The Body of Christ
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Core Idea: We are all uniquely created in the image of God, yet we are united through Jesus Christ. Then through the gospel, we don’t have to feel inferior (because we’ve all been adopted as children of God), and we can never feel superior (because we’re all recipients of grace). We embrace diversity, not uniformity.
INTRODUCTION
Good afternoon, Lighthouse family! What a beautiful day to worship God! Whether you’re joining us online or here in-person, we’re so glad that you’re with us. Let’s open our Bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. We started a sermon series on the church with this longing desire that we would learn and rediscover how beautiful, marvelous, and glorious the church is – and that God would shape and mold us to be the church that He desires us to be. Last week, I shared that Jesus will build His church. And for the next few weeks, we’ll examine the metaphors that God uses in the Bible to describe what a church is. So, with that in mind, let’s read our passage.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 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 stop being part of the body. 17 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? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 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!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you.
It’s true that because of our defects, disproportions, and disorders, we often forget how astonishing and magnificent our human body is. Our bodies are composed of an inconceivable number of unique parts that all function together to make it possible for us to do what we do every day. Take eating for instance. You smell the food. You see the food. Your brain is processing what it is. Your hand brings the food to your mouth. Your teeth break down the food. Your esophagus pushes down the food to your stomach and small intestine where the food gets digested even further. The nutrients are carried out to your body through your blood vessels while the waste moves to your large intestine which then will exit your body when you go to the washroom. That was a simplified version of your digestive system. All the parts of our body are working together to accomplish so much more every day. Our bodies are amazing. That’s what Paul is saying in verse 12 – but he also adds, “so it is with Christ” – the church. We may not see its glory and beauty every time because of its defects, disproportions, and disorders, but the church is amazing. And it will take every individual member of this body working together to make it possible for us to do what Christ desires for us to do every day. The church is not an organization, but it’s a living organism – the very body of Christ – which means that the church is alive and always growing. And here, Paul tells the Christians in Corinth that they are the body of Christ.
Now, this truth becomes even more shocking and radical (yet in many ways encouraging) if you understand the context of this passage. Paul wrote this letter to a much-divided church located in the city of Corinth. They were divided according to the leaders. Some said they were following Paul; some said they followed Apollos; and some declared that they followed Christ – as if following other leaders meant that they were denying Christ. They were divided by an issue of one believer suing another believer in the church. They were divided by social class as the rich refused to take the Lord’s Supper with the slaves. They were also divided by spiritual gifts – thinking that those with certain spiritual gifts were better, more mature than those who didn’t; hence, disregarding, discounting them. Not only that, this church was also filled with sin and corruption – sexual immorality, gossip, judgment, and more. And to this community, Paul says, “You are the body of Christ.” This is mind-boggling, unthinkable from our perspective – how can this kind of community be called the body of Christ? Yet they are, not because they have earned it in any way, but simply because of God’s grace. And in the same way, God is reminding us, Lighthouse, that we too are the body of Christ. We are alive in Christ. We will grow in Christ all because of His grace for us.
Then what does it mean for us to be the body of Christ? What does it mean for us to be alive, thriving, and growing? Three things from this passage:
· THE NATURE OF THE BODY
· THE PARALYSIS OF THE BODY
· THE HEALING OF THE BODY
1) THE NATURE OF THE BODY
Let’s go back to verse 12. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” One commentary says, “In order to accomplish His work on earth, Jesus had a body made of flesh and blood. In order to accomplish His work today, Jesus has a body that consists of living human beings.” What he means is that Jesus had a physical body just like us. And with His body, He fulfilled the will of God on earth. Now, today, Jesus is not physically present here with us, but He continues to fulfill that mission. How? Not through His physical body, but through His spiritual body called the church. And Paul reminds us that just like His physical body, the church has many members yet is also an interdependent, inseparable, organic entity that exists to fulfill His purpose in the places that He has called us to be. Now, how is this possible? How can there be this unshakable unity in the midst of this great diversity?
Paul answers it in verse 13. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” Paul teaches that because we have been baptized in the Spirit, because the Spirit is working in our lives, the church, despite its great diversity, can have lasting unity. Now, what’s the Holy Spirit doing in our lives that’s making this possible? Among many things, there’s just one thing that I want to highlight. Jesus says in John 16:8, “When He comes [as in the Holy Spirit], He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness.” In other words, one of the things that the Holy Spirit does is to convict people to see that they’re sinners before God – and that they’re in a dire need for a Savior to rescue them. And this is what makes unity in diversity possible in the church. Think with me. No matter what our background is in terms of race, gender, economic status, age, spiritual maturity, the starting line is the same for all Christians: that we’re sinners deserving of God’s wrath, yet we’ve been saved by grace. If this is true, then who can be excluded? No one as long as the person comes to Christ with humility, bankruptcy, helplessness knowing that the saving power is not in us. Anyone is welcomed because you don’t need to be someone, something else to be part of this body. Then look around you for a moment. We’re one through the work of the Spirit. This truth must change how we see difficult people – how we see different people. We must intentionally, actively break down any barriers that can divide us while celebrating our diversity.
This is really important for us to remember because it will help us better understand this passage. Let me ask you: how do we know that the church is alive and is growing? Some may say that it’s by looking at the number of members attending. Or it’s by seeing how many are getting baptized or confirmed. Or that it’s by seeing the amount of offering given or by the number of ministries the church is engaged in. What do you think? Do those things prove that the church is alive and growing? Possibly. But what Paul says here is not what you would expect. When Paul says in verse 14, “Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many,” he’s actually arguing for their need for diversity. Translate: we know that the Holy Spirit is working, that the church is alive and growing when we see that it’s growing in diversity. This is true because there’s no qualification to confess your sins and ask for His grace – the only requirement may be your humility. Anyone can come and feel like they belong. But this also means that the church is not growing, the Spirit is not working, when you see less and less diversity, but more and more uniformity. This is true because something other than Christ becomes the reason for their existence. Those who don’t fit that qualification, those who are different will be pushed out.
One of the values that we as Lighthouse want to uphold is to cultivate a diverse community – and I remember Chris asking me, “How do we accomplish this?” It’s a good question. This is what I said to him, “It will take the whole church to attain this as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.” As a pastor, I will preach Christ. I will remind you of the gospel. I will challenge you to move out of your comfort zones. I will pray for a heart of love, acceptance, and embrace. I will pray that the Holy Spirit will powerfully break down the walls of our hearts. But we all need to be intentional. We all need to preach and live out the gospel. We all need to pray. Don’t let something other than Christ, other than this utter need for a Savior, become a qualification for being part of Lighthouse. We’re all needed to make this possible.
Children and youth, I want to speak to you for a moment. You don’t know how thankful I am to see you here. I understand that sometimes (or a lot of times) you may not fully understand what’s going on – which is even more of a reason why I’m thankful that you’re part of this, because you’re willing to persevere through this (even if your parents are forcing you). I want you to know that your presence here in itself speaks volumes – you’re visibly proclaiming that you too are the body of Christ. I want you to know how valuable you are to this community, because you’re adding to that diversity at Lighthouse, because you’re teaching the rest of us to see that the church isn’t just for adults. Then I want to encourage both the young and the old here: let’s make every effort to get to know each other. Treat one another with honor, love, and care. My prayer for the children is that they’ll continue to grow with us as we adults become worthy models for them to imitate.
Now, if you’re a Christian, let me ask you this: “Are there types of people you ignore, tend to dismiss, intentionally avoid, or quick to judge? Or are you ready to humbly submit to the work of the Spirit and welcome those differences?” I’m not implying that this is going to be easy. I’m asking you, “Are you ready to take the high road for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the Spirit working in you?”
I love how Eugene Peterson interprets verse 13 in the Message: “By means of His one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which He has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of His resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain – His Spirit – where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves – labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free – are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive. I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less.” Brothers and sisters, the nature of the church is that there is this unbreakable unity in this vast diversity. This means that we can come as we are. We don’t have to be clones here. We don’t have to look the same in the way we worship, serve, love, and care. We can embrace, celebrate, and rejoice in our differences. And this makes you more significant, not less. How? Let’s answer this in our second point.
2) THE PARALYSIS OF THE BODY
Despite the work of the Spirit, it’s true that we allow our sins to infiltrate and paralyze our churches. So, we become focused on ourselves. We make every effort to find something else other than Christ to glue us together. In our passage, Paul shares two things that happen in the church when Christ is not preached, when the people love and desire uniformity more than diversity. First, inferiority. Let’s read verse 15. “Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.” When I read this, one phrase just stuck out to me so much: “I don’t belong.” Does anyone feel like this today? It’s this feeling that you’re useless because you’re not like somebody else, everyone else. You say to yourself, “Well, I’m not as helpful, talented, intelligent, articulate as him. I’m not as outgoing, thoughtful, welcoming, generous as her. There’s nothing I can contribute. It must mean that I’m unimportant or unnecessary to this community.” You conclude that you’re less valuable, less needed in the body.
But there’s a second thing that happens when the Spirit is not working: superiority. Verse 21, “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!’” Here’s another phrase that sticks out: “I don’t need you.” How many of us have thought this about someone in the church? “Our church would have less problems if he stopped coming out. She’s just so annoying. He thinks he’s all that. She’s so awkward. I wish he would stop talking so much.” Have you ever thought that certain people were unnecessary, unimportant, and even expendable in this community – that your life, the church would be better without them? Now, let’s look carefully at verse 22. Paul is very intentional in the way he writes: “On the contrary [of you saying, ‘I don’t need you’], 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.” Did you catch that? Those people who we think are unnecessary, unimportant may not be the weaker parts after all – it might be our distorted, sinful perception that causes us to see them that way. In fact, Paul reminds us that they are incomparably indispensable to the community. Everyone is needed; no one is expendable. Then Paul is warning us. He’s saying, “Be careful not to perceive people as replaceable because of your sinful, worldly standard.”
Now, if these are the ways that the church is paralyzed by our sin (inferiority and superiority), how do we fight against this, how do we overcome these problems? Paul tells us that we combat inferiority by recognizing the lie and remembering the truth. Listen to verse 15 again, “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.” Paul corrects their thoughts right away. “You may think and feel this but it’s just not true – it’s a lie from the enemy.” When a lie enters our minds, we tend to believe the lies and doubt the truth. But we must train ourselves, pray for the help of the Spirit to believe the truth and doubt the lies. Brothers and sisters don’t let the enemy destroy you through a lie. Then what’s the truth that we are to remember? Verse 18, “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.” Brothers and sisters, God placed you and I here at Lighthouse for a purpose. I firmly believe that it’s not a coincidence that you’re here. In His sovereign wisdom, He orchestrated all things to bring each one of us together. If this is true (and it is), how can we ever say, “I don’t belong here”? If we continue to believe this, it’s not just saying no to the community but it’s to say that God doesn’t know what He’s doing. We’re saying that He made a mistake. Friends, if you’re struggling with feelings of inferiority, I invite you to trust God today. Be confident in the Lord that He purposefully, wisely, for your good, placed you here – and He will use you to bless the community and bring glory to Himself.
Now, how do we combat superiority? Verse 25, “Have equal concern for each other.” The Greek literally says, “Be anxious for each other,” or put it more simply: “Care for each other.” Then how do we do this? Verse 26, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” This is not easy. Think about it: when it comes to successes in our lives, we’re quick to share. But it’s hard to open up about the things that are shameful, the things that hurt, because of our pride or fear – so, we hide. Celebrating others’ success is just as difficult. Can you rejoice with someone who got promoted when you were just let go? Can you rejoice with those who seem like God is blessing them with countless things while it feels like God is taking away the very things you desperately need? The gospel makes both possible. The gospel teaches us how to grieve for others and genuinely rejoice with others. Brothers and sisters, let us build a community that is safe to share our pains so that those who do will receive healing, encouragement, and help. At the same time, let us cultivate a heart of love so that we would joyfully put others first, be anxious for others first.
3) THE HEALING OF THE BODY
Paul declares in verse 27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it.” I really love this verse. We are the body of Christ. We belong to Christ. We are alive because of Christ. It’s true that the church is broken, disfigured, paralyzed because of our sins. But God is healing the church through Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. This is the good news that we preach. There is hope for us because God saved us from the power of sin and made us His children by sacrificing His only Son Jesus Christ to die in our place even though we don’t deserve it simply because He loves us. Pastor Tim Keller once said, “When Christians experience Christ’s radical grace through repentance and faith, it becomes the most intense, foundational event of our lives. When we meet someone from a sharply different culture, race, or social class but who has experienced the grace of Jesus Christ through the gospel, we don’t see the differences first, because we are looking at someone who has been through the same life and death situation as we have, since in Christ we have spiritually died and been raised to new life. And because of this common experience of grace – now a deeper identity marker than our family, race, or culture – when we come together, we find we ‘fit’!” In other words, in Christ, we are a perfect fit for each other – we belong to each other.
If you’re here and you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, our desire is for you to come to know Him. Jesus welcomes the weak. Jesus didn’t come for the healthy; He came as a Physician for the sick and the broken. He doesn’t save those who earned it, those who deserve it, or those who think they know the way, but sin-stained people who humbly recognize their need for a Savior. In fact, Jesus became weak to save the weak. Jesus was pierced and crucified, to save those who are hurting, who have no hope – which is why no one will be turned away at the cross. Jesus won’t say, “I have no need of you”; rather, He’ll say, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3). So, come to Him and become part of this body.
APPLICATION
For the believers, I invite you to continue to preach the gospel to yourself, because two things will happen. One, we’ll begin to love ourselves for who we are. We’ll be satisfied. We’ll stop trying to be someone else because God loves us just as we are. Secondly, we’ll begin to love others for who they are. In 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because God loved us first.” Without tasting love, we cannot give love. Immerse yourselves in the gospel truth and experience His love for you; then you’ll begin to love this community with open hearts.
In addition, I invite you to find ways to serve the Lord. When I was preparing for this transition, my mom shared with me, “Woohyun, remain humble because you couldn’t have done this on your own. God, in His wisdom, placed the perfect people to make this possible. This is His way of showing that this is His church, not yours.” I couldn’t agree more. I’m not gifted like Wayne, Victor, David, Hakyung who are serving in our media team. Our live streaming would not be possible without them. I’m not gifted like Mike and Sally who have been taking care of a lot of the admin side of our church while Don and Ricardo have been doing the financial things. I’m not gifted like Kari who has been meticulously reading through all the contracts we sign so that we don’t get tangled in any legal problems. I’m not gifted like Sarah who has been using her gift of creativity to bless us with a beautiful logo, website, and many more. I’m not gifted like Pastor Jane, who has been doing all the legwork which frees me up to think of the big picture. I’m not gifted like Don, Teresa, Josh, Yeawon who have been lovingly welcoming the community at the door and taking care of all the online registration. I’m not gifted like Carolina, Joy, Elaine who organized the picnic or Harry who created those beautiful medals. Clearly, I could go on and on about those who make everything we do here possible. My point is this: we really do need all of you because you’ll undoubtedly bring something new, something exciting, something unique that will make our church that much better. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t want you to serve if God is calling you to rest this season; by all means, obey and be refreshed in Him. But if you’re not serving because you think that you’re not ready, or because you’re not needed, or because you think you’re inadequate, then I want to gently remind you that you are essential to this community. I know this because God has placed you here; and I know that He will use you to bless the community and bring glory to His name. Then don’t let those lies rob you of the joy of serving; and don’t let those lies rob us of the joy we’ll experience through you.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, we are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. We’re all uniquely created in the image of God, yet we’re united through Jesus Christ. Through the work of the Spirit, we don’t have to feel inferior because we’ve all been adopted as children of God, and we can never feel superior because we’re all recipients of grace. Then I invite you to embrace, love, and share your lives with others here for the glory of God and the joy of this community.