WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.220 Please have a seat. And now Steve is going to come and read from 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:08.800 ! 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:20.420 So this is 1 Corinthians chapter 12 from verse 12 to 27. 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:22.500 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:37.280 So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit, so as to form one body, whether 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:44.399 Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. So the 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:51.859 body is not made up of one part, but of many. Now, if the foot should say, because I am not 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:57.920 a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being part of the 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:04.840 body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, 00:01:05.299 --> 00:01:10.420 it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:15.980 where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense 00:01:15.980 --> 00:01:23.060 of smell be? But, in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:29.280 as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:36.400 there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:43.060 the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you. On the contrary, those parts of the body 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:48.840 that seem to be weaker are indispensable. And the parts that we think are less honorable, 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:54.340 we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special 00:01:54.340 --> 00:02:00.439 modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:05.980 together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:12.140 in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:20.419 every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body 00:02:20.419 --> 00:02:29.359 of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. This is God's Word. Now, if you have your Bible, 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:38.279 please turn again to 1 Corinthians 12, page 1153. As we continue to think as a church about the house 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:44.840 that Jesus builds, as we think about the life of God in the life of the church, this evening we're 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:52.340 thinking about the church as the body of Christ. Last week, there was the image of the church as the 00:02:52.340 --> 00:03:01.340 house in which God builds, in which He dwells rather. And there is that foundation in the gospel that 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:08.120 through Jesus, through faith in Him, we share in the life of God, we share in life with God and with 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:14.819 one another. And we thought about what feature that produces within the church, and that feature is 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:22.819 joy. That there is joy in the Lord as we belong to Him and as we belong to His people. Well, this week's 00:03:22.819 --> 00:03:31.040 image is similar and yet different. It's the church as the body of Christ. Let me read verse 27 again. 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:40.280 Now, you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it. And the big idea this evening is 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:47.159 simply this, that because the church is the body of Christ, every member of God's church matters. Every 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:56.259 member is to be valued. Every member is to be honored. And every member is to be active as we find our parts 00:03:56.259 --> 00:04:03.759 within the body of Christ. I'm going to share some hard-won insights. So, I broke my wrist. For those 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.259 of you who don't know, I broke my wrist at the start of the summer. And because I'm a preacher, lots of 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:14.500 people said, oh, when's this going to make it into a sermon illustration? Well, here it is. It's finally 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:22.639 arrived. Some very painful but helpful lessons. For example, the moment that I fell on my wrist and it 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:28.379 broke, it ballooned. Okay? And that's the body's response. So, I tried to read about this. I'm not 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:33.360 a medical person by any stretch. I tried to read what was going on in that moment. But basically, 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:39.139 as much as I could figure out, instantly the body begins to want to protect itself and to heal an 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:43.279 injured part. And that's where the swelling comes from. So, think about it. The body understands 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:53.019 instinctively that every part matters. The days that followed were days that were pretty much a fuzzy 00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:58.819 blur. I could not stay awake. Any moment that I was sitting was moments that I was sleeping. 00:04:59.539 --> 00:05:05.839 And I was discovering that when one part suffers, every part suffers with it because the body is 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:13.479 interconnected. Before, this is an admission, I didn't think much about a wrist. I didn't appreciate 00:05:13.479 --> 00:05:20.560 the value of a wrist. But now, ever since then, my body and brain so often have been given my wrist 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.159 its absolute full attention. That's what pain does, isn't it? It's like, I can't think of anything else 00:05:25.159 --> 00:05:31.339 except my wrist right now. And a part that seems to be weaker, a part that maybe to me didn't seem that 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:37.379 important. Well, now I'm discovering it's kind of indispensable. I know I've come to admire working 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:48.319 wrists. Our local church is described as the body of Christ. And every member matters to God. And every 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:54.479 member, therefore, must matter to us. That whatever local church we are a part of, we must value, 00:05:54.480 --> 00:06:03.280 honor, and work and serve together for God's purpose. So here's what we're going to do to look at this 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:07.420 wonderful theme. We're going to think 3, 2, 1. We're going to think about the fact that within this text, 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:12.620 we're shown that the three members of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they are working together 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:18.780 to build the body of Christ. So we'll see that. And then we'll notice within our text, there are two threats 00:06:18.780 --> 00:06:24.460 to God's vision for the body of Christ. And then we'll identify what is the great goal for the body 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:28.920 of Christ. So as it were, we're going to put the body of Christ in an x-ray machine. The x-ray machine 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:35.939 is God's Word. And as we do so, my hope and my prayer is that we'll grow our love for God's design, 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:43.460 that no local church is haphazard or accidental. It's designed that we would learn to see our place 00:06:43.460 --> 00:06:49.540 within this church or whatever church that we belong to, and that we would grow in our love and concern 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:56.400 for every member of the body. So let's begin here, that the three members of the Trinity work together 00:06:56.400 --> 00:07:04.220 to build the body of Christ. So let's start with the Son, the Lord Jesus. Look at verse 12. This is 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:10.780 how our section begins. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, 00:07:11.140 --> 00:07:18.980 so it is with Christ. Verse 27, how the section ends. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:26.379 you is a part of it. So a local church is the body of Christ. That's the basic teaching. And just as a 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:31.740 body has many parts, and each is connected, and each is working together, so it is to be within Jesus' 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:38.759 body. And we read a section from Ephesians 4. Paul returns to that teaching in that letter, and he 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:46.360 describes Christ as the head, and we are the body. Christ is our control center, and we need vitally to be 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:53.060 connected to him. And when we are, we are therefore connected to one another. There is the emphasis 00:07:53.060 --> 00:08:00.100 within this, that within Christ's body, there is a unity within diversity. So just as a physical body 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:05.540 needs muscle and bone and organs, etc., to be cooperating together for health and strength, 00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:13.040 so it is in Christ's body. That we have been bound together in our union with Christ. The moment that we 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:18.939 believe in the Lord Jesus, we are united to Christ, and we become part of his church, and then we are 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:27.020 given this task, that local churches make Jesus visible on the earth. That people should be able 00:08:27.020 --> 00:08:32.680 to look at us the way that we live, the way that we function, and to recognize something of Jesus in us. 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:37.620 And so our life together matters within the body of Christ. 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:43.899 Let's look at the Spirit's work in building the body of Christ. Look at verse 13. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:51.460 For we were all baptized by one Spirit, or with, or in one Spirit, so as to form one body, 00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:57.480 whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:05.779 is not made up of one part, but of many. So the Spirit, it is working to give each and every church 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:13.059 member certain new realities. And we know this from what the Bible says. When we believe in Jesus, 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:19.860 the Spirit is at work. It's the Spirit who gives us new birth. It's the Spirit who gives us a new heart. 00:09:20.579 --> 00:09:26.199 It's through the vital connection of the Spirit connecting us to Jesus that we find this new place 00:09:26.199 --> 00:09:32.779 within God's family, this new part in Christ's body. It's through the Spirit that we receive 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:42.339 God's love and God's grace and God's forgiveness and God's life. This is why it's vital for us to be 00:09:42.339 --> 00:09:48.459 within the body of Christ. That's why we need to have faith in Jesus, to have all of these spiritual 00:09:48.459 --> 00:09:58.480 blessings coming to us through the Spirit. Paul puts it in terms of us being baptized by or in 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:05.639 one Spirit. And it's helpful for us as a church that we're beginning to go through the book of Acts. 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:09.620 And what we find is that in the book of Acts, when someone believes in Jesus for the first time, 00:10:09.680 --> 00:10:19.800 they are baptized. And baptism is that indication that the Spirit has been given. Upon faith, the Spirit 00:10:19.800 --> 00:10:27.360 is given. And baptism then becomes this vivid reminder that God pours out His blessings upon us, 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:37.259 those blessings of forgiveness and love and life with God. The right to personal relationship poured out 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:46.300 on His people. That's part of the imagery of being baptized in one's Spirit. And this baptism in one's 00:10:46.300 --> 00:10:54.519 Spirit has the ability to break down and break through all the cultural barriers of any age and 00:10:54.519 --> 00:11:01.100 generation. So two of the big ones here are Jew and Greek and slave and free. Those do not matter 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:07.379 within the body of Christ because we share one Spirit. We're united by faith to the Lord Jesus 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:16.059 because of the Spirit. And then as he continues in verse 13, he says, we were all given the one Spirit to 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:24.299 drink. And that's an idea that Jesus Himself speaks of in John chapter 7. Jesus says, 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:32.179 whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them. And John says, 00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:39.620 by this, he meant the Spirit. So the life of God is poured into the hearts of the people of God. It's 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:49.079 as if we're drinking in the one Spirit. And this text also reminds us and teaches us about the Father's work 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:58.580 in building the body of Christ. Look at verse 18. In fact, God has placed the parts in the body, 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:08.480 every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. And then in verse 24, God has put the body together, 00:12:09.160 --> 00:12:14.480 giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so there should be no division in the body. So God the 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:24.779 Father, by His design, arranges, combines, and honors the parts of the body of Christ. Again, this morning, 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:32.460 we were thinking about God's providence and God being sovereign, ruling over all things. That includes 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:39.960 the design of a local church, that nobody is a member of a particular local church by accident. It's God's 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:49.240 design. And in the same way as if we kind of stop to think about it, we can appreciate the skill and 00:12:49.240 --> 00:13:00.560 the beauty of God's creative design for our own bodies. The same applies to when we think about a 00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:09.360 local church that God has skillfully and wonderfully woven very different people together often to become 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:19.300 a vital family of faith. And Paul is reminding us that every single Christian occupies a specific place 00:13:19.300 --> 00:13:26.100 in a specific church, and that has been lovingly designed by God our Father. And we need to understand 00:13:26.100 --> 00:13:34.820 that that's both for our good and it's for the good of other church members, that your gifts and mine, 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:46.560 our gifts together, combine to put the glory of Christ on display. So what does this mean for how we think 00:13:46.560 --> 00:13:52.900 about the church? I'm going to read one more verse from Ephesians, this time from Ephesians chapter 3 verse 00:13:52.900 --> 00:14:02.480 10. Listen to what this is saying about the church. This is the intent of God. His intent was that now 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:10.720 through the church, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:22.039 authorities in the heavenly realms. So God intends for a local church like this one to put his wisdom on 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:29.480 display, not just in a worldly sense, but to all spiritual powers. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:43.159 Our doctrine of the church, it really matters. Not just in theory, but worked out in practice. 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:50.919 So we can all say in theory, I believe that we are one body and every member has to find their place, 00:14:51.019 --> 00:15:02.600 but do we practice real sharing in the life of the body? Are we participating, really working together 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.719 to make Jesus and his glory known? 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:16.759 Do we really value, honor and show care to every other member of the body of Christ? 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:24.220 It's challenging, isn't it? When we think about the reality that we're being pointed towards, how do we 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:30.240 make that being part of the body of Christ real? How do we practice that? 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:37.639 Maybe it's as we encourage one of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe we tell them why we value 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:44.080 them as being part of our local church. Maybe it's making the effort to build a stronger friendship 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:49.480 with another Christian within our local church so that we can better serve and worship together. 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:57.460 Maybe it's us thinking deeply about how we can use our gifts, how we can work in partnership together. 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:03.879 Oftentimes it's as simple as, do you know what? I'm going to show up and I'm going to be really 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:09.019 committed to the people around me. I'm going to sacrifice time and energy for the sake of others. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:15.040 But how we think about the church and how we live in the church, it really matters to God. 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:20.460 As we see that the three members of the Trinity, they work together to build the body of Christ. 00:16:20.460 --> 00:16:27.500 Well, let's move from there to recognize that there are within Paul's paragraphs here, 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:34.780 two threats to God's vision for the body of Christ. And again, just to help us out, 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:40.100 I'm going to borrow my wrist again by way of illustrating this. So suppose I was to find 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:45.759 myself thinking, well, what's the big deal with a wrist? It's broken, but do I really need it? 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:52.740 Within probably a matter of hours, but certainly days, I had my answer in spades. You know, I couldn't 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:58.860 lift anything. I couldn't open a bottle of anything. I couldn't tie my shoes for about six weeks. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:04.220 I discovered, it's been interesting to share this with other people, teeth make a very good 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:10.379 substitute for a non-working hand, but they can't substitute for everything. We might think something 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:16.580 is of no value, but maybe we're introduced to the fact that, no, perhaps our thinking was a bit, oh. 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:24.200 You can go to an opposite extreme. Oh, now I sense how important wrists and hands are. They're the 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:29.100 greatest of all the body heart parts. You know, everything else is kind of pointless. Again, 00:17:29.100 --> 00:17:33.740 if we take that kind of attitude where we would elevate one thing over everything else, 00:17:35.120 --> 00:17:38.360 well, we'd discover some limitations, wouldn't we? We wouldn't get anywhere very fast. 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.439 Our sight would be profoundly affected and we wouldn't be able to eat. 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:51.179 Within our section, we're being presented with two great threats to God's design, God's vision 00:17:51.179 --> 00:18:01.719 for his church. And Paul picks up on kind of comedic images, distortions, to help us to see 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:09.759 that God has designed the church in a particular way, that there is supposed to be unity within 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:16.480 diversity. So every member, every gift matters. That each part has been deliberately arranged and 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:22.160 combined for good functioning, and we don't want to mess with that. That every part is important. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:29.460 So what are the two threats? Well, the first threat that we see from verse 14, 15 down to verse 20 00:18:29.460 --> 00:18:36.519 is the threat of inferiority. This is what happens when any Christian says, well, my spiritual gift 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:43.180 makes me less than others because I have this spiritual gift, because I'm this person, 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:52.759 I'm not really needed in my local church. The second threat is the opposite, verse 21 to 24. It's 00:18:52.759 --> 00:19:00.600 superiority. My spiritual gift makes me more than others. A church doesn't really need any other 00:19:00.600 --> 00:19:07.720 gifts beyond my kind of gift. And Paul challenges both of these to help us to see that a body will 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:11.600 flourish only when different gifts are being used for the sake of the whole, 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:18.719 and a church will thrive only when the full range of gifts within a church membership is being 00:19:18.719 --> 00:19:27.000 recognized and valued and celebrated, and when church members are being active in using their God-given 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:34.079 gifts. So let's look at the first problem where someone might feel inferior or insignificant. Look at 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:39.879 verse 15. Now if the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:49.040 it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. Paul is saying very simply, you may think that you 00:19:49.040 --> 00:19:55.760 are inferior because you have a particular gift, but quite simply you are wrong. He doesn't make it any more 00:19:55.760 --> 00:20:03.100 complicated than that. The Spirit gives us a gift. That's God's choice, and we can't say we are insignificant 00:20:03.099 --> 00:20:09.679 because of it. He continues, if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I do not belong to the body, 00:20:09.679 --> 00:20:16.299 it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And then he changes the logic. If the whole 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:23.699 body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? In other words, every part is necessary for the 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:30.880 body to be a well-functioning body. If we pull ourselves out, then the body is going to suffer. 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:39.120 If we ignore God's design, then in effect we're saying God doesn't know what he's doing. 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:45.960 But look at what Paul says, verse 18, but in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:54.120 every one of them just as he wanted them to be. So it's so basic and so important for us to 00:20:54.120 --> 00:21:02.819 understand that there are no expendable body parts in the Christian church. There is no Christian who 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:08.880 can say, well, I'm excluded, you know, I'm the equivalent of the appendix. I'm not really needed. 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:16.480 Do you know, any given Sunday, I think is a wonderful way to see this. So I was trying to 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:23.060 think about this Sunday as just a typical example of how many people are involved and how many people 00:21:23.060 --> 00:21:28.020 are using different gifts and using their time and serving together. And some are visible and some 00:21:28.020 --> 00:21:34.120 are invisible, but there are always the people who open up, get here before everyone else does. 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.580 There's always people at the door who give us a warm welcome. 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:41.879 There are people who serve teas today. There were people who served us dinner. 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:46.299 There are people who look after and teach the kids. There are people who lead the singing. 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:51.119 There are people who work the technology. There are those who read and pray and preach. 00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:57.059 There are those who offer encouragement, who give wisdom and counsel. There are those who practice 00:21:57.059 --> 00:22:06.039 hospitality, who provide lift, who practice friendship, and so much more. Simply to say, we need one another. 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:14.899 If you're part of this church, we need you. That's God's design. That's the message of God's word. And none of us 00:22:14.899 --> 00:22:23.159 should say, I'm insignificant because my gift is not like, you know, fill in the blank. It's God's design. 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:33.460 But what about flip side if we're tempted to make some gifts superior and to dismiss others? Paul has an image for that too. 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:42.660 Verse 21, the eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you. 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:49.560 And so he gives us these sort of caricatures and just sort of comedy pictures to show how mad it would be. 00:22:50.060 --> 00:22:53.700 You know, for an eye to say, I can go out alone. I'm totally fine without my hands. 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:57.240 That's great until you get an eyelash stuck in your eye. 00:22:58.040 --> 00:23:00.140 And you desperately need a hand more than anything. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.519 Or if a head, feet. 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:06.799 What are feet for? 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:12.379 Unless a head wants to be rolling around by way of transport, we need our feet. 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.599 And so this is what Paul is trying to say. 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:20.680 We cannot say some are superior and we can do away with everything else. 00:23:22.139 --> 00:23:27.299 Verse 22, on the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:32.220 And the parts that we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor. 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:35.180 There is actually a warning here. 00:23:35.659 --> 00:23:41.700 It was a warning to the church in Corinth because they were kind of all marked by a bit of spiritual pride 00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:43.599 and wanting to show that their gifts were the greatest. 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:49.419 But there is a warning for any of us individually and as a church that we can focus on, for example, 00:23:49.419 --> 00:23:54.799 the visible gifts while ignoring the invisible gifts. 00:23:54.799 --> 00:24:00.519 To so elevate some as to minimize and diminish others. 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:04.200 I like the way Andrew Wilson puts it in his commentary. 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:07.759 You can survive without an eye, but not without a liver. 00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:12.419 We can't see our liver, but it is vital to life and functioning. 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:13.559 So yes, absolutely. 00:24:13.659 --> 00:24:17.579 And Paul will say we need Bible teaching. 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:23.839 We need, you know, people who will open the Bible and preach the gospel. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:25.379 And we need leadership. 00:24:25.619 --> 00:24:26.599 Absolutely, yes. 00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:33.439 But yes, we need people who practice those gifts of mercy and hospitality and administration. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:35.899 And people who pray. 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:38.139 And people who befriend. 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:46.519 And we need to honor the parts of the body that maybe don't always get celebrated 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:49.379 because they're not so visible. 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:58.660 God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that will act it. 00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:04.160 So when we look at ourselves in the mirror as Christians, as part of the body of Christ, 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:10.060 Paul is saying there's no room for superiority on the one hand, but nor should we feel self-pity. 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:16.940 We shouldn't be judging others, but nor should we be jealous of others. 00:25:16.940 --> 00:25:24.480 Rather, we understand that our good and wise creator God has designed you and he has designed me. 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:27.180 He has placed you and me where he wants us to be. 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:29.920 God has combined us for his purpose. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:30.920 God has combined us for his purpose. 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:31.920 God has combined us for his purpose. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:37.259 And so we need each other, whatever our gifts are, in any local church. 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:42.200 We are mutually connected to each other in a local church. 00:25:42.320 --> 00:25:44.220 One of the reasons why church membership matters. 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:47.920 But this is very counterculture, isn't it? 00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:51.759 We tend to think in terms of ourselves as individuals. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:59.379 And we can also tend to come to a church and think, what will the church do for me? 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:04.319 Where can I find the church that will meet my needs? 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:10.640 And rather, the message of the Bible is saying, learn to think about we, not me. 00:26:10.859 --> 00:26:13.539 To think about us rather than thinking about ourselves. 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:19.579 And Paul is reminding us that no gift is common to everyone. 00:26:19.579 --> 00:26:23.779 And nor are any of us the whole body. 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:28.359 And so for us to be healthy and to function well, we need one another. 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:32.179 And we need to practice mutual concern for each other. 00:26:32.919 --> 00:26:38.019 Because if we lose a body part, to use the image, that's a big deal, isn't it? 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:43.919 The body is going to lose vital health and the ability to thrive. 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:47.759 So it reminds us to care for one another as church members. 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:55.500 And it also reminds us that we have responsibility to other church members to be active worshippers and servers. 00:26:56.700 --> 00:26:59.180 And that takes us to one glorious vision. 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:03.700 The vision of God for the body of Christ. 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:08.860 Which is here in verse 25 and 26. 00:27:08.860 --> 00:27:15.400 God has put the body together so that there should be no division in the body, 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:20.200 but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:24.259 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. 00:27:24.580 --> 00:27:29.960 If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:35.559 What is God's glorious vision for his body, for the church? 00:27:36.840 --> 00:27:41.740 It's where each shows equal concern for each other. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:46.620 It's an active fellowship of loving concern, 00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:50.960 not just for some people or some types of people, 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:53.759 but for all people of any type. 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:58.680 And in so doing, we put God's love on display. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:05.940 The gospel is a uniquely powerful form. 00:28:07.840 --> 00:28:09.900 The Father sends the Son. 00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:13.840 And the Son comes to live a life of perfect obedience 00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:18.160 before suffering and dying on the cross and then rising again. 00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:21.420 And then the Father and the Son, they send the Spirit 00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:26.180 so that God's love would be, could be experienced 00:28:26.180 --> 00:28:29.600 and shared by God's people together. 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:36.440 The gospel is what creates genuine equality 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:40.820 within a church family, within a church body. 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:45.720 In a Christian church, we don't try and squash down differences, 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:51.200 but rather we practice a unity that celebrates difference. 00:28:53.259 --> 00:29:00.240 There is within the gospel the capacity to end our natural prejudices and divisions. 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:04.859 So here it was the divisions of race and class. 00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:07.319 But we can multiply those. 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:12.359 The gospel, when it takes root in our hearts, 00:29:12.700 --> 00:29:16.539 is what enables us to move towards other church members 00:29:16.539 --> 00:29:18.299 who are utterly unlike us, 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:21.779 except for this life-changing fact that we have Jesus in common. 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:29.859 That's what will allow us to practice equal concern for every member. 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:33.759 Again, when Paul writes this, 00:29:33.819 --> 00:29:37.099 he's challenging a church that was largely puffed up with pride. 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:42.619 But however we find ourselves today, 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:46.099 I think we're going to recognize, when we're honest, 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:47.559 there is a challenge in this. 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:51.500 Each one of us, we're made in a particular way. 00:29:51.500 --> 00:29:53.319 We have our own personality and temperament, 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:55.900 and so we're drawn to particular kinds of people. 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:59.940 But Paul is saying it's not enough in a church 00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:01.900 that we just love the people who are like us, 00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:03.420 because that's not how God treats us. 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:07.460 Rather, we show equal concern for everybody. 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:10.940 Learning to see people as Jesus does. 00:30:11.779 --> 00:30:14.660 Letting the love that Jesus has for his church 00:30:14.660 --> 00:30:16.559 shape our love for the church. 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:21.259 Just as we see the love of Jesus crossing boundaries, 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:22.839 to extend grace, 00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:26.019 so we need to learn to let our love cross boundaries. 00:30:26.140 --> 00:30:27.519 Maybe that's the boundary of age, 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:29.539 or maybe it's the boundary of personality. 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:34.420 It's not easy, but it's so, so necessary. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.640 And what we find from Paul is that living as the body of Christ, 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:42.000 it requires being part of a living, active fellowship. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.019 Because look with me at verse 26, 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:50.900 and ask yourself how you could possibly obey this command 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:53.019 if we have no living connection. 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:57.500 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:01.039 If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:02.779 We need to know one another, 00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:05.819 so we can know one another's joys and sorrows 00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:07.339 to seek to enter in. 00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:10.959 That's one of the reasons why every month 00:31:10.959 --> 00:31:12.500 we're going to have lunch together, 00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:14.119 so that we can build friendships, 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:15.720 so we can know what's going on in our lives. 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:17.819 That's why we have community groups. 00:31:18.059 --> 00:31:20.399 It connects us to a diverse group of believers, 00:31:20.399 --> 00:31:23.139 and we share life and life with God together. 00:31:23.139 --> 00:31:25.879 We can exercise care and concern for one another. 00:31:26.959 --> 00:31:29.639 And it's part of the goal of Christ-centered preaching 00:31:29.639 --> 00:31:32.639 as we celebrate God's grace to us. 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:37.020 Love that cuts across the most remarkable difference. 00:31:38.340 --> 00:31:41.780 God loving us though we were unworthy sinners. 00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:45.400 Love that unites us to Jesus, 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:48.960 uniting the head to us as the body. 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:52.340 Well, as we are reminding ourselves 00:31:52.340 --> 00:31:54.740 of God's love for us in the Lord Jesus, 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:58.400 that's when we find the love and the model 00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:02.340 and the motivation to do likewise, 00:32:02.840 --> 00:32:06.680 to live showing that every member of Christ's body 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:08.220 really does matter, 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:10.960 that every one of us, 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:14.380 honored, valued, 00:32:15.100 --> 00:32:16.420 and with a part to play. 00:32:17.320 --> 00:32:18.240 Let's pray together. 00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:21.220 Our God and our Father, 00:32:21.320 --> 00:32:24.400 we thank you for giving us this rich image 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:28.440 image of the church as the body of Christ. 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:31.519 And we thank you that every person 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:35.340 who trusts in Jesus is vitally connected to him 00:32:35.340 --> 00:32:38.860 as the body is connected to the head. 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:40.860 Thank you that in your eyes, 00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:43.880 each one of your people matters to you. 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:45.660 You have made us, 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:47.340 and you have formed, 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:49.540 and are forming us in particular ways, 00:32:49.539 --> 00:32:52.940 and you have placed us in local churches 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:56.259 so that we might play our part 00:32:56.259 --> 00:32:59.920 towards the body of Christ being healthy 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:04.139 and demonstrating something of your glory together. 00:33:04.940 --> 00:33:07.980 Lord, you know how challenging that is to us 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:09.960 individually and collectively. 00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:13.559 And so we pray that we would humbly look to you 00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:16.279 to lead and to guide us and to teach us. 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:19.460 And we pray especially for us as a local church, 00:33:19.539 --> 00:33:22.619 that we might grow in our love for one another 00:33:22.619 --> 00:33:24.759 as brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:27.599 that we might put Jesus on display 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:29.980 in this part of our city 00:33:29.980 --> 00:33:32.240 to the glory of God. 00:33:32.659 --> 00:33:34.279 And we pray in Jesus' name. 00:33:34.700 --> 00:33:34.980 Amen.