What Does the Body of Christ Look Like? - Part 4 of 5

This is a continuation of the previous discussions about the body of Christ. Thus far we have reviewed 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 and 18-25. Part 4 will focus on 1 Corinthians 12: 26-27 to further describe the body of Christ.

President Obama gave a perfect analogy of this in his State of the Union speech in January. He was about to finish his Address when he spoke of Congress and its divisiveness. I quote from his speech:

“Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind.

One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn’t matter. Just like it didn’t matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates -- a man who was George Bush’s defense secretary -- and Hillary Clinton -- a woman who ran against me for president.

All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn’t deserve credit for the mission. It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job -- the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other -- because you can’t charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there’s somebody behind you, watching your back.

So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those 50 stars and those 13 stripes. No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together. This nation is great because we worked as a team. This nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful.”

As I was listening to this ending of his speech, God illuminated it for me as another example of the body of Christ. We are 1 body in Christ, and our mission is not about ourselves but about what we can accomplish for the kingdom. I'm not talking about being members of a physical body, such as members of this church or that church. I am talking about being members of the spiritual body. As members of the body of Christ, we are raised up together as stated in Ephesians 2:4-5: “Even when we were dead in sins, God hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

God “quickened” us, or made us alive, after we had lived a life of sin and lacked the knowledge of the truth of the gospel.

1. He has “raised us” meaning he has given us new life, roused us from the sleep of religious order, from traditions of worship, from disease and death and obscurity.
2. He has “raised us up” meaning we are now in a higher position or level, a more advanced state.
3. He has “raised us up together” in 1 place, as a mass, group, body, “with” Christ, meaning in combination with Him as He is in us.
4. He has “made” us, or formed/framed us in His mind and
5. He has “made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. When we sit together, we are settled, set, in union with, and we tarry. In other words, we are not in a hurry to leave or change our location, and we are all in the same location – the higher realms of spirituality. Location matters.

Verse 26: “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”

The body of Christ feeds on each other through pollination. Pollination is the act of transferring something from 1 place to another, which begins a process for ultimately reproducing something. We usually think of pollination in the plant world, but in the spirit world, it demonstrates how we share or transfer encouragement and celebrations from God with each other. The body of Christ supports each other in times of need and rejoices with each other in times of celebration. There's power in this body of Christ. Regardless of what we are experiencing, we must continue to offer and produce God's praises.

Verse 27: “Now yea are the body of Christ, and members in particular”

We have now learned that the body of Christ has many members, is diverse in gifts and talents, and is covered in Christ; it is tempered together by God and is 1 unit with no schisms.

~ Rachel West

This message will be posted in 5 parts.  If you are interested in reading the message in its entirety, please click on this link to download https://hotfile.com/dl/161227098/18bebe5/Message_51_-_The_Body_of_Christ.pdf.html. If you experience any problems with this download, please leave a comment so that we may assist you.