Members of One Another
Series: The One Anothers: The Church’s “Body Builders”
Chuck Sligh
April 24, 2022
BLURB:
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 12:5
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – After World War II, a group of German students volunteered to help rebuild an English cathedral that had been severely damaged by German bombs. As work progressed, they became concerned about a large statue of Jesus, whose arms were outstretched, beneath which was the inscription: “Come unto Me.” They had particular difficulty trying to restore the hands, which had been completely destroyed. After much discussion, they decided to let the hands remain missing and changed the inscription to: “Christ has no hands but ours.” (John MacArthur Jr.)
The work of Jesus Christ in the world is in the hands of those who belong to Him. I love the way Casting Crowns puts it in their song, We Are the Body, where the chorus says:
If we are the body
Why aren’t His arms reaching?
Why aren’t His hands healing?
Why aren’t His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren’t His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
Yes, the work of Christ in the world is in our hands. But how can the church—a collection of people from varying walks of life and different backgrounds and different cultures—do the job God has called us to do?
That answer is this: Over and over again, the New Testament writers exhort believers to engage in specific activities and attitudes to help local churches function effectively and grow spiritually so that they would be healthy and be able to carry out the church’s biblically mandated tasks.
Frequently these writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, employed a unique word in the Greek language to describe this mutual process. It’s the Greek word alle´lon (Grk: a??????), invariably translated as “one another.” This Greek word is used 58 times in the New Testament. Paul utilized it most often, using it 40 of the 58 instances in the New Testament. Since some of them are repeated, for instance “love one another” is found 17 times in the New Testament, or almost one-third of the total, we end up with 22 separate “one another” commands and one statement of fact, which we will look at today.
When you take them all together, you realize that this is an important, though neglected, New Testament priority.
Andy Stanley said of the early church: “The primary activity of the church was one-anothering one another.”
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to look a few of these significant actions or attitudes Christians ought to have toward one another that are the “Body Builders” of the body—both the Body of Christ and local church bodies. Let’s start with the foundational “One Another,” that we are “members of one another.” This is the only one that is a statement rather than a command, and is found in our text, Romans 12:5.
Follow along as I read the verse, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
Paul says that every believer is a part of Christ’s body. In Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians Paul used the word body 30 times to illustrate the functioning of the church. Now go with me in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12:14-27, where the concept of being members of a body is explained in detail. Paul’s immediate context is the worldwide Body of Christ, but every generality of the body motif can be particularized to any individual local church as well. Since the New Testament “one anothers” are largely focused on local churches, that will be the focus of our study in 1 Corinthians 12.
This won’t be an exhaustive look at this passage, but please note the following:
I. FIRST NOTE THAT PAUL TEACHES THAT THE BODY IS MADE UP OF MANY DIFFERENT MEMBERS – 1 Corinthians 12:14 – “For the body is not one member, but many.”
There are many of us, and we’re all different.
• We’re tall and short; thin and not-so-thin; attractive and plain; some are ACADEMICALLY smart and others are more HANDS-ON smart.
• All races and many cultures are represented in our church.
• We also have all kinds of different personalities: Hard charging and laid back; outgoing and quiet; action-oriented or contemplative and creative.
• We come from all sorts of economic backgrounds—from lower to upper class, and everything in between.
• Some of us can sing; some can play instruments; others can teach; some can organize; others can fix things; others can clean the building and maintain gardens; and on and on we could go.
The point is this: God accepts all kinds of people into His kingdom and calls all kinds of people to a local church. Each of us has a UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION to make to our church and we all add our own UNIQUE FLAVORS to this wonderful soup called the church. We should value EVERYONE God brings into our local church body.
II. THE SECOND THING PAUL TEACHES IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12 IS THAT EACH MEMBER OF THE BODY IS VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE WHOLE BODY – We see this in verses 15-21:
Let’s begin with verses 15-16 – “If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?”
You see, the foot and the ear are NOT AS VISIBLE as the hand or the eyes. But Paul reminds us that feet and hands are important in God’s work too.
Verse 17 – “If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?”
Each part of the body may have different in role or function, but each has a vital place that contributes to the whole body.
Verse 18 says, “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
What an awesome thought!—God put YOU in this body as it pleased Him! Maybe you’ve never thought of it that way, but if you’re part of Grace Baptist Church, you’re a SPECIAL GIFT to us from God.
Verse 19-21 – And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.”
• Nor can the preacher say to a nursery volunteer, “I have no need of you.”
• Nor can a K.I.D.S. teacher say to a worship leader, “I have no need of you.”
• Nor can an usher say to a potluck volunteer, “I have no need of you.”
• Nor can a giver say to the grounds-keepers, “I have no need of you.”
No, because we’re all part of the body and ALL our gifts and contributions are necessary to accomplish the larger task. In other words, folks, WE ALL NEED ONE ANOTHER!
III. THE THIRD THING PAUL TEACHES HERE IS THAT NO MEMBER OF THE BODY SHOULD FEEL HE OR SHE IS MORE OR LESS IMPORTANT THAN ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE BODY – Verses 22-24 – “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked.”
What’s Paul saying here? When we use the analogy of the body, the EXPRESSIVE PARTS of the body—the mouth, the eyes, the hands—the OUTWARDLY visible and expressive—usually are the first things that come to mind. But the HIDDEN parts—our bones, ligaments, muscles, glands, internal organs, and so on, are just as vital for a healthy body as the expressive, visible ones.
It’s so easy to just honor those who can preach, teach, sing or play an instrument; or greet or usher—those with the EXPRESSIVE contributions to the body. But the nursery volunteers, toilet cleaners, potluck volunteers, church cleaners, garden and yard maintainers—these are the behind-the-scenes volunteers; yet they are JUST as important and vital to the work of God.
Illus. – Now I want you to think about something: In a fraction of a second, the marrow in your bones produces over 100,000 RED BLOOD CELLS. – You never see the marrow of the bones, but you could not live without it and its vital function.
Illus. – If you’re an adult of average weight, among MANY other things, here is just a sampling of what some of your hidden body parts accomplish in 24 hours:
• Your heart beats 103,689 times.
• Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles.
• Your lungs breathe 23,040 times.
• You move 750 muscles.
• Your bone marrow produces 500 BILLION red cells.
• Your brain exercises 7,000,000 brain cells.
What am I saying? I’m saying that all these LESS VISIBLE parts are absolutely VITAL to the body! We’re ALL important, no matter what we do in the body.
Illus. – Years ago, when Susan was well, she directed a Europe-wide ladies retreat for many of the churches in Europe. At the end of it, Susan did something she does in every facet of our ministry: she showed gratefulness by recognizing the ones who made the retreat a success. Susan had asked one woman from the church that hosted the retreat to do the decorating, as she had done for the previous ten years. She did an exceptional job, and everything was perfect! So, at the end of the retreat, Susan recognized her publicly and thanked her for her hard work and the exceptional job she had done, and, to express her gratitude, Susan gave her a gift in appreciation.
After the service, she came up to Susan and said, “Thank you for showing me your appreciation.” Susan said, “Mary, everybody said what a blessing the retreat was, but I didn’t do the decorating. All I did was give you the basic idea, and like magic, you made it turn out wonderful. I’m just so thankful for your work and sacrifice.”
Hearing this brought tears to Mary’s eyes. Susan asked, “Mary, what’s wrong?”
She said, “Susan, I can’t speak like the retreat speakers and workshop speakers, but I have given heart and soul doing this year after year, and no one has ever thanked me, even privately. It meant so much to me.” And she had done that with no thanks for YEARS, with never so much as a gift or a thank-you note, or even a personal word from the retreat organizers to say “We appreciate your hard work,” while the “big shots”—the expressive speakers brought in—were showered with thanks and love offerings.
“Mary, listen,” Susan said, “what you do is JUST as important as what they do and I want you to know that’s how I feel about it.”
Praise God for the HIDDEN parts of the body who are so vital to its functioning—the behind-the-scenes people; the quiet, unassuming volunteers; the ones willing to do the dirty work; the ones who work for God alone.
IV. FINALLY, I WANT US TO SEE THAT PAUL TEACHES IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12 THAT THE BODY SHOULD BE UNITED. – 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 – “That there should be no schism [division] in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether [if] one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
Illus. – Suppose your eye wanted to go one way, but your feet wanted to go another. (COMEDIC DEMONSTRATION) Or suppose one of your legs wanted to go in one direction and the other leg wanted to go in another. (COMEDIC DEMONSTRATION) We’d be a mess, wouldn’t we?—We wouldn’t be able to function.
In verse 26, Paul says that we’re to be united and functioning together as a unit. If one member suffers in a body, the whole body goes into action to aid the suffering member.
Illus. – For instance, if I hit my thumb with a hammer, the whole body sympathizes with it, and goes into action to aid it—The OTHER HAND holds it to aid it and alleviate the pain. The HEART pumps faster and BLOOD rushes to it to NOURISH it. The LEGS and FEET jump up and down IN SYMPATHY to it. The MOUTH YELLS, expressing the thumb’s pain.
And that’s EXACTLY what should happen in our church body. – When someone is in serious pain, we should all join in sympathy and love to help and comfort the hurting member of the body.
Also, at the end of verse 26, Paul says that if one member of the body is honored, the whole body rejoices. So, if a K.I.D.S. Church teacher is honored, the ushers aren’t supposed to sulk and be jealous because they’re not also being honored. – They should rejoice with the teacher because he or she is part of the same body they’re a part of. If I commend Nelly or Marion for the great job they do keeping our garden beautiful every week, or Rosi, who organizes our cleaning crew and washes all the dirty linens each week, the K.I.D.S. Church teachers aren’t supposed to be up in arms because I didn’t mention them this this time. – They should rejoice with those being commended.
CONCLUSION
So, this morning we’ve examined briefly the first “One Another” statement in our series. Let’s close by pulling it all in and making some applications to our lives personally:
1. A pretty obvious starting point is…You should GET INTO the body.
God wants you to be a part of a local assembly of believers—a local church.
Being a member in a local church is biblical, and it’s something you need.
God doesn’t want you to be unattached from a body.
Illus. – In the natural world, a body part that gets unattached from a body DIES.
Before my Dad went to be with the Lord, day my dad was visiting at my sister’s house.
He was in the grandkids’ room and sat down on a toy box, putting his hands on the sides of the toy box.
When he did, it sliced off the tip of one of his fingers.
They raced him to the hospital because with every second that went by, the tip of his finger was dying.
That sense of urgency illustrates my point: body parts die if not attached to the body.
In the same way, if you’re not vitally attached to a local church body, your spiritual life will shrivel up and die.
2. My second application is this: As a member with other members, you should value the diversity within the body.
Love and appreciate and value those of different ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS; those with different PERSONALITY-TYPES; those in different RANK or SOCIO-ECONOMIC levels than you; those with different SPIRITUAL GIFTS than you; those with different PERSPECTIVES ON DEBATABLE ISSUES. In Christ we’re ALL part of one body and so it should be in a LOCAL body!
3. Third, recognize YOUR importance in the body.
EVERYONE in the body has a place—including YOU. You NEED to be IN the body, FAITHFUL to the body, and FUNCTIONING in the body—being in your place, doing your part. [MAKE A SLIDE FOR THIS.]
You might say, “Well, my part’s not very important.” There’s NO part of the body that is not important! Try losing a tiny finger, and you’ll see what I mean. Try living without a liver, or a kidney, and you’ll see what I mean.
You see, no matter how seemingly insignificant or unseen you may think you are in the body, in reality, you are really VITAL to its functioning.
• Every week, people come and clean the second floor of this building. – What would we do without them helping in that way?
• Our worship team members and our media technicians practice one night ever week and then come in at 8:30 for practices. – We have no prima donnas on our team; just regular folks who love the Lord and are willing to sacrifice and want to use their talent for God.
• Each week, our homegroup and small group leaders and hosts prepare for their homegroup and small group meetings; our teen and adult study teahcers for the 9:45 Bible Study prepare and study lessons that are helfful and revlavant and informational; and our kids teachers and helpers in Sunday School and K.I.D.S. Church prepare for their classes. – Praise God for the many people who are not only willing to teach and help, but who spend a little time each time of the month they teach preparing so that they can be, as Paul told Timothy, “a workman who is not ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
• At GBC there are volunteers who cut the grass, maintain our garden plots, fill and empty the baptistery, do building and grounds maintenance, and many other things around the church. – Thank God for every one of them!
• Every week, we have nursery volunteers who watch our littlest ones so we can worship in peace here in the main service. Can you appreciate that the nursery and pre-school childcare are two of the most critical ministries in any church, but especially in a military church with so many young families? How could we function without those volunteers?
Listen—YOU are important to the church body! Do your part! If you don’t have a place of service yet—FIND ONE! Do what you can do for God….
• If you’re a HAND in GBC, then put your hand to the plow.
• If you’re a LEG, then get a good running start for God.
• If you’re the LIVER, then get busy secreting whatever you secrete to keep the body pure. (Okay, that was a little weird!)
• If you’re a MOUTH, start talking up Jesus!
• If you’re the HEART, then get busy beating for Jesus.
In other words: GET IN THE BODY!; FIND your place of service to keep the body healthy and strong; and get busy serving God.
