The Body Of Christ

(An adaptation of the sermon of the same title by Pat Cook on www.SermonCentral.com)

Luke 22:19

Preparation: Choir comes down after singing. Soloist is prepared to sing "Broken and Spilled Out" later. Have table uncovered and set for Seder with Unity Napkin and four cups of wine. Have enough deacons to serve everyone a piece of matzo bread and the cup at the same time.

Introduction

Have you ever broken something like a plate or a glass? When I’m counseling couples for marriage, if I can catch the man away from his girl-friend, I give him the secret that has kept me from washing dishes all these years: Just break a nice plate or glass when you wash them, and soon she won’t call on you any more!

Most things are more valuable if they haven’t been broken. I haven’t heard of a Ming vase bringing a lot of money when it’s broken into hundreds of pieces. However, did you know that some things are more valuable when they’re broken? In preparation for our Communion with Christ today, I want us to look at what the Scripture calls “the body of Christ.” I want to show you that the Body of Christ is more valuable when it’s broken.

Please turn to Luke 22:19 and stand for the reading of my first text.

Do you remember that there are three things in the Bible called the Body of Christ? Let’s begin with the most obvious of the three:

I. THE PHYSICAL BODY OF CHRIST, HIS FLESH

We believe what Colossians 2:9 says: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God the Son, entered this world as a human baby. He remained fully God, but he became fully human as well. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And, verse 14 says: "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us." That’s one reason why I believe Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles which was usually in October, not December. Christ, who was very much God, also took on flesh. Why?

To show us how to live, how to love and forgive, how to care and to stand up for the truth. We can look to Christ in any situation and ask, "WWJD?" (What Would Jesus Do?) Then, as Sidney Sheldon wrote, we try to follow "In His Steps." But, other moral teachers have demonstrated this. Why else did Christ come?

To pay our sin debt. This debt of sin, which we all have accumulated over the years, is like a bank account. We like to have the convenience of a bank account. A problem happens when we withdraw more than we deposit. With our Heavenly Bank Account, people try to make deposits like going to church, being good, and helping those in need. And, God does credit good deeds to our account as rewards when we’re saved. But, each of us has made a withdrawal far too big to ever be repaid by good deeds. We have sinned, and sin creates a debit we can never repay. Each one of us needs someone to make a huge deposit into our spiritual bank accounts to cover our sin debt.

That’s exactly what Christ did. He absorbed the penalty due to each one of us because of our overdrawn bank account. You see, the overdraft fee is death. And, Jesus paid it for us. His physical body was broken to pay the sacrifice for our sins. When they hung him on a cross, his body was broken by nails and a spear. If Christ had only taught good living, we’d still be slaves to sin. But, he did more than talk: He died to set us free from the penalty of sin which is death and Hell, from the power of sin which makes us yield to our temptations and keep on sinning, and eventually from the very presence of sin which will be haunt us no more in Heaven.

In order for the Body of Christ to reach everyone and perform its holy task of salvation, it had to be broken. We must believe these facts, and receive him into our lives. We must ask this broken man to come and fix us where we’re broken in sin.

II. THE SPIRITUAL BODY OF CHRIST, HIS CHURCH

The second thing the Bible refers to as the Body of Christ is his Spiritual Body, his Church. First Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Believers are called the Body of Christ with Christ as our Head directing all we do. The Greek word for church, “ecclesia,” literally means “called-out ones.” If Christ has called you and you’ve come out of the world to serve him, you are his Church. You’re the Church gathered in worship on Sunday, but you’re still the Church scattered during the week. And, Scripture teaches that we are to be broken, also.