The body of Christ
1.Now you are the body of Christ and each
one of you is part of it. 1Corinthians 12:27
What we want this morning is to let these words
sink into our minds and by God’s Holy Spirit drive and direct our lives.
The question becomes, then, what do we mean?
2. First what do we mean by the body of
Christ?
Let’s be quite clear that our thinking begins
post Christmas because, Jesus, the Christ, came as a human being into this
world.
3a.
He was Emmanuel – God with us. He shared our human frame, he understood our
weaknesses, knew what temptation, disappointment, fear, grief and many other
human emotions, yet without sin. He was God in man. It is mind-boggling to say
the least and I cannot explain it. But God loved us so much he sent his one and
only Son into the world to be one of us. God is here, among is people!
Hallelujah!
3b. He is the Word. God reveals
himself through Jesus. Read Hebrews 1:1
Heb 1:1 Long ago
God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
2But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised
everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he made the
universe and everything in it.
The Bible is the revelation of God because it
tells us what Jesus said and did. The Old Testament is there because it reveals
God but the full glory of God’s plans for us are in the New Testament, that is
why we need to read the Bible. It is part of getter to know Jesus better and
therefore God better.
3c.Thirdly, Jesus is the Lamb of God. He
is the sacrifice for sin. Much as the concept of sacrifice is alien to us, we
need to grasp that God in his love made salvation possible because Jesus took
the rap for our sin. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree ( 1 Peter
2:24) This is why when Jesus shared the Passover with his disciples, he took
bread and said “This is my body, given for you.” In the communion we remember
the death and resurrection of Jesus recognising that his death was our ticket
to life eternal.
4a. So what has this to do with us? When
Jesus returned to his Father in heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to be in
us. So God is with us still. He is with
the nation through us. We are to this nation what Jesus was to the people of
his day.
4b.
You are the body of Christ and as such you are the revelation of Jesus Christ
to the world around you. Not individually but collectively. This is why God
leaves us on this earth after we are converted. To demonstrate his work of
grace to a watching world. When we fail him, the world sees. When we allow the
Holy Spirit to rule inour hearts and minds then the world sees Jesus.
Jesus however, alone, is the full and
sufficient sacrifice for sin.
So if that is what we mean by the body of
Christ, how do we work it out in practice? The key here is each one being part
of it. None of us is anything like Jesus is all the fullness of his grace but
through us together God chooses to express himself fully to a broken world.
5.Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Page 1153 in the church bibles
A human body is a
Network of mutual support.
Skeleton
Nervous system
Blood circulation , heart, Lungs, kidneys,
liver, pancreas, digestive system and so on. Each is dependant on other parts,
each serves other parts of the body.
Visibly active members are a minority.
Most are invisible but vital.
Some are evangelists, some pastoral, some
carers in the community, some 'worship together' leaders, some prayer warriors,
some knowledgeable, some teach others, some provide fellowship. Together we
have balance and health; individually we do a bit of everything but for each of
us there is a part to play where the bit we do well fits in with what everyone
else does well.
6a.This morning we have worshipped
together. I may have led but my part is far less vital than yours. Yours is to
respond to the Holy Spirit and praise and give thanks and rejoice and cry
‘Abba, Father’. God is not so concerned with musical correctness, or saying the
right words, he is listening to your heart and mind. It is the thoughts you
have that are true worship. What comes out of the mouth is a reflection of the
heart or play-acting what God abhors. And this morning is only the tip of the
iceberg as far as church is concerned. This church is dependant on the prayers
of and for each other. Razzmatazz team depends on the prayers of those who do
not go. People who need healing are dependant on the Holy Spirit providing the
fellowship and care and support of the rest of the fellowship. There are
specific gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to enable us to do these things but
the gifts are for the whole church not just the leadership team or the members
or any other selection of people. Everyone one of us benefits from your
presence, your prayers, your spiritual walk with the Lord.
6b. We have different gifts. This morning
needs prayers, welcomers, musicians, singers, PA techys, Computer operators,
Children’s workers and helpers, tea and coffee makers, washer-uppers,
listeners, hospitable people, maybe, discernment, healing gifts, wisdom and so
on. You will leave here having benefited from everyone in this place and some
outside it.
6c.
The key mistake in our thinking is that the church is run by some vague group
of people. It is not true. In every aspect of our vision for mission everyone
is involved.
6dWe have talked of our worship. But what
of prayer. The prayer diary is not there for idle curiosity. It is the basis of
our empowering one another by lifting one another up in prayer, daily, weekly
or monthly. Discipleship requires us to learn together , and often act
together. To share our weaknesses and encourage one another to be strong in the
Lord. Teaching seems to be a specialist job but more is learnt in House group
when you share how you struggle to follow Jesus than a 100 of my sermons.
6e.Community Care is how everyone relates
to their neighbours not just those who set up special projects like Teddy Bear
Club, some maybe evangelists but we are called to tell what God has done in our
lives, to invite friends to activities like Alpha, special events and the like.
Each of us have different mission interests and we are enriched by each others
knowledge of the wider church.
6f. Fellowship by definition is an every
member ministry but we often forget that the ministry of encouragement is
simply thanking people for what they do and saying it is good to see you or see
you at house group. God’s love is expressed in small as well as big ways.
Finally we can all serve one another. There are few if any in this church that
are not contributing to the needs of others whether by giving money or time or
effort. That is excellent but we need to understand it is how the body works.
God is not just seen in us by proclamation of the gospel but by living it out,
responding to and expressing the love of God to one another and to every person
God puts in our way. Paul moves on from his outline of the body of Christ to
the great exposition of love. Love expressed in sacrificial action. Jesus
revealed to the world around us and to each other.