Saints Made Sinners: The Body of Christ

The human body is an amazing creation of God. It is a single structure but it is made up of billions of smaller structures of four major kinds: cells, tissues, organs, and systems.

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. The human body is composed of trillions of them. They take in nutrients, convert nutrients into energy and carry out specialized functions.

Tissue is a group of cells that function together as a unit.

An organ is an organization of several different kinds of tissues so arranged that together they can perform a special function. For example, your liver is an organ that works something like an oil filter in your car – screening out contaminants that can hurt the engine.

A system is an organization of varying numbers and kinds of organs so arranged that together they can perform complex functions for the body. Consider your cardiovascular system ... your heart beats 100,000 times every day and pumps 1.5 gallons of blood every minute through 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body. The right side of your heart is dedicated to pumping blood into your lungs. The left side of your heart pumps blood back through your body. Or consider you digestive system ... The average person produces 2 pints of saliva every day. The Enzymes in your stomach are strong enough to dissolve zinc, but the cells of you stomach lining are replaced so quickly that those enzymes don’t have time to dissolve your stomach. The stomach has the ability to stretch and hold up to 4 pounds of food at one time.

All eleven of you bodily systems work together, in fine-tuned balance, (normally) for the well-being of the individual and to maintain life.

Why the biology lesson? Because one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite euphemisms for the Church is the Body of Christ. There is no better place in the Scriptures where the Apostle illustrates that analogy then here.

The Body of Christ is a flourishing community

The Body of Christ requires functioning members

The Body of Christ is a fellowship of love

I. THE BODY OF CHRIST IS A FLOURISHING COMMUNITY

1. Christ wants his Church to flourish which translates into every single Christian flourishing in their walk with Christ and their life in his Church

a. he died for his church, he lives in his church through the Spirit

b. just as Jesus was the incarnation of God in the world the Church is the incarnation of Christ in the world

1) it is through our lives that — individually and corporately — that the world is to see and experience the risen Christ

2. the problem with the Church at Corinth is that it had devolved into a dysfunctional church

a. they are not a flourishing community of believers

b. they are struggling with divisions, and immorality, and spiritual immaturity

3. the entire letter is meant to call them to repentance, correct their problems, and restore their unity in Christ

A. THEY ARE ONE BODY

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, ESV)

1. three times in vs. 12-13 Paul insists that the members of the Church at Corinth are one body and twice he reminds us that Christians are one in the Spirit

a. as I said at the beginning, the analogy of the Body of Christ to the human body is one of Paul’s favorite euphemisms for the Church

1) he uses it in his letters to the Corinthians, the Romans and the Ephesians

2. for Paul the Church is a divinely created union — one body of many diverse parts — all interrelated, interdependent, harmonious, and functioning as one body

a. how can this be?

1) how can a conglomeration of individual autonomous people — diverse in so many ways — be “one body”?

b. human beings like homogeneity — that is, we tend to gravitate toward people who are mostly like us

1) people who look like us ... who think like us ... who believe like we do ... who vote like we do ... and who are in the same socio-economic demographic as we are

2) we may talk about the importance of diversity, and our desire for diversity — God’s kingdom after all will be a diverse kingdom — but that said we really like being like the people we really, really like

3) even those who like to call themselves non-conformists all tend to conform to how other non-conformists don’t conform in dress and behavior

3. Paul writes to remind the Church that we are one, and we are one because of the supernatural, regenerating, work of the Holy Spirit — the Third Person of the Trinity

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13, ESV)

a. this baptism of the Spirit is not some special “second blessing” for believers who want to “get serious” about their faith

b. it is the quintessential experience that makes one a Christian that Jesus referred to as the new birth

4. the Apostle is quite clear ... we were all baptized into one body and that body is the Body of Christ — his Church that is represented by local congregations

B. THEY ARE ONE BODY WITH MANY PARTS

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” (1 Corinthians 12:14, ESV)

1. human beings are psychologically wired for community

ILLUS. There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality. Isolation from others can wreak havoc on an individual’s physical, mental, spiritual, and cognitive health.

a. we don’t do “alone” well

2. similarly, God has spiritually wired believers to long for, and be a part of Christian community

a. I’m convinced that one of the signs of a true conversion to Christ is a deep yearning for authentic Christian community that can only be found in a flourishing local Body of Christ (as the meme says ... “Prove me wrong”

b. the Bible calls that community the Church

1) Paul here describes it as the Body of Christ and Jesus is Head

3. consider the Church at Corinth — it’s as diverse as is the community

a. Corinth is a city composed of Jews, and Pagans, Romans and Greeks, Gauls and Germans, Africans and Phoenicians, slave and free, the high born and the low born

b. into that community comes Paul with his entourage of fellow evangelists,and the gospel is proclaimed and a church is birthed and a disparate group of people become the representation of the incarnate Christ in that community

4. each born-again member of the Linn, 1st Baptist Church, in fellowship together, is representation of the incarnate Christ in our community

a. because of our unity in Christ we are a sanctified community within which we may draw near to the Father through the Son, and in the Spirit sharing in the eternal life, light, and love of the Godhead

b. and if this is true — and it is — then this reality is to be fleshed out in time and space through the union and communion of the saints

... the Body of Christ Is a Flourishing Community — or it ought to be

II. THE BODY OF CHRIST REQUIRES FUNCTIONING MEMBERS

1. when one part of our body doesn’t function correctly the whole body is often affected

ILLUS. My father-in-law has Parkinson's disease. It’s a disease that damages cells in the brain causing dopamine levels to drop. It is a disorder that leads to shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance, and coordination. It is a disease of the brain, but the whole body is gradually affected.

2. similarly, when even one part of the local church is not functioning properly — not using their spiritual gifts and abilities for the benefit of all — the whole church is diminished to some degree

A. EVERY PART OF THE BODY IS SIGNIFICANT

1. there are no insignificant members of the local community of believers

“If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:15–20, ESV)

a. it doesn’t matter what you can or can’t do — you are an essential part of the body

ILLUS. It doesn’t matter if you are “only” a nursery worker. You’re an essential part of the body. It doesn’t matter is you are “only” a teller. You’re an essential part of the body. It doesn’t matter if you are “only” a committee member on some obscure church committee. You’re an essential part of the body.

b. Paul is clear about one thing ... as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose

2. by the same token, there are no members of the local community of Jesus followers who are indispensable

“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,” (1 Corinthians 12:21–24, ESV)

ILLUS. It doesn’t matter if you are the pastor and you preach most Sundays. The pastor is an essential part of the body, just like the rest, but he is no less or no more essential than then twelve-year-old believer who is learning about the faith, and hopefully in time, will become a leader within the church.

a. unfortunately, we’ve probably all known that person who thought they were indispensable to the church

ILLUS. It happened a fair number of years ago, but I’ve got a pastor friend who, soon after his arrival to a new church, was informed by one of the couples in the church, that all major decisions by the pastor or the church had to be cleared through them. They were the largest financial contributors in the church, and if they were not consulted about important decisions they would just leave and take his contributions with them. It was a threat they had repeatedly made over the years. In time, Steve called the couple’s bluff. They did leave and took their tithe with them, but the church rallied, and congregational giving actually increased!

3. Paul’s point is that the church is crippled when you have some parts of the body believing they are more essential than the other parts or conversely, when some parts of the body assume they are less than essential than other parts

ILLUS. One of Aesop’s Fables illustrate this. It’s called The Belly and the Members. One day it occurred to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work while the Belly had all the food. So they held a meeting and decided to strike till the Belly consented to its proper share of the work. For a day or two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused to receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do. After a day or two the Members began to find that they themselves were in poor condition: the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was parched and dry, while the Legs were unable to support the rest. Thus even the Belly was doing necessary work for the Body, and all must work together or the Body will go to pieces.

4. Paul argues that, in the Church, there is no hierarchy of important or elite versus unimportant or common in the Body that is Christ’s

a. all are important ... all are necessary to the realization and functioning of the one body that God has put together

b. in fact, Paul indicates in vs. 24 that those members of the church we may deem the most unimportant and insignificant — what he refers to as the unpresentable parts — are given greater honor

ILLUS. Alan F. Johnson, retired professor of New Testament and Christian Ethics at Wheaton College, writes, “Contemporary churches and Christian organizations and institutions need to pay close attention to this teaching of Paul. Often the tendency is to showcase the most “successful” Christians who have won achievement awards, excelled in gaining wealth, or risen to prominent positions in government, entertainment or book publishing. These members often are appointed as church leaders or college trustees. Instead, without ignoring the “parts,” we should look for those who have less visibility yet have displayed unusual faithfulness, especially through suffering and loss, who have given away great wealth, are self-effacing, have showed restraint in material possessions, exhibited downward mobility in seeking to serve Christ, and are filled with the fruit of the Spirit despite relative obscurity. These are the people who should be our main showcase examples in the church.”

4. in the church there is no room for either a superiority complex nor an inferiority complex

B. EVERY PART IS TO SUPPORT AND CARE FOR EVERY OTHER PART

“that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:25–26, ESV)

1. our natural bodily parts are so intertwined that when one part suffers pain, the whole body suffers with it

a. don’t believe me? go home and smash your thumb with a hammer — you feel it throughout your body, not just your thumb

2. Paul is reminding the Corinthians that no Christian is self-sufficient

a. no believer can make it without the prayers and support of those with whom they have a common bond in Jesus Christ

b. in other words, we need each other

ILLUS. One spring morning Jr. Bohon was plowing some of his bottom land along Flat Creek, and got his tractor stuck. The spring thaw had made the fields a muddy mess camouflaged by the brown crust of the warming days. In one particularly wet place Jr’s tractor broke through the surface layer, and became stuck in the mud. The harder he tried to get it out, the deeper he mired his tractor. Finally, he walked down the road to Ralph Thomas’ farm to ask for help. Ralph and Jr. piled into Ralph’s pickup, and they drove over to the field where the tractor was stuck. Ralph looked at the situation and just shook his head, and said, "Jr., it doesn't look good, but I tell you what. I'll go get my tractor and try pulling you out. But if we don't get it out, I'll come sit in the mud with you!"

3. all of us sometimes get "stuck in the mud" when the rains of affliction come and what seems to be a firm foundation gives way underneath us

a. when that happens we need someone to help pull us out

b. when they can't it's nice to know they'll come sit in the mud with us

C. WE SUPPORT AND CARE FOR OTHER PARTS OF THE BODY BY USING OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE WHOLE

1. in vs. 27-31 Paul returns to the main them of this part of his letter — spiritual gifts

a. vs. 27 in particular wonderfully summarizes the entire section, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it”

2. these Holy Spirit-given spiritual enablements are primarily for the edification and sanctification of the Body of Christ

a. Paul’s point in summarizing them here is found in the phrases, Are all ... ? and Do all ... ?

b. Paul has already told us in vs. 1-12 that all Christians have a set of spiritual gifts, that those who have the same spiritual gift as someone else may often use it in a different way, and that the Holy Spirit parcels his grace-gifts out according to the will of the Father

3. every believer has exactly the gifts and abilities that God wants you to have

a. not to use them is a sin against your brothers and sisters who need your ministry

b. not to use them grieves the Holy Spirit who endowed you with them

c. not to use them is disobedience to the Father

d. not to use them is a denial of the Lordship of Christ in your life

... the Body of Christ Requires Functioning Members

III. THE BODY OF CHRIST IS A FELLOWSHIP OF LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1. Paul now tells the Corinthians, And I will show you a still more excellent way ...

a. most of you are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13 — it’s one of the most commonly read passages at weddings (and rightly so)

1) this is perhaps the greatest, strongest, deepest thing Paul ever wrote — it is one of the most profound descriptions of love found in any literature of any culture

ILLUS. One commentator wrote, “In this chapter Paul stops preaching, he stops teaching and he begins to sing.”

b. if all the Christians in the world could flesh this passage out every day the world would be a different place

2. in it’s context, however, the passage gives us the motive behind the use of our spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ

a. congregational life, has at it’s foundation, and unconditional love for each other that is expressed in ministry to each other

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (John 13:34–35, ESV)

1) Jesus said this right after washing his disciple’s feet

b. God’s people loving God’s people is not a new commandment

1) loving each other as Christ loved us is what makes it new

c. it’s love that goes beyond mere emotional attachment toward a fellow believer, but involves a willingness to minister to their needs

A. LOVE IS ESSENTIAL IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1–3, ESV)

1. the saints at Corinth considered five gifts essential in the Christian life

a. Paul refers to these in the first three verses

b. do you see them?

1) oratory

2) prophecy

3) miracle-working faith

4) alms-giving or philanthropy

5) martyrdom

2. Paul tells the Corinthians that they could have all of these qualities, but if they did not have a fervent, servant’s love toward their brethren, they had nothing at all

a. emotionalism ... intellectualism ... activism ... humanitarianism, and asceticism are worth absolutely nothing if love is not the motivation behind them all

3. the essential ingredient — the one the Body of Christ cannot live without — is the love of Christ, in us, flowing to each other

... the Body of Christ Is a Fellowship of Love

Conclusion

Being a part of the Body of Christ means we are all necessary parts of the whole.

Being a part of the Body of Christ means we are different but we still work together.

Being a part of the Body of Christ means we are to serve each other with an unconditional love.

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