The proverb of “You can’t see the forest because of the
trees” means that we often miss the overall picture because of the details. The
corporate unity of the church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ is paramount
for His success. The needs of the individual members, though important, must
come under the direction of the overall leadership of Christ in accomplishing
His purpose.
1 Corinthians 12 repeatedly shows that
the church is one body with many members, each one uniquely gifted and talented
for the service to the church as a whole. This week’s lesson on the incorporation
of the members into one body is balanced with the individuality of each member. Both are to bring glory to Jesus Christ
through His church.
Seven times in First Corinthians, the
Apostle Paul began a section with the words “Now concerning...”, apparently in
response to controversial questions which they had written for him to answer.
This section is the lengthiest response concerning spiritual things, and he did
not want the Corinthians to be uninformed (ignorant). The tendency for the
Corinthian church was to be divided, either by who to follow (1:10-17; 3:1-8),
immorality (5:1-13), lawsuits (6:1-8), even the observation of the Lord’s
Supper (11:17-22). Some were divided on the resurrection (15:12). Some were
hung up over legalism, while others were indulgent on their liberty (8:9).
The recurring theme of chapter 12 is not
to describe fully the effects of the various gifts within the body, but rather
affirm the necessity of each aspect of the church body and the overall unity.
Chapter 12 leads directly into the “more excellent way” of love.
In 1 Corinthians 12:12, Paul wrote, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." As the local church, we
must never forget the ultimate purpose of the body is to be Christ’s physical
representation on the earth. We are His hands, feet, eyes, ears, etc. on
earth. While we can recognize our
differences, we are to never forget our ultimate unifying purpose is in Christ
and to show Christ to each other and to the world.
Step #1 is being incorporation, the very first step in getting people into the Body of Christ, is getting them as guests to our church. In Mark 5:1-20, a demon-possessed man was healed and sought to become a disciple, a follower of Christ. However, Jesus said, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. (See also Luke 8:26-39)
The best way to invite people is to get those we know, family, neighbors, and friends, and tell them what the Lord has done for us. Luke 14:23 states we should "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." The psalmist proclaimed that he was glad when they said to him, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
As we are “incorporated” (literally meaning put into the body of Christ) into the church, one of our GracePointe Steps is to Get Guests through our friends, co-workers, family, neighbors, and acquaintances.
Numerous times Jesus told us to go to the “highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). See also Matthew 22:9-10, Acts 1:8, 4:20, and 26:20.
In John 17:14-18, Jesus called us to be in the world but not of it. This is a delicate balance of not having friendship with the world’s system and worldly ways and yet being relevant to it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5:10 that the only way we could refrain from associating with those who are worldly would be “if you were to leave this world”.
We are to be light to the world and salt of the earth, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (See Matthew 5:14-16.)
It has been said “Never send a light to China that won’t shine at home.” We are to take the gospel message around the world, but also around the corner (we will see this later in the week). We are to be witnesses across the globe, but also across the street. As members of GracePointe, our first step in corporate membership is to grow in our relationships with friends and bring them to a saving relationship with Christ (this is given more in detail tomorrow).
As members, we should look for ways to connect with guests who are coming to the church. We should reach out to those in the worship service whom we do not know. We should prioritize others over ourselves. For instance, if we come into the worship service and someone is sitting where we normally sit, we should never say, “That’s my seat!” Instead, we should look for ways to make a guest to become a regular attender and ultimately a member.
Our focal passage this week is 1 Corinthians 12, which says in verses 12-13, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
Prayerfully consider how you can take the first step in connecting to others in friendship, both in bringing your friends to church, and being a friend to others at church.
