What Does the body of Christ Look Like? - Part 5 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, 18-25, and 26-27. Part 5 will summarize the description of the body of Christ.

My 3^rd “God moment” occurred one day as I was walking across campus where I work. I saw and heard what seemed like hundreds of birds in a grove of large trees. They were singing at the top of their lungs, each in the “language” for their type of bird. It was beautiful. Individually the birds communicated to each other in their own distinctive sound or “language”, but together, they made the most beautiful music.

I can only imagine that this is what Pentecost must have sounded like – the disciples speaking “with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”. Acts 2:6 states that “when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language”. Just as birds speak their own language, we speak our own language. And I believe that God wants us to speak the truth to others in their “own language” so that they can begin to understand. As Acts 2:11 states “we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God”.

During the early morning hours, have you ever listened quietly when the birds 1^st begin to sing? First you hear 1, then 2, then 4 or 5, and as the sun begins to rise, we hear more and more. Have you ever thought about that? As the sun begins to rise in the east, more and more birds begin to sing as if the light from the east is fueling their message!

And don't the birds sing every day? Yes! Have you ever heard a bird that was singing a slow, sad song? NO! And neither should we sing a slow, sad song but rather give praise to our God! Together as the body of Christ, we should be fueled by the light from the east and give thanks for our God.

We also need to all be saying the same thing – the kingdom message. God wants us to share the message of truth individually, but I believe that He wants us to sing it in unison around the world. The volume of hundreds of birds together or hundreds of us could reach far into the community and the world.

1 Corinthians 1:10 states “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same things, and that there be no divisions amoung you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

In closing, I ask you again “What does the “body of Christ” look like?”

We are:

• a group who are distinct from others; covered in Christ & organized for God's purpose
• a union bound together by 1 source – our God
• working together – individually and as a unit – to spread the truth of the gospel
• giving a consistent message to the world

Ephesians 4:4-6 sums it up: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Because He now lives in each of us, we abide with him and He with us forever. We have become the body of Christ. Amen!

~ 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.

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.

What Does the Body of Christ Look Like? - Part 3 of 5

This is a continuation of the previous discussion about the body of Christ, which has focused on 1 Corinthians 12:12-14. Part 3 will focus on 1 Corinthians 12: 18-25 to further describe the body of Christ.

How have we become members of the body of Christ? Let's look at the next group of scriptures - 1 Corinthians 12:18-20, 23-25

Verse 18: “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him”. This tells us that God set the members in the body “as it hath pleased him”, meaning He caused us to sit; He placed us with care & deliberate purpose into the body of Christ; He fixed us firmly and made us immobile, and He knew when to do it. God knew in the beginning who He created us to be, and by placing us with deliberate purpose, He knew when He would need some more Sons to continue doing His work. And He was and is pleased with each of us, meaning he delights in us and loves us and loves what we are doing for the kingdom.

Verses 19 & 20: “And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.” The word “body” means to heal, preserve, save, do well, be made whole. With 1 member, He would not have a body, but with many members, God has a body of Sons to heal, preserve, save and and make the Kingdom whole. We know it will take more than 1 Son to accomplish this.

Moving on to verses 23 & 24:

V 23: “And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

V 24: For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked”

God knew that there would be issues among the carnal-minded man. He knew that the members would place too much emphasis on the flesh body instead of the spiritual body and would view others, who don't “measure up” with their dress or looks or amount of money, as less honourable or uncomely, meaning without honour or inelegant. But as followers of Jesus Christ, we are all members of one body, and we are all viewed as equal in the sight of God! He created us with different abilities and personalities to serve his purpose.

God knew that each of us would have to follow Jesus's words in Luke 9:23: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The members of the body have to put God as the priority of our lives and daily focus, or we will not be able to accomplish the goals of the body of Christ.

V 24: “God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked”

What did God do? He “hath tempered the body together”, meaning He has brought the body together to commingle, blend into a harmonious whole, combine or assimilate, mix with, to be companions, and to be complete. God knows just how to adjust the members of the body together into a harmonious whole. I can see God tapping on this person and tapping on that person OR maybe He is walloping on some of us in order to mold us together into 1 unit or 1 body! In other words, He is allowing us to face various trials and difficult situations to help us grow in the knowledge and power of Christ so that we can all mold together as the body of Christ.

Verse 25: “That there should be no schism in the body”

God said that there “should be no schism in the body”. Schism translates in the Greek as a split or gap; a division or tear. The world we live in today already has huge schisms – in families, congregations, workplaces, sports teams, governments, the financial world, etc. We so easily let our emotions take over our minds, and we react to others in ways that create these divisions – whether temporary or permanent. Our emotions such as jealousy, anger, misunderstanding, and fear begin to dictate our actions, and this leads to divisiveness in our lives and relationships with God and others.

In our Bible study of the book of Revelation, our pastor has talked about how we need to conquer our emotions and change our thoughts to put on the mind of Christ. We are all familiar with the scripture of Romans 12:2, but I really like this New Living Translation that came to me through email recently:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

1 Corinthians 2:16 states “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

So far we have looked at some descriptions of what the body of Christ looks like – the body has many members, is diverse in gifts and talents, and is covered in Christ. Part 4 will focus on my 2^nd “God moment”, which points out the desire of God to temper the body together and have no schisms. The body of Christ must work together.

~ 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.

What does the Body of Christ Look Like? - Part 2 of 5

This is a continuation of the previous discussion about the body of Christ, which has focused on 1 Corinthians 12:12. Part 2 will focus on 1 Corinthians 12:13-14 to further describe the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13 “by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been all made to drink into one Spirit”

We “joined” God's team when we were baptized into the body of Christ. Baptize comes from the Greek words baptizo and bapto which mean to overwhelm, wash, make fully wet, and to stain. “Overwhelm” means to overpower in thought and to cover over completely. Through Jesus's resurrection and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we are overwhelmed, covered completely, washed, and, yes, even stained with Jesus's blood!

The word “stain” usually gives a negative connotation, such as the discoloring of our clothes or the carpet. But stain also means “a preparation (as of dye or pigment) used in penetrating the pores of wood”. Look at these cabinets – they were not this color when they were 1^st carved but a stain was added to them to give them this beautiful color. The stain penetrated the pores of the wood to completely cover these doors.

Think about our bodies in the natural – we have pores in our skin. They are minute openings in the membranes that allow absorption or passage of liquid. We put lotion on our skin and it is absorbed. We sweat, and water comes out of our pores.

What about the “pores” of our minds and hearts? In the spirit, aren't they openings that allow us to absorb Jesus? Jesus's blood has stained us and penetrated our minds and hearts and souls and has changed us forever so that we will never be the same again! “As he is, so are we”! (1 John 4:17)

Regardless whether we are talking about the Tigers or the Sons of God, we are each a part of a whole. We are joined, fused together, connected by coming into union with Christ. And we must demonstrate oneness, inseparability, uniformity, singlemindness, and consistency in what we proclaim to be the truth of the gospel – that Christ lives in us and will never leave us or forsake us!

It doesn't matter, as the scripture says, “whether they are Jews or Gentiles, bond or free”. We “have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

One of the definitions of the word “made” is:

• fitted, intended, or destined by or as if creating

God fitted us, intended for us, and destined for us to drink into this one Spirit. The Greek definition for “drink” means to “furnish drink; irrigate; give (make) to drink, feed, water”. By directing us to “drink into this one Spirit”, God is intending us to be irrigated (or refreshed) with entry or inclusion into His Spirit by feeding on His Word, absorbing his word. It was His plan all along for every single one of us!

Verse 14: “For the body is not one member, but many.”

Just as the Tigers are considered an organized group on the court, the Sons of God are an organized group in the world; a mass that is distinct and different from other masses; a group of disciples organized for God's purpose; a group that gives shape to/represents the body of Christ.

~ 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.

What does the Body of Christ Look Like? - Part 1 of 5

People often talk about the “body of Christ” or the “church as the body of Christ”. Have you ever thought about the meaning of the word “body”? And I am not talking about our physical bodies. Think about examples of the use of the word “body”:

• student body - students in a school
• body of people – could be members of a community organization, a sports team
• the body of a thesis paper or an article - parts of a written document
• body of employees – large group of workers on the job
• body of a car – the main, basic framework

What does this list have in common? Each example of a body has parts to it. They include people, words on paper, and pieces of metal attached together. Each of these “bodies” would not be a “body” without the parts that bring it together, and each body is only as strong as it's parts or members.

I looked up the definitions of the word “body”, and here are 6 that I found:

• a mass of matter distinct from other masses
• a group of persons or things
• a group of individuals organized for some purpose
• to give form or shape to, embody (to give bodily form and substance to)
• represent, symbolize
• a unit; group that is a constituent of a whole

As the “body of Christ”, we are a group of persons distinct from others; a group of individuals organized for a purpose – for God's purpose; a group which represents God and His truth.

The text for this message is from 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 18-20 and 23-27. With these scriptures in mind, I want to share with you 3 very clear and distinct “God moments” in which God showed me about the body of Christ and what I think that He sees as the basic characteristics of the body.

First “God Moment”

One evening I was driving home from work after finishing basketball practice with our Special Olympics team. As I drove, my mind began to think of each individual player and why he or she was on the Tigers team. I thought about each of their contributions, their limitations, and what I thought they hoped to get out of this experience. I have never thought about them in this way before so I knew that this was of God.

On the Tigers team, we don't have the most strategy-minded, coordinated, or well-conditioned athletes who can run various plays on offense and defense. In fact, we don't even play positions because several of our players would not understand that concept. BUT we do have 13 players who have a love for the game and want to be on that court to accomplish the mission, which is to win. They may have varying levels of intellectual disabilities, but they all LOVE this game and love being in the spotlight.

At first, I wondered what it was that brought this unlikely group together -

• this group whose members did not necessarily get along with each other outside of the team practices
• this group whose members looked out only for themselves and not necessarily how they could play together as a team
• this group whose ages, intellectual disabilities, and social skills varied from one end of the spectrum to the other

These athletes were on the basketball court together because they love this game and want to play basketball for the Murdoch Tigers team. The game of basketball was what drew them together.

Similarly Jesus drew to him an unlikely group of 12 men who became his disciples. A varied group that included educated and uneducated men, a physician, fishermen, a tax collector, those who spoke well and others who found it difficult to speak in front of others. But they were drawn to Jesus as He called them, and they all immediately dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus. Jesus was the one who drew them together.

Verse 12: “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”

We know that we are members of the body of Christ just as is stated in Romans 12:5: “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another”. We are members of Christ because Christ is the church.

The definition of “member” includes the following:

1. one of the individuals composing a group
2. a person baptized or enrolled in a church
3. Greek word for member is “melos”= limb or part of the body. I looked up the definition of “limb”, which means an active member or agent; extension or branch.

One of the characteristics of a member of a body is that of an “active member or agent”.

When I was growing up, my parents always taught me that if I was going to join an organization or club or sports team, I should be an “active member”. Being an active member means you:

1. support the purpose of the organization by actively helping to achieve its goals
2. “work” for the organization instead of sitting and watching others do the work
3. have a passion for helping to move the group to a higher level in the pursuit of its goals
4. are at the meetings of the group and other functions
5. learn to express the purpose and goals of the group to others in hopes of drawing in more members to continue to help achieve the group's goals and member base
6. you are an “agent” or representative of the group, and when others see you, they remember that group which you represent.

For the Tigers team, each player is an “active member” and wants to play to help the team win the game. For the Sons of God, this also means that we engage as “active members” of God's team. This requires study and sharing the Word of God on a consistent basis and working together as 1 body or team or unit. Our source is the same for each of us, and our source has called us to play on His team.

~ 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.