The Body of Christ (Church)
1 Corinthians 12:12-19
Ephesians 4:
Good morning, I am glad you’re here today-
Were continuing our message on the church- last week we hit it hard.
That the church was the idea and plan of God for His people and those who wanted to find a relationship with God.
It is a building that you come too, a physical place to worship;
A place to get saved and be disciple to be more Christ-like.
It is an intentional place- you have got to get up out of the bed and go to church.
The church is a place that can change your life.
It is also a place inside a believer where the Spirit of the living God is dwelling where God is not limited by walls.
If this church building crumbled to the ground, we should still be the church.
We should not miss a beat with Him.
You cannot be the church if you are only staying in a holy huddle in any building.
The church has been under attack but don’t you think for a minute that the devil will ever shut the church down because Jesus himself said that the gates of hell itself will not prevail against the church that Jesus Christ Himself started.
I said last week that most of the world has the wrong idea of the church and what the church should be doing and how believers should be acting.
Some of that is our fault because the church universal has not been clear on what it mission is and how and by what power that we will achieve it.
In a day and age of technology, it has become too easy for some to just get a sermon, get a word of encouragement, check off an internal box that we have heard a message.
What if anything are you going to do with what you heard?
Jesus don’t want to hear from us about the hypocrites coming to church- there is room for one more! Each one of us has been or is a hypocrite in some area of our lives till Jesus stepped in and helped us.
Church is for those unsaved a place to find the Lord and those who know the Lord should be a place to be able to grow and be taught the things of God.
Church is to be in His house of worship and preparing ourselves for life in a world that is in chaos.
That can get messy because people are involved.
People blame the Lord for a lot of things- that happen inside of church. When people come into God’s house with wrong motives and bad attitudes- things happen that don’t please God and people get hurt.
It is not what the Lord intended but it happens and the closer we walk with Jesus we can forgive those that have hurt us and we can move into ministry to see people do amazing things in the name of Jesus.
The Church that Christ started-
Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them as they gathered together in one place-
Acts 2:1- “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” and the Holy Spirit fell on them, meaning that the Holy Spirit now dwelled within them.
They began to do amazing things- things beyond what they could in their own strength and wisdom.
Scattered- they were forced by persecution to move and go into all the world.
The scattered church that is ordained and instituted by God to go make a difference in the world is now sent out to be the church in the world.
The second part of last week message- Being the body of Christ- believers sent out, called out to BE THE BODY OF CHRIST.
There is only one way to be the body of Christ and that is by The Holy Spirit directing us in every area of life and ministry.
Paul reminds us of the believer’s freedom- 1 Corinthians 10:22-23
“I have the right to do anything, you say- but not everything is beneficial. I have a right to anything- but not everything is constructive.”
1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about the gifts in the church to help us be who we are suppose to be in Christ.
You cannot be the church without Christ being the head of the body-
Colossians 1:18-
“He is the head of the church, and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in EVERYTHING.”
Open your bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12-19 (Read clearly)
Teachers taught today and the worship team led us in worship this morning- they are a part of the body of Christ giving opportunity for each one of us to grow and draw closer to the Lord.
Each one of us plays a part- each part is important.
We need each other- don’t let the devil lie to you and tell you that you don’t need church and you don’t need to be in a small group- you don’t need to get up early and study the bible with people of like minded faith. Because if he is allowed to do that you will not be prepared eternity and you will not be ready for what the Lord is calling you to do.
If you still have your bibles open flip ahead a little bit and turn to Ephesians 4:11-13
3 things important about the body of Christ
Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers to:
Equip His people for works of service
Built up in unity of faith
Create Mature believers in the fullness of Christ
Equip His people for service
What does it mean to equip believers?
Description: By definition to equip means- "to provide someone with what they need to fulfill their purpose.
"But not just any purpose…a God-given purpose.
A purpose that is much greater than anything you could have ever asked or imagine
How does He equip believers?
The Word. Equipping believers must start with and be based on the Word of God. ...
Small Groups. Jesus called the original twelve disciples into a small group that got up close time with Him. ...
Mission. Jesus engaged His disciples in mission early on in His earthly ministry. ...
Serving. ...We are not saved by serving but because we are saved we should be serving!
Mentoring.- Everyone of us needs a mentor and everyone of us should be mentoring someone at some level.
That is discipleship- a disciple in training and prepared for service. We are saved by God’s wonderful grace-
What are the 6 D's of discipleship?
Six keys of discipleship—(1) desire, (2) discernment, (3) decision-making, (4) discipline, (5) dwelling in the Word, and (6) dependence on the Holy Spirit.
You will never be able to be equipped or prepared for what the Lord wants for you if you don’t have these six things active in your life.
Built up in unity of faith
What does it mean to build up in faith?
At the very basis of our relationship with God is having faith in what Jesus Christ has done on the cross, His physical resurrection, and His physical ascension to sit at the right hand of the Father and intercede for us.
Because of that truth and belief lived out, we believe He has a plan for those who seek him. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
How do you build yourself up in faith?
You build self discipline, convictions and boundaries.
You build yourself up in the faith by joining with others who by faith journey together and in unity and power of the Holy Spirit help us walk closer to Jesus.
Spiritual growth happens by knowing, doing the word of God. It is made easier because we gather with others of like-minded faith to journey with you.
Christ the head of the Church
Christ the head of the body of Christ
Christ the head of our individual life
In unity under Christ we journey together and build ourselves up in faith through Christ!
In my long…long… long years on this earth, Yes I am so old that I remember a telephone hanging on the wall and you could not put it in your pocket! As a kid, you pick up the phone and there could be a voice you did not know talking on your phone using your phone line! When the phone rang…you did not know who was on the phone until you picked it up and said hello! Blows your mind!
I have learned by trial and error that it is not smart to do spiritual things on your own. You have a target on your back. The enemy will isolate and try to destroy.
We say we are smart and we pretend to have it all together but if we were truly smart would you not want to learn by other people mistake instead of your own? If someone could warn you and tell you don’t do this it does not work, how smart are you if you do the same thing expecting a different result.
The prisons are full of people who said it won’t happen to me. So why not take the help?
Create mature believers in the fullness of Jesus
Be Christ-like!
To be a Christian means to be Christ-like.
It means to follow Christ (Mirror Jesus) (reflection of who we are trying to be like)
Self-denial
Bearing a banner of love, honoring Christ by unselfish words and deeds.
In the life of the true Christian self is dead as there was no selfishness in the life that Christ lived while on this earth.
No Lord is an oxymoron- you cannot tell the Lord no when He asks you to do something!
I die daily to my selfish ways and desire in faith to be more Christ-like as I am following and being obedient to Him.
Illustration-
To pour concrete you must first design a form- what you want the finished concrete slab to look like. It takes shape by the designer not the concrete itself because without a form it would be a mess that just gets hard. It looks like it is supposed to after the creator forms it and works through the process of maturing the concrete.
Illustration
A FAMOUS general, Douglas MacArthur, was meeting his foe, a Japanese general. The meeting was set up for the Japanese general to officially surrender. The Japanese general stuck out his hand to shake MacArthur’s hand and MacArthur said, “I cannot shake your hand, sir, until you first surrender your sword.” We can’t be friends as long as that sword is hanging by your side. Give me the sword and then we’ll shake hands.
A lot of us want to shake God’s hand while we carry our sword, the sword of our will. We must surrender our wills to God before we can be in complete fellowship with Him.946
General MacArthur
Believe me, sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed.
Close-
Why do we do these things- build up each other in faith, be in unity of our faith and know what we believe, be mature Christ-like believers?
Ephesians 4:14 puts the finishing touches on why…
(14)- “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
THE CHURCH- THE PYSICAL PLACE YOU PURPOSFULLY COME FAITHFULLY IS-
A place where the word is preached
A place of repentance
A safe place to find Jesus
A place to worship
A place for prayer with others
A place to serve/ get involved
A place to grow spiritually
A place you allow the Lord to correct, rebuke, and reset you for service.
Prayer-
