Part of the Whole

John 17:16–23 WUESTNT

16 Of the world they are not, even as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the sphere of the truth. The word which is yours is truth. Even as me you sent off on a mission into the world, so I sent off them on a mission into the world. And on behalf of them I am setting myself apart, in order that they themselves also, having been set apart for God in the sphere of the truth, may continually be in that state of consecration. But not concerning these only am I making request, but also concerning those who believe on me through their word, in order that all might be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, in order that they themselves also might be in us, to the end that the world may be believing that you sent me on a mission. And as for myself, the glory which you have given me, I have given them, in order that they might be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, in order that they, having been brought to the state of completeness with respect to oneness, may persist in that state of completeness, to the end that the world might be understanding that you sent me on a mission and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Prayer: Lord, please help us to discover the completeness that is found in community. Let us discover the glory of the relationship that You have as Father, Son, and Spirt—which is the relationship that Jesus desired us to experience for ourselves. Amen

In this powerful prayer of Jesus, He asks the Father to enable us to enter into the glory that He had. That glory was found in the unity of their community. It brought a completeness and fulness formed by love.

I want to talk to you today about why community matters.

We were created with a desire to find our people, our place, and our purpose. Even though we were fearfully and wonderfully and uniquely made, it was God’s intention that we complement and depend on each other (Psalm 139.14). In fact, He explicitly declared that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2.18).

I believe that we all intrinsically know this and have experienced the power of community. Think about a group you were a part of—maybe Military unit, sports team, a small group—where you felt like you were truly connected. People knew you. You contributed to the life and success of the group. Together you accomplished things. Even though there were probably some challenges, you felt a sense of satisfaction or fulfillment.

When things are healthy and relationships are made our self-worth and value increase. This is because as humans our identity is affirmed in relation to others.

In the West, our view of self—how we identify or define self—is trending away from transcendence to immanence. This means that instead of finding our value and purpose in things beyond ourselves, we are looking inwardly. Instead of recognizing that God created us and that He did so with a purpose in mind people are deciding for themselves who they are. This creates an identity crisis because we are moved by so many emotions and motives…how we see ourselves often changes based on our mood or how we feel in the moment.

The Bible is emphatic that we don’t make or save ourselves. Instead, we are created in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good works which God preplanned and prearranged for us (Ephesians 2.10). In other words, God designed you with a specific purpose in mind and that purpose is fully realized in Christ.

Additionally, the Scriptures emphasize that in Christ, God has appointed us to a particular place where the various ways of God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives…a community called His Church ( cf. 1 Corinthians 12.1 MSG).

To help us understand this idea, the Apostle Paul gives us an analogy. He often compares the church to Christ’s body (see Ephesians 4.4, Ephesians 4.12, Romans 12.5, etc.).

1 Corinthians 12:11–27 The Message

11 All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. 12 You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. 13 By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive. 14 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. 15 If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? 16 If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? 17 If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? 18 As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. 19 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. 20 What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. 21 Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? 22 As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. 23 When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. 24 If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair? 25 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, 26 the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. 27 You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything.

There are a number of things we can learn from this passage, but there are two that are particularly helpful for today:

God set/appointed each part of the body where He wanted/just as He pleased (1 Corinthians 12.18). This is the same word used when Jesus “appointed” His disciples (John 15.16). This was an intentional act on God’s part to place you into the Body. It is His will…why argue against it (cf. Romans 9.20). Remember that His actions toward those who love Him are for our good (Romans 8.28).

Your individual part means something only in context to the body at large (1 Corinthians 12.27). A disconnected thumb is ultimately useless without being connected to the hand. But a thumb attached to the hand gives the whole hand strength and power. It has a purpose and a function when it is combined with the other fingers.

These two ideas are powerful. Consider what they mean for us—God created you uniquely and appointed you to a place where you would flourish. In this setting, where you are part of the whole, you can find your greatest expression and deepest value.

The problem is that this is counter to the current of the world we live in. In our world, expressive individualization is the most important thing. In our world, the central focus is self.

We hustle. We grind. We do our own thing.

Some of this is because how the world has changed in the last few hundred years with different philosophies seeking to detach us from God.

Some of this is facilitated by the empty promise of technology that offers shortcuts to the life we are looking for.

But we know this approach to life doesn’t work.

Proverbs 18:1 AMP

HE WHO willfully separates and estranges himself [from God and man] seeks his own desire and pretext to break out against all wise and sound judgment.

Think about how awkward people can be when they do not engage with others. Consider how hard it was to reengage others after being in lockdown and physical and social distancing over COVID. Do loners tend to like people? Are they themselves likable? Do they appear as happy?

There are some legitimate reasons that people would be tempted to go it alone, even in their relationship with God.

Proverbs 14:4 NKJV

Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

People are messy. People can complicate our lives and bring chaos and drama with them. People can hurt us and betray us. People regularly fail to live up to our expectations and therefore can disappoint us.

Auto-immune disease

Despite these things we need one another.

Hebrews 10:24–25 NKJV

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

An example is a recent article that points out a connection between church attendance and Bible reading: “26 million Americans stopped reading the Bible regularly during COVID-19.” 39% down from 50% read on their own at least 3 or 4 times per year. Not only casual readers affected: 10%, down from 14%, read daily.

We need to intentionally connect to community and add our part to the whole. God has appointed a place, and people, and purpose for you in community.

Connecting to Community

To fully discover ourselves and live authentically, we have to choose God’s way and embrace relationships with Him and the community He appoints us to in more than a superficial or surface level way.

There are three ways that we can more deeply connect:

We Invest Our Time

Acts 2:42 NKJV

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The social proximity affect points to the fact that we will pick up and mirror the habits of the people we spend the most time with. If we are going to be more godly and Christlike we need to spend more time with others who are seeking to be so and modeling how to do so. This includes in church and out of church.

This principle applies to how we invest our time in other areas too (like entertainment, sports, work, etc.).

Sow your time into areas you desire to reap a good harvest (e.g. flesh vs Spirit - Galatians 6.8).

We Invest Our Talent

Ephesians 4:16 NKJV

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The apostle in his letter to the Ephesians makes it clear that we serve one another in love. We use the gifts and talents that God has given us for the purpose of building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4.12).

When we aren’t connected we don’t receive what others have for us, and we also don’t supply what we have for them.

We Invest Our Treasure

Matthew 6:21 NKJV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus did not say our treasure follows our heart. He said our hearts follow our treasure.

If we were investing we have a “stake” in a company. We become interested in the success of that company because its success is our own. In the same way, when we invest financially in the church and its mission, we will become more interested in its success.

Conclusion

When we begin to invest our time, talent, and treasure into God’s community we will begin to experience real relationships and find more fulfillment.

We will go beyond the superficial connections and find our people, our place, and our purpose.

We will find a people who love us, even though they see us (cf. 1 Corinthians 13.12).

We will find a place where we belong.

We will discover our purpose and leave a legacy of impact.

Take a step of faith and move toward the people of God in a deeper more meaningful way and discover the joy of God’s purpose.

Pray: Father, help resist the temptation to withdraw and protect ourselves from others. Help us overcome the hurt and pain that others inflicted on us. Enable us to find our people, our place, and our purpose in the community you have appointed us to and set us in. In Jesus’ name, amen.