One Body - THERE'S NO "I" IN ONE (Eph 4:4a)

Hey, good morning everybody. We're gonna officially start the service now. So, first of all, of course, we want to welcome you to 12 -5.

I don't know about you, but I look forward to this every Sunday, every Wednesday. So, the first thing we're gonna do is do some announcements.

The first three are for new members, sorry, new guests. So, if this is you, then of course, these first three are for you.

So, if you're new here, we want you to fill out a connection card. Obviously, this lets us get to know you a little better.

It allows us to pray for you and your family, and of course, like the name of the card, it allows us to connect with you if we need to, if we need to reach out to you.

Also, again, if you're new, something we do different here is we have a Koinonia Feast. So, it's a time of Christian fellowship, and you leave not only spiritually fed, but also physically fed.

So, please stay for the meal afterwards. Then, the third thing, again, if you're not new, or sorry, if you're new to 12 -5, stay after the feast.

We have a sermon discussion. So, it's a good time where we can ask questions. You know, we can dive deeper into the sermon.

We don't leave anything unturned. So, if there's any questions, no matter how tough, I think they actually enjoy it the tougher it is. So, be sure to stay for that.

That's always an interesting time. Every Tuesday, this building is open for prayer. So, it's from 7 a .m.

to 8 a .m. When I know, you know, get work and kids dropping off, but if you can make it here, it's a great time where we pray for the church, we pray for each other.

If you got something, if you need prayer, or want us to help pray for something, then obviously glad to do that.

Wednesdays. So, we got three different things on Wednesday. So, the last and final new member class is this

Wednesday. So, be in prayer for those people going through that. Our church is growing.

It's exciting. I think we got seven new people going through right now. So, just pray for them. They would, you know, do what the

Lord has willed for them if they come here or not. Also, if you want to learn more about 12 .5

and what we do, then, of course, the leaders here are welcome to ask or answer any questions anytime. So, I think the new member class is offered once a quarter.

So, if you missed this time, then it should be offered in roughly two months or so. Wednesday nights, again, adults are going through.

We meet here at 6 .30, and we're going through a book called Everyone's a Theologian by R .C. Sproul. This is chapter 26.

Adam, who's working the street out there, is teaching this Wednesday. So, it'd be great. And that chapter is called

The States of Christ, you know, the pre -incarnate state, you know, all the different states. I think there's a bunch of different ones listed in the book. So, it's pretty amazing.

And then, Wednesday nights, also, the youth, which is kids 10 and up, you know, they meet over at the big house, and they are currently going through First John with Jeremiah.

And just on a personal note, if you've got youth and you're new visiting 12 .5, then

I feel like that there's not a better place for our kids to be at than with Jeremiah. He's a great teacher.

And so, anyways, September 21st through the 23rd is G3 Conference. We'll leave on the 20th, come back later that evening.

I believe most of us are doing that. And then, finally, we are going to pray for a local church.

I don't know if this can be on the screen or not. Needham Baptist Church. So, yeah, we're going to lift them up in prayer now, and then we'll start our singing,

I believe. So, all right. All right. So, Lord God, we just want to lift up Needham Baptist Church.

Specifically, I'm going to start off with the leaders, God, just that you'll protect them, you'll bless their marriage, and you would help them to grow deeper in your word.

And that depth of growth and knowledge and excitement about your word would be contagious and spill over to the congregation,

God. And I do want to lift up the saints at Needham, that you would use them, that they would be encouraged for us praying for them and encourage them to run the race well.

And that we would, in turn, be encouraged by how you use them to draw people to yourself, God. And we just thank you, again, for the new members going through the class, the growth we're experiencing here at 12 .5,

the spiritual and physical growth, the new numbers and people. But most of the spiritual growth, God, you're moving in families and working.

God, I pray you'd bless this time today, and you would be with us here in Jesus' name. Amen. Practice the ordinance of baptism.

And today, Nathan Hartness, I almost called you your brother's name. I'm sorry,

Nathan. Come on. You'd think I'd remember Nathan. You're right. Come on, Nathan. Well, baptism, obviously, this is an ordinance of the church representing what has taken place in the act of salvation that God has wrought in your heart and in most of our hearts, if not all in here.

And this act is not salvific in any way. These are just waters. This is representing what has taken place in our lives and in our hearts.

It's the old way being brought into something new.

And so, Nathan, I ask you this morning, did Jesus pay your debt at the cross?

Yes. Amen. Are you trusting in the finished work of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection?

Amen. Amen. His life, death, and resurrection, this is what it represents.

Right? We step into these waters and we go into death just as he did for us and then raised, resurrected.

Praise God. Well, come on. Let's step in here. I think it should be warm.

Is it all right? All right. Well, go ahead. Let's sit down here. Nathan, is

Jesus Christ interceding on your behalf at the right hand of the Father at this moment? Praise God.

Praise God. Well, brother, here, bring your hands together. That's all right. Brother, I baptize you in the name of the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried with Christ, raised to walk in newness of life.

Amen. Go up. All right. I give you a hug here. That's all right.

You can step out on that side where you got that. You need a towel here. I'll hand it to you. Praise God. What a celebration.

Amen. Amen. Well, God is good and God is saving those around us.

The gospel is going forward. Well, go ahead. Let's stand as we begin our service with a call to worship.

Our call to worship is just as the one we did last week, a read in response of Ephesians chapter 4 verses 4 through 7, where Paul says, there is one body and one spirit.

And we have been called to the one hope, Jesus Christ. To one

Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. He is over all.

Grace was given to each one of us and all

God's people said, let's pray a prayer of adoration before we sing to our great God. Dear heavenly

Father, we come before you today and we are so thankful for this beautiful imagery that you've given us in baptism.

And showing us that you have redeemed a people for yourself. Father, we thank you.

We've been called to this one hope, Jesus Christ. God, and you've brought us together with one

Lord, one faith, one baptism and one Father. We worship the triune

God this morning. For you have accomplished that great saving work in our lives and in our hearts.

We thank you, Father. Be honored in our worship today in Christ's name. Amen. Adored Son of God and Son of Man No one tempted in the garden

Never yielded, never sinned He who makes the many righteous

Brings us back to life again Dying he reversed the cursed and the rising crushed the serpentine

Christ the true and everlasting Humble son of sacrifice

He would climb the fearful mountain

Where to offer up his life

Their salvation was provided Is Christ's story is the glory

God is for us

The father's love is a strong and mighty fortress Raise your voice now

No love is greater Who can stand against us? Our God is for us

So Even when

I Is Your death

Death Our God is for us The father's love is a strong and mighty fortress

Raise your voice now No love is greater You can stand against us

With joy now Kings and nations tremble at his voice

All creation Rises to rejoice

Seated on his throne Come let us adore

Nothing can compare come let us

Question All his wondrous

Nothing God eternal

Is Seated on his throne come let us

Nothing can compare Come let us

We know that all the dark won't stop my life from getting through Is I'm within our midst.

Is it good that we remind ourselves? Is anyone able to break the seal

Is And try

Is I'm the sound man forgot to turn my own cell phone fire the bum

That's what I say. Anyways, it's wonderful to be in in the house today the house of the lord Um, we're typically reading through psalms in our scripture reading and we're taking a little bit of a deviation today we've been preaching and learning through ephesians and you know, that was our receptive reading today and that we're going to Kind of skip and go back to ephesians just a little bit because it has so much to do with what nathan will be

Preaching today. So i'll be reading in ephesians 2 starting in verse 14 It says for he himself is our peace

Who has made us both? One and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances That he might create in himself one new man in place of the two so making peace

And he might reconcile us both to god in one body through the cross thereby killing the hostility

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near For through him we both have access in one spirit to the father

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens But you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of god built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets christ jesus himself

Being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the lord in him

In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for god by the spirit amen

Do me a favor Raise up your copy of god's word whether that be digital or actual scripture there

Glad to see so many in here have those You see this is the only way that you are going to know if what

I say today is true That's the source We obviously don't put the text up on the screen while we're preaching we do that on purpose because we want you to be

Learning how to study god's word. That's part of the preaching of god's word on sundays Teaching the saints equipping the saints for that good work and learning what it means

To study god's word and if you've been here for any amount of time, you know This isn't the type of place where you come and passively consume everything in this service is structured and geared towards Corporate engagement notice.

We don't do special music here. We don't do Anything that there is somebody doing something and then the

Audience or congregation being passive consumers Everything is purposeful.

You may say well, you're the only one preaching pastor. How is that? Not being passive consumers.

Well, we believe every one of you in here are called to be an expositional listener

I'm preaching expositionally through scripture. You're to listen expositionally you are participating in this and that's why we go to god's word

This is an essential part of god's gathering, isn't it? Is it yeah, i've got a couple of amens over here.

I expected that one amen This is god's word. Well, go ahead with that being said open your copy of god's word to ephesians chapter 4

Well, keith just read a passage earlier on that we've covered previously, but now we have made it to chapter 4

I think today is week 29 of our study through this great letter And uh, and we covered the first three verses of chapter 4 last week

But I want us to read starting in verse 1 again on through verse 6 to get the context of what paul is saying

Where paul says I therefore a prisoner for the lord Urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness with patience bearing with one another in love

Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace But there is one body one spirit

Just as you were called to the one hope That belongs to your call one lord one faith

One baptism one god and father of all who is over all and through all and in all

This is the reading of god's holy inspired word, let's let's stop again. Let's pray Let's go to the source again ask that we would be able to comprehend this great truth dear heavenly father we come to you now and we

We acknowledge That we are Fallible people and with that comes fallible interpretations of your infallible true word

And so god we ask right now that you would Through the power of the holy spirit that is within us

Allow us to see it in truth Lord, I pray that I would speak only truth from your word today.

I pray that you would be honored in it christ's name amen Well, that's as I said a moment ago last week

We looked at verses one through three where we saw paul urging us as believers to walk in a way to walk in a manner

That is worthy of this calling And and we spent a moment examining what this calling is and we saw that it was to suffer

Now that's that is the the theme in the new testament calling christians to suffer because our savior suffered, right?

And we're to do so as paul says with all humility With gentleness patience and enduring one another in love

And looking to our savior who is an example of that And our savior has he's the one that has exemplified all of those attributes perfectly, hasn't he?

After all they are the fruit of the spirit And this is for the purpose

Of guarding that great unity that paul goes on to talk about in verse three And and it's that unity that is already ours, isn't it?

That unity that is already ours through the indwelling of the holy spirit And paul goes on He's grounded all of this and all of this theology hasn't he?

He's grounded it and all that he's been laying out that we've looked at over the past few months in chapters one through three

Of all of the information about god. How has god saved us? What has god done?

How has god worked in the lives of believers all of this information leads us?

To striving for this humility and patience and long -suffering And striving for unity

Which is why I started off chapter four with therefore Tying it all back together, but but didn't start off with with theology.

He actually sandwiches the theology this call to unity with the

With this this very interesting crescendo of nouns that we see starting in verse four

He does this in in three separate groupings If you look at it, you see the first two groups in verses four and five consisting of three specific nouns each one

Ending with a seventh there in verse six Now many theologians have surmised that paul did this on purpose of course seeing as how the number seven represents completion in scripture

Let me take that as you will i'm not going to read too much into that I'm far more concerned and for interested in what we do know to be certain about what paul is saying here in these verses

Paul's thought ascends from this realization of unity in the spirit there in verse four

To focus on the unity of the son in verse five And ultimately to the source of unity in the father there in verse six

All the while emphasizing at each one a singular word

Now when you see a word repeated in scripture We need to pay very special attention to it.

Don't we? every single word in scripture is obviously important, but When the writers wanted us to pay special attention or focus on that word or thought they would use

Repetition to drive our attention Further into there And what is that word that we keep seeing over and over here?

What is it? one The word one is repeated

Seven different times in core in connection with each one of these nouns that he represents

So over the next seven weeks, we are going to look at each one of these ones

We're going to have a little mini series in the midst of our bigger series Paul here is identifying the very source of our unity

And if we as a church here at twelve five as believers that have covenanted together

Are to guard that unity as paul has told us to do we must have a firm grasp on how and why?

We are doing so And I mentioned last week how unity often alludes us doesn't it?

It's like um, it's like picking up sand in your hand. Remember the analogy We always try and strive for unity as if it's something

External and mechanical we pick it up and the and the harder we try and grip that unity and hang on to it

The sand just makes its way through our fingers doesn't it and falls back to the ground?

That's how we treat unity often but we strive to be unified because we're trying to create unity instead of realizing that we all

Are already unified in christ, aren't we? It is not something external and mechanical

It is something internal and organic And the reason that's so hard for us to see

I believe is because we have a poor doctrine of the church A very poor doctrine of the church our our individualistic culture

Is has has crept into the church. It happens in every generation in every church

It makes its way we're human after all we live in a world in a broken world And it makes its way into the church and and and it's created a doctrine of the church after its own image is what has happened

It's created a church that is filled with selfish blind consumers Unfortunately, that is often the case

Selfish in that they're willing to give up of their time the people in that church The christians are willing to give up of their time as long as it's convenient for them

Don't push me to the limits on giving of my time They're willing to give of their money

Some of them very few these days anymore. They're willing to give up their money as long as it's not too much of a sacrifice

They're blind in that they just they trust whatever the pastor says If the pastor says it that must be true at least as long as it doesn't hit too close to home

Then it makes you mad and then you leave and go find another pastor. That'll tickle your ears That's church, isn't it?

Blind in that they assume that theology is only for the elite. It's only for the pastors

They're just content with their beth more devotional Consumers in that the sunday gathering has become nothing more than a show to attend

Or not attend if the weather's good Or if their children if their child has a game

Rarely if ever serving and using their god -given gifts for the rest of the church you see what the culture has

Created a doctrine of the church and it's permeated into the life of so So many churches

And if you think we're above any of that you're sorely mistaken Listing these things off.

It's not meant for condemnation. I'm not trying to create guilt trips here. That's not the purpose of this

I'm simply pointing out the obvious distinction between what many consider church today

And the doctrine of the church that is spoken about in the new testament We have to see that there is a massive contrast between what paul lays out as a doctrine of the church

And what we perceive today as a doctrine of the church because one is guarding that unity as paul told them to one doctrine of the church is guarding is is maintaining the unity of the spirit and the other is

Smashing it with a self -righteous sledgehammer of self as a sacrificial act of worship for its god self

And paul points to this with the very first one that he proclaims And what is the first one?

What's the first one he points to in verse four body one body

You want to be unified? Well, here's the doctrine of the church Here's the church

This is actually why we chose to name, uh 12 5 12 5 isn't it?

We chose that because of romans 12 5 which you can see it over here We though many are one body in christ and individually members one of another

And we did that on purpose because our prayer was that that we would be consistently reminded of what we're doing here a constant reminder of the doctrine of the church

What is this what are we doing How should we function? How should we see each other?

How should we engage with each other? How should we interact? How should we live out our lives? How should we sacrifice?

You see we may be a group of individual believers, but we do not belong to ourselves That's hard in an individualistic culture, isn't it?

It's me. It's selfish. It's what I want. It's my comfort You know I I don't

I can't participate in that in that way in the body because that's going to take away from what

I want in some way We don't belong to ourselves. We belong We are part of as scripture teaches a body

One body So i've titled the next seven weeks here as you can see there is no

I In one it's a bit of a play on an old adage. There is no

I in team I'm, assuming you've all heard that phrase. There is no I in team

Saying that hey when you're a team, there is no individual within that team However, this falling this this saying falls short very short of what we're talking about Because we're not talking about a team here.

We're talking about a singular organism This is different this isn't just a group of people that That you've come and agreed on like terms

And have a common goal. That's not how the new testament speaks of us as believers

That's not what that's about it's not a team it's a body It's a body in which you and I if we are in christ have been made a part of this body

We've been brought into this body. We see this no more clearly than in paul's letter to the church in corinth

And we're going to look at chapter 12 in a moment, but turn with me in your bible I want us to kind of build up to chapter 12 turn to first corinthians chapter 1 with me first Because I want us to see the reason for paul's letter to the to the christians in corinth

And I think we see a great similarity to the church today Because in the church at corinth there was much trouble

And I would argue that much of that trouble Came from them not understanding the doctrine of the church, which is why

I believe paul writes this letter to them And so in first corinthians chapter 1

Look with me at verse 10 We see the reason he writes this I appeal to you brothers now notice that paul is saying brothers.

He's talking to christians right He's talking to to people that he's assuming are in christ and so he's not just throwing these people under the bus no matter how

Just because they're wicked and they have no understanding of the of the doctrine of the church. No, he's calling them brothers

He says by the name of our lord. Jesus christ That all of you agree

And that there be no divisions among you But that you be unified united in the same mind

And the same judgment and notice he says that there he doesn't say there be few divisions among you

He says there are no divisions among you Without exception That is the rule no divisions look down at verse 12

What I mean is that each one of you? says Oh, I follow paul

I follow apollos. I Follow cephas or I follow christ you can imagine those guys you everybody probably then like oh, come on He just jesus juked us on that one, right?

I follow christ and then verse 13. He says is christ divided Was paul crucified for you

Or were you baptized in the name of paul? I love how paul feels as though he's being a little facetious here like come on guys.

Let's think about this real quick You see the similarity to us today though in these few verses

Why don't you think about it for a second? I follow calvin

I follow wesley I follow arminius

I follow macarthur You see it

Same pattern, isn't it? Was macarthur crucified for you, what does this say about us as christians today?

What does this say that we like the church at corinth Put more stock in how we follow and in who we follow and divide

Amongst the body depending upon that particular man And shun the other

Because they follow apollos Oh, I follow paul Oh you follow apollos, okay

And I have my own group What does it say about us though as christians?

What's the same thing that paul goes on to tell them in chapter three? What does he say at the beginning of chapter three tells them that they're infants in the faith?

Remember paul he's encouraged the saints when he writes to grow up into mature manhood to grow up in understanding the truth

Understanding theology having your mind renewed and to be mature in the faith looking to christ and being unified in the faith

That's mature manhood. But now he tells them the church at corinth. You're divided because you're infants

You aren't ready for the meat of the word You're not ready for the depths of god's word because you're not even being obedient to the very smallest commands

And look at verse three of chapter three It says for you are still of the flesh

For for while there is jealousy and strife among you now, how many churches have you ever been in where there's not jealousy and strife?

Right and how many of those churches actually just allowed that jealousy and strife to simmer Right Infants, that's what the church at corinth was.

He says it's among you Are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

We're not so different. Are we? maybe maybe many of the christians in In our culture today are not quite as spiritually mature as they would think they are

Maybe we're just infants in many ways Just like the church in corinth look at verse four

For when one says I I follow paul and another I follow a polis

Are you not being merely human? Saying you're are you not just living in the flesh?

You're not living by the spirit You're living by the flesh according to the flesh When you when you say that you follow me or you follow a polis look at verse five

What then is a polis? What is paul? Right? What is wesley?

What is calvin? servants Through whom you believed

Remember, he's speaking to believers. They may be immature believers, but they're believers nonetheless And he's saying who are these people who are these people that you follow so greatly who is john mccarthur

A servant through whom you believed. That's it It's simply a man pointing you

To christ and and let me say this it's okay to admire and imitate these men

It's okay in the areas of their life and faith that are imitating the savior And that's what paul's getting at here

And paul spends the next few chapters that we see in between here addressing all of the these these worldly things that are going on in the church because of their

Immaturity because they're not understanding the doctrine of the church and the unity He's just breaking down all of these things as he goes on ultimately leading up to chapter 11

Where he addresses the most grievous corporate sin You see their disunity and immaturity

Now leads them to make a mockery of the ordinance of the lord's table Look, look at chapter 11 verse, uh verses 20 and 21 he says when you come together

You know, he's talking about the lord's supper, right? When you come together and you're gathered on sunday morning

Is it not the lord's supper that you eat it or he says it is not the lord's supper that you eat

They think they're going and they're partaking in the lord's supper like we do Every single week, but he's saying it's not

You think it is but it's not He's looking verse 21 for in eating Each one goes ahead with his own meal

One goes hungry Another gets drunk See the church in corinth was so disunified.

They didn't even pretend unity at the lord's table They didn't even bother it with it that's how immature and infantile they were in their faith and their doctrine of the church

They didn't even understand the reason and the purpose of the lord's table They didn't comprehend it.

You see what was happening here Let me give you a kind of a breakdown the wealthy would sit at their tables with excess food because when back then when they would

They did kind of like what we do with koinonia feast. They called it the love feast That's what the church did every week.

They ate together period but what they began to do was was Bring the lord's supper and intertwine it with that meal

So they made it an entire meal Okay, and the wealthy had tables and the wealthy had excess and food so much excess that they were they were gluttons

Eating all of their food up and all of this stuff and they were drunk They were sitting there partaking of the wine and you know

We got our wine and a little bitty a little bitty cup here a little bit But they're sitting there drinking in excess to the point to where many of them are becoming drunk on the lord's day

They even had divisions of class within these tables Like this particular culture of people gets at that table.

It's like it's like going to a public high school, right? You've got the cool kids at that table. You've got the nerds over here

You know, you've got the jocks over here You've got these sects within all of this this this whole group and this is exactly what the church in Corinth was doing

With the lord's supper and they're sitting there in excess all the while the poor Sat on the outskirts watching because they didn't have access to the food

And they're claiming this is the lord's table You can see what a small view of the doctrine of the church they had

They didn't even understand this the unifying nature of this

And I think sometimes we look at this and I lay it all out and we think oh man we would never do that And we have koinonia feast and man

I invite everybody in the church to come over and sit with me Even if they're a guest this is great We don't have those types of divisions all the while we avoid certain people in our own church because they're different from us

We don't have deep abiding relationships with someone because we don't we just don't seem to mesh Our personalities are too different You may say well well pastor good thing.

I don't struggle with that Pastor I fellowship with every person in this church Well, praise god

That's awesome. Great Now what about your brothers and sisters who don't believe in the doctrines of grace

And reformed theology, what about them do you fellowship with them

Or do you just argue with them all the time trying to beat it over their heads trying to make them believe it What about your brother and sister who believe in the ongoing gifts of the spirit?

You fellowship with them Are they a part of this body? Or any such thing that doesn't distort the gospel of faith alone in christ alone

There you've you've been around here for any amount of time, you know, i'm not talking about some open -ended

Ecumenical like we're we're all jesus lovers. We draw hard lines you distort the gospel in any way

And we're going to act like jude Treating you the way jude told us to treat you. We're we are going to call you to repentance

And we are acknowledging we do not have fellowship Light has no fellowship with darkness and distortion of the gospel is darkness, right?

But that's not always the case Sometimes sometimes we're drawing lines in places where we have no business drawing lines

I'll be honest with you. I've been convicted of this lately As i've been going through ephesians and seeing the doctrine of the church more and more and seeing the unity of the body

I'm convicted I'm drawing lines and sometimes I don't draw hard lines.

I say well, no we're brothers I don't really have any kind of meaningful fellowship with That brother or sister

It's hard for us Yes, they may be immature

Uh saints they may have a a low view of of salvation But if they are in christ, we already are unified with them.

I don't have to create unity What i'm doing is i'm not guarding the unity That already exists between me and them

I'm the one that's the problem I'm the one causing division And that's hard Well paul finally gets to chapter 12 look at chapter 12 with me

Where we see this this similar verse in chapter 12 verse 12 To our namesake romans 12 5 very similar passage

As paul writes here in first corinthians 12 12 For just as the body is one

And has many members hands Knees feet eyes nose ears

And all the members of the body though many are one body

One body And he says so it is with christ what does paul mean there

What What does paul mean? So it is with christ Well think back to what we we we talked about in ephesians chapter 1 verse 22 where he says when he's talking about jesus

And he put all things under jesus's feet and gave him as head over all things to the church

And what is the church? The body Christ is the head of the church is what paul's getting at there in verse 12

So it is with christ christ is one christ body has been brought together in union

There are many members, but we are all members of one organic body

Look at verse 13 there For In one spirit, which we're going to deal with next week

We were all baptized into one body And he explains this he says jew or greeks

Slaves are free And all were made to drink of one spirit

I love paul just continues to drive this doctrine of the church home one one

There's no eye in one. I'm not an individual any longer I can't see myself as as as what nathan wants or what nathan desires.

I can't see my life belonging to me My life belongs to this body That jesus is the head of And we drink of one spirit

We're at that same source that that indwelling holy spirit that we talk about all the time here is the same

Holy spirit that is in our brother and sister that's meeting to worship somewhere else in town right now Now now their structure of church and their ecclesiology

And their understanding of salvation may not be fully formed. Maybe they are an immature saint

Yes, but they're part of the one spirit We're tied to them in one body

Look at verse 15 If the foot should say Because I am not a hand.

I do not belong to the body That would not make it any less a part of the body

And if the ear should say because I am not an eye. I do not belong to the body

That would not make it any less part of the body Hold on there for a second. What is paul saying?

Paul's paul's giving us an example of ourselves the individual that piece the ear the hand the eye those those

Differing parts in the body that have differing functions sometimes in the church. What do we do?

Well, i'm My role isn't the same role as the pastor has So I guess

I really don't have as much to bring the body as he does You realize

You realize that whatever part of the body that I'm I am and pastor jeremiah is Whatever part of that body we are

Completely and thoroughly rely upon you as part of that body We can't function without you

We may we may be the mouth piece who knows what that is. I don't know how it looks I'm, just using analogies like paul is maybe we're the mouth

Well, that mouth is meaningless If it's just a mouth setting there jabbering like the little you know Little teeth that click when you wind them up and hop all over the table.

It means nothing We can't proclaim the gospel We need the entirety of the body that is one unit that is able to go out and proclaim the good news, right?

We desperately need each other look at verse 17 If the whole body were an eye where would be the sense of hearing?

If the whole body were an ear where would be the sense of smell? But as it is

God arranged the members of the body each one of them I find it interesting that paul puts this in here as he chose right

You don't get to choose what part of the body you are You don't get to choose whether you're the mouthpiece or the ear the eyes or the hands

You don't get to choose. He's the one that has sovereignly chosen. He is the one that is in control

Look at verse 19. If all were a single member, where would the body be?

As it is There are many parts Yet one body see the imagery here

Are you following paul's train of thought here? There's organic unity That is already built in Look look with me then at verse 21

He continues with this analogy. He says 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 On the contrary the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor

And our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty Which is more presentable parts, which are more presentable parts do not require

Stop there for a second. How often do we treat the body like this?

I don't need you That's what we're saying in disunity That's what the church in corinth is saying whenever they're dividing up during the lord's supper

Though the wealthy people are saying I don't need that group of wealthy people because they're not from the same social

Setting than I am that maybe our personalities aren't different Maybe I don't want to associate with them because they come from a different culture

And then they're all looking around at all the all the poor people around the edges that are starving to death while they're getting drunk

And gorging themselves and they're saying to the poor people. We don't need you And all the while the spirit is grieved and the spirit is

Saying You don't realize that you're one what happens if What happens if the hand says to the eye?

I don't need you Well now the hand has to work double time the hand has to feel its way around to get places

The hand can't function without the eye the eye can't function without the hand the eye can see all the things but it can't grab it

You have to have the whole the the entirety of the body and it functions in perfect unity

Look there at the second part of verse 24 He says but god has so composed the body

Giving greater honor to the part that lacked it That there may be no division in the body

But that the members may have the same care for one another We look at our bodies and we think man.

I can't imagine losing my eyesight Or I can't imagine losing my hearing or I can't imagine losing a limb

Well, I understand that but that's the whole point Is what of what paul is saying god has designed it to where every single body part is just as important as the other body part

They have different roles Just as important The importance of each individual part of this body

Continues to drive us towards unity That's why here we're very very careful about that whole like senior pastor model to where everybody comes in and they think well

The senior pastor is like he's like the super christian and we all look to him. No, i'm

I i'm in desperate need of y 'all. I'm not there's no such thing as a senior pastor. We're a plurality

And all of us are together united As one unit there is not one that is getting

Greater accolades or praise because they are all together same care for one another

God has created us for unity You see it would be unnatural for our body to not look out after the other parts, wouldn't it?

Try try and put your hand on a on a hot stove on purpose The rest of your body is going to fight you

It's going to guard that hand. It's going to seek to protect that hand and keep you from harming it

It would be it would be unnatural to have nothing to do with the other parts And to further drive this analogy

Of a spiritual reality home paul wraps up that thought with verse 26

And here's the key and here's how you know if you have unity Here's how you know if you're understanding the doctrine of the church, okay?

This right here is the is the pinnacle verse of what paul is saying here You want to know if you're unified you want to know if we truly are acting as a body

If one member suffers all suffer together If one member is honored all rejoice together

This is a beautiful analogy And we see it in our own in our own

Physical being I don't know if you can see it on my face from where you are But I have a terrible case of poison ivy this week

My eyes were nearly swollen shut two days ago and it's all it's everywhere There are very few parts of my body that do not have it

My right foot is one that doesn't have poison ivy at the moment But let me tell you something about my right foot.

It's suffering with the rest of the body Because the whole body is affected Even if I just had poison ivy on this arm, that was oh, well, okay

But the whole body's going to suffer isn't it? That's how united the body is. That's how natural it is for the body to suffer

That's how natural it is when I when I come in here on sunday morning and I get some of chris's coffee

And I and it's not just my taste buds and my stomach that rejoices it. It's my whole body going nice.

We got caffeine And we respond it's only natural for this to happen

The point is the church The church universal when I say that I mean all saints from all times are part of this organic body

Sometimes when we think of the body, we only think of like ourselves We automatically go well 12 five and last week we talked a lot about that We you know

We talked about unity amongst the body and striving for that and we should right we're a we're a group of christians that are part

Of this universal body that have covenanted together to live life and all of these things Work out and we're going to talk more about that over the next seven weeks as we go through all of these these ones

But but I want us to understand and really really comprehend the universal church the universal body

There is one head which is christ and there is one body which is his people of all time that will ever be

And we are in perfect Unity with them. Why do we?

Why do we? strive for ourselves Why do we live for ourselves?

The question is are you an active participating member of that body? Now i'm not again.

I'm not talking about this church body at the moment church membership is important Even though that's part of being in the universal body

I'm asking if if you're here if you're a hand, okay Let's suppose your job is a hand and you're are you doing your job as a hand?

a job that benefits the whole body Are you being obedient to the head the head tells the hand what to do the hand obeys?

Christ tells us what to do we obey Or is sin causing you to be lame? Disrupting the unity of the body.

I don't know about you But if I lost the use of my right hand right now and it just quit functioning no matter how much my brain tells it to That's my whole body's suffering.

It's going to affect my whole life It's going to hinder the body in many many ways

Are you falling into the american dream christianity of selfishness blindness and spiritual consumerism?

Being that hand just lying there saying body. What can you do for me today? What benefit do you have for me today while I lay here and relax

Oh, by the way by the way if uh If the weather is good, i'll be at the lake

Or are you looking to the savior Are you looking to the head of the body?

Are you looking to the one that has purchased you and redeemed you? And brought you into perfect union

Are you seeking to be obedient to him looking out for the well -being of his body the church because this one body

Is his body Not yours not mine Not ours

It's his body We're but the members of that body We must be unified

I want I want other gospel churches in this community to look at 12 -5 not as competition or or enemies

I don't want us to look at others as competition or enemies I want us to look at them as brothers and sisters

Right Again, they may not have a great ecclesiology. I get it

They may not understand the inner workings of salvation and it and it's and its intricacies

At all if they have put their faith and trust in jesus christ and christ alone They're a part of that body

Let's quit looking so internally Let's start thinking the universal church more and more

And having great unity with them One of the ways that we express this unity here hopefully very differently than the church in corinth