One Body Series

ONE CHURCH - One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-20 (p. 799) June 12, 2016

Introduction:

The human body is absolutely amazing! There’s an article on the web called, 100 very cool facts about the human body and they are cool…I won’t share all hundred, but here’s a few of those cool facts:

The brain operates on about the same power as a 10 watt light bulb, even when you’re asleep.

80% of your brain is water.

Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 mph.

Every day we lose around 60-100 strands of hair.

Women’s hair is about half the diameter of men’s hair.

Fingernails grow 4 times faster than toenails.

The largest internal organ is the small intestine.

The human heart creates enough pressure to shoot blood 30 feet.

The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve a razor blade (don’t attempt).

Your left lung is smaller than your right to make room for your heart (Unless you’re The Grinch).

Feet have 500,000 sweat glands that can produce a pint of sweat a day (awesome!)

A full bladder is the size of a softball (unless your kids on a car trip then it’s the size of a golfball).

Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents.

Your eyes are always the same size from birth, but your ears and nose never stop growing.

It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.

Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood it’s reduced to 206.

Humans are the only living beings to produce emotional tears.

Everyday our bodies produce 300 billion new cells.

As the Psalmist said, “We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made!” (Ps. 139)

It’s this illustration that the Apostle Paul goes to when he writes about God’s plan for the Church… “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all it’s many parts from one body, so it is with Christ.” (1 Cor. 12:12)

I. BEING ONE IS GOD’S DESIGN

Do you remember Jesus’ prayer for His followers in John 17? Listen to how He even includes us in it:

JOHN 17:20-24 (p. 754)

Right after this prayer Jesus takes his disciples minus Judas into the garden. Where He will pray intimately to His Father. Where He will be arrested. It’s hard to imagine all that is on His heart and mind right before the cross…but we know without a doubt…We were.

“Father…make them one…as we are one.”

How in the world do you make Jews and Gentiles one? How do you make men and women one? How do you make introverts and extroverts one? How do you make zealots and tax collectors one? How can it be possible?

God’s Word says “For we were all baptized by one Spirit, so as to form one body. Whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (v. 13)

The truth of this bond is “the Holy Spirit does not work against Himself.”

He is the force God uses to convict the world (us) of sin (John 16:8) It’s what cut hearts in Acts 2 which led to repentance and baptism so believers could experience forgiveness of those sins…and the gift of this promised Holy Spirit…He calls…we answer in faith…or ignore Him. Jesus very clearly explained to Nicodemus: Unless we are born again by the Holy Spirit we cannot see or enter God’s Kingdom (John 3).

No, you cannot see Him…but God’s Word boldly proclaims:

ROMANS 8:5-9; 14-17 (p. 786)

If Jesus doesn’t return this week and God wills we will delve deeply into this subject next week…

But God designed His family to be led by the Holy Spirit…the Spirit of Jesus. There will be fruit in our “born again” attitudes that show our priorities…Kingdom priorities.

Jesus is the head of the body…It’s His Word…His thoughts…His plan and His attitude that should affect all our relationships and actions…The Holy Spirit makes those things known to the mouth, arms, legs, and hands and feet…so that the body functions as His Father designed it.

So, what happens when different body parts stop receiving messages from the Head.

II. THE BODY BECOMES PARALYZED AND INACTIVE

The Apostle Paul uses some pretty strong humor here in 1 Cor. 12…with some sarcasm as well.

He gives the ability to argue with each other to feet, hands, ears, eyes, noses and mouth, and pretends they revolt…there’s a mutiny. Hands are slapping other parts around, feet are running in different directions…ears are going “huh? huh? I can’t hear you!” Noses are telling everyone “You stink!” Mouths are saying “Listen to me you all…Listen up.” This mutiny exists because the different parts don’t think they need the other parts…Pretty ignorant, huh? But the glaring issue is…Hands, Feet, ears, and mouths don’t operate on their own…the impulses to move, speak, see and smell all come from the head.