(#062) 1 Corinthians 12 - If the Body Operated Like People Do, It Would DieOur real thoughts and intents are revealed in our sacrifice to God's plan.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. Welcome to this Bible lesson!
At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God. As the Lord He is 100% Deity…He is God the Son, a member of the Triune Godhead. He is also 100% human just like you and me, and His name is Jesus Christ. The Lord…God the Son…became flesh…Jesus Christ...and lived among us. He is the uniquely born One…100% God and 100% man in one Person forever. He is the Sovereign God of the Universe. He is the Jewish Messiah.
At Barah Ministries, we make a difference by teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from man’s perspective. As those who make Barah Ministries our spiritual home, we are Christians. Being a Christian means we believe in the DEITY of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with Him. God has an enemy, Satan, whom God made ‘the ruler of this world.’ He is a liar who deceives the whole world, including you and me. He doesn't want us to get to know God, and he interferes with our chance to know God. In John, Chapter 12, Verse 31, the Lord says…
JOHN 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (he will be dethroned at a future time).”
Satan’s strategy against the human race is religion, which is designed to make us either indifferent or antagonistic to God. Matthew, Chapter 23, Verse 15 says…
MATTHEW 23:15 "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees…you hypocrites! You travel around on sea and land to make one convert to your religion and when he becomes converted, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!"
Religion deceives many into thinking they are saved when they might not be…and it works really well! Billions of people are deceived. Those who are deceived by religion don’t stop to examine the doctrines of their religion to look for the deception.
The Word of God…the Bible…is the truth…and it informs us about Satan's insidious deceptions. As believers in Christ, we are in union with Christ, and we have the victory over Satan through our Lord, who has overcome the world.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON If the Body Operated Like People Do, It Would Die
LESSON INTRODUCTION
The body is one of God’s perfect analogies. We have one body, with many parts, and the parts operate as a coordinated whole. Each part of the body operates independently. The right hand and the left hand can do different things at the same time. In addition, the parts of the body depend on each other. After we eat, the stomach counts on the digestive juices to break down its contents. The parts of the body work interdependently as well. Walking is a series of falls. The body falls and the right foot catches the weight. The body falls again and the left foot catches the weight. Our two legs work interdependently to allow us to progress as we walk or run.
What if the body operated like people…with divisiveness, disunity, and elitism? What if the teeth refused to chew food? The body would not get nourishment. What if the eyes refused to see? We sure would bump into things a lot. What if the lungs refused to breathe? The brain would be deprived of oxygen. If the body operated as people operate, it would die. In fact, when the heart refuses to beat any longer, we die.
In today’s lesson, we’ll continue our study of First Corinthians, Chapter 12. The apostle Paul uses the body as an analogy to encourage the Corinthians believers to give unity a try.
SONG INTRODUCTION
God has a plan for all mankind and a personal plan for your life. He knows you personally. In Psalm 32, Verse 8…
PSALM 32:8 (The Lord says)…I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go…I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
In her beautiful song, Francesca Battistelli says it this way…HE KNOWS MY NAME.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
HE KNOWS MY NAME Francesca Battistelli
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We're grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, thank you for the lessons on divisions and disunity because they encourage us to look at the possibilities of being there for each other like You are there for us…thank you for the times when we have people in our lives who understand the value of harmonious operation…thank you for illuminating the places in our lives where we operate as Your enemy operates…out of harmony with ourselves…
Help us to be reflections of the unity You have placed us into from the moment of salvation …show us how to be there for other people…encourage us to give of ourselves to others and to notice the possibilities…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON If the Body Operated Like People Do, It Would Die
We continue our study of First Corinthians at Chapter 12. As we begin our in-depth study of the chapter, a couple of questions for reflection…
QUESTION FOR REFLECTION
What things are you allowing in your life that destroy unity with others?
QUESTION FOR REFLECTION
Who are the people you have in your life that are committed to disunity?
In First Corinthians 12, so far we have learned that all Christians are spiritual. All Christians have ONE grace given spiritual gift from God. God works in ones because He is focused (Ephesians 4:4-6). All Christian lives are directed by God the Holy Spirit because it is the Spirit's responsibility after we are saved (from the moment of salvation) to oversee our sanctification …our being set apart by God for the privileges of the Christian Way of Living.
Why does God want us to study First Corinthians? After eleven chapters the theme is obvious …there are divisions…there is disunity…there is elitism in the Corinthian church, and some people in the church have asked Paul to address it. There are divisions…there is disunity…and there is elitism in our lives, and we can choose to address it. Black lives matter! Wait…doesn’t it go without saying that all lives matter?
Every time Paul addresses one of the problems he has been asked to address, he starts with the expression…NOW CONCERNING. First Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verse 1…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:1 NOW CONCERNING the “spiritually gifted ones” brethren…(you fellow believers in Christ)…I do not want you to be ignorant (about spiritual gifts since you’re so smart and so knowledgeable).
Beginning in Chapter 12 and continuing through Chapter 14, the apostle Paul is addressing a specific problem in this specific church in Corinth. There are members of the church who think their spiritual gift is better than the spiritual gift of others. Division. Disunity. Elitism. Just like we experience today. No wait…we have a new president. Don’t you feel the unity?
Human beings have a knack for taking what is pure, a spiritual gift, and making it impure. We get pure thoughts from the Word of God, and Satan’s influence asks us to doubt what our God is teaching us. Why would it be otherwise? We were born into Satan’s kingdom of systemic disunity, and often, we willingly donate our minds to his kingdom’s agenda, even though doing so is not God’s will for us.
It’s well over two-thousand years since first-century Corinth, yet we tolerate the same maladies as they did in our lives today…racial division…social division…and gender division. Christians reflect poorly on themselves when they engage in the practices of the old self. When we are born again, there is a new creation…changes happen within us…Galatians, Chapter 3, Verses 26 to 28 say…
GALATIANS 3:26 You believers in Christ are all ADULT SONS OF GOD THE FATHER through faith in Christ Jesus.
GALATIANS 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into union with Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (in unity with Him as His body).
The best change of all?
GALATIANS 3:28 (In God’s plan) There is neither Jew nor Greek (no racial distinction)… there is neither slave nor free man (no social distinction)…there is neither male nor female (no gender distinction)…for you are all one…you who are in union with Christ Jesus.
In God’s plan, all are created equal. In God’s plan…unity. In the world’s plan, some are elite and some are not. That was the problem in Corinth…elitism, causing disunity and division.
Our study of the Corinthian believers illuminates the divisions and disunity and elitism…in us as individuals…in our relationships…in our families… and an in our households. The division-disunity-elitism theme has shown up in my life multiple times in multiple relationships in the past year, and I know that has been true for you as well. The people you think are on your side aren’t always on your side. They say they are, but you KNOW they aren’t.
Our amazing God allows a “shaking” to happen in our lives for a divine purpose…Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verses 26 to 27…
HEBREWS 12:26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.”
HEBREWS 12:27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
God shakes out the things from our life that are not genuine, like divisions, disunity and elitism. Praise Him! We need each other! We don’t need disunity.
God uses spiritual gifts to spread the influence of the sphere of unity into which He places us at the moment of salvation. First Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verse 7…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:7 But to each believer in Christ is given the manifestation of God the Holy Spirit (a spiritual gift)…by God…for the mutual benefit of all.
It is God the Holy Spirit’s sovereign job to distribute a spiritual gift to each believer and then to direct the believer in Christ to use the gift. Our spiritual gift allows us to reflect God the Holy Spirit to a lost and dying world.
In First Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verses 12 to 31, Paul uses the body as an analogy to get his point across. Is it okay to be elitist and divisive and disunified because you think your spiritual gift is better than someone else’s? If the body operated like we do, we would die!
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:12 For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:13 For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:14 For the body is not one part, but many.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:18 But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:20 But now there are many parts, but one body.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:23 …and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:24 …whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:25 …so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various kinds of tongues.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.
When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering, and then see how our bodies teach us the value of unity.
FIVE MINUTE BREAK NOBODY Casting Crowns
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON If the Body Operated Like People Do, It Would Die
Many churches teach tithing…the idea that is a REQUIREMENT to give one-tenth of your income to the church. I'm all for it! Yet if we look at what the Old Testament has to say about tithing, in context, we see a very different picture of what the Lord is saying about it. Malachi, Chapter 3, Verse 10…
MALACHI 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house…and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “See if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
The church needs your giving to function. We have bills. We have financial obligations that are part of having a church.
Tithing is much more about what God does for us when we give than what we do for Him in giving. So, what is God’s New Testament philosophy about giving? It’s the SAME as it was in the Old Testament…Second Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verses 6 to 8…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:6 Now this I say…he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly…and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:7 Each one of us must give just as he has decided within his own heart…not giving grudgingly or under compulsion…for God loves a purpose-driven giver.
SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance (for your giving and) for every good deed.
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always inspiring offering messages.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
FIRST JOHN 2:15 Do not love the world…nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the unconditional love of God the Father is not in him.
OFFERING VERSE
FIRST JOHN 2:16 For all that is in the world…the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life…is not from God the Father…but it is from the world.
OFFERING VERSE
FIRST JOHN 2:17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts…but the one who does the will of God the Father lives forever.
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU Don Moen
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON If the Body Operated Like People Do, It Would Die
Let’s look at the next section of this three-chapter passage, verse-by-verse…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:12 For even as the body is one (an independent unit)…and yet has many members (parts dependent on each other)…and all the members are part of the body…though they are many, they are one body (operating interdependently)…so also is Christ (one in unity with the body).
The body works in unity. Is Christ divided? Hardly! Remember First Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 13?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:13 Has Christ been divided (into component parts)? Paul was not crucified for your sake, was he? You weren’t baptized in the name of Paul, were you?
God makes us independent, yet simultaneously He wants us to be part of a whole…dependent on each other and working interdependently just as the body does…just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit operate.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:13 For by one (God…the Holy) Spirit we believers in Christ were all baptized into one body (through the baptism of the Spirit…placed into union with Christ)…whether Jews or Greeks (we are racially diverse)…whether slaves or free (we are socially diverse)…and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (in unity).
Disunity, division, and elitism is not God’s intention for us. As Christians, we are a team…we all wear the same uniform…but is our heart in the right place? Proverbs, Chapter 23, Verse 7 says not always…
PROVERBS 23:7 For as a person thinks within himself, so he is. The person says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.
The one thing that always becomes clear in relationships is where the heart is. Conflict, tension and crisis bring it out the heart. It is confounding at times to realize that the heart of someone you love and treasure is not with you. For example, min wedding vows…most marriages begin with a lie…
WEDDING VOWS
I,
Then what happens? Divorce at the first sign of trouble. Thoughts of divorce at the first moment when we learn that the other person is a fallible human being who makes mistakes. What if our body parts acted like we do? What if the hand refused to raise food to the mouth? What if the teeth refused to chew…that would show the belly wouldn’t it?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many members.
Just as no single body part can claim ultimate importance…no Christian can claim the supremacy of the spiritual gift. There is a spiritual gift of evangelism. Someone in Barah Ministries has the gift and it is unused. Maybe that is why we don’t grow as a ministry. In fact, many here have spiritual gifts that are unused and it hinders what this body is able to do if we were using all the spiritual gifts.
How we respond to the crisis of disunity matters. After experiencing the worst kind of tribulation in relationships, including division, disunity, and elitism, for many Christians, the conclusion is, “I’m just going to give it to God.” Perhaps that would be a great idea if that is what God is telling us to do in His Word. Show me the verse that says, “When people hurt you, fold up your tent, put your spiritual gift under a bushel, and just concentrate on Me, your God…talk to Me only…separate yourself from people.” It’s not what God says. He says have a relationship with me (faith)…have a relationship with yourself (hope)…have relationships with others (love)…simultaneously. People who don't get that are one-dimensional bores. They scratch their heads and wonder why their lives don't work. Their lives don't work because we need each other. And since we don't come here knowing how to be in a relationship, how to be unified, we must learn. We'll continue learning as we continue our study of this First Corinthians passage.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
When you hear the words GOD WANTS YOU, they should hit you like a ton of bricks. You are special to God. If you decide to become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are even more special according to First John, Chapter 3, Verse 1…
FIRST JOHN 3:1a See how great an unconditional love God the Father has given us believers in Christ…that we would be called children of God the Father…and in fact we are children of God the Father.
This message is your invitation to become a child of God as well!
There are people in the world, and you may be one of them, who describe themselves as atheists. An atheist is a person who says there is no Supreme Being. After hearing these opening comments, an atheist might say, “There is no god. God doesn’t exist.”
Philosopher Blaise Pascal, in what is known as “Pascal’s Wager,” says that human beings bet with their lives that God either exists or He does not. Pascal is right, so if you are an atheist would do well to at least consider what the Bible has to say about this issue. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…
ROMANS 3:23 …for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…
ROMANS 3:10 …as it is written, "There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…" Even though people think the Bible is “just a bunch of stories,” the apostle John makes the function of the Bible crystal clear…John, Chapter 20, Verse 31…
JOHN 20:31 …these things written here (in the Bible) have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Jewish Messiah)…the Son of God (in human form)…and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life in His name.
The Bible is a guide designed to give you the truth.
Since atheists are created creatures…human beings…they would do well to be curious about exactly what the Bible is proposing. IN First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22, the Bible says…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a …all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…
That’s horrible news for an atheist! The good news is that the Lord has an interesting attitude toward ALL of His creatures…even those who think there is no god. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…
SECOND PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead He is patient toward you unbelievers (including atheists)…not wishing for any of you to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).
It is not God’s plan that any of His creatures would perish.
What is God’s plan for the unbeliever, especially the atheist? The Bible claims that God exists and that God lives in heaven. How can you get to heaven? If you’re an atheist, and you think Pascal was right, then there is no downside to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you. God’s plan for the unbeliever is outlined in Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is an atheist’s acknowledgment that if there is a God, it might be smart to have faith in Him. John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”
No creature can do a thing to get to heaven on his own. Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says…
ROMANS 11:6 But if salvation is by grace, and of course it is, it is no longer based on works…otherwise, grace is no longer grace.
God’s grace makes your salvation a free gift to you. If you have to work for a gift then the work makes you deserve the gift. In salvation, there is no way for you to impress God enough that He would allow you to save yourself. It’s very wise to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind. So, heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…
JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in God the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
Who is this God who saves you? He is the only Being ever resurrected from the dead. The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3 For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance the gospel message I also received…that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 …and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…
The apostle Peter reminds us of the words of Old Testament prophet Joel in Acts, Chapter 2, Verse 21…
ACTS 2:21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.’
If you’re an atheist, I encourage you to keep on investigating to see if you’re right about there being no god. And if you’re not right, and you think there may be a God, there’s plenty of room for you in heaven!
SONG INTRODUCTION
What does God think of you? David gives us an idea in Psalm 139, Verses 13 to 16…
PSALM 139:13 For You formed my innermost being…You wove me in my mother’s womb.
PSALM 139:14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…wonder-filled are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.
PSALM 139:15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret…when I was skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth… PSALM 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance…and in Your book were all written all the days that You ordained for me…when as yet there was not one of them existing.
God loves you! And as June Murphy sings…YOU DON’T HAVE TO BEG Him to love you!
CLOSING SONG YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEG June Murphy
CLOSING VERSES
A Doxology of Praise to Our God
ROMANS 8:37 …in every situation imaginable, believers in Christ keep on overwhelmingly conquering through the Lord who loves us unconditionally.
ROMANS 8:38 For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life...nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons...fallen angels)…nor things present nor things to come...nor powers...
ROMANS 8:39 ...nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to sever us from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening! |