Being Part of the Body of Christ

Introduction

Good to see everybody this morning. Want to remind those who are in the auditorium with us that we’re having some technical issues this morning, and so our projector is unavailable to us this morning, and so we’re going to have to go old school like we did in our singing. We had to pull out the song books and remember how to use those again. And for the sermon this morning, you’re going to have to go old school. You’re going to have to use your mind and try to picture and visualize this beautiful PowerPoint that I had prepared. Now, those of you who are watching at home in the live stream, you’ll be able to see the PowerPoint there. And so everybody here in the auditorium, now you’ve got to go home and rewatch the PowerPoint on the live stream this afternoon.

And so you have homework to do.

Because they all remind us that we don’t really appreciate what we have till it’s gone. Isn’t that the nature of life? You don’t appreciate electricity until a hurricane comes and knocks out your electricity for maybe days.

We don’t appreciate our health and being able to do the things that we can do until to some degree or another that’s taken away from you. You never think about your leg until your leg is broken. You never think about your knee until you have surgery on your knee, and then you’re made keenly aware of that. Our body just functions with very little or no thought given to how it functions. Really, isn’t that true? We just do what we do. And we don’t appreciate the intricacy and the beauty of how things work until something is taken away from us. And then we’re made to focus upon what we had. This morning I don’t want to talk about our physical bodies, but we do want to talk about a body.

Turn with me, if you will, in your New Testament to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. You may have already guessed, since this is a sermon, that we’re not talking about our physical bodies, but we’re talking about the body of Christ, the spiritual entity that if you are a child of God, that spiritual entity of which you’re a part.

Including our spiritual lives. And I want us to think about this body, this spiritual body, the body of Christ, maybe in a more keen way than you ever have. Because hopefully, like everything else, you’re recognizing what this body does and the importance of what can be done in this body. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, let’s look at the last verse. We’re going to look at this entire text for our study this morning. And so you might put a finger or a bookmark there. We’ll be looking at some other passages, but we’ll be coming back to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. But let’s start at the end. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and in verse 27, the apostle by inspiration says, you are the body of Christ and members individually.

You, assuming that you are a child of God, if you are a New Testament Christian, you are the body of Christ and members individually. Paul there speaks of the body in two different aspects. He speaks of it as a unit. You are the body of Christ. And we’re going to talk about that, the idea of the unit and unity that this demands. And then he speaks of it individually. You are members individually. Let’s think and talk about that body this morning in both of those senses. In the corporate sense in which we together are a body, and then emphasize our individual aspects and roles of it. Now, if we’re going to talk about the body of Christ, I think we need to start here. Before we talk about the body, before we talk about our individual responsibilities and roles in that body, I think any time that we talk about the body of Christ, we need to rather than talk about the body, we need to begin by talking about the head.

1. Christ Is the Head of the Body

Christ is the head of that body. Will you hold your finger or your bookmark there in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and go with us to the book of Ephesians chapter 5? There’s several places we could go in the New Testament to make this point, but let’s go to Ephesians 5. In the comparison in Ephesians chapter 5, there’s a comparison between the marriage relationship to Christ and the church. And he brings in another metaphor in that discussion when he says in Ephesians 5, verse 25, husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

The church is the bride of Christ. The church is the benefactor of the beneficiary of the blessings of Christ and of the sacrifice of Christ. But notice the connection back up a couple verses to verse 23. He says, For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church and the Savior of the body. And so again, kind of a mixing of metaphors ends up there. There’s the marriage relationship, but then there is this head body relationship that is hinted at, I believe, there in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 23, when he says, Christ is the head of the church and the Savior of the body. There’s that headbody relationship, and we begin with this premise that if you’re a part of the body of Christ, that Christ is your head.

What an honor to sustain a relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you ever do genealogy? You ever do that family tree tracing? I’ve done some of that in my family, and we do that. I don’t really know why we do that, because it really doesn’t change who you are and what you are to know who your great great great grandmother was, but it’s interesting to know.

About if they can find somebody famous in their family tree. Now we’ve all got skeletons and nuts in that family tree, but if you can find somebody famous in that family tree, we might walk around, strut around a little bit and say, Did you know that I am related to William Shakespeare? By the way, I am. I’m related to William Shakespeare. I know this sounds like a joke, especially coming from me. But based upon my research, and I’m rarely wrong. William Shakespeare is my first cousin. Fifteen times removed. That makes me something. And we kind of take pride in that association that we’re associated in our family tree or maybe in just in our circle of influence of somebody who’s famous, somebody with some kind of prestige.

But I want, if you’re a Christian this morning, I want you to contemplate the concept that not only are you in the family of God, but our analogy this morning is, is that you, by being a part of the body of Christ, you sustain a direct relationship to the head of that body who is Christ. That is an honor. And what a relationship. Don’t get lost in the thou shalt and the thou shalt not. Don’t get lost in the rules and the regulations. Now don’t misunderstand me. They are there. But don’t get so lost in those technicalities that you fail to see that Christianity is first and foremost about a relationship. Did not the Pharisees fail to see that? Oh, they knew the rules and the regulations and the boxes that needed to be checked.

They knew them so well that they even made up some of their own. But they failed to see what Jesus, while he was here upon the earth, tried to impart to them that it is first and foremost about a relationship, and that relationship is with deity. If you’re a part of the body, you have Jesus Christ as your head. What an honor, what a relationship. And what a responsibility. That places upon you certain obligations. That if Christ is your head, there are some implications, some unavoidable implications, aren’t they? That means that He, talk about mixing metaphors, here we go, that he drives this ship. That he is in control. That’s the only way a body, anybody, can properly function is if the head is in control.

2. Joined to Every Other Member of That Body

If the feet, the legs, the eyes, and the ear start getting a mind of their own and just doing their own thing, it becomes chaos. And so it is in the body of Christ. It’s an honor, it’s a relationship, and it’s a responsibility. Secondly, if you’re a part of the body of Christ, you are connected to the head. And by again, unavoidable implication, you are joined to every other member of that body. Go back to 1 Corinthians 12, and let’s look at the implications of that. Verse 12. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12. Let’s spend some time in this text and see what we can learn about our responsibilities in the body. As parts of the body of Christ as our head. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12, for as the body is one, here he begins talking about the physical body.

He’s building this analogy. In talking about the physical body, the body is one, but has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body. Now let’s pause there before he makes the spiritual connection. He says, you can grasp that body concept, can’t you? That the body is many members. But it’s really one.

That it can be spoken of as many different parts, but ultimately it’s talked about as being one. Many and one at the same time. And he says at the end of verse 12, so also is Christ. Just like the physical body is composed of many members, yet is one entity, so is Christ. So is Christ’s body. Verse 13, for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves are free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. For in fact, the body is not one member but many. And let’s pause again there. You can understand the physical body concept, Paul says you can understand and apply that to the spiritual body. We’ve all been baptized into one body.

The implications that Paul draws out of that are numerous. Number one is it doesn’t matter who or what you are. He says, whether Jew or Greek, whether slave or free, you’re all one body. Let’s modernize that a little bit. There’s no male church or female church. There’s no American church and African and Chinese church. There’s no black churches or white churches. There’s one body, he says.

And you’re members of one another. We’ve already talked about maybe the most important implication of that concept is you’re attached to Christ. He is now your head. But secondary to that, but still very vitally important is the fact that now, if I’m a part of this body, it’s unavoidable that I am connected to other parts of that body. It is certainly true that when Paul talks of this church is the body of Christ concept, he’s talking about what we sometimes refer to as the universal church. That I have fellow body parts that I have never met and will never meet this side of heaven. And so this is a big body. This is that assembly that is talked about in the New Testament. This is that family that’s talked about in the New Testament.

But it also should be crystal clear to Bible students that the body concept speaks of the universal church of everybody who has been baptized into Christ, has become a part of this one body. But it should also become crystal clear to us that the implications, the ramifications, the application of that, largely is played out in the local church, isn’t it? It has to be that way, I would argue. Now, not to mean that there aren’t implications universally, even for me personally universally. But largely, my application of this concept, how do I make this a part of my life as a part of this body of Christ, has to do with you. Because if there’s some foot out there that I’ll never meet, how do I fulfill my obligations to that body part?

But if there are body parts that I assemble with regularly, who I live in proximity to, and who know personally, then doesn’t it necessarily follow that I have an obligation to those parts of the body as well. And so we are joined to everybody else. What a fellowship that is.

3. Being Part of This Body Places a Responsibility

That I am a part of something. I’m a part of Jesus Christ. He is my head, but I’m a part of this body, this grand body of believers. What a glorious thought. That I have that fellowship, I’m a part of that body, that assembly, that family. But again, just as recognizing my relationship to the head placed a responsibility upon me, Paul wants us to know, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul’s pen wants us to know that being a part of this body and being members one another in this body also places a responsibility upon me. Keep reading. In fact, let’s back up to verse 14 again. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I’m not a hand, I’m not of the body.

Is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I’m not an eye, I’m not of the body. Is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each of them in the body, just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body, and notice the second application here, verse 21, and 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. See the two sides of the extreme that he deals with here?

The over inflated superiority complex and the overdeflated inferiority complex. Of somebody saying, I’m not important.

And so I’m going to set it out. Paul says that doesn’t work in the body, does it? In the physical body. It doesn’t work properly. And it also doesn’t work in the spiritual body. At least not properly. And then he deals with the superiority complex that says, well, I am the body. My part, my role in this is so vitally important, you couldn’t make it without me. In fact, I don’t really need you. Paul says both of those extremes fail to appreciate the way a body functions. And again, that illustration is best made not when you are healthy. That illustration is best understood when some part of your body is aching and failing.

And every waking minute of the day reminds you, I have fingers. And they hurt.

And you have to limp around on crutches. Anybody like using crutches?

And so here’s the illustration of that. Every body part, and by the way, if you’ve been baptized into Christ, you are a body part. You’re some part of this body, and he’s just said an important part of this body, and if you’re not doing your part, the body suffers. If that right leg gets broken and decides not to carry its weight, guess what? Every other part of the body suffers. That left leg is now carrying the entire load. With the assistance now of the arms who haven’t been trained nor created to carry your physical body around, but guess what? They’re having to do it now with those crutches. And after about three days on those crutches, you become keenly aware of other body parts. Those muscles that are aching, those armpits that are sore and raw and do you see the spiritual application?

You are a part of this body. If you’re not functioning, if you’re not doing your part, every other part of that. Well, let me stop there. If you’re not doing your part in the body of Christ, there are only two options. Option number one is that role just won’t get done. So there is the option. You break your right leg, what can you do? You just stay at home and lay on the couch and don’t move until it heals. That’s an option. Not a good option, by the way, but that’s an option. And where the practical application of this falls down in the local church, that’s sometimes what happens, isn’t it? It just doesn’t, that just doesn’t get done. Evangelism just doesn’t happen at that local church.

Benevolence is not done at that local church. Some work just ceases to be done. And that body, that spiritual body, that local body, if we can use that analogy this morning, is just sitting on the couch doing nothing. And let’s be honest, there are many, too many local churches that are that way. Because the parts of the body aren’t fulfilling their function. That’s option number one. Option number two is alive and well. And that is, if one part of the body won’t do its part, then some other part has to take up for it. That’s usually what we do. We get the crutches and we limp along, and two things happen from that. Number one is we’re not as efficient as we used to be, even if we’re functioning.

I can still move with crutches, but guess what? I’m not moving as good as I used to. But I’m still moving. But I’m moving in this hindered handicapped way because other parts of the body are having to take up the slack and do the part that that leg refuses now to do. Do you see the spiritual application of the body? That if one part of the body fails to recognize its role and to fulfill that role, only two things can happen. That role just won’t be done, and we have a church laying on the couch doing nothing, or somebody else is going to have to take up that and be your crutch. And so Paul says, you are a part of a body. And you are an important part.

4. Study the Anatomy of the Body

You’re not so important that you don’t need anybody else, but you’re not so less important that you’re not needed in this body. And so we all have a work to do in being a part of that body. Pick up in verse 22 in our reading. No, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor. And our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it. That there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another.

Let’s see if we can boil that down a little bit. It’s only when you study anatomy. Now that doesn’t mean you have to have a degree in anatomy, but you only after you study anatomy that you really understand all the parts of the body and what they do. I guess it’s possible for you to be so ignorant that you don’t even know you have lungs. Or you don’t know what they do. But if you study the slightest bit of anatomy, you realize not only do I have lungs, but I know what they do, and man, they’re important. They weren’t the most honorable, presentable parts. In fact, there was a time in my life I didn’t even know I had them. But even then, they were vitally important.

And now that I’ve studied anatomy, studied the body just a little bit, I know what they do. And so you see the analogy? I need to study the body. I need to understand what this body is and how it functions, and then I’ll understand, oh you have a role. I have a role. And it’s important. Years ago, I didn’t even know that that was a part of the body. But now I understand and appreciate what part you or maybe I can play in this body. And I recognize in this gained knowledge that actually that part that I didn’t even know existed and know what it did is more important than that other part that I always knew about and thought was the most important. Let’s make a real life application of this.

I am your preacher. I’m the most presentable part of this body. But every time I have moved, I have been humbled to the realization that the following Sunday they didn’t close the doors. They functioned without me. But if I was honest, I could think of other parts of that body. That if they were removed, they would be far greater missed than I was.

Conclusion

To study the anatomy of the body of Christ. And so two applications, and the lesson is yours. Number one is you’re a part of a body. If you’ve been baptized into Christ, you’re a part of the body. Understand the relationship and the responsibilities that means when you’re placed in relationship to the head, Jesus Christ. And understand the relationship and the responsibilities it’s placed upon you as now a part of this body of other people. Secondly, study anatomy of the body of Christ. Figure out what part of the body you are. You’re a part.

Verse 18, but now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. God somehow, unknown to me, has placed you in the body of Christ right where He wants you to do what you’ve been given to do. It’s up to you to figure out what part am I. Figure it out. And then start doing what that part does. Do some soul searching, study the scriptures, pray, and think, ask yourself, what am I? And if you figure out you’re the liver, then start living. Start doing what your part was supposed to do in the body. And you’ll be amazed how your relationship to this body changes. And how the body will grow and function. If you’ve not been added to that body.

The apostle said, if you’ve been baptized into one body, have you? Are you a part of that body of Christ? Do you sustain that honorable relationship with Jesus Christ? And that beautiful relationship with others who have so been baptized? If not, why not make that choice today? If we can help you in any spiritual way as you turn to Christ and to become a part of his body, then let that be known right now as together we stand.