Life in the
Church
2. Christian
Community November 11, 2017
1Corinthians12:12-28;
Ephesians 2:19-22
SONG: UNITY
{Ps. (¸Ö½g) 133:1; Mk. (°¨¥i) 3:24-25}
By Dr.
Meiman Lai Saidi
Worldwide Outreach Teaching School
The Word to live by 1 Peter
2:9 ©¼±o«e®Ñ2:9
9. But you are a chosen people, a
royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
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Preface: We all need to be reminded
of and re-challenged by Apostle Paul¡¦s message of diversity in unity. And God
calls us to experience the Christian life as part of the people of God, the
body of Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, this is
our session truth. Think about
if you accomplished something that was momentous and significant
alongside other people. How do you think that would be different if you
removed the other people from you? Do you think the outcome would have
been significantly different?
Today, we are going to be talking about the importance of
the Christian community and the body of Christ as we strive to be committed
disciples of Jesus Christ.
Prayer: O Lord, Thanks for the privileges that You
have given me; Please make me to be a voice for righteousness and truth and to
be a
good example of Jesus to service others. Grant the desire of my
heart as I teach Your Word. And please speak through me with power and
clarity. Let Your Word impact and change lives forever. May
Christ alone be exalted and glorified, both now and forever, in
the
name of Jesus¡¦ Amen!
Session
Goals: ¾Ç²ß¥Ø¼Ð1).To recognize that the church is not just a building or
institution, but the people of God and the place where God dwells»{ÃÑ ±Ð·|¤£¥u¬O¤@´É«Ø¿vª«, ¦Ó¬O¤W«Òªº¤l¥Á©MÍ¢¬Û¹J¤§¦a. 2) To value all the gifts that God
places within the church for God¡¦s purposes. «µø¯«µ¹±Ð·|ªº©Ò¦³®¦½ç¦³Í¢ªº¥Øªº¡C3) To embrace the rich variety of
people whom we can know and love through our life in the church. §â·Rªº¥Í©R¦b±Ð·|¤¤µo´§§Ṳ́£¦Pªº®¦½ç¡C
A.
One Body, Many Parts1Corinthians12:12-14
12. The body is a unit, though
it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form
one body. So it is with Christ.
13. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or
Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
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Apostle
Paul emphasizes the importance of each church member; he compares the body of
Christ to a human body. Each part has a specific function that is necessary to
body as a whole. The parts are different for a purpose, and in their
differences they must work together. If a seemingly insignificant part is taken
away, the whole body becomes less effective. Christians must avoid two common
errors: 1 being too proud of their abilities, thinking that your gift is
more important than someone else¡¦s is an expression of spiritual pride. 2 thinking they have nothing to give
to the body of believers. Instead of
comparing ourselves to one another, we should use our different gifts to
help the society.
¡§We
were all given the one Spirit to drink¡¨ means that the same Holy Spirit
completely fills our innermost beings. As members of God¡¦s family, we may have
different interests and gifts, but we have a common goal is to
spread the good News of salvation to the world.
B.
Body Parts 1Corinthians12:15-28
- If the foot should
say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,"
it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
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- And if the ear
should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the
body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
- If the whole body
were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body
were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
- But in fact God has
arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted
them to be.
- If they were all one
part, where would the body be?
- As it is, there are
many parts, but one body.
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- The eye cannot say
to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to
the feet, "I don't need you!"
- On the contrary, those
parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
- And the parts that
we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts
that are unpreventable are treated with special modesty,
- While our
presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the
members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that
lacked it,
- So that there
should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have
equal concern for each other.
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- If one part
suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every
part rejoices with it.
- Now you are the
body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
- And in the church
God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having
gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of
administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
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v.12:18, Apostle Paul is saying that God has arranged that different Christians
in the body of Christ exercise different spiritual gifts, not the same gift. Diversity
is intended to accomplish God¡¦s unified purpose. v.12:21,
the principle here is the interdependence of the parts of the body in the one
whole. Christians in the body of Christ are mutually dependent as they exercise
their distinctive functions.
v. 12:23-24, Christians should give ¡§special honor¡¨ and support
to those in the church who have ordinary gifted. Persons with more spectacular
gifts do not need to be given special honor.
v.12:26,
every part suffers. In the body of Christ if one Christian suffers, all the
Christians are affected.
v.
12:27, you are the body of Christ means each local church is the body of
Christ just as the universal church is Christ¡¦s body. v. 12:28, these three gifts are:
listed as ¡§first¡¨, ¡§second¡¨ and ¡§third,¡¨ indicating their importance in the
church. Paul also already insisted that all gifts are important (vv.21-26).
In this passage the apostle Paul talks about the body of Christ being made
up of many parts to form one body. For example, verse 15 reads, ¡§If the foot
should say, ¡¥Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,¡¦ it would
not for that reason cease (°±¤î) to be part of the body. And if the ear say, ¡¥Because I am not an
eye, I do not belong to the body,¡¦ it would not for that reason cease to be
part of the body¡K¡¨ We should use the gifts we have been given and encourage others to use
theirs. What is your response when a
fellow Christian is honored? For example, your feet strong to walk, you are
happy bout it. How do you respond when someone is suffering? We are called to
rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep »P³ß¼Öªº¤Hn¦P¼Ö¡D»P«súªº¤Hn¦Pú (Romansù°¨®Ñ12:15). Do not jealous of those who rejoice.
Believers are in the world together, we need to get involved in the lives of
others.
C. One in Christ (Our Reconciled) Ephesians2:19-22
- Consequently, you are no longer foreigners
and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's
household,
- built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
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21.
In him the
whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord.
22.
And in him
you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by
his Spirit.
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A church building is sometimes called God¡¦s house.
God lives in a group of people, and He shows himself to us, people can see that
God is love and that Christ is love as we live in harmony with each other and
in accordance with what God says in his word. We are citizens of God¡¦s kingdom
and members of His household.
As we are built together in Christ, we
stand firm and strong. We are part of the church
of God in which the Holy Spirit
dwells.
As a community, we experience and reveal the presence of the Holy Spirit
in a way no individual Christian can. This is a vision of a community whose
diversity of culture, race, economic and social status, personalities,
vocations, and gifts are united in one Spirit under one Lord to glorify our
loving Creator and Redeemer. This is a powerful witness to the good news of
salvation through Christ. By Ryan R. Pettit
In
Christ, we reconciled with our Almighty God.
God alone reveals the truth of all we call unknown, and all the best and
worst of man won¡¦t change the Master¡¦s plan.
In the Christian community shows diversity of
roles/functions/skills/gifts; this kind of diversity is important
because it recognizes that unity, among the diversity is the key
for a body to work as it should. In relation to the body of Christ, no gift is
more important than any other. Everyone is to work together and use their gifts
in order to be effective as the church
of Jesus Christ.
This passage, while all Christians have equal access to God and status
before Him, we are not all gifted in the same ways. We are not self-sufficient
for carrying out God¡¦s purposes; we must work together to be the body of
Christ. Affirming the division of labor within the church is to affirm that God
created us to be different from one another, and this is good and purposeful. By
Ryan
R. Pettit
D. Conclusion:
1.
Life in the church is the people of God
get together harmony in a place not only just a building, it is the trinity God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwells into us.
»{ÃÑ ±Ð·|¤£¥u¬O¤@´É«Ø¿vª«, ¦Ó¬O¤W«Òªº¤l¥Á©MÍ¢¬Û¹J¤§¦a.
2.
We value all our different God¡¦s
giving gifts to fulfill His purpose in our life. «µø¯«µ¹±Ð·|ªº©Ò¦³®¦½ç¦³Í¢ªº¥ØªºÅý§ÚÌ¥h§¹¦¨¡C
3.
To take all people in who are around us and include as a part of our
body with love through our life in the church, so we can earn souls for Christ
and glorify to God! ±a»â¤H¶i¨Ó§â·Rªº¥Í©R¦b±Ð·|¤¤µo´§§Ṳ́£¦Pªº®¦½ç, ¦p¦¹§ó¯à»â¤HÂk¥D, §ó¥[ºaÄ£Âk©ó¯«¡C