The Body Of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-31)

The Body of Christ

Connection/Tension

There have been significant parts of my life where I felt alone. In these times (and sometimes still) I have made the mistake of believing that relationship comes from being good enough at something that people would desire to be close to me. So, instead of pursuing connection with others, I pursued my own gifts, skills, and abilities. When we live with an attachment to our skills, gifts, and abilities, rather than to God and others, we either feel despair or we feel a superior sense of smugness. Both alternatives leave us feeling separated and alone.

And yet, God has created his church family to be one body- which means that if we are going to move beyond our natural wiring to try to distinguish ourselves from others through comparison, we need to discover a better way. You could even think of this sermon text as, a better way to be a human being than the way you learned from the world and the wiring of your own flesh. All of us need to come to terms with the idea we can’t stand- that on our own, we are not and will never be enough, yet God has provided sufficiently through others that we an be full and content. No matter who you are- weak or strong- old or young- there is a path forward towards intimacy and fulness for you, and it comes from outside of you. 

Last week, we heard a sermon on one spirit who gives many gifts. Now, we are going to listen to God’s word that speaks about many members who make up one body.

Revelation

12 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.

·        Embodied Spirits à Experience world + learn about reality through bodies.

·        Two words: “one” + “many” Unity + diversity theme (illustrated by human body)

·        “body” = “Christ” = “body of Christ.” Need both unity + diversity or miss crucial things.

·        Next verse, argument (“for”)

13 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.

·        Why one? Share in common symbol of baptism (outward sign of inner renewal) + Spirit (person who accomplishes inner renewal).

·        Water + Spirit à First page of Genesis; poised to create; keeps creating in Jesus.

·        “Jews/Greeks” + “slaves/free” = old humanity. Old humanity divided into nations (Gen 11) + divided into master/slave (Gen 9). Jesus undoes distortions/removes curse/ new humanity.

·        How do these big realities apply to everyday life?

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 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?

·        “many” = focus on diversity (later on unity). Our body shows diversity is crucial for survival.

·        Silly situation: foot and ear saying to hand and eye, “I’m not a part of body.” Absurd!

·        Not interchangeable; handicap the entire body; equally absurd we think of selves this way.

·        Notice: less visible + prominent feel undesirable when compare to more visible members.

Irony: we can all spot immediately how ridiculous this statement is that feet and ears should suppose they are not a part of the body, and yet many of us suppose the very same thing about ourselves- that our gifts feel less prominent and consequential so we must not matter or belong.

How many of you struggle with discontentment over how God made you, where you are at in life, and/or how you fit in this community?

·        Comparison à discontentment à defining value on function/ability over relationship.

·        Why? Prefer to be self-sufficient > deeply depending on other people + God.

·        God’s wisdom did not make us strong and able to survive spiritually, but each weak in different ways and needing one another.

·        Made us to depend on one another to teach us to depend on God (training ground).

·        Body w/o hearing or smell would be devastating, so would people not using their less visible or prominent gifts b/c they are less prominent or visible.

·        Public gift of teaching à thinks, that guy has it all together à doesn’t see I’m administratively falling apart à people behind scenes using their gift to rescue me.

·        No one made to go it alone à we were each made to depend (against all of our inclination!)

·        God receives more glory and praise when people who seem average or of little account have a surprising or disproportionate impact for good in God’s family, using what gifts God gave.

·        In our family: one brother expressed repeatedly how feels useless + doesn’t belong. Yet, at weighty and sad ACN, none other than he spoke up with a timely word to encourage church.

·        Word for the great and the small: Don’t despise your contribution; Give with all your heart.

·        Mighty word,

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

·        Paul clarifies who designed body à you and your place in it. “arranged…as chose”

·        When expectations fall short of reality, we can RESENT or SURRENDER.

·        If you live with low grade sense of anger or frustration = RESENTMENT

·        Other path: Acknowledge you far less wise than God, trust that story he is writing is good; place he is fitting you is good. Surrender changes resentment à bittersweet hope.

19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?

Interchangeability and being identical to one another would rob the people of God of it’s wonder, mystery, and character (just as your own body would be utterly uninteresting if it had but one part). Our diversity brings glory to God. We couldn’t depend on God and one another in all the unique ways we could if we were all identical. Each unique contribution shows another aspect of God’s great glory. He is worthy of all of all the thousands of different gifts and personalities who each uniquely reflect his wonder.

Now that we have discussed the wonder of diversity in the family of God, let’s discuss the even greater wonder- our unity:  

20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 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.”

·        This time, more prominent, visible saying to weaker, “I don’t need you.” Insane!

·        Same way: gifts of speaking/worship leading significant, not as much as whole family of God, filled with Spirit, working out God’s purposes in everyday life (how 33 AD à 2024).

·        To more gifted/prominent members: do you despise the weaker members in this church? Maybe you never say it, but do you feel that way? To God, I despise your design.

·        To contrary, we need to act another way,

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,

·        Parts of body careful to cloth when in public, even this teaches us.

·        Treat deeply personal parts of our body with modesty, that is, a sense of honor, by clothing them. Deep shame if exposed.

·        Some of us, b/c rejection; lack of sense of belonging/value, feel like this all the time- whole life feels like shame and exposure of your perceived lack of value.

·        Just as we cover these parts of our body with honor, the church covers it’s weakest and most wounded members with honor- in a world that overlooks and neglects them.

·        If your life feels like a story of wounding and rejection, this church is clothing for you where your exposure and shame receives covering by the honor that other people show to you.

·        Why this emphasis on honor to the weakest?

25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

·        If the strong preying on the weak divides the human family, it’s the honoring of the weak in our community that will bind us together and makes refuge in dangerous world. Why?

·        When everyone feels + sees honor to all, even vulnerable à People begin to trust others (safe) à when safe, people begin to be vulnerable, sharing feelings, needs, and life with one another. What happens when people start sharing these things with each other?

26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

·        Safe à share à enter into other people’s emotional worlds- both joys/sorrows. When you are feeling other’s emotions with them à experience of oneness nothing else in this world can match. Mutual feeling with one another will make the many feel like one.

·        Cultural barriers + generational  barriers + personality barriers will crumble before this.

·        We were all made for this kind of intimacy and will feel lonely in this atomized modern world until we obtain it.

·        Lonely + disconnection? “body of Christ” is ironic b/c Jesus’ body was torn so that he could mend his people. He can mend you into this family through his life, death, and resurrection.

·        Paul connects these thoughts to the Spiritual gifts we heard last week:

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

Do you notice Paul’s point in verse 29? We don’t all have the same gift- which means that God made us to mutually depend on one another. To be a Christian is to be a dependent being- dependent on God and dependent on one another. It’s the one with the mind set of being self-sufficient who can’t come to Jesus and can’t be content and belong to the body. No matter how weak you feel, if you believe that the way God made us was to depend- on him and on others- you can gladly accept your place in the family of God and serve him with all your heart. This is the better way to be human.

Let’s pray.

Reflection Questions:

1.      Do you feel inferior or useless in this church family? What truth does Jesus want you to hear?

2.      Do you feel superior to others or uncaring toward them? What truth does Jesus want you to hear?

Benediction

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.