the united body

The United Body

1 Cor 12:12-13

Indispensable Parts• “The eye cannot say to the hand, „I have no need of you,‟ nor

again the head to the feet, „I have no need of you.‟ On the

contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are

indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less

honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable

parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more

presentable parts do not require. But God has so

composed the body, giving greater honor to the part

that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body,

but that the members may have the

same care for one another. If one

member suffers, all suffer together;

if one member is honored, all rejoice

together” (1 Cor 12:21-26, ESV).

Not Individual Members

• Your spiritual gift is absolutely essential to this

congregation.



congregation, but you don‟t have to the one

exercising it!



congregation, but you don‟t have to the one

exercising it!

• God can give spiritual gifts to other members.

The Unified Body

• The lawyer‟s body was no longer unified.

The Unified Body


• The body of Christ in Corinth wasn‟t unified.

The Unified Body


• The body of Christ in Corinth wasn‟t unified—

preachers, fornication, suing one another, the Lord‟s

Supper, etc.

The Unified Body


• The body of Christ in Corinth wasn‟t unified—

preachers, fornication, suing one another, the Lord‟s

Supper, etc.

• In this text, the disunity concerns the “superiority”

of tongue speaking.

The Unified Body

• ONE BODY.

• ONE BAPTISM.

• ONE BEVERAGE.

ONE BODY

One Body

• “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” (v 12, ESV).

One Body




• In these two verses, the word “one” occurs 5 times out

of 49 words in Gr.

One Body




• In these two verses, the word “one” occurs 5 times out

of 49 words in Gr. Paul really wants to emphasize the

oneness of the body.

Corinthians were One Body

• That‟s a surprising statement.



• The Corinthians were as divided as could be.




– Prejudiced against one another.





– Supported immorality.






– Boasted in the exercise of their gifts.







• Paul says they were one body, not that they were

united.







• Paul says they were one body, not that they were

united. They needed to become united because of the

spiritual reality.

Unity

• We are to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3, ESV).

Unity

• We are to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3, ESV).

• “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel

of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am

absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in

one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the

faith of the gospel” (Phil 1:27, ESV).

Physical Bodies

• Just because our bodies have different parts doesn‟t

mean we have different bodies!

Physical Bodies

• Just because our bodies have different parts doesn‟t

mean we have different bodies!

• Our bodies have to work in unison to do anything!

Church as a Body

• If we want to accomplish the Lord‟s work, we must

work in unison!

Paul‟s Example

• I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is

anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor

3:6-7, ESV).

Paul‟s Example

• I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is

anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor

3:6-7, ESV).

• “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark

the cousin of Barnabas . . . and Jesus who is called

Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision

among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God”

(Col 4:10-11, ESV).

CAN WE DO ANYTHING

OTHER THAN WORK

TOGETHER?

ONE BAPTISM

One Baptism

• “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—

Jews or Greeks, slaves or free” (v 13, ESV).

Baptism & the Spirit

• “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water

and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”

(Jn 3:5, ESV).


• “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water

and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”

(Jn 3:5, ESV).

• “He saved us, not because of works done by us in

righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the

washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy

Spirit” (Tit 3:5, ESV).


• “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will

put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone

from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I

will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk

in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezek

36:36-37, ESV).


• “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will

put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone

from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I

will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk

in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezek

36:36-37, ESV).

• “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-

control; against such things there is no law” (Gal

5:22-23, ESV).


• Paul‟s emphasis is the one Spirit and the one body.


• Paul‟s emphasis is the one Spirit and the one body.

• No room for division over gifts.

Class Division

• Jews & Greeks were divided over the eating of food

sacrificed to idols.

Class Division

• Jews & Greeks were divided over the eating of food

sacrificed to idols.

• Rich & poor were divided at the Lord‟s Supper.

Racial Division

• “God created man in his own image, in the image of

God he created him; male and female he created

them” (Gn 1:27, ESV).

Racial Division

• “God created man in his own image, in the image of

God he created him; male and female he created

them” (Gn 1:27, ESV).

• God “made from one man every nation of mankind to

live on all the face of the earth, having determined

allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling

place” (Acts 17:26, ESV).

“If any Christian wants to know how to treat the colored

people, read God‟s explicit instruction to the Jews on that

particular subject . . . [“you shall conquer them and utterly

destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor

show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with

them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take

their daughter for your son] . . . . They have always been

cursed with a sense of fear, ignorance, superstition and an

inferior complex . . . We have to admit that we have had

some very well educated Negroes among us. Some who

have made good in business and various trades. How do

you account for that? Yes, all those Negroes who have a

generous fertilization of white blood have invariably left the

evidence of it behind them. But the genuine Negro article is

just what he has always been.”

Social Division

• “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, „You sit here in a good place,‟ while you say to the poor man, „You stand over there,‟ or, „Sit down at my feet,‟ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?” (Js 2:1-7, ESV).

DO WE SHOW PARTIALITY?

ONE BEVERAGE

One Beverage

• We “all were made to drink of one

Spirit” (v 13c, ESV).

One Beverage



• The idea of making to drink doesn‟t

translate well.

One Beverage




translate well.

– The term “made to drink” refers to giving

someone something to drink.

One Beverage




translate well.

– The term “made to drink” refers to giving

someone something to drink.

– NIV: “We were all given the one Spirit to

drink.”

Water & Life

• “Everyone who drinks of this water

will be thirsty again, but whoever

drinks of the water that I will give him

will never be thirsty again. The water

that I will give him will become in him

a spring of water welling up to eternal

life” (Jn 4:13-14, ESV).

Spirit as Water

• “Jesus stood up and cried out, „If

anyone thirsts, let him come to me and

drink. Whoever believes in me, as the

Scripture has said, “Out of his heart

will flow rivers of living water.”‟ Now

this he said about the Spirit, whom

those who believed in him were to

receive, for as yet the Spirit had not

been given, because Jesus was not yet

glorified” (Jn 7:37-39, ESV).

Drinking of the Spirit

• Indwelling we receive at baptism.



Jesus said that whoever believed in

him would receive living waters, and

he spoke of the Spirit.






– In 1 Cor 12:13, baptism and drinking of

the Spirit are simultaneous verbs.






– In 1 Cor 12:13, baptism and drinking of

the Spirit are simultaneous verbs.

– “Repent and be baptized every one of you

in the name of Jesus Christ for the

forgiveness of your sins, and you will

receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts

2:38, ESV).

WHAT DOES DRINKING

OF ONE SPIRIT HAVE TO

DO WITH US?

Paul‟s Point=One Body

• No reason to believe that one gift is

any better than another, for there is one

body working in unison.





• Regardless of what miraculous gifts

the Corinthians had, they all had the

non-miraculous indwelling of the

Spirit.








Spirit.

– Maybe not all in Corinth had miraculous

gifts.








Spirit.

– Maybe not all in Corinth had miraculous

gifts.

– In that case, Paul says, “Even if you don‟t

have a miraculous gift, you still have the

non-miraculous gift, and you are part of

the one body.”

What Does This Say to the Modern

Church?

• Because we all have the indwelling of

the Holy Spirit, we are equals.

What Does This Say to the Modern

Church?

• Because we all have the indwelling of

the Holy Spirit, we are equals.

• The Spirit is our guarantee that we are

not better than one another.

DO YOU HAVE THE

SPIRIT THIS MORNING?

We‟d Better Have the Spirit!

• “You, however, are not in the flesh but

in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God

dwells in you. Anyone who does not

have the Spirit of Christ does not

belong to him” (Rm 8:9, ESV).

We‟d Better Have the Spirit!

• “You, however, are not in the flesh but

in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God

dwells in you. Anyone who does not

have the Spirit of Christ does not

belong to him” (Rm 8:9, ESV).

• Do you need to come and receive the

Spirit this morning?

the united body

Spiritual

unified body

body thats

body of christ

lawyers body

united body

surprising statement

individual members

different bodies