The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-25)

God has created our bodies amazingly complex I looked this up on the internet this week just to check out how many cells compose the human body obviously it's too hard to sit and count them all so they have to guesstimate if they went by volume it was kind of a lower trillion number if they went by the actual mass of the body than it was like in the 70 trillions but scientists recently took the density of every organ and the different parts of the body and finally came to a number of seven or thirty-seven point two trillion cells that make you up it's really weird to think that your body is made up of a bunch of little parts that are all their own little machine and every single one of those cells has the exact DNA language and instructions to build you I mean that is crazy to put your mind around some amazing facts about the body your stomach manufactures a new lining every three days to avoid digesting itself that's kind of weird your body produces enough heat in only thirty minutes to boil 1/2 gallon of water the human bone is as strong as granite relative to supporting resistance that is a match box size of your bone could support 18,000 pounds when compared to concrete your bone is four times greater and supports strength you need to consume one quart of water each day for four months to equate the amount of blood your heart pumps in just one hour and then lastly one more strange fact for every pound of fat gains which is what you want to hear after the new year right for every pound of fat gained you add 7 my of blood vessels to your body so your body is an amazing creation of God that is highly intricate even your appendix is important you may have thought that it was a vestigial organ because Charles Darwin suggested that but in recent years scientists have discovered that the appendix gets a bad press the appendix is actually important because it provides a place that when your stomach becomes unsafe for the bacteria that's important to digest your food that bacteria can retreat into your appendix and survive so the appendix is a place to keep that bacteria alive and keep your stomach in your body functioning the way it's supposed to but there's also evidence that it serves as an important function to your immune system actually helping in the proper removal of waste matter from your digestive system so your body is intricate it's amazing and even the parts we think are unimportant are designed to fulfill a role so your body is a glorious act of God's creation it has many parts but the amazing thing is though you're made up of so many living things you are one person with one consciousness that's kind of crazy to wrap your mind around and that's what we see though in this passage when we are given a picture of the body of Christ it is composed of many parts but it is one individual expressed on this earth Jesus Christ himself we are the body of Christ in verse 12 we see the first point that we're gonna go through today and that is this if you like to take note if you have your first John books find that section that says special messages if it's not filled up already if not just grab a scrap of paper I have four points today and the first is this the spirit makes you part of the body of Christ the spirit makes you part of the body of Christ you do not choose to be part of the body the spirit makes this happen look at this in verse 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 where his body for in one Spirit we were baptized into one body we all when we accept Christ our indwelt by the Holy Spirit and there is a baptism that takes place that is the action of being baptized into the body of Christ into the church as a whole God's bride on the face of the earth the universal church if you will he has one body there's not many and though it may seem that way when you look in the on the internet and you search for church gig harbor and 40 different churches pop up it seems like the body of Christ is divided but no if you have the spirit he has baptized you into one body and we are all members of one another the spirits work within the believer is to unite us to the body of Christ that's part of our salvation so you can't say I want to be saved but I don't want to be part of the church too bad if you're saved you're baptized into the church that's just the way it is that's what the spirit does when he regenerates you and you become one of God's children and part of his family you become part of the church and we are one body whether we be Jews or Greeks slave or free it says here now let's put that into today's language whether you be rich or poor whether you be young or old whether you be men or women artists or accountants police officers or former criminals smooth shaving or beard wearing truck owners or Prius drivers Prius life hashtag priests life you are one body one of the greatest compliments I think I've ever received is when a high school girl came up to me when I was a youth pastor and looked at me kind of with disgust and she said you'll talk to anybody if she walked away I have to confess at that moment I felt like a nerd Here I am I'm supposed to be this cool youth pastor at this big church and important in in having kids think I'm cool but this girl thinks I'm a geek because I'll talk to anybody and so my heart was kind of unsettled oh no am I not cool i'm a notic a youth pastor but God's Word settled my heart Galatians 3:28 says this there is neither Jew nor Greek there is neither slave nor free there is no male and female for you are all one in Christ Jesus in the body of Christ God shows no partiality though man might God does not favoritism actually if you read the book of Jude in verse 16 and when I don't have it up on the screen but you could check it out later Jude 16 favoritism is a mark of false teachers I'm not saying that if you struggle with favoritism that you're a false teacher but it is a quality of a false teacher why would we want to do that in the body of Christ get caught up into cool and uncool important and unimportant people social status and other man-made categories no longer define our relationship to one another in the body of Christ point to the whole body needs you and as we were going through each one of those ministries today and we're looking at the various people that serve and we might be thinking well I'm glad they serve because I really like coffee or I really like my kids being taken care of or whatever but the reality is the whole body needs you in verse 14 for the body does not consist of one member but many 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 part of the body 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 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 when my wife begins to cook dinner at our house my ear takes notice that's the first thing here the cupboards open here the pots clanging here the chop chop chop on the chopping block and I'm thinking as I'm working Oh awesome dinner time is coming near then my nose smells the garlic and the onion in the olive oil as it begins to get sauteed and that smell fills the house and I'm like oh yeah my stomach juices start grumbling and in bubbling up when it's time to eat my hands reach out and pick it up my tongue tastes the delicious food you see each part of my body has the same purpose when it comes to eating food and that is to get it into my mouth and in my stomach as fast as I possibly can can you guys relate every part of my body takes place in this purpose each part is necessary to accomplish the goal and each part goes about that activity in a very different way for the ear eating is about the sounds for the eye eating is about the appearance of the food for the nose it's about the aroma for the hand it's about shoveling for the tongue it's about tasting no part understands the other part though as the tongue says all this tastes good the ears like what do you mean all I hear is you know the nose when it talks to the hand is like you know I enjoy the aroma in the hands all I enjoy action I like moving in the nose doesn't get that unless you can wiggle your nose you know like a little bunny see there's diversity in the body of Christ just as there is in our body and as we have the same purpose each one of us go about it a different way and you look at somebody who has a different gift than you and you don't understand why they are the way they are now instead of getting frustrated at one another instead of thinking well I'm not like an artist who leads worship so I can't be used by God instead of putting ourselves in the place of a hand or a nose or an ear when we're something else completely we should accept what God has made us and take part in the same purpose there's diversity in the body of Christ where there's diversity there's strength not weakness and that's something we get confused so many times if the church seems anemic to you in some way you're thinking well the church doesn't do this or that it's because you might not be fulfilling your role see you're an ear you're listening for the clanging of pots but the hands busy shoveling food and you're like who's listening for the pots well you need to be and so the body of Christ needs you whatever gifts he's given you whatever perspective that you find yourself having and caring about then that will lead you down the path to what God has called you to and what the spiritual gifts are that he's given to you we just need to be obedient and realize that the body here misses out because you might not be stepping up third point in verse 18 is you need the whole body this one might be just as hard as the one before that you need the whole body in verse 18 but as it is God arranges the members of the body each one of them as he choose if all were a single member where would the body be as it is there are many parts yet one body 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 might make you a little upset to hear that phrase you need the whole body because in your heart you're thinking why would God make me need other people other people fail me they make me mad they're irritating why would he make me need other well verse 18 answers it God arranged and then it goes on later as he chose you see it was his design to baptize you into the body of Christ and then make you need this symbiotic relationship with each other in the church though we may rebel and cry why did you make me this way if you reject this you reject God's design for your life as a believer if you reject this you reject the spirit's baptism into the body of Christ so the I cannot say I have no need of you you might think to yourself other people need the church but I don't God says you can't say that it's not true of anybody did you guys know that cancer is a cell deciding to do its own thing to go against its actual design and then it becomes cancerous and it begins to multiply be careful one of the most humbling things that you can admit is that you need somebody's help and there's two ways that happens I think in the church number one is self-sufficiency in church self-sufficiency in church this is where we're serving in church but we begin to believe that we have everything figured out our ministry is all we need we get taught there will stick around there we'll make our own friends there when I planted the church here I had to become a jack-of-all-trades the problem came when it was time to pass things on and I did not pass them on to people that God brought to this body you see at first I would make two trips from my house in my truck hauling things for church to the church building I would set up the chairs set up and make coffee run the sound do the recordings the web the graphics the bulletins the setup the teardown and after everybody left I would make two halls of equipment back to my house by myself and I was getting a little bit stressed out but God began to provide other people now that transition was hard because not only did I have to give things up that I liked a certain way and maybe you say this kind of thing like I have the only way to get it done it right is to do it yourself but if you live by that you're gonna kill yourself you got to teach people to do it right and so self-sufficiency in your own ministry will burn you out it'll separate you from the rest of the church because you're so busy you haven't been to church service in like two months why because well I've been serving God every Sunday well that's no excuse if that's going on in you're alive that's unhealthy and somebody in your ministry ought to call you on it and if I notice it I'll call you on it and if you're in that place and nobody notices you need to come to me or to one of the elders or a leader and say you know what I'm having a hard time I haven't been to church in four weeks I'm been a small group I haven't had time with the Lord you see you can be in church and totally separate yourself and think that you don't need anybody but the reality is you will shrivel up and you'll get mad at church and you will leave and you'll struggle but the second way that we need to admit we need somebody's help is by not isolating ourselves from church so the first way was we're totally involved but we separate ourselves from everybody the second way is we don't even go I can live for Jesus by myself me and my family we can make it on our own but even the proverb says this proverbs 18:1 whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire you know I don't like the fact that church doesn't do this or that or whatever and we become critics so we isolate ourselves going you know what I'm gonna do it my way or just I'll take the highway he breaks out against all sound judgment when you're by yourself it's not real hard so you're always right you're never challenged there's no accountability but there's also no enrichment God doesn't want you to have a relationship with TV or radio or the internet because then you never learn how to actually live the Christian life how to actually serve others learn what it means to love others with their imperfections to forgive them to show hospitality to be humble and learn and so on and so on so that third point you need the whole body everybody here has something to offer you even the person that you might not be real excited about they're doing something probably on Sunday morning that blesses you and you don't even realize it it's kind of like it's a wonderful life remember when he almost threw himself off the bridge and then he got a glimpse of what his life would be like without him around and Pottersville went to pot and it was a mess we don't realize sometimes what happens in our lives when somebody's not there that should be there that God has arranged to be there to bless you and how could you know unless you show up on Sunday at home fellowship group youth group and wherever God may have an opportunity for you to be part of the body but the last point God is the focus not man God is the focus not man in verse 22 on the contrary the parts of the body that seemed to be weaker are indispensable 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 which are more presentable parts do not require but God has so composed the body giving greater honor to the part that lacked it that there may be no division in the body but that the members may have the same care for one another the purpose of spiritual gifts and service is to build up the body of Christ it's not to flaunt your own spirituality it's not to impress other people with your own gifts there's a real dysfunctional situation in the church in the United States today and that is we hide the less presentable members as if we're ashamed they don't look like a model they don't have the same resources as so-and-so they don't give as much they don't have as much to offer so we think maybe someone has a disability or whatever it may be in the church just we tend to gravitate towards those we say they're more gifted excuse me are you saying that somebody is less gifted this passage is saying God does not allow for that so how does he deal with it well he takes the weaker one and says I'm going to give you greater honor in the corinthian church a situation that was going on is the poor people were oftentimes during communion left out to the very end because it was the rich people that brought all the food and so they got first and they would make their way through the lines and eat all the food and then the poor people at the end not only did they not have food throughout the week but they came to church and they didn't have food what a horrible horrible situation it's a Paul confronted them on that in Chapter 11 at first Corinthians and so here who's the weaker one the one that doesn't have the resources who's left out who's not noticed who's nobody says hi to that nobody invites in James to five it says listen my brother's has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love it and so those who are weaker those who are poor those who we might say are less gifted God says they are indispensable and I will give them greater honor and God has a two-fold reason for doing it that way number one so that there's no division he said so that there's no division in the body there should not be one person greater than another in the body of Christ and number two that members have same the same care for one another and that's right from the passage if you're reading that scripture I just quoted the verse that members have the same care for one another that we would spend time with each one and somebody might say of you you talk to anybody and it's good to have that personal conflict inside and say oh no but I want to be accepted but then I'm living like the world I want to live like Christ so there's no division care for one another so we all desire that our own personal bodies are healthy and strong and they're not weak something happens to our health and we go to the doctor we take medicine we want to make sure things are working pop properly if one part was bigger then it should be and people noticed wouldn't you feel a little bit self-conscious man you have giant ears or your feet look like clown shoes you know we would want things to be normalized and brought into perfect health Jesus wants his body to work and so when things are out of whack do you want to resist his design and the hell that he has for you today if you do you'll continue on not receiving that blessing but if you so choose to change or continue in what you know is right that you have been doing and God is pleased with then you will see that the Spirit is baptize you in the body for these four things to give you gifts to build up the body so the spirit makes you part of the body of Christ number two the whole body needs you as we were talking about so the thought is okay well what will you do to serve your brothers and sisters maybe there's a ministry that you saw today that you thought wow I'm going to be part of that write it down in your communication card that you have in your bullets and pass it in or sticking in the box at the table at the end let us know we'll get you hooked up but maybe there's not one that just quite fit where you're at and God's saying you need to start one the ministry something that meets the needs of the body but then number three you need the whole body being isolated whether you be in ministry or by yourself humble yourself be vulnerable enough to let people know you hang around a little bit and don't shoot right out the door I don't know if I were you guys I might be thinking wow Moctezuma this is right across the way here you know I'm hungry he's talking about food and stuff take a little time get to know people mark down you want to be in a home fellowship group or whatever it is respond to the Lord and then lastly God is the focus not man if you found yourself lifting up a certain teacher a certain ministry or whatever realize all those are given to you by God did you know those great teachers are your servant not the other way around that's how rich our salvation is in Christ they are your servant all things are yours in Christ this is in 1st Corinthians chapter 3 towards the end and I have time to go over all this today but all things are yours in Christ praise God you are so blessed and so rich but don't give man the focus keep God Jesus Christ is the head of his church let's pray Lord we thank you so much for today and this reminder and we ask that you would help us to expand in our participation in your body in whatever way that might be maybe right now it's receiving and listening and growing and maybe it's stepping out maybe it's not being isolated whatever it is Lord to you be the glory for ever and ever amen

Channel: Dale King

Views: 18,536

Rating: 4.8550725 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary Fellowship Gig Harbor, Calvary Chapel, Calvary Gig Harbor, Dale King, Pastor Dale King, Serving, Spiritual Gifts, Church

Id: UJe16ND4GDU

Length: 30min 44sec (1844 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 31 2016