I Corinthians 12:12 – 14 (Everyone reads this together)
For as the body is one, and hath many members, all the members of that one body being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many.
In today’s lesson we will look at “What’s The Matter With The Church”. Many of us got saved and born again and became a member of what is known as the “Body of Christ”. We come to church every Sunday and do not really understand your purpose in the Body of Christ. But to function properly and get the fullness out of this relationship with God through being a member in His Body, you will need to understand that you were birthed in the earth to provide a direction for the world.
The Body of Christ to operate together so well that the government, political system, school home, etc. could extract their moral values from and get their source of direction as to how they should operate in a secular manner.
The Body of Christ has done a poor job of it now because the world is not looking at the Body of Christ today, as its source of direction. We are to be the consciousness of the world so when they had no one to turn to they could turn to the Body of Christ.
So I ask the question, “What’s The Matter With The Church”, we don’t understand who we are as a BODY. We don’t understand the purpose, mission or how to operate in the Body of Christ.
Before we can even understand the Body of Christ, we must understand that you have purpose in the earth. But we were to add to the earth and make it better, not just to get everything from the earth (jobs, money) and die.
Purpose of Man:
Genesis 1:26 – 30 (Turn here)
1. Someone to fellowship with God in His image and likeness. Man is able to conform to God’s moral character and not only that we can act like God and God has made us free moral agents that we can choose to have fellowship and relationship with Him.
2. Someone in earth that could establish a relationship with Him. God wanted a relative in the earth because He has an inheritance to share with us. There is feeling between God and us. We can come to Him and express ourselves and He can express Himself.
3. We are to represent God in the earth. God has a representative in the natural realm as He is representative in the spirit realm. We are His sole representatives in the earth realm and He wanted the natural and spiritual to be connected so He created us in His image and likeness and act like Him. He put us in charge and dominion over all the earth and we are to run earth just like He runs Heaven. And He gave a promise to us that “whatsoever you bind in earth, shall be bind in heaven; and whatsoever you loose in earth, shall be loosed in heaven”. It is not the intention of God for anything to have dominion over us (i.e. drugs, etc.). It grieves the heart of God.
Purpose of the Body of Christ:
1. Show the world who God is. There are people who need a God they should see and we should conduct ourselves in a manner so the world will know who God is.
John 15:12
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
2. Give validity to God’s testimony. We are to act like God and God performs His Word in us and we give testimony of God. We are to proclaim the truth and signs and wonders follow so that the world can see the truth of God’s Word.
John 14:12
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Mission of the Body of Christ:
1. To glorify God. Make God look good by our conduct. We are to sanctify the Holy Name of God. That is how we glorify Him.
I Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
2. Evangelize the world. The Gospel will be published throughout all the earth. Everyone will have the opportunity to hear this Gospel.
Mark 16:15
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
3. Defeats the works of the devil. (i.e. broken homes, drug, etc.)
I John 3:8 – For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Drugs are the works of the devil. Broken homes are the works of the devil. Teenage pregnancy is a works of the devil. And we are to defeat these works as the Body of Christ. We are to stop playing defense but to find the devil and defeat and destroy the work of the devil.
How Should The Body of Christ Operate:
I As a United Body - Unified
I Corinthians 12:12
For as the body is one, and hath many members, all the members of that one body being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
The church has been sitting back waiting for the devil to move and attack. That is not the mission of the Body of Christ. We are an action mission – “GO”! We are to go out and find out what he is doing and to destroy his works.
The church is a filing station and you get refilled and go out and explode on the works of the devil.
Devil – diabolos – which means one who strikes repeatedly – again, again, and again, until he finally breaks down one’s mental resistance.
The devil is called dragon, evil one, murderer, accuser, adversary – just plain the devil.
When this mental resistance has been broken down, then he strikes with all of his fury to penetrate the mind and to take that person’s mind and emotions captive.
This is how the enemy works. He repeatedly hits you with lies, suggestions, accusations, allegations and one slanderous assault after another, another and another. He tries to wear you down, and then takes you captive in one of your weaker moments.
He tries to pave a road into your mind (methodos), and then confuse your emotions with “mind games” (noemata) and then deceives you to the point that you actually begin to believe his threats –and thus your false perception empowers his lies to become a reality in your life.
Hence the reason you must: “You must wear all the weapons in God’s armory, so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods. “ Ephesians 6:11
I have asked the Holy Spirit, “If we have more authority, and if we have more power, and if we have the Greater One living inside us, then why does it seem that the Church is full of so much defeat?” He replied, “The reason the Body of Christ is experiencing so much defeat is because the devil has something that the Body of Christ does not have”. Because the devil and his body (troops) are disciplined, organized and committed about doing damage to mankind that he deals with demon spirit. The devil is a united body! They are put rank and file, and are organized to the hilt. However, the average Spirit-filled believer doesn’t stay in one local church for over one year at a time.
Yes, the Body of Christ has more authority than the devil has, and we do have more power than the devil has, and we do have the Greater One living in us. The Church of Jesus Christ is loaded wit power – but at this particular time, the power is disconnected and disjointed by a body that lacks discipline, organization and commitment.
We don’t have a power shortage, nor is the Body of Christ short of God-given authority. We simply have a great lack of discipline, organization and commitment.
To change this, we must first buckle down in the local church and begin to view ourselves as “THE BODY OF CHRIST” – A unified force.
II WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS PLACED US IN THE BODY AS HE WILLS TO BENEFIT EACH OTHER
To carry out the purpose of mission of the Body of Christ, we need to understand that we are placed in the Body by the orchestration of His Spirit.
God has put offices in the church as orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:11 list the offices of the church:
Apostles
Prophets
Evangelists
Pastor/Teacher
They are perfecting (maturing) offices to mature the saints. The job of the Pastor is not just to marry, bury folks but to teach the Word of God so that you can find out God’s plan in your life and go forth and carry the mission of the Body of Christ.
Pastors should bring you into an awareness of your mission, the mission of the Body of Christ, and make sure you are mature and filled with the Spirit so you can go out and fulfill the mission of the Body of Christ.
Then you will go out and evangelize others and bring them back to the church (office of Pastor) so they can be matured and start the process all over again – that how the Body grows.
Romans 12:6-8 –Functional Gifts
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering, he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.
Everyone posses one gift orchestrated by Holy Ghost (i.e. giving, mercy). Put here so the Body of Christ can function together. All of us who have the gifts orchestrated by God for us to carry out the plan and purposes of God.
I Corinthians 12:7-11 – Protectional Gifts
Gifts of the Spirit (9) – operating on the inside of us because they protect us from the wiles of the devil as we carry out the mission of the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ exists because man comes to express His relationship with God.
With our gifts and callings and express it together in the Body of Christ - this is our relationship to the Body of Christ.
I Corinthians 12:12-21
• In the Body of Christ we are to have all things in common
(i.e. all I have is yours and yours mine – example heart working to fullest)
• We have to be like music and operate together so the world can hear the sound of good music from the Body of Christ. God said He would supply all our needs through His riches in glory (or through the Body of Christ). All of the assets of Body of Christ belong to me because I am an heir with you.
III WE SHOULD LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS CHRIST HAS LOVED US
God did not send Christ into the world to condemn us, but to love us.
We should love everyone in the Body the same way. We need to understand that everyone is important in the Body of Christ.
I Corinthians 12:22-25; 31
That person you are overlooking, may be the key to your breakthrough.
v. 25 – We should care on for another
v. 31 – There is a plan for not failing for the Body of Christ – LOVE
There is nothing we can do for God or with God without loving our brethren.
I Corinthians 13
“Love suffers long” – must do this because its good for us. Many don’t do what’s good for us but what pleases us.
If you love yourself, you will do anything to, suffer through, change yourself. Example: If on drugs, you will suffer through because it will heal your family; to put your home back together you will do anything to make it happen; if fornicating, you will quit because it is hurting you.
Love beareth all things to make life beneficial to us.
We don’t want to bear anything! We leave church, marriages, families, jobs, etc. for any old excuse.
Love beareth and endures all things.
All love comes from God and God knows how love works.
Love is what love does.
If you have a problem with someone in the Body of Christ, ready I Corinthians 13 – Love Chapter for 30 days and watch your attitude change (you are changing you!)
