We Believe: One Holy Church
Text: 1 Cor. 12:12-27
Introduction
1. When we recite the Apostles’ Creed, we say with conviction: “I believe in the holy catholic Church.” For many, that phrase can feel confusing. What does “catholic” mean? Are we talking about a denomination? A building?
2. Why do we say those words, after all, we are Methodists and not Catholics.
3. So, what do we mean when we make this declaration?
a. We mean that we believe in a world-wide body of believers.
b. We mean that we are a part of a community of faith in Jesus Christ.
c. We believe that we will gather together, worship together, and work for the Kingdom until Jesus comes back.
4. Read 1 Cor. 12:12-27
Transition: Let’s go on a journey together as we learn what it means to be…
I. One Holy Church
A. Last week, we talked about the most misunderstood member of the Trinity. Today we will talk about the most misunderstood line of the Creed.
1. For Protestants, we see the word catholic we immediately clock out. We jump to the conclusion that we are talking about the Roman Catholic church.
2. However, we should notice that the “c” in the word is a small “c.” If we were talking about the Roman church, it would be a capital “C.”
3. So, if it’s not talking about the Roman church, what is it referring to?
4. The English word comes from a Greek word that means “universal.” Originally the word indicated that geographical extension of Christianity throughout the world.
5. However, it later referred to doctrinal purity and fulness of Christians around the world.
6. It represents the church of all true Christians in all places and in all times.
7. So, it means Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Orthodox Christians.
8. It also represents Christians in America, Europe, Russian, China, and Africa.
9. In Scripture, when it talks about the church, it’s talks about a unified group of people and not a building.
a. The one place it talks about the church being a building is in Eph. 2:21-22, which says, “We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
b. Notice that this is talking about a spiritual building and not a physical place.
c. So, remember the church is all true believers in Jesus Christ.
B. The word “holy” is the English equivalent of the Latin word sanctified. The idea behind this word is “to be separate.”
1. It tells us that we are separated to God and we belong to Him.
2. It is also means being holy in the idea of being pure.
3. No church or denomination is perfect; never has been and never will be. But this description is talking about the church as a whole, including those already in heaven.
4. “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” (Eph. 5:25-27).
5. Although we are never going to be perfect, we should strive to be holy in all we say and do, and we should strive to be as close to a New Testament church as possible.
C. Now, let’s dive into our text for today. In v. 12, Paul says, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.”
1. Here Paul compares the church to the human body.
2. He says that the human body is made up of many parts, but all the parts together make up one body.
3. We’re not all feet, all hands, or all ears. A body like that would look pretty weird and be totally useless.
4. He is saying there is diversity in the church. We are all different, but we are all necessary!
D. Next Paul says in v. 13, “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.”
1. Here Paul is talking about unity. We are all different, and we come from different backgrounds and experiences.
2. But there is one thing that holds us together, and that is the Holy Spirit.
3. We all have different gifts and things that we bring to the table, but the one thing we all have in common is that we are a part of the Christian community we call the church by the Holy Spirit.
4. We all receive the Holy Spirit when we give our lives to Christ. This makes us different from non-believers and unites us with one another.
5. The Spirit is the glue that holds us together. And if we split apart from one another, it is because we have stopped listening to the Holy Spirit.
E. Then Paul tells us something very important about the church. In vv. 14-15, he says, “Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body.”
1. Paul has been talking about the church as a body, and that the body has many parts. Each of those parts is important and valuable.
2. We all have a place in the church, and we are all important in the church functioning properly.
3. Paul is talking about the necessity of diversity in the church. He tells us that the foot can’t say I’m not a hand, so I’m not a part of the body. Because the body needs both hands and feet.
4. We cannot all be preachers. We cannot all be musicians.
5. We need people to help us function as an organization.
6. We need people to take up the offering, and we need people to count the money and make sure it gets to the bank.
7. The point is we need each other. We all have gifts and talents to make the church better. We need each other!
F. Then Paul tells another thing of great importance in vv. 18-20, “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.”
1. Here Paul says something key to the understanding of the church. He says, “God has put each part just where He wants it.”
2. To put it plainly, you are here because God wants you here. So, whether you’re a pastor, musician, secretary, treasurer, or someone who cleans the church, you are of great importance.
3. You are here because God knew we needed you!
4. Paul also says something else important, if the body only has one part it would look like a freak show.
5. It wouldn’t be a body at all because it wouldn’t be able to function.
6. God wants all of us here because we need diversity in order to function effectively.
G. Furthermore, Paul tells us in v.21 that we need each other. He tells us, “The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
1. Not only should we realize our own importance, but we also need to understand our dependence on each other.
2. Paul says, “The eye can’t say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.” In other words, we cannot say that we don’t need someone else in the body.
3. For example, I cannot say I don’t need Miss Judy, because if I did the church would be decorated in Cleveland Browns stuff, and if you don’t believe me come over to our house and look at my office!
4. However, the opposite is also true; we also can’t say, “they don’t need me.” Don’t ever say, “well, I’ll just stay home; no one will miss me!”
5. Nothing is further from the truth. I can look out from the pulpit every Sunday morning and tell you who is here…and who is not here.
6. If you’re not here it is like a body missing a limb or an eye. WE NEED YOU!
H. Then Paul makes a very keen observation in vv. 22-24, where he says, “In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.”
1. Here Paul talks about our private parts. Some might think that these parts are unimportant because we cover them up, keeping them hidden.
2. But we cover them up and don’t display them not because they don’t matter, but because they are extremely important and need to be protected.
3. If we didn’t have those parts, we would cease to exist.
4. Instead, we honor them and protect them because they are very important.
5. Paul is using this as an illustration about people in the church. Just because they aren’t paraded in front of everyone and given praise, doesn’t mean they aren’t important, but rather we would cease to exist without them.
6. Please know that I see the things you do, and I appreciate everything you do, because one, you do it better than me, and two, it allows me to do what I need to do.
I. Then Paul says in vv. 26-27, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. 27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
1. What Paul stresses here is that we are all in this together.
2. One of the things we stress often is that we are family. Whether you are flesh and blood family, or we’re all part of God’s family, we are united in Christ.
3. If one person suffers, we all suffer. Just like when you get a headache it seems like your whole-body hurts. So, it is with the body of Christ.
4. We show our unity by the way we rally around someone who is sick, hurt, or lost a loved one.
5. We help, stand by, and support one another because we are all a part of the family of God.
6. Each and every person in the body of Christ is a necessary part of the church, and we stand in unity, side by side, with one another.
Transition: Now let’s look at…
II. What This Means for Us Today
A. When we stand in unity, we mirror the Trinity and fulfill the prayer of Jesus.
1. “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” (Jn. 17:21).
2. As Jesus knelt in the Garden the night before His crucifixion and death, He prayed for us.
3. Despite what He was suffering and knew that He would suffer even more, His prayers were focused on us.
4. And the thing that He wanted most for us is that we would be united as much as He and the Father.
5. He wanted us to share in that unity and utter selflessness that He shared with His heavenly Father.
6. But when the church quarrels and bickers with one another we are doing the exact opposite of what He prayed for us.
7. And when the world sees us treating each other in that manner, it is the worst kind of detriment to our witness.
8. His desire is that we be one in spirit, word, and action.
B. It is Jesus’ desire for us to be holy and not politically and socially correct.
1. “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Pet. 1:14-16).
2. “I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God's creational intentions.” (John Wesley).
3. The greatest witness we can give to the world is to live in holiness like Jesus did.
4. But one of the great problems in the church today is there are too many of us living like the world instead of living like Jesus.
5. We’re more concerned with being relevant and not offending sinners that we are about living in godliness.
6. I agree with Wesely, that we need a revival of holiness! Revival doesn’t just get people excited, rather it changes us and transforms us to become more like Jesus.
7. If we are going to be the church Jesus wants us to be then we need to live in a way that points people to Jesus!
C. If we are going to be united as one church, we need to meet together on a regular basis.
1. “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” (Heb. 10:25).
2. There is a trend that I’ve been seeing on social media, where people are saying, “I don’t have to go to church, I just need to be the church.”
3. Well, let me tell you, if you’re not going to church you can’t be the church, because one of the things that the early church did was meet together and worshipped the Lord.
4. “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42).
5. The church was meant to live in community, not isolation! And if you think you can lay out of church and still be a disciple of Jesus, then you need to pick up your Bible and find out what a disciple looks like!
6. It’s time we start looking for reasons to go to church than reasons to stay home from church!
7. It’s time to be the church by gathering with the local church God has called you too.
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? The point is that God has saved us to be united, holy, and devoted. That is how you become one holy catholic church.
