The Church Is The Body Of Christ Series

They say that strengthening your core… that is your stomach muscles, your pelvic muscles, your back muscles can lead to a lot of incredible benefits.

Improved Posture and Reduced Back Pain, Enhanced Balance and Stability, Improved Coordination and Agility, Reduced Risk of Falls, Enhanced Breathing Efficiency, Improved Digestion, Reduced Stress on Other Body Systems, and Improved Mental Well-being.

Strengthening your core is vital for your body to function at a higher level. The same is true of the body of Christ. If the body of Christ… us… are to function like we should… then we too need to strengthen our core.

We began a new series last Sunday called, “At the Core”. And for the next several weeks, we will be going through each of our Core Values that are posted on the wall as you walk out of this room.

Last week, we discussed how the Bible is the absolute standard of truth. Today, we are going to take a look at how we are the body of Christ.

How many of you have have that one friend who’s super into DIY projects? They watch one YouTube video on home improvement and suddenly they’re Chip and Joanna Gaines.

I remember when I preached in North Vernon… there was one weekend, a lot of church friends decided to build a ramp and a deck for someone in our community who desperately needed one.

They asked me if I wanted to “help”. Apparently “help” meant I was supposed to bring tools and know what a joist was. The only joist I knew of was Joyce (Joist) DeWitt of Three’s Company.

Anyway, I showed up with a small bag of tools, a large bag of chips for the pitch-in lunch, and moral support.

I’m not kidding you… Everybody else who was there… looked like they were in a Lowe’s commercial… Tool belts, gloves, tape measures hanging from their hip.

They’re all yelling out measurements and carpenter terms like, “Cut that 2x4 at 45 degrees!” “Make sure that’s flush!” (the only thing I new to flush was in my bathroom)

“Let’s just rip that down the center and we’ll be fine.” “Make sure it’s plum”

And I’m standing there holding a hammer like,

“Uh… Can I just pray for the wood?”

By the end, they had a beautiful ramp and a deck.

I had a sunburn, a splinter, and a newfound respect for Do it Yourself-ers who know what they are doing.

And sometimes life feels like that… everyone else seems to know what they’re doing, and you’re just standing there with an Ikea tape measure.

But here’s the deal… God can still build something solid with people who just show up. God can do something with people who just want to belong.

And I think most everyone, wants to belong….

There’s something deeply human about wanting to belong.

You see it in a family gathering, on a sports team, or even in a group project… people want to be part of something bigger than themselves.

But what’s different about the Church is who we belong to.

We don’t just belong to a club, or a cause, or a crowd…

We belong to Jesus Christ Himself.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:27,

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

That means we are not just like His body…it means we are His body… we are His presence on earth.

Where His hands once touched the sick, now ours reach out.

Where His feet once carried the Good News, now ours go.

Where His heart once broke for the lost, now ours must break too.

We are the body of Christ. And I think there are a few things that are true… or at least should be true about the body that we are a part of. Here is truth number 1.

1. We are united in one body.

1 Corinthians 12:12–13

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,[e] some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit

Paul reminds the Corinthian church that unity isn’t based on sameness…it’s based on the Spirit. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body… Jew or Gentile, slave or free.

In today’s terms: rich or poor, young or old, black or white, Republican or Democrat, traditional or contemporary… in Jesus Christ, we are one.

Because here’s the deal… The Spirit doesn’t erase our differences; He redeems them. He brings harmony out of diversity. He creates unity in mission, unity in vision, and unity in love.