Roots Class on March 19Th. Please Sign-Up So We Know About Childcare and Food

Announcements:

-Roots class on March 19th. Please sign-up so we know about childcare and food.

-Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour next Saturday night!

Dismiss kids for Club 3:16 (2nd-6th grade) and Kingdom Kids (4 yo-1st grade)

Last week we finished the list of spiritual gifts from 1 Corinthians 12. Each spiritual gift: mercy, teaching, prophecy, evangelist, etc. is given for the building up of the body of Christ which leads us into our passage for today.

Please stand for the reading of God’s Word (congregational in red)

*12For just asthe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,so it is with Christ.13Forin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slavesor free—andall were made to drink of one Spirit. 14For the body does not consist of one member but of many.15If 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.*16And 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.17If 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?18But as it is,God arranged the members in the body, each one of them,as he chose.19If all were a single member, where would the body be?*20As it is, there are many parts,yet one body. 21The 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.”22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,23and 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,24which our more presentable parts do not require. *But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored,all rejoice together.27Nowyou are the body of Christ and individuallymembers of it.

Open in prayer

In Romans 12, Paul takes two verses to get across the point that the church is one body; here he takes almost an entire chapter because of the level of division and disunity in the Corinthian church.

Your physical body consists of bones, muscle, organs, skin, hair, etc. but it is all part of you: Benji’s elbow, nose, etc. Here is the amazing truth: Jesus says that you are a part of the body of Christ. Every follower of Jesus makes up this body and Colossians 1:18 tells us that Christ Himself is “the head of the body, the church”. Christ is the one who directs the body and calls the shots. In the same way, our identity is found in Jesus Christ: Christ’s foot, eye, hand, etc. In what way were we made members of His body? Look at verse 13 (reread). We were baptized in one Spirit and given one Spirit to drink. It is through the Holy Spirit baptizing us at conversion and coming to live inside of us. There is no such thing as a Christian without the Holy Spirit inside of them. *Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

*There is much confusion today about the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This baptism with the Spirit was referred to as a future thing by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33) and in Acts 1:5, “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” All of these point to the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first came to dwell inside believers as *Jesus has promised in John 14:16-17, “16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—17the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” The Holy Spirit’s method of ministry changed at Pentecost when He indwelt all believers giving them the power needed to live a life that glorifies Jesus.You are baptized with the Holy Spirit once at conversion as He indwells you and you are made a new creation.

*Now that you have been baptized by one Spirit into one body, you must be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” The Greek word plēroō(play-ra-O)that is translated “be filled” could be translated “be being kept filled.” Why is this so important? Because today, if you are a Christian, you have the power to live a life that honors God, a life of freedom from the power of sin, victory over sin, of love, joy, and peace. This is why Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” One of the primary reasons that so many people are frustrated in their spiritual walk is that they are trying to serve God in their own strength rather than allowing the Spirit of God to live through them. *Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so that we “may have life and have it to the full.” Are you experiencing that abundant life? 2 Corinthians 3 talks about the veil that covered the hearts of those who did not know Christ that hindered them from understanding the Scripture. But 3:16-17 says, “16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Through the filling of the Holy Spirit, you can understand God’s Word, you can live a holy life, you can have victory over your sinful flesh.

If you are here today and you are not a follower of Christ, today can be the day of salvation for you (gospel synopsis).

*14For the body does not consist of one member but of many.15If 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.16And 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.17If 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?

Paul is referring to spiritual gifts and emphasizing the need for each person to use their God-given gifts. Let’s use our imagination for a bit to see the full picture that Paul is painting: Imagine if your feet decided to try to be hands, picking things up but refusing to walk. The foot would still be part of the body because it is attached but it would not be very helpful or useful. Imagine the ear trying to see things for you. In fact, if you have your Bible open, try this: Close your eyes and try to read the passage with your ear. It doesn’t work very well does it. There is a need for the diversity of gifts that God has given by His Holy Spirit to each believer. If everybody had the same spiritual gift, the body of Christ would be very ineffective.

*18But as it is,God arranged the members in the body, each one of them,as he chose.19If all were a single member, where would the body be?20As it is, there are many parts,yet one body. 21The 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.”

Why are you the way you are? Why are you different from me? Why do you have your personality? Your looks? Why do you have the spiritual gifts that you have? *Because God had a purpose and a plan for you that He specifically crafted you for. One of the lies that the devil uses with great success is to get us to doubt God’s goodness in His creation of us. He does this physically, “Your nose is too big”, “You are too slow”, “If only you were smarter, more outgoing, like that person over there” and so on. Satan does the same thing with spiritual gifts. He wants us to believe that God made a mistake with the gifts that He gave us and that we should have had some other gift. He whispers, “It must be because He doesn’t love you as much.” And we, like Adam and Eve, buy the lie too often and say, “God must be holding out on me.” Listen again to verse 18, “18But as it is,God arranged the members in the body, each one of them,as he chose.” God’s purpose, God’s perfect plan was to give you the exact spiritual gifts that He gave you. And God’s plan is ALWAYS the best plan.

*The eye needs the hand. In sports, they often talk about hand-eye coordination. You can have a good view of a fastball; whether it is going to be a strike that you need to swing at or a ball that you should let go by. But if you don’t have hands that will bring that bat around, the eyes job is worthless. The head needs the feet. Teens, you might think in your head, “Wow, look at how cute that boy or girl is. I should go talk to them.” But if you don’t have any feet to get you across the room to talk to them, the head is unsuccessful. The parts of the body aid one another in accomplishing the tasks that the brain gives them to do. Each one works together for the benefit of the whole body.

*22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,23and 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,24which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

Our natural tendency is to give more recognition and praise to the parts of the body that are the most visible. We notice the mouth, the eyes, the arms, etc. We don’t think as often about the pancreas, the liver, or the kidneys. It wouldn’t take very long for us to notice how important those parts are if they stopped working though would it? Here is the neat thing about the function of the body: the inward organs allow the external parts to work as designed. Again, take away the liver, stomach, or heart and the body won’t make it very long. Likewise, the external parts protect the internal organs. If you trip and fall, what is your natural reaction? Reach out with your hands and catch yourself right? It does this to protect your organs from injury. The body of Christ is designed to be the same way where each person is concerned with the well-being of every other part.

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

This verse mirrors Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” They give a practical picture of the “why” behind that command. We understand that when a part of our body suffers that it affects our whole body. If we break a leg, the rest of the body has to compensate for it. We walk on crutches and the arms take on an increased responsibility so that the leg can heal. The other leg takes on more of the weight of the body.

When you hurt yourself, the rest of your body focuses on that injury even if it is seemingly small. If you have ever had a toothache, it feels like your entire body is one aching tooth. A couple years ago I was unloading some furniture in our garage and I had backed the truck up to make it easier. I hopped up into the bed of the truck thinking that I was still outside the garage where I had room to stand up. It turned out that I was standing right under the wooden garage opening and I stood up at full speed directly into it. I was down for the count; my entire body only cared about my skull at that moment. Any other minor aches or pains that I had anywhere else suddenly became irrelevant. One part of my body was suffering and the rest of the body was suffering along with it.

It is the same way in the body of Christ. When one part is suffering whether it is the loss of a loved one, a prodigal child, a physical ailment, a spouse who unexpectedly announces that they want a divorce, or any other tragedy; the rest of the body needs to come alongside to help and comfort. We mourn with those who mourn. There is a time to speak words of comfort, a time to hug, and a time to just sit silently with them in their pain until they are ready to talk.

On the other hand, we are to rejoice when one part of the body is honored. Rather than becoming jealous that somebody else was recognized, we are called to rejoice along with that person. As we talked about at the beginning of the message today, we are all part of Christ’s body (His hand, His foot, etc.) so when one part is honored, it brings honor to Christ. *Earl Campbell was a running back for the Houston Oilers in the late 70s and early 80s. He was known for having massive thighs that measured 34-inches each. Even though people still talk about his thighs, the recognition, fame, and Hall of Fame honors go to Earl Campbell. They didn’t elect his thighs to the HoF, they elected him. People still talk about how Campbell was such a powerful running back. In the same way, when one part of Christ’s body receives honor for doing something well (being generous, selfless, speaking well, singing well, etc.) that glory goes to Jesus Christ. He is the One who receives the praise and so we should rejoice along with that person rather than being jealous or critical of them.

*27Nowyou are the body of Christ and individuallymembers of it.

I don’t know if anybody noticed but I preached out of a different version today. The NIV talks about the “parts” of the body (which is our modern vernacular) but the NKJV, NASB, and ESV use the word “members” instead of “parts.” This is an important distinction to make because of the many misunderstandings about church membership that exist. The parts of your body are actually called members; if you were to have an accident where you lost a finger or toe, you would have been “dismembered” that day.

Membership is often viewed as an initiation into a secret club where you have to know the secret handshakes. In reality, church membership should be a natural outflow of being a Christian. Every believer should find a church that they agree with the basic doctrinal premises and where they can be connected in community and join the church as a member. In order to be a member of this church, you must be a follower of Jesus Christ, agree to sound doctrine and commit to Biblical community (which includes accountability, giving, encouraging, and above all, love). *Membership is an outward symbol of an inward reality that has already happened, much like baptism. Becoming a member of a church is simply agreeing with what God has said has already taken place.

Back in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul said that the man who was living in an unrepentant sexual relationship with his mother-in-law should be put out of the body “handed over to Satan”. In 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul talks about two false teachers who he had handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. How can one be brought into the body or be put out of the body if membership does not matter? The Christ-follower who is trying to survive apart from fellowship in a local church is headed for disaster. There are so many people who say, “Me and Jesus got a good thing going on. I don’t need no church.” That is as ridiculous as your thumb saying, “I don’t need a hand or nerves or a brain. I am fine all by myself.”We need one another, we need each other’s gifts, rebukes, encouragement, etc.