The Way It's Supposed to Be: Church, Pt 2
Thesis: The Church is designed to be the living, breathing, active Body of Christ, and all believers have a necessary part in it.
Objective: Call believers to recognize that they have gifts and talents which are essential to the overall effectiveness of the Church, and challenge them to respond by getting involved in service of various forms.
- The Church is one body of Christ (12-13).
- She has many parts (“though it is made up of many parts” (12); Like our bodies, the Body of Christ, His Church, has a number of parts, each of which has its own unique function. Each person in the Church is one part, with his/her own unique gifting and role.).
- She has one body (“they form one body” (12); Though there are many varying parts of the Body, all of the parts still comprise a unified whole. No one person or gifting is the whole Church. We are all a part of the body, and we must all do our jobs.).
- We are part of that body from conversion (“we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body” (13); Since baptism usually happened moments after conversion, the two were often considered synonymous. From the moment that we chose to believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we were included in the one Body of Christ. NOTE: “baptized” here is in the past tense, meaning that it happened once, in the past.).
- We are maintained in that body by communion (“we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (13); It is not enough to be simply included in the body. Once we are included, it is only by communion with the Spirit – not just the act of eating bread and drinking juice or wine – that our relationship to the body is maintained.).
- No member is unimportant (14-20).
- There must be diversity (“the body is not made up of one part but of many” (14); For the human body to work well, it must have a wide range of parts.).
- No one is unnecessary (15-17; Even though we may have a tendency to discount the importance of our own gifts and talents, the truth is that, just as every part of the human body is needed, every part of the Body of Christ, wide and various as those parts may be, is necessary to the overall fulfillment of our collective purpose. ILLUSTRATION: Mike Wazowski).
- We are arranged just right (18-20; God has orchestrated history to bring each of us to this particular segment of the Body of Christ. We are exactly where we are supposed to be, and we all have a role to play.).
- ILLUSTRATION: According to NCAA rules, a Division 1A college football team can have up to 105 members on the roster. At any given time, there will be three or four strings of every position, but none of those have the title “bench warmer.”).
- No member is more important (21-26).
- We need every part (21-24a; No one or two parts of the body can say that they don't need any other part. An eye without a hand may see well, but it won't get much done. A head without feet may think clearly, but it won't get very far. Indeed, God has made it so that no part is unnecessary. ILLUSTRATION: The appendix has long been thought to be absolutely useless, but since 2007, researchers have started to believe that it is actually a habitat for good bacteria necessary for digestive health (According to WebMD).).
- There must be unity (“so that there should be no division in the body” (25); We must never look at any of the other members of the Body and think that they are less important or necessary. We all have a role to play in the accomplishment of the Church's one purpose.).
- We must have “equal concern” (25c-26; We must take note of every part of the Body of Christ. If one person celebrates, we all celebrate. If one person suffers, we all suffer. We are in this together, no matter how important or unimportant the affected member may seem.).
- We must keep perspective (27-31).
- We're all a part of the Body (27; Every person who claims and fosters a relationship with Jesus Christ is a part of the Body of Christ. We must never exclude ourselves or anyone else.).
- There is a hierarchy of gifts (28; Rather than glorifying the one or two gifts that are most spectacular, it's essential to recognize that some of the most spectacular gifts are actually the least important (e.g., speaking in different kinds of tongues). Similarly, the most important (e.g., apostle, prophet, teacher, etc.) must never forget Jesus' mandate that the first shall make themselves servants of all.).
- We're not all the same (29; We don't all have all the gifts, and we're not all the same.).
- We must desire the greater (31a; Regardless of whatever gifts we may have, we should always be asking God to trust us with more so that we can make an ever-greater impact.).
- Our gifts are worthless without love (31b; It doesn't matter what our gift(s) is. If we exercise our gifts without an overarching resolve to love, it's all worthless. We must demonstrate love always.).
Ryrie
(12-31) “Here Paul describes the relationship of gifted believers to each other, using the analogy of the human body. The Spirit has formed a spiritual organic unity of the many dissimilar members of the Body of Christ. The constitutions both of the human body and of the Body of Christ demand that all members (even those that seem unimportant) function in harmony. Finally, the need for mutual dependence, respect, and care for each other is emphasized.”
(13) “The Spirit joins all believers to the Body of Christ. The tense of the verb (baptized) indicates a past action, and it is something all belivers (even carnal ones) have experienced.”
(13) The “one Spirit to drink” reference is “to the Spirit's living and dwelling within us.”
(23) We treat the less honorable parts of our body with special honor by taking extra care to clothe them.
(25) “We take the cares of others on ourselves; we cast our own cares on our Lord.”
(28) “The gifts are ranked in order of honor. The Corinthians were dislodging the more important gifts by promoting of the spectacular gift of tongues.”
(29-30) “The answer to all of these questions is no.”
(31) “The 'most excellent way' means 'an entire manner of life that always displays love rather than always seeking to display one's spiritual gifts.'”
Henry
Henry notes that we are brought into the body of Christ through our initial conversion, represented here by baptism, and held fast within the body through our ongoing communion with the Spirit, represented by communion, “partaking of his sanctifying influence from time to time, that makes us true members of Christ's body, and maintains our union with him.”
“We should be doing the duties of our own place, and not murmuring in ourselves, nor quarrelling with others, that we are not in theirs.”
“Each is a member of the body, not the whole body; each stands related to the body as a part of it, and all have a common relation to one another, dependence upon one another, and should have a mutual care and concern.”
“True charity is greatly to be preferred to the most glorious gifts. To have the heart glow with mutual love is vastly better than to glare with the most pompous titles, offices, or powers.”
(12) “This example [of a unit with many parts] illustrates the unity and diversity of the different spiritual gifts exercised by God's people, who are all members of the one body of Christ.”
(12) “With Christ's body, the church, of which He is the head.”
(13) “Spiritually baptized, regenerated by the Holy Spirit and united with Christ as part of his body.”
(13) “In Christ there is no racial or cultural distinction, no social distinction.”
(13) “God has given all his people the Holy Spirit to indwell them so that their lives may overflow with the fruit of the Spirit.”
(14-20) “Addressed mainly to those who feel their gifts are inferior and unimportant. Apparently the more spectacular gifts (such as tongues) had been glorified in the Corinthian church, making those who did not have them feel inferior.”
(14) “As the human body must have diversity to work effectively as a whole, so the members of Christ's body have diverse gifts, the use of which can help bring about the accomplishment of Christ's united purpose. Each must properly exercise his gifts or effectively use his position to the good of the whole: e.g., the gift of the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, the position of apostle, elder, deacon.”
(18) “Paul stresses the sovereign purpose of God in diversifying the parts of the body; by implication he is saying that God has arranged that different Christians in the body of Christ exercise different spiritual gifts, not the same gift. And this diversity is intended to accomplish God's unified purpose. God's method employs diversity to create unity.”
(21-26) “Addressed mainly to those who feel that their gifts are superior and most important. These verses provide another indication that some gifts, like tongues, had been magnified as preeminent.”
(21) “The principle here is the interdependence of the parts of the body in the one whole. Christians in the body of Christ are mutually dependent as they exercise their distinctive functions.”
(22) “Christians who seem to have less important functions in the body of Christ are actually indispensable.”
(23) “Just as we give food to the stomach, though it is less attractive part of the body, so we should give honor and support to the Christians in the church who have ordinary gives (in their functions).”
(23) “Christians hose functions may be very obscure in the church are to be given special respect.”
(26) “In the body of Christ if one Christian suffers, all the Christians are affected (cf Ac 12:1-5 – the martyrdom of James and the imprisonment of Peter).”
(27) “Addressed to the local church at Corinth. Each local church is the body of Christ just as the universal church is Christ's body.”
(28) “The list here differs somewhat from that in vv 8-10. Paul notes three of the gifted individuals of Eph 4:11, then five of the spiritual gifts listed in vv 8-10.”
(28) “The apostles and prophets were part of the foundation of the church, and teaching was associated with the pastoral office. These three gifted individuals are listed as 'first,' second' and 'third,' indicating their importance in the church. The rest of the list is introduced with 'then,' indicating the variety that follows.”
(28) “Paul's lists of spiritual gifts seem to be largely random samples. Apart from v 28a he does not rank them in importance since he has already insisted that all gifts are important.”
(28) apostles are “those chosen by Christ during his earthly ministry to be with him and to go out and preach. They were also to be witnesses of the resurrection. The term may occasionally have been used in a broader sense.”
(28) miracles: “Lit. 'deeds of power.' In Scripture a miracle is an action that cannot be explained by natural means. It is an act of God intended as evidence of his power and purpose.”
(28) healing: “Lit 'gifts of healings.' The double plural may suggest different kinds of illnesses and the various ways God heals them.”
(28) tongues: “Since the Greek word for 'tongues' means 'languages' or 'dialects,' some unerstand it to refer to the ability to speak in unlearned human languages, as the apostles did on the day of Pentecost. Others believe that in chs 12-14 the term 'tongues' refers to both earthly and heavenly languages, including ecstatic languages of praise and prayer.”
(28) to help others refers to “any act of helping others that may be the product of a spiritual gift, though the primary reference here is probably to a ministry to the poor, needy, sick and distressed.”
(28) administration: “Those with gifts of administration were enabled by the Holy Spirit to organize and project plans and spiritual programs in the church.”
(29-30) “Christians have different gifts, and no one gift should be expected by everyone.”
(31) It should always be noted that, regardless of spiritual gift, love is the essential glue.
Personal
What would a person look like if he had only the most “important” parts of the body? Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. There is no one here that would say that Mike looks normal, and yet, how often do we try to make the Church look just like him by saying, “Well, I can't preach or teach, so I'll just warm the pew.”
- Ryrie, Charles C. Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.
- Henry, Matthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible.http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc6.Jam.iv.html
- Barker, Kenneth, ed. Reflecting God Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.