Sermon series: BEHAVING LIKE A CHRISTIAN

Subject: The Christian and the Church

Romans 12:4-8 (Amplified Text)
"For as in one physical body we have many parts (organs, members) and all of these parts do not have the same function or use,
So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another].
Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith;
[He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching;
He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity and liberality; he who gives aid and superintends, with zeal and singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness and joyful eagerness."

1 Corinthians 12:12-31
"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
For in fact the body is not one member but many.
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.
And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God

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composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way."

Colossians 1:15-20
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."

Paul commenced chapter 12 of Romans with the urgent request that we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. Here is where our Christian faith begins...in a commitment to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We are to turn from the worldly things and let the Word of God transform our minds to think like and live like Christ.
When we turn our lives over to the Lordship of Christ, we become a part of God's eternal family, His Church, also called His Body.
By His Spirit, we are baptized into one Body, the Church.
Now, as members of His Body, each of us has a function to fulfill in order that His Body will function with spiritual health and strength in its mission in the world.

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For Paul, the metaphor, THE BODY OF CHRIST, expressed more graphically than anything else the essential unity both between Christ and His Church, and also between the members of His Church.
THE BODY OF CHRIST is a particularly apt phrase in the New Testament, as sometimes it refers to the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross ('you have died to the law through the BODY OF CHRIST'); sometimes it describes the fellowship experienced in the Lord's Supper ('the bread which we break, is it not a participation in the BODY OF CHRIST?'); and more often it refers to the body of believers whose unity was made possible through that cross and is beautifully expressed in that fellowship meal.
When Paul wrote about the BODY OF CHRIST, he clearly had in mind something more than the sum of believers in one place. Had this been his intention he would probably have referred to the body of Christians; but in fact he specifically writes about the BODY OF CHRIST. It seems clear that he is speaking of an organic unity, in which Christians not only belong to Christ and to one another within His body; they also abide in Him and find life in Him. Without Christ, and for that matter without His body, there is no true salvation. The Church is the BODY OF CHRIST, and Christians are inescapably and organically members of it.
In his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians, Paul uses the expression 'the church, which is His body' primarily in the sense of the universal church. Because of the particular problems facing the Christians at Ephesus and Colosse, he wants to assure them that the whole cosmos is still in the hands of Christ. Christ is 'far above all rule and authority and power and dominion', and God 'has made Him the head over all things for the church, which is His body.' Paul urges the Christians not to be deceived by gnostic heresies, but to hold fast to the Head, 'from whom the whole body...grows with a growth that is from God.' In these letters, it is Christ's headship over the whole church and His authority over all things for the whole church that is the important point. The BODY OF CHRIST is the universal Church.
In the letters to the Romans and Corinthians, however, Paul is much more preoccupied with the harmony and order of the local body of Christians. The members of the body are different, and must be so, but they all belong to the one body. The hands and feet, eyes and ears all have their essential part to play. Even the weakest members of the body are 'indispensable.'

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Their relationships must be right with one another, ‘for any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.’
Paul emphasizes three main truths about the Church. First, he outlines the necessary spiritual growth into unity and maturity that the whole body must make together. Second, he describes the variety of gifts that God has given to enable this united body to make its growth.
And third, he reminds his readers of the supreme authority of the Head of the body, Jesus Christ.
Think with me just for a moment concerning this all-important matter of unity within the Church.
Unity in a church can never for a moment be taken for granted. The whole history of the people of God, from Genesis to the present day, shows that the devil will do everything he possibly can to divide God’s family; this is the surest way of destroying the work of God on earth. Therefore, although unity has been restored and made possible for us through the cross of Jesus Christ, we, on our part, must be eager to maintain it.
True unity is founded on love. Therefore it is essential that the members of a church develop a strong love for each other. Jesus said: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
Jesus prayed: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." (John 17:20-23)
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!...For there the Lord has commanded the blessing..." (Psalm 133)
Love includes constant forgiving. The closer we draw together, the more easily we may hurt one another, and the more often we shall have to forgive and be forgiven. "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ, forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) In Christ’s Church, all must grow in their

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knowledge of Christ and of His Word:...until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles.
More than ever, the Christian must know what he believes and why he believes it. There will be no stability or maturity until he is well established in the truth of God’s Word, and until he has a deep and growing experience of this truth in his own life.
Christians must learn to be 100 percent committed both to Christ and His Church. ‘We are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.’ We need to be as committed to one another as we are to Christ, and so play our full part in the life and work of the Church.
COMMITMENT!
The Communist revolution of this century, demanded unhesitating obedience. An American student wrote a letter to his fiancée, breaking off his engagement. The letter read as follows: "We Communists have a high casualty rate. We are the ones who get shot at, hung, jailed, lynched, tarred and feathered, slandered, ridiculed, and fired from our jobs, and in every other way made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us gets killed or imprisoned; we live in virtual poverty. We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is necessary to keep us alive.
We Communists don’t have the time or money for many moves or concerts or T-bone steaks or decent homes or new cars. We’ve been described as fanatics; we are fanatics. Our lives are dominated by one overshadowing factor: the Struggle for World Communism! We communists have a philosophy of life which no amount of money could buy. We have a cause to fight for, a definite purpose in life. We subordinate our petty personal selves into a great movement for humanity. There is one thing about which I am in earnest; the Communist Cause! It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife, my mistress, my bread and my meat! Therefore I cannot continue with this relationship. I have one relationship and commitment."
With that kind of commitment we can under

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stand why the Communist revolution swallowed up nearly half the world's population in just seventy short years!
Oh! That we could see some degree of that kind of commitment from Christians expressed in their devotion and love for Christ and His Church.
In our Romans 12 text, Paul discusses the functions of the BODY OF CHRIST and shows us how each Christian contributes to the growth and spiritual maturity of the Church.
First of all, Paul urges us to know ourselves. "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." (v.3)
Inflated pride has no place in a believer's life. Any such pride would undermine the oneness vital to the growth of the church. Each believer's personal appraisal ought to be honest. Neither an inflated ego nor a deflated person is free to obey. God has given each believer a measure of faith with which to serve Him. This expression refers to the spiritual capacity and/or power given to each person to carry out his or her function in the Church. It is God's discernment, not ours, that gives out the measure for service. Whatever we have in the way of natural abilities or spiritual gifts--all should be used with humility for building up the BODY OF CHRIST.
SELF-WORTH! Healthy self-esteem is important because some of us think too little of ourselves; on the other hand, some of us overestimate ourselves. The key to an honest and accurate evaluation is knowing the basis of our self-worth--our identity in Christ.
Apart from Him, we aren't capable of very much by eternal standards; in Him, we are valuable and capable of worthy service.
Evaluating ourselves by worldly standards of success and achievement can cause us to think too much about our worth in the eyes of others and thus miss our true value in God's eyes.
In this passage in Romans 12, Paul urges us to accept ourselves and to use the gift God has given us. We are not to envy someone else's gift and regret that some other gift has not been given to us. The gift or gifts we have come from God.
Let us look at the gifts Paul singles out in our text.
PROPHESY.
It is only rarely that prophecy in the New Testament has to do with foretelling the future; it usually has to do with forth-telling the Word of God. The prophet is the man

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who can announce the Christian message with authority. It is communicating the truths of Scripture effectively. Another translation of IN PROPORTION TO HIS FAITH would be ‘in agreement to the faith’; in other words, the message communicated must be true to the tenets of the Christian faith. Anyone who is called to teach must be rigidly disciplined so as not to go beyond what God has actually revealed in Scripture.
SERVING!
"He whose gift is practical service, let him give himself to serving..." It is surely significant that practical service came to Paul's mind so high on the list. It may be that a man will never have the privilege of standing forth in public and proclaiming Christ; but there is no man who cannot every day show the love of Christ in deeds of service to his fellow man. Paul commends the Corinthians with these words: 'I urge you, brethren--you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints." (1 Corinthians 16:15)
"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10).
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42)
TEACHING! "He who teaches, in teaching." In one way or another, by one word or another, this gift occurs in each of the five New Testament lists. It is a crucial gift, of course, the more so today since the gifts of apostleship and prophecy have ceased. Ray Stedman, who in recent years pastored a congregation in the Peninsula, says that in his opinion probably a third of all Christians have this gift and should be using it. If you know anything about Jesus and the gospel, you should teach what you know, formally in a class setting, or informally by a casual word of testimony. You will be surprised what you are able to teach others.
ENCOURAGING! "He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation." Encouragement has become a rather weak word for us, usually meaning little more than giving someone a slap on the back and saying, "Good job" or "Well done." When we study the use of this word in the Bible, however, we find it is much more than this. In the New Testament, it is translated...beseech, comfort, desire, pray, entreat and console.

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It is the same word used for the Holy Spirit and His ministry in John 14-16. The New International Version translates it as Counselor, and the Greek word means "one who is called alongside another to help out." The person who has the gift of getting alongside another person to help him or her should be sensitive to the needs of hurting people and help them as much as possible.
Exhortation was the gift of Barnabas, who traveled with Paul. He was called the "Son of Encouragement." It was Barnabas who stood by John Mark to help him when Paul refused to take Mark along on one of his missionary journeys because he had deserted them earlier. Barnabas got alongside Mark, lifted him up, and reestablished him as useful servant of Christ, which Paul acknowledged later.
GIVING! "He who gives, with liberality." Paul writes to the Corinthians about this matter of giving: "But this I say; He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."
Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. (2 Corinthians 9:6-11)
In the previous chapter in Corinthians, Paul had made these comments about giving: "But as you abound in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us--see that you abound in this grace also.
I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:7-9)
HE WHO SHOWS MERCY WITH CHEERFULNESS.
There is something, some gift, some act of love and thoughtfulness, some act of sharing and giving, that will add strength and spiritual maturity to the BODY OF CHRIST.