the fellowship.

Jew and Gentile brought together in one body in the Messiah.

Paul revealed a truth that not even the greatest prophets understood.

Paul disclosed that within the church, composed of all the saved since Pentecost in one united body, there would be no racial, social, or spiritual distinctions.

In his Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, G.K. Beale writes.

“Paul’s use of the terms “revelation” (apokalypsis, “reveal” (apokalyptō, and “mystery” (mystērion, in Eph. 3:1–13 seems closely related to the use of similar terms in Daniel 2. There, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar remains utterly inaccessible to the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel and his three Jewish friends, but Daniel and his friends seek the mercy of God concerning this “mystery.” “The God in heaven who reveals mysteries” then provides Daniel both with the details of the king’s dream and with its interpretation. The dream’s interpretation reveals God’s sovereignty over the course of history. For Paul too, God’s willingness to reveal the “mystery” of his purposes in history to believers arose from “the wealth of [God’s] grace.” It seems likely that, as with Daniel’s use of the term, so also with Paul, the revelation of these purposes involved giving information that was utterly inaccessible apart from God’s gracious revelation of it to Paul and others who lived after Christ’s crucifixion.” - G.K. Beale

There are 4 occurences of the phrase body of Christ being used in the NT. Although the terms body and members are used multiple times in reference to the body of Christ.

Romans 7:4

1 Corinthians 10:16

Ephesians 4:12 (Which we will discuss next week)

1 Corinthians 12:27 (Which we will discuss next week)

Deliverance From the Law

Romans 7:1–4 ESV

1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

This concept that Paul is expressing to the Church of Rome was commonly known in OT Times.

The phrase “the husband dies” in the illustration of v. 2–3, are expressing the fact that believers die to the law through the death of Christ.

Communion & the Body of Christ

The Key Phrase is Unity.

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 ESV

16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

The Lord’s Supper, is an occasion when members of the church declare their unity with each other because of their common unity with Christ.

The Context of 1 Corinthians 10 is to flee from sexual immorality and idolatry.

The point toward that Paul is making is that the Corinthian cannot participate in idolatry and then think that they will receive eternal life on the last day.

Participation (Gk. koinōnia) sometimes refers to fellowship with Jesus Christ

Koinonia can also mean aligning oneself with someone else’s plight or cause.

Paul is expressing to the church of Corinth that those who eat the Lord’s Supper align themselves with Jesus, share his sufferings and benefit from his death.

In verse 10:17, the phrase one bread … one body, refers back to the last supper when Jesus gave thanks for and broke the bread, he said, “This is my body which is for you.”

The church is also Christ’s body.

Conclusion:

1 Timothy 3:16 ESV

16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.