THE BODY OF CHRIST
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Two)
Recommended reading - Romans 12:4-8
A great controversy has occurred concerning the detail
of when the human life actually begins. The truth concerning this question
is that life began when God created Adam. In Genesis 2:7, God
breathed into Adam the breath of life. The proper wording in this
scripture should be that God breathed into Adam the breath of lives.
All human beings were created in Adam. When Adam sinned, all man sinned
and experienced the penalty of that sin. Christ gave freedom to all of
mankind through His life and death. A Christian who is justified by faith
begins living a new life the moment of conversion. In Romans 12:4-8,
Paul begins to address Christian living, in the Church.
I. We have been given a measure of faith.
· We have all
been given a capacity of faith. We do not need more faith; we need to
exercise the measure of the faith that God has given us.
· We are not
vying for the same measure of faith; we all have our own measure.
· In Romans
12:3, the word faith refers to the Spiritual capacity that every
believer receives at conversion.
· The measure
that we receive enables us to function within the Church, which is the
Body of Christ.
II. There are many members.
· The gospel is
not a theory or an idea; it is a truth that has to be experienced.
· In Verses
4-5, Paul covers some very key issues. We have a body that is
comprised of many parts and members. Each part of our body has a
function, which it must perform. The same is true of the Church of God.
· What one part
of the body experiences, the whole body experiences. Individually we are
members; we are also members of one another.
· We cannot allow
ourselves to get sick and affect the whole Body of Christ. In I
Corinthians 12:13 we read, we are all baptized into Christ which is
the one Body. Christianity is entering into Christ. The birth process
that we experience begins, when we are given the Spirit of God. We
accept the life of Christ as our life.
III. A special people with a new citizenship.
· The exchange of
our life into Christ brings a tremendous and dynamic change in us. Our
status, our position, the way we look at things, and the way we do
things, all change.
· When we were
unconverted, we belonged to the world. When we become Christians, we no
longer are citizens of that world. We become members of the Body of
Christ, which is the Church.
· The word Church
means a called out people led by the Spirit of God. We are a special
people to God.
· In I
Corinthians 12:13 we read that we are in one Body, that is comprised
of many members. To be able to function in the Body, God has given every
member a gift. We are all being equipped for the work of service for the
building of the Body.
· The head of the
Body is Jesus Christ. Christ has not put anyone over the other; there is
no hierarchical structure in the Body. Whatever gift God has given you,
is for the purpose of edifying and for the building up of the entire
body.
· The reason,
that we have been given the gift from God, is found in I Corinthians
12:7. We are given a gift so the whole Church may benefit. In the
Church, every member of the Body has a part to serve in the
Body.
IV. The Church is a Spiritual organism, not a physical organization.
· In Romans
12:6-8, we see that we all have different gifts according to the
grace of God. We are to use our gifts. God has given everyone a gift so
that every member of the Body may serve to the glory of God.
· In order for
the Body to function as a unit, it must have every member and every part
in working order. The crying need of the Church today is for this to
occur.
· The Church is
the Spiritual organism (Spiritual Body), not the organizations that call
themselves the church.
· When we accept
Christ we are accepting salvation. The first experience of salvation is
moving from the world into the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
· Jesus states in
John 15:19, that we no longer belong to the world; we belong to
Him. We are a separate people, who have been placed into the Body of
Christ. There is no organization that is the Church of God. God does not
deal with organizations, he deals with individuals. The Church has only
one head and that is Jesus Christ, who governs and leads the Body.
V. We have been purchased by Christ.
· We are a
special and peculiar people who have been purchased by the blood of
Christ. Our loyalty needs to be to Christ, not to any person or
organization.
· Christ is our
Lord and our Master. In the Church the principle is not self but Christ.
He is the head; we are the servant of Him. We are under the government
of the most high God. Any human being taking control of you will lead
you away from Christ.
· We need to obey
God and not fear; He has conquered death. To obey God we must have a
living connection with Christ. All body parts must be connected to the
head. In John 15, Jesus said if we abide in Him, He will abide in
us. We need to be linked by prayer and communication through the Holy
Spirit of God.
· We serve
because we love people, not to get something. The human body must grow,
likewise the Church must grow. The reference to growth is not
numerically, we must grow Spiritually. In Ephesians 4:11-12, we
see that the saints are to do the work of the ministry.
· God's goal for
the Church is to grow spiritually and that in unison (together), we
reflect the character of Christ. When we do not use our gifts, we grow
stagnate and do not grow. God expects us to grow up and not to act in
the manner of a baby. In I Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul refers to
those who have not grown up and must be treated as babies.
The greatest stumbling block to evangelism is when the
world cannot see a distinction between the Church and themselves. The
world will not see God in the flesh as long as we are superficial, nominal
Christians. We need to remind ourselves that we are dead and our life is
in Christ. The world, from that point, should not see us but Christ in us.
When Christ lives in us, His love will permeate through us and we will
love each other. Jesus said in John 13:45, that all men will know
us when we have love for each other. We need to love each other as Christ
has loved us. We need to function in the work that God has given each one
of us both to do, and to accomplish. We need to grow Spiritually and draw
close to our God. We need to remember who we are - we are members of the
Body of Christ. God will bless us as we seek to serve Him, as a member of
the Body of Christ. |
The Body of Christ 