Since I have been at Cornerstone, God has taught me continually about His church and what it means to be a member of a local body. Over and again God has taught me about my role here with the local church, working together in His Kingdom. I have been attending church as long as I can remember and my specific roles have changed from time to time. I loved my church in Dover where God taught me the basics about Scripture and truth and, ultimately, Christ. In college, I was able to serve at a church in Covington where God taught me the ups and downs of being on staff, as well as the joy of investing my life in those I was called to minister to. Yet, I have a confession to make: I do not know if it was my time at Union and the thoughts I was being exposed to there or if it was the struggles I experienced at Oak Grove, but there were definitely times when my love for the church dwindled and I grew frustrated by what I thought it had become. But God did not leave me there. Rather, my frustration gave way to a longing for the church to once again rise up and be the Body of Christ that she was called to be. God’s revealing of Himself to me through my studies at Union ignited a fire within me to serve the local church and fight for her with my calling and ministry. Being here at Cornerstone has only fanned the flame that God began with those experiences in my life. I long, as many of you do, to see God bless His church here and to see Him raise us up into our head, which is Christ.
With that end in mind, I want to look at Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus. Paul offers crucial instruction concerning what it means to be the body of Christ. Since his teaching is similar in 1 Corinthians 12, we will reference that passage as well. But our focus will be his words in Ephesians and the instructions concerning the church he gives there.
In the verses preceding the ones we read, we find Paul arguing for the unity of the body. Verses 4-6 capture the thrust of his argument, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”Paul makes no mistake about it, it is God who is behind all this. It is His church, local and universal. Through faith in Christ, we are brought into the fellowship and through this same faith we are sustained. In 1 Corinthians, Paul makes a similar point. In verse 4 he writes, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.”Paul again drives home the point that we are brought together and thus find our unity in God. He is ultimately the one who is at work in us and through us. Thus, the great encouragement that we find here is that we do not have to muster up unity. We do not have to go from person to person trying to find out what it is we have in common with them. No, Paul tells us explicitly what it is that draws us together: it is God. For His purposes and for His glory, He has called us all through the Spirit and belief in Christ to come and join with His church. Thus, our unity is rooted in our theology. It is God who has brought us together and it is ultimately Him who will sustain us to the end.
Yet, we would be blind not to notice the truth that God, while drawing us together in unity, has also dealt with us specifically. So how do we understand the diversity that God has given us?
In verse 11, Paul presents this idea when he says,“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers… Again we see Him presenting the same truth in 1 Corinthians. In fact, he offers two lists in this chapter of the specific gifts of the body: first in verses 8-11 and then again in verses 28-30. Thus, we see the great truth of the church: diversity in unity. Are we called to exist in unity? Yes, of course; Paul has already made this clear. Yet, are we called to be identical? No, our giftings are unique and specific. And the great point that Paul is making is that the same place from which we find our unity is the same place from which we find our diversity, namely in God. For His purpose he has brought us together to be One and for His purpose He has gifted us diversely. Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 12:18,“But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” If it is God’s purpose we are called to accomplish, then who else could be the source of our gifts? Thus, if we are seeking our gifts, we seek them in Him.
Now, I do not want to go into the specific gifts and what they mean and who has them today. I simply want to point out that Paul makes it clear that there is diversity within the unity of the body. A question I do want to address is one that runs close to what we have already seen. If in the unity of the body, God has gifted us specifically, then does that mean certain gifts within the body are more important than others? This can be a difficult question, but I think Paul answers it for us clearly.
I think that it is this point with which the church struggles with the most. In fact, I think we have lied to ourselves about our answer to this question. I would think that if I went from person to person who is setting in this church this morning and asked them, “Is there any member whose role is more important than any other member in this church?” I think the overwhelming response I would receive would be that, although God has given us diverse roles, they are all equal in their importance. This is the response we have been taught and it is the response we know to give. Yet, my concern is that is only a response and not a real belief. This has especially been true in my experience. As I told you, I spent three years in college working at a church in Covington. While I was there, my responsibilities included teaching Sunday School and the children’s sermon on Sunday mornings. On Sunday nights I was involved with the Bible drill program and on Wednesday nights I taught the youth. Thus every time the church was open I had responsibilities to be there and, for the most part, I was there. If I was not, then arrangements had to be made to cover for me. When I first came to Cornerstone, after resigning from Oak Grove, I did not have these similar responsibilities. I did not teach a class and no arrangements needed to be made for me if I was to miss a Sunday or Wednesday. I was “just” a member. And in the end, that was the attitude I really had. If something came up on Sunday, it was no big deal for me to miss. I enjoyed being here, so I did not want to miss much. But if worse came to worse, it was not that big of a deal if I missed. Now, I say all that not to condemn missing church. I am not trying to encourage us all to win attendance badges. The error I discovered in my own life and I fear in many others, is in the attitude. The moment I no longer had ‘teaching responsibilities’ to the church was the moment I felt as if I had no responsibilities at all.
Another way I have experienced this in my own life recently is with leading worship. Wednesday I was responsible to lead worship here at church. This morning that responsibility returned to Mrs. Kim. So, the question I ask myself is this, “Did I have more responsibility to worship Wednesday than I did this morning?” And let me ask you a question: do you have less a responsibility to worship this morning than those who stand on the stage and play and sing? Or do you have less a responsibility than me to be in the Word and focused on what God is saying and doing? I know it can be a struggle. Trust me, I have seen it so clearly played out in my own life. Yet, I think God is calling us to more. We are called to more than simply singing the songs we like and humming the ones we don’t. We are called to more than listening to the sermon when it particularly applies to us. We are called to more than attendance and 10%. We are called to more as the Body of Christ.
This is what Paul is trying to get across to the Ephesians in verses 15 and 16:“but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” It is the “proper working of each individual part” that we are after this morning. Our responsibilities are different. Some are in front, some are not. Some you can see, and some you can’t. But all have a part to play and all are called to passionately pursue that part by passionately pursuing God and the gifts He has given by His grace. Paul teaches us not make it our goal to be elevated above the rest, but also not to make it our goal to simply blend in and pass the time. We have been called to more.
Well, the last question that remains is why? Again, Paul answers that for us clearly.
This is what Paul tells us in verses 12-13,“for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” We are called to work and labor and fulfill our role in the church that we may know the Son of God. This is the end to which we labor.
Now we may be tempted to ask the question, “What if we don’t do our part?” But I think that is entirely the wrong question. The answer is easy: God will accomplish His purposes in the church, for His plans will not be thwarted. No, I think the real question to ask is this, “What does it mean to hold on to the promises of Christ for His church?” Let the answer to that question be our motivation to play our role as a member of the body. Let the truth that we are working toward completion in Christ, and the promise that He will one day truly make us complete, drive us to pursue our role in His church.
We come this morning longing to be the body of Christ, longing to be the church that God has called us to be. We truly want to ‘present every man complete in Christ.’ I think Paul has given us some clear instruction on what it means to strive towards this end. We are called to be One in Christ and to realize the unity that exists among us due to His calling on our lives. We are called to use the diverse gifts that He has given us within the body. And we are called to view our role and our responsibility for what it truly is. Let us as individual believers come together and truly be the Body of Christ, for His great glory and our great good.