A series on 1st Corinthians 12 & 13
It’s week 2 of our series on ‘what glues us together’ > we’re thinking about glue, spiritual glue. And we remember: if glue is doing it’s job right, you don’t see it! Like our God who we can’t see, we have faith and trust he’s at work, he reveals himself to us in ways like spiritual gifts.
Recap from last week > spiritual gifts, a brief overview of some of them, just as important what’s behind this/where is Paul coming from? Be informed, one spirit = different gifts.
Today: we’ve heard about spiritual gifts, now we’re onto the BODY OF CHRIST > what is that, how does that work, how do we fit into that…
Firstly we DO fit into the body of Christ: verse 27 says we ARE the body of Christ, each one of you is part of it > so it’s not a question of IF we’re part of the body of Christ, as baptized believers we ARE part of the body of Christ.
Well over at the school we’ve just had staff week, now the first day of school is quickly approaching this Tuesday, and I can’t help but notice the ‘body’ aspect of the school > there are SO MANY different moving parts in a school – even a relatively small one like ours – that make up the body, the whole, the community.
Eg – principal, leadership, reception staff, pastoral care, classroom teachers, specialist teachers, teacher aides, groundskeepers, bus drivers, volunteers, let alone students & families!
That’s a lot of moving parts, many of which we might not notice unless we’re personally connected to people within those roles > people who are working or have worked in schools – esp. in leadership – know what I’m talking about there!
Might be similar in our church too – some people we have a lot to do with, others not so much, and all the different roles and ways we interact with and contribute to our church community. It’s a body over here too of course, a whole, a community, centred on Christ. To try to get across every single person and every single thing going on in our community is a tough ask, so luckily we have our heavenly Father who knows all, sees all and is there to be with all of us as part of this body! The glue that holds us together right there > not any one individual, not any one program or event > our God in Father, Son and Holy Spirit is what glues us together.
REALLY IMPORTANT to note about the body of Christ here: there is both Unity & Diversity in the body. Putting it really simply unity means ‘one/the same,’ and diversity means ‘different,’ so how does that work??
The body example Paul goes into shows us how it works > feet, hands, eyes, senses, all different parts of the body, different parts of THE SAME body. One body, different parts = just like spiritual gifts last week > one Spirit, different gifts. You can see the theme here, from one comes many, in many we see one. By this one Spirit we are baptized into the one body, that’s how it works.
It’s so obvious but it’s an important point that WE’RE NOT ALL THE SAME. We are different, we bring different things > even in our own local church community. What about everyone else out there?! How many more points of difference are there, how many different skillsets and abilities and experiences of life are out there…
As part of the body of Christ, on this side of heaven, God’s not calling us to simply be like each other. He’s not calling us to set up, to be part of something that just works for us. That is not it, that’s not the fullest extent of what church is, of what community centred on Christ is. The harsh reality is that’s actually more like being centred on US, on ourselves.
He IS calling us to be like him > to be more and more like Jesus. Jesus increases in us as we decrease in ourselves. This is HUMILITY, helping other people not just looking out for ourselves. Massive challenge for all of us, it’s very hard to do that! That’s why need Jesus’ help isn’t it.
Rick Warren said: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Brilliant way to put it.
It’s not about cutting ourselves down, having false humility or being down in the dumps about ourselves (God doesn’t call us to that, but he is with us in those times when we feel like that). It’s about community, the serious benefits we get from being part of community – encouragement, support, ‘ironing sharpening iron,’ shared experience – and this community is ULTIMATE COMMUNITY. The body of Christ, a huge, global community we get to be part of as followers of Jesus.
And on top being the body of Christ, Paul also points out ‘God has put the body together’ in verse 24. God has established this body, he sustains it, he keeps it going, through the work of the Holy Spirit in each of us. We don’t figure it out on our own, we rely on God’s wisdom and knowledge and faithfulness to bring it all together.
Our gospel reading gives an insight into who Jesus is, who we are centred on as community, who this body is named after:
Luke 4:18, 19 (quoting Isaiah 61:1, 2) – the Spirit of the Lord is on him, he is anointed. He proclaims good news to the poor, he can recover sight for the blind and freedom for the oppressed.
That’s something – someone – to be centred on isn’t it!
One who has the Spirit, who speaks by the Spirit. Who is anointed, set apart. He has good news to bring us, even us, and especially to those in need as he shows time and time again throughout his ministry. He can do what no one else can, he can recover sight and freedom, he can redeem us from our sinful nature to be with him as part of his family.
So being part of the body of Christ is not about being more and more like each other. It’s not about getting everything working in perfect harmony, in achieving all our targets, in becoming a group of people exactly similar to the people sitting next to us. Some of that may well happen, and we praise God when something we’ve really wanted to see does actually happen. But being part of the body of Christ is not about how well we do, how much good work we do. It’s not measured by our scales, our opinions, our judgments .
It’s about being more and more like Jesus. It’s about living lives of love and service, of humility under our God’s mighty hand. It is about – as Paul says – rejoicing with those who rejoice and we mourn with those who mourn. Life together in community, deeply connected to Jesus.
And of course we stuff it up, we get that wrong as soon as we try to do it! But there is good news, we can come back again to the loving arms of the one who forgives us, cares for us in times of need, calls us to a bigger and better life than we can imagine. That’s the story of the body of Christ right there.
So let’s pray for God’s help as we do life together, as part of the body of Christ. As we seek him, as we depend on him above ourselves. As we receive the good things he can give us, things we can’t even imagine. Let’s stick to him like GLUE! He is the glue that holds us together.
Lord you are the glue, you are what holds us together as part of the body of Christ. Help us in our walks of faith, in the difficulties we go through, in the good things and the in-between things. Help us to know you more and to continue to grow together as your people. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Tom Kitson 