The Body of Christ

 

 

Today, I want to talk about the Body of Christ.  That is the body of Christ as it is today.

Obviously when Jesus walked the earth He had a physical body which looked a certain way probably with typical Jewish mid-east features. 

It looked different after He was beaten, tortured and crucified.

It still had the holes and scars when He showed it to Thomas after He was resurrected.

 

But now, in 1 Corrinthians 12,  Paul compares the church to a physical human body.

 

The closest most people are going to come to actually seeing Jesus is when they see the church;

 

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NKJV)
12  For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
14  For in fact the body is not one member but many.
15  If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
16  And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
17  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?
18  But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
19  And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
20  But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.
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."
22  No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.
23  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,
24  but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,
25  that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
26  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27  Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

 

Paul says that the church is like a physical human body with feet, hands, arms, legs, nose, ears, mouth and a head (which is Christ Jesus Himself).

We are all part of that body. 

Every born again believer, no matter what denomination they belong to is a member of the body of Christ.

Like the human body, there are millions of cells, each one located in the right place to enable the body to function properly as it was designed to do.

 

As Paul described the church like a physical human body, so should we visualise the church (the whole church) to be like a physical human body with arms, legs, hands, ears, eyes, etc.

 

Like any body, it has attractive parts and not so attractive parts, smelly parts, private parts, public parts or as Paul puts it, ‘less honourable’ and ‘unpresentable’ parts. 

But every part has a specific function and No part is a waste of time, obsolete or useless.

 

Even the least respectable parts of the human body are essential to the efficient performance of that body.

I’ll try to put this politely, but imagine how sick the whole body would be if it was unable to go to toilet.

 

I read a report of some research where they were studying the effects of women using anti-perspirant under their arms.  Because women shave their armpits, the anti perspirant is applied directly to the skin and so it works very effectively in stopping the toxins being ejected out of the body.  The research is studying if there is a link to breast cancer.  So even the armpit is essential.

 

 

 

How does this body look?  Does it look healthy, or does it look sick?

If a part of our own body does not function properly, then we would be called disabled (or perhaps today we would use the term physically challenged!).

 

If a part of our body is sick, then the whole body is being sick.

If a part of the body does not function properly, for instance if our legs were paralysed, or deformed in anyway, then the whole body is said to be DISABLED.

 

I am right handed and I do most things with my right hand, I write with my right hand, I use my right hand to cut things, or turn a screwdriver etc. 

If I play sport I hold the bat or racquet in my right hand. 

My left hand is there to support my right hand.  It holds the paper for me, or the piece of wood,  or the screw, it is there to help my right hand and when they work together they are very efficient and I can do great things.   

 

But if one of my hands refuses to work with the other then I cannot achieve nearly as much. 

 

If my right hand was broken in an accident,  then what would I do?   Well, my left hand would have to take over some of the extra duties ntil the right hand was better.  It might not ne able to write as well, as fast or as neatly !!  but it would do its best to help out.  And when the right hand was better, my left hand (without grumbling or complaining) would go back to it's supporting role. 

This is how we should be in the church.  If one part of the church is having troubles, the rest of the church should try to help out until the part that was having troubles had gotten over. 

It is not an opportunity to gain position - to get more members, but it is an opportunity to prove that we are all members of the same body.

 

It is important that the different parts of the body work together so that the whole body can achieve what it is supposed to achieve.

 

In the same way it is important for us – the different parts of the body of Christ to work together and not against each other so that we can fulfill the mission He has given us to preach the gospel to all creation and make disciples of all nations.

 

 

I'm better than you!!

Mark 10.35  Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."

36  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

37  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."

38  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

39  They said to Him, "We are able." So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized;

40  "but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."

41  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.

42  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

43  "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.

44  "And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.

45  "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Criticise part of the body and you criticise the whole person.  ie  you have a big nose is offensive to the person as well as the nose.  

 

If we criticise another part of the body of Christ, it's like saying to Jesus 'Hey Jesus you've got an ugly big nose!' or 'I don’t like the colour of your left hand!!' 

 

It is offensive to Jesus.   

 

As it is the responsibility of my head to decide what I should wear today - how I should look and the responsibility of my body to help me dress that way,  so it is the responsibility of Jesus as the head of the body of Christ to decide how he wants His body to look and the responsibility of the rest of the body to help Him achieve that.

 

Thank Goodness we are all different-  What would we ever achieve if we were all the same.  What could my own body achieve if it comprised nothing but hands, or ears!!  Ever part has a specific function which is designed to work for the good of the whole.  Every part is designed to work together with other parts.  When the whole body works together great things can be achieved far greater than the sum of the things each memebr can achieve on it's own.

 

The key to evangelising is for the body to work together and to lift up not the body, nor a part of the body, but to lift up the head

John 12.32  "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

 

The Body Obeys what the Head tells it

Imagine what would happen if your body did not obey what your head told it!

If your head tells your legs to walk to the left but they go to the right instead!

If your head tells your hands to pick up a book but they disobey and stay put in your pockets!

 

Isnt that what happens when Jesus tells us to do something and we do something else instead.

‘Go and talk to this person’ so we go and talk to our friend instead.

‘Read your Bible’  so we watch TV instead.

‘Pray about this’ so we go off and have a coffee instead.

 

If we truly have made Jesus Lord of our lives, then we would obey Him.  The word Lord means ‘one in supreme authority’.

 

 

 

The centurian knew what authority meant.  He said to Jesus;

 

Matthew 8:9 (NKJV)
9  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

 

If Jesus is our Lord, we need to be more obedient.

 

 

Dead Church - what is it?

 

Preachers often talk about churches being dead - how do they know?  What do they mean?  They usually only refer to churches that don’t agree with their doctrine as being dead.

 

Jesus said that where-ever 2 or 3 are gathered in His name He will be there.  SO any church gathering has the ability to be alive with the spirit of Christ there - all they need is for 2 or 3 to gather there in His name.  And one of those people can be YOU and the other ME.

 

I’ve read books where the writer says he went to a certain church and it was dead, the Spirit of God was not there.  So I say to myself, ‘Hangon, you were there weren’t you?  Did you go with someone?  It only needs two people for the Spirit of God to be there.’  So I come to the conclusion that he also had the wrong attitude.

Could it have been different if he took the Spirit of God in with him?

 

Ps 133:1  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!

2  It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.

3  It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing; Life forevermore.

 

 

 

 

Our attitude to our Brothers in Christ

When we first arrived in Australia, we stayed with my sister and her family for a couple of weeks until we found our own place.  At that time, she and her husband had three boys aged about 6,  8, and 10.  One day the 6 year old boy arrives home from school in tears, with his shirt hanging out, all battered and dirty after being in a fight. In tears, he told his dad that some older boys had ganged up on him. I thought his dad was going to blow his top and add to the boys woes, but instead, he turned to his older brothers and said, "And what did you do to help your brother?"

And what did you do to help your brother?  I wonder what our response would be if Jesus asks us the same question.

 

Darwin church receiving bad press when someone who attended the church claimed God told him to kill a man.  Another pastor came to seee the pastor and said " I dont agree with all your doctrine, but I do recognise that you are a man of God. If you wish to place an advert in the paper to put the facts right, you can put my name alongside yours.

 

Rhema Perth when old pastor resigned in difficult circumstances, other pastors in Perth got together and decided they would not let the church fail. They gave their support to Rhema and the new Pastor.  Hence, RiverView church still exists today and going strong.

 

Also Rhema Perth received bad publicity when someone who worked there years before was arrested for sexual offences committed before and after their time at Rhema. The pastor of another church who had a radio programme offered our pastor time to put the facts right.

 

The prodigal son’s father was there to help when the boy had mucked up his life and returned home.  In the same way, we should be there to help one another when they have mucked up their life.

 

 

As Christians, we are to;

 

1.              Love one another

John 13.34  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

 

Verse 35 says  "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

 

So how does the world know we are followers of Jesus if we don’t love one another?

 

2.             Lay down our lives for each other

1 John 3.16  By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

 

3.             Have Peace with one another

Mark 9.50  "Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

 

4.             Be affectionate to one another

Rom 12.10  Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

 

5.             Serve One another

Gal 5.13  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 

6.             Be careful not to be consumed by each other

Gal 5.15  But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

 

7.             Do not provoke or envy one another

Gal 5.26  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

8.            Restore one another

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

 

9.             Bear one another’s burdens

Gal 6.2  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

 

10.                   Bearing with one another in love

Eph 4.1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

11.Be kind to one another

Eph 4.32  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

 

12.                    Slow to wrath

James 1.19  So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

 

13.                     Do not speak evil of one another

James 4.11  Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.

 

14.                      Do not lie to one another

Col 3.9  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

 

15.                      Forgiving one another

Col 3.12  Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;13  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.14  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

 

16.                        Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

Col 3.16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

 

17.                          Be Hospitable to one another

1Peter 4.9  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

 

18.                         Ministering the gifts of God to one another

1 Peter 4.10  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

 

19.                          Be Kindly affectionate and giving preference to one another

Rom 10.10  Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;11  not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;  rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

 

20.                          Distributing to the needs of the saints

Rom 10.13  distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

 

Look at how the church at Corinth gave sacrificially despite the fact that they did not have much GAVE and many gave more than they could afford, to help their brothers in Judea. 

 

2 Cor 8 1-5  Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:

2  that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

3  For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,

4  imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

5  And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

 

The church in the book of Acts (which we all try to emulate) sold everything they had and pooled their resources to help each other.  Many of them did lay down their lives, and many others lived in fear of having to make the supreme sacrifice.  Would we?

 

21.                             Rejoice and mourn with one another

Rom 10.15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

 

When things go wrong for our brothers it should be as if they have gone wrong for us. We should mourn with those who mourn. 

Consider this. Did we mourn when famous evangelists fell or did we rejoice?  -

I think that a lot of us rejoiced.  And it is good that sin has been identified and removed.

But I think we should have been mourning not rejoicing.

·       Mourning for the loss of a ministry that helped so many people come to Christ.

·       And above all mourning for all our brothers and sisters in Christ were hurt because of what happened.  Many would have left the church – their faith destroyed.

·       Many would have left Christ.

 

 

22.                  Pray for the sick among you

James 5.14  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

 

23.                  Confess our sins to one another.

Do we / can we trust our brother enough to confess our sins to them.  Can anyone trust us not to spill the beans ?

James 5.16  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

 

24.                  Remember your own faults - we are not all perfect.

Luke 6.39  Dont be a hippocrite - looking for speck in your brothers eye when you have a plank in your own

 

These things are all about what you can give to help each other but when you give, you’ll also receive so much more.

·     Luke 6:37-38 (NKJV)
37  "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38  Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

 

 

Although these scriptures are so often used in the prosperity message, they are really about so much more than just money. It’s about, love, help, passion, understanding.

 

 We are to walk in the fruit of the Spirit not the fruit of the flesh;

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

 

 

 

Acceptance of other churches practices of worship

 

Assuming other churches are Christian – and by that I mean they can accept statements of faith similar to the Nicene creed, then we should accept their practices even though they are different to ours.

 

That is to say, if they worship in a different way, pray in a different way, have special days, have rules about what they can eat etc., then assuming they do it because they believe that honours God then it should be acceptable to us.

We don’t have to follow what they do but honour them for honouring God.

 

Rom 14:1  Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.2  For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.3  Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.4  Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.5  One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

6  He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

7  For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.8  For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.9  For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.10  But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11  For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."12  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.13  Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.14  I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.15  Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

 

There are many different churches with many different practices.  Assuming they are not practicing witchcraft or worshipping other gods.  There is a need for differences to cater for the different needs of the many different people that makes up the church.

 

I admit that I may not like, agree with or enjoy the way they do things but then they might not like what I do either.

 

Their walk is between Jesus and then, who are we to condemn them?

 

I have enough to worry about if I’m doing the right thing then to worry about them.

 

Of course, there are other churches who teach and practice things that are totally unbiblical and I am not saying we should support those things.  But how are we supposed to deal with such things?   We cant just accept them if it compromises the Word of God.   But maybe the first thing we should do about it is to pray for them that the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to them.

 

Jesus is the head of the church, it’s up to Him to correct us.

 

Excommunication

There is a time and a process where we should remove ourselves from certain other Christians or churches who consistently do and preach error and wont submit to correction or Godly counsel.

Is only after other methods (counselling) fail Gal 6.1

Until the person repents.

Means they are on their own (still saved).

We need to look forward to the day they can be reinstated.

 

On your own you are subject to the wolves and the lions. 

You’re prey waiting to be attacked.

We need each other to help and support.

 

Remember, It is Jesus's desire that we would be one

 

That is why He prayed for us;

John 17.20  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

21  "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

22  "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

23  "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

24  "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

25  "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.

26  "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

 

 

We need Jesus.

We need the Holy Spirit.

We also need one another.

 

Without one another, we are incomplete.

 

We have all been given different gifts, different annointings but they are to share with one another not to keep for ourselves.

 

Together we can do the works that Jesus did (John 14.12) and greater.  These are

·       preaching the gospel,

·       healing the sick

·       setting the captives free.

·       raising dead blind

·       making the deaf to hear and the blind to see)

·       feeding the flock - feeding the hungry with word and food.

·       helping the poor

 

Always giving the glory to God.  People should always leave praising God  - not the service or the preacher.  That is what happened with Jesus and that is what should happen in the church.

 

It’s nice and encouraging when people come up to you after you’ve preached and tell you that was a good message but how much better would it be if they said ‘Hallelujah, praise God’.

 

 

The Shepherd’s Fold

 

This brings me to something very close to my own heart.

 

That is the many, many Christians who no longer belong to the church.

 

They used to go, they were perhaps born again and went to a church or maybe they never actually got to go to a church but they are Christians out on their own.

 

May be they were offended by the church, maybe it was our fault or maybe it was their fault.  Maybe they just don’t like the service, the music, the preaching, the hypocrisy. 

 

Maybe they were in a cult or a bad church, maybe the church failed or the pastor got caught up in sin or maybe they just didn’t like the people.

 

Whatever the reason, they are out there now on their own.

 

I fear for them.  As things get worse for the church right around the world, things are getting worse.  It will be bad enough for us who are in a church, in a flock with a shepherd to protect us. 

 

But for them it could be a lot worse. 

 

How do animals of prey such as lions and wolves and hyenas get their prey?  They first try to separate them from the herd.

 

When they are in the herd, the herd can protect them but once they are separated they are open to be attacked.

 

Jesus told us a story about a shepherd who had lost one of his sheep.

 

Luke 15:4-6 (NKJV)
4  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
5  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

 

I believe it is time for us to go and find these lost sheep and make sure they are alright.  Try to encourage them to come back to the fold.  Not necessarily this one or the one they left but to find a fold here they will feel comfortable.

 

Get them to a place where they can be looked after, taught, fed, protected and where they can play their full part in the body of Christ.

 

Folk, let’s reach out to our brothers and sisters who are on their own.  Give them a call, go and see them, invite them over for a coffee.  Show them that we love them and care about them.

 

If they go to another church be happy for them but if not help them find a church to go to even if that means you have to take them there yourself.

 

The times are coming when they really need to be in a flock.  Jesus is coming soon but in the mean time I believe we are in for some difficult times.

 

So lets us love one another as Jesus loves us and gave His life for us.

 

 

 

Finally

 

Phil 2:1  Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,

2  fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

4  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

 

 

Don’t lift up parts of the body (will become deformed) 

 

Demonstrate with person sitting on seat, how he looks when w lift up different parts of the body and not the head.

Then lift up just the head and all the body is lifted with Him.

 

 

Pull down part of the body and you pull down the head too.

 

If we lift up the head – Jesus and continue to lift Him up higher and higher,  the Bible tells us He will draw all men to Him.

 

Isn’t that what we want.

 

So let us lift up Jesus.