“WHY DO WE DO THAT? – CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
1 Cor. 12:12-27
FBCF – 1/22/23
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Let’s talk about the church. It’s not a social organization, although we certainly socialize & fellowship w/ each other. It’s not a civic organization, although we strive to impact our community in many different ways. It’s not a charitable organization, although we do many acts of charity & compassion. It’s not an activist organization, although we definitely advocate for our cause. It’s not an educational organization, although we need to work hard to teach the foundational truths of what we believe.
The Church is the Body of Christ. And belonging to the Church is an incredible privilege, an unbelievable honor, & weighty responsibility that far too many of us take far too lightly. A person immediately becomes a member of the universal, invisible Body of Christ at the very moment of their salvation – invisible b/c only God can see who is truly saved & truly a member of the Body of Christ. You are instantaneously connected w/ every other Christ-follower in the world for all eternity – that’s the universal Church.
- Romans 12:4-5 – “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
But what about church membership in a visible, local church? Is that important for a Christ-follower? I would submit to you today that church membership is very important, & that’s what we are going to talk about in our next message in the “Why Do We Do That?” series.
EXPLANATION – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Reminder from last week that the church at Corinth was dealing w/ some serious problems – unity issues, immorality issues, leadership issues to name a few. Dealt w/ their Lord’s Supper problems last week.
Paul making the case in this passage that problems that develop in a church affect everyone in the church to some degree – some directly, some indirectly, some in an intense way, some in a mild way. But b/c of the nature of the Church, problems that develop & sin that is prevalent will affect all of the members of the church.
Here are 4 components of the church that help us understand what the church is & how we are interrelated to one another.
THE BODY – v. 12, 14 – Colossians 1:17-18 – “He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body.” (NLT) The analogy of the body that Paul uses shows both the unity (NIV – “one unit”) & the diversity within the Body of Christ, the Church. All the different parts of the human body are different for a purpose & they all have to work together. Same w/ the Church. We are different in so many ways – backgrounds, upbringing, male & female, racial differences, different spiritual gifts – but we all come together to work together for the advancement of the Gospel & the strengthening of the Church.
THE BAPTISM – v. 13 – There is only 1 Holy Spirit – the 3rd Person of the Trinity. And every member of the Church has been baptized by the Holy Spirit at the very moment of their salvation. In that baptism, He gives spiritual gifts to each of us INDIVIDUALLY so that each of us TOGETHER can serve Him. 1 Corinthians 12:11 – “It is the same and only Holy Spirit who gives all these gifts and powers, deciding which each one of us should have.” (TLB)
THE BELONGING – v. 15-21 – Paul then continues to drive home the point that, although we are different & have been given different spiritual gifts, we belong to each other & absolutely need each other. Ludicrous to think that the eye doesn’t need the ear, or the hand doesn’t need the foot, or the heart doesn’t need the brain. All of us who are Christ-followers belong to Him, belong to His Body, & belong to each other.
THE BENEVOLENCE – v. 22-26 – Every member of the Body of Christ matters – those w/ gifts that are more public gifts like teaching or preaching, & those w/ more “behind the scenes” gifts like giving or mercy. And no matter who you are or what gifts you have, you will, at some point, need the benevolent loving care of the other members of the Church. We should have the “same care for one another” or “equal concern for each other” (NIV). When one of us hurts, we all hurt (v. 26). And Jesus made it absolutely clear that we are to love one another at all times.
APPLICATION – Membership in a local church is an important aspect of the Christian life that every Christ-follower needs.
WHY?
IT’S BIBLICAL – NT word for church – ekklesia – “gathering” “assembly.” True, but the church is more than just a gathering – something we do on Sunday morning or, for a few folks, on Wed night. It’s a “local community of believers who gather for worship then scatter to witness” (Tony Merida). Chuck Bentley song – “We enter to worship, depart to serve.” Sign at exit of church parking lot – “You are now entering the mission field.”
This is what you see in the NT churches – believers who were connected to each other in local communities. They worshiped together, served together, witnessed together, ministered together. And while you won’t find a Bible verse that says, “Thou shalt join a church,” it’s clear that membership in a local church was important to the churches in the NT.
- Majority of letters in the NT were written to specific churches in specific locations – Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, & others.
- Another biblical reason that we know that there were specific churches that believers were members of is that offices of leadership were chosen from those who were members of the church. The 1st deacons were selected from w/in the church body. They were to care for people in the church body. 1Thessalonians 5:12 says that the members of the church should “…honor the officers of your church who work hard among you and warn you against all that is wrong.” (TLB) That admonition only makes sense if there are people who are actually members of the local church where those “officers” – pastors & deacons – serve.
- One more biblical reason for church membership is found in Jesus’ teaching on church discipline in Matthew 18:15-20 (turn there). Clear process where a person found in sin goes through steps to either restore them or remove them from the church. Again, that only makes sense if there is actual membership in a local church. Otherwise, what would the erring brother or sister removed from? And why would that person agree to go through a process at all if they weren’t intimately connected to a local church body?
IT’S MEANINGFUL – When we consider Paul’s analogy of the body, we readily see that each member has a meaningful, important place in the body. We may feel like our part is insignificant. But if that insignificant part of the body is taken away or isn’t functioning properly, the entire body is affected & weakened & made more vulnerable.
- Take your pupil – Tiny part of your body – 2-4 mm in bright light, 4-8 mms in darkness. Functions like an aperture on a camera, allowing the right amount of light into our eyes so that we can see clearly. If pupils aren’t working properly, eyes can be damaged causing vision problems leading to other problems.
- Take your nose hairs – Tiny, mostly out of sight, but serve an important purpose of filtering dust & allergens, keeping them from getting to your lungs, which we’d all agree are pretty important parts of our bodies.
- Take your capillaries – Smallest blood vessels in your body, but absolutely necessary for transporting nutrients & oxygen to the cells & organs in your body.
You understand what I’m saying & what Paul was saying. No part of the body is unimportant. In the same way, every member of the church has a meaningful place in the body & should strive to contribute to the health & strength of Church. Being meaningfully connected to a local, visible church is the way to do that.
IT’S IDENTIFIABLE – Membership in a visible, local NT church is the church’s affirmation that you are, in fact, a follower of Jesus Christ. Those who are accepted into membership here are people whom we believe have a personal relationship w/ Jesus & are, therefore, true “card-carrying” Jesus Representatives to the world. It shows that you are serious about representing Jesus b/c you want to be publicly identified w/ His people.
- You join a sports team – you put on the jersey – you identify yourself as a member of that team - & you get out on the field or the court & play for that team w/ your other teammates.
- You join yourself to Jesus Christ – you put on His garments of grace – you identify yourself as a member of His team, the local church - & you get busy serving Him w/ your fellow church members.
IT’S ACCOUNTABLE – We all need accountability. We need to have people in our lives who are watching over us, who lovingly pointing our blind spots & danger zones, & who are speaking truth into our lives, even if it’s hard truth. Being a member of a local church automatically brings those people into your life.
IT’S BENEFICIAL – Being a member of a local church is just good for you. It provides much-needed components for a strong walk w/ Jesus:
- Spiritual nourishment
- Service opportunities
- Sincere relationships
- Strong support
IT’S JOYFUL – v. 26b – “…every part rejoices w/ it” – Tony Merida – “Belonging to a church means investing your life in a Gospel-centered community of believers who joyfully serve one another & advance Jesus’ mission together” (Love Your Church, p. 25).
CONCLUSION – So, today is an opportunity for you to become a member of the church if you’ve never done so.
- For some of you, that means joining the visible church here at FBCF. You’re a believer, you’ve been worshiping w/ us, & now it’s time to take that step & unite w/ us.
- For others, you need to join the invisible Church, the Body of Christ. You need to be saved today.
