The "Whole" in the Church by David Richardson

The “Whole” in Your Church

https://godshotspot.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/the-body-of-christ-jesus/

At first glance, it appears that the title of this article is grammatically incorrect. Shouldn’t the word “whole” be hole? Hole would denote a circular, square, rectangular, oval, or irregularly shaped opening somewhere in the church’s structure. A literal hole in the church is not what this article is about albeit a hole in the church is certainly a possibility, and, in some respects a real or metaphorical interpretation of an opening (i.e., side, roof, foundation, or spiritual consciousness) of the church. This article is about the body, mind, and soul of the church, i.e., the individuals who comprise its organized body. It’s about you-the individual who is a subset of the whole (the congregation). The first book of Corinthians Chapter twelve verses twelve to twenty-seven (the Amplified Version) delineates the purpose of being a part of the “whole”. “For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole [body] were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed and arranged the parts in the body, each one of them, just as He willed and saw fit. If they all were a single organ, where would [the rest of] the body be? But now there are many parts, but a single body. 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.” But quite the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary; and as for those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, these we treat with greater honor; and our less presentable parts are treated with greater modesty, while our more presentable parts do not require it. But God has combined the [whole] body, giving greater honor to that part which lacks it, so that there would be no division or discord in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. And if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering; if one member is honored, all rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”

What is your rationale for participating in a church organization? Perhaps you want to fulfill the great commission of Matthew 28:18-20, “Jesus came up and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,

even to the end of the age.” Perhaps you want spiritual companionship. Perhaps there is some unnamed reason why you want to join a church. Your reason for joining is irrelevant, because, once you join, you become a part of the Body of Christ. If Matthew 28:18-20 is the reason you joined, then you have been given an important directive-a directive to change the world! How are you going to change the world? I think the first step is spiritual transformation. You must be transformed into a different person by spiritually amalgamating with Jesus Christ using the Holy Spirit as a conduit. What does spiritual amalgamation with Jesus require? You must “learn of Him, and allow His good and perfect image to replace your evil and imperfect nature”. So, how can you learn of Him and take on His "good and perfect image"? Your personality needs to be cloaked by the character of Jesus. There are many wonderful characteristics of Christ. He was God transformed into a man; He was divinity in the flesh with the caveat that He would always rely on His Father for His daily earthly walks and talks. His parents, Joseph and Mary, instilled in Him the values that reflect a God-like personage. There are ten characteristics among the plethora of His good nature that help us participate in His Body. These ten good-natured characteristics are love since “…he loved them unto the end (John 13:1)”; patience since He was patient during His tribulations, you should be patient during your tribulations (Romans 12:12); peacefulness since the peace of Christ rules your heart (Colossians

3:15); kindness for

God

said,

“…be

kind

one

another,

tenderhearted…(Ephesians 4:32); goodness since He is good (Psalm 100:5); gentleness since He taught you to be gentle with others, even as a nurse cherishes her children (1 Thessalonians 2:7); forgiveness since

commissioned

you

forgive

others

(Ephesians

3:32); humbleness since He “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8)”; compassion since you are told to “be ye all of one mind, having

compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous (1 Peter 3:8); and mercifulness since He is merciful ( Luke 6:36). Christ’s love enables you to love others. When you emulate the love (agape love) of Christ, you will address the needs of others without expecting anything in return. You exhibit tolerance towards others when you are patient. You are under God’s control when you are peaceful. You demonstrate a loving attitude towards others when you are kind. You are good when you do the right thing. You can address the needs of others when you are gentle. Christ forgave you; therefore, you should forgive others. You are no longer resentful towards others when you, like Christ, forgive those who “trespass against” you. Forgiveness includes ignoring the wrong things others have done against you and expressing Christ’s love to those who have wronged you. Humility is understanding your sinful nature, and your tendency to think that you are better than others. Humility is admitting that God is responsible for your achievements and that you are submissive to His will. You feel the pain, trials, and tribulations of others when you are compassionate. Compassion enables you to have concern for others, and it helps you address the struggles that others may be experiencing. Mercy means exhibiting forgiveness and kindness in the face of adversity even when others don’t deserve or anticipate your forgiveness and kindness. The ten characteristics mentioned are not the sole characteristics of Christ; however, they are particularly helpful for individuals who desire to be embedded into the Family of God, because they are foundational and fundamental.

How do you participate in the Body of Christ? Members of the Body of Christ truly love one another. Members of the body of Christ inextricably connect and function similarly as the elements of the human body function. Members of the Body of Christ love one another. Members of the

Body of Christ enjoy congregating with one another. Members of the Body of Christ support one another. Members of the Body of Christ pray for one another. Members of the Body of Christ extend open arms to visitors. The test of true love comes when members make an effort to address the needs, problems, and trials of others. Members demonstrate their genuine love for one another by extending a helping hand or a word of encouragement when one of their brothers or sisters encounter inadvertently trials along the rocky road of life. Does your church organization reflect what Paul’s describes as the Body of Christ? Do the ten characteristics of Christ run deeply within your church? Is your church, as a Body of Christ, willing to extend helping hands? Wouldn’t

reflection

Christ’s love, patience, peacefulness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, forgiveness, humility, c ompassion, and mercy if visitors to your church could say, “I smell Christ”? Their sensory nerves could detect the odor of comradery and unity reflected in your church’s propensity to love, to be patient, to be peacefulness, to be kind, to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be humble, to be compassionate, and to be merciful. Then, they could detect the closeness associated with being inextricably connected to the Body of Christ. Let’s examine what it means to connect to the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Paul gives us insights into how the church should function. He points out that those who know Jesus are a part of His Body of believers. He uses the body metaphor because the internal and external parts of the body play an inextricable role in making it whole. Paul focuses on the external parts because the ancient church easily visualized the external parts of human anatomy. Today, we could use the internal parts as well to illustrate the “wholistic” importance of a functionally complete body because we understand how the internal organs work.

The primary reason for Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s metaphor was to demonstrate the importance of each member of the body of Christ using his/her talent(s) to support the church. 1 Peter 4: 10 says we should use our God-given talents to make the church whole. Each member of the Body of Christ holds an important role to make the Body whole so as not to create a hole in the Body. Consequently, each member is connected to the whole Body so that the Body can be properly function. Some members of the Body of Christ function as the hands. Some members of the Body of Christ function as feet. Some members of the Body of Christ function as eyes. Some members of the Body of Christ function as ears. What would happen to the body if the hands were absent? What would happen to the body if the legs were absent? What would happen to the body if the eyes were absent? The body would have difficulty functioning because it is not whole. Likewise, the Body of Christ would have difficulty function if its members ceased to contribute their talents to make the church whole. The Body of Christ consists of church members who exhibit multiple talents. Some members are leaders, some members are speakers, some members are teachers, some members are musicians, some members are greeters, some members are ushers, some members prepare food, some members visit the sick, some members visit those in prison, some members supply clothing and shelter to those in need, and some members minister to the children. These talents are examples of what makes the church whole. Undoubtedly, churches have many untapped talents, and if your church is going to be complete, then those talents need to be used. Paul says that the Body of Christ is complete when each member of the Body is committed to making the Body complete. Everyone in the church is expected to become a part of the Body of Christ, and each talent is important regardless of how insignificant you may think it is. Church members should support and encourage one another. Paul said that you could be a hand, or a foot, or an eye, but the body is not only an

eye or a hand or a foot; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a body. The body functions more effectively when the hands are present, and the feet are present. So the church functions more effectively when members contribute their talents. None of us are isolated Christians. Isolated Christians are people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, but they are disconnected from the body of Christ. When you talk to them they tell you about some negative experience that caused them to leave the church. Someone may have said or done something to hurt their feelings or they didn’t like the minister or the direction of the church, because it wasn’t going their way…so, they severed themselves and became “isolated” Christians. The church disappointed “isolated” Christians; therefore, they became disillusioned about their Christian walk and amputated themselves from the Body of Christ. Now they are tagged as isolated Christians and wounded the Body of Christ. This is counter-productive to the important work of spreading the good news that we serve a risen Savior who we who will shortly appear in the eastern sky.

Unlike the human body, the Body of Christ will heal from an amputation, because someone will step into the hole created by the departure of the “isolated” Christian, and the damage site will regenerate. Occasionally, there is a loss of irretrievable parts of the Body of Christ, and the church dies.

Paul says that when you accept Christ as your Savior, you become a part of the Body of Christ. You have a function to perform, and you have a connection to the rest of the Body. You serve the rest of the Body, and the rest of the Body works with you. The hands serve the feet and the feet serve the hands and the eyes serve the hands and feet and the hands and feet do not function well without the eyes. If you disconnect from the Body of Christ, you damage the function of the

church! You don’t live in isolation! Paul uses the body metaphor because he wants you to realize that you need each other to accomplish the commission that Christ gave us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).” We need to help and encourage each other. When we think back over the time we spent in the church, undoubtedly we can imagine what life would have been like if we hadn’t been connected to the Body of Christ. We need church members to support and guide us. We need church members to help us grow spiritually, socially, intellectually, and physically. When you got married, you wanted your church members to support you. When we have issues and concerns, we want church members to give us a word of encouragement and to help us address our concerns and issues. When any church member has a major accomplishment or a major disappointment, he/she wants the support of his/her church. God gave us a body of believers with a multitude of talents so that the church would be complete. That is why the church body should ebulliently celebrate its diversity of talents. Christ is the head and church members are the neck, torso, arms, hands, legs, and feet of His Body. The salient point is that each member of the Body of Christ is inextricably connected to a collection of internal and external organisms that feed into the head. The head contains the brain; consequently, Christ is the church’s brain, and church members operate in unison to execute His mission.

If you are an inextricable component of the Body of Christ, then you will analogously respond to that body as the human body responds to the brain. Also, when people look at you they should see the ten characters of Christ reflected in you. You should be unified with the people of Christ, and

you should be able to work amicably with them to accomplish the mission of the church. The mission of the church is found in Matthew 25:31-40, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations…And he shall set the sheep on his right hand…. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Since ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Jesus healed the sick, gave water to the thirsty, fed the hungry, and paved the way for His disciples and apostles to clothe the naked and visit those in prison. He expects the same from members of His Body. It is difficult to carry the message of a crucified Savior, a resurrected Savior, and a soon-to-return Savior to people who are hungry, diseased, naked and incarcerated. So, your primary responsibility is to address the physical needs of the community, and then share the Gospel story with them. Do you want to be with the “sheep” at the last roll call when Jesus says “…unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”? The key to unlocking your desire for heavenly citizenship is found in Matthew 25:31-40.

The Body of Christ is a living organism working together to serve Jesus Christ. You are connected to others by Jesus’ love because He has called you to a new life; He has redeemed you from the consequences of your sins, and He has renewed you for a life of service and love to others. The words of the song titled “The Body of Christ” clearly delineates the necessity for creating a unified church that glorifies and edifies God within its community. Gather the people Tell the stories Change the world for God's great glory Shine in us Won't You shine in us When He returns we’ll all be ready Lay down our crowns to give Him glory Shine in us Won't You shine in us One voice. One heart One God. One cross One church We are the body of Christ.” To, “tell the story”, refers to the Gospel message that Christ was born, Christ died, but most importantly, Christ was resurrected. So, “we serve a risen Savior and He’s in the world today. And no matter what men may say, we see His hand of mercy, and we hear His voice of cheer. And just the time we need Him, He’s always near”. Our knowledge of Christ and our understanding of His mission helps us to share His message with the world; therefore, giving us the ability to change the world for the glory of God.

You are a part of the Body of Christ…you have heard the “battle cry”; therefore, integrate within the Body in a show of solidarity, commitment, and unity so that you will use your talent(s) to support your fellow church members as part of the Body of Christ.