Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Third Sunday after the Epiphany (2010) Rev. Toby Byrd

One Body, the family of Christ

1 Cor. 12:12-31a (ESV)

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. [13] 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.

[14] For the body does not consist of one member but of many. [15] If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [16] And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [17] If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? [18] But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. [19] If all were a single member, where would the body be? [20] As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

[21] 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." [22] On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23] 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, [24] which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, [25] that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. [26] If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

[27] Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [28] And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. [29] Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? [30] Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? [31] But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

Look around you; look at the person sitting next to you, look at the one in front of you and the one behind. Look at all the people in the nave this morning attending Divine Service. These, and all who have been called by Christ, who have been given the gift of faith to believe in Him as their Savior and the Savior of mankind, are your brothers and sisters. Moreover, they are your family, your family in Christ and they are as important, if not more so, than your blood relatives. Our Lord Jesus made this clear when He said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37 ESV). Thus, this morning, with the aid of the Holy Spirit let us take a good look at ourselves, all of us who make up the One Body, the family of Christ.

St. Paul in the Epistle Reading for today goes into great detail regarding our relationship with one another as members of the Body of Christ. He compares us to parts of the human body, using those parts and their connections to each other in an analogy of how we are to look at our relationship to one another. Moreover, in his analogy, he reminds us that what we are whatever our heavenly Father has made us. Thus, it is foolish of us to envy one another or to consider any one of us dispensable, unworthy of each others love, friendship, or respect. For each one of us fulfills a specific function within the One Body, the family of Christ and that function is not without honor and necessity.

In the wider sense, St. Paul is referring to the entire Church of Christ, all those who believe that He is the Son of God who Redeemed the world to His heavenly Father through His atoning death on Calvary’s Cross. It is through His effort that we are connected, through faith, to all believers: we are brothers and sisters to all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord, thus we become a divine body; one in unison with Christ. In the narrow sense, St. Paul is referring to the congregation, each of you as a brother or sister in Christ in a specific place. Therefore, each and every one of you is important to each other, for collectively you make up the Body of Christ, the Church.

St. Paul, in using this analogy points to the varied gifts granted by God to His children. St Paul identifies some of these gifts which, “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues” (v. 28). Each and every gift is given by the Holy Spirit and brought together by Him to glorify God, to proclaim the Gospel, and to help build the Church on earth and in heaven. Thus, every gift is of great importance in God’s overall plan of salvation and whenever one of these gifts is denigrated or lost, it has an impact on the Church and on the congregation. This is why Holy Scripture encourages us, “to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3 ESV) recognizing that we are all One Body, the family of Christ. However, maintaining that bond of peace has proven to be most difficult throughout the history of the Church.

Satan, in his quest to destroy all that God has made, is engaged in a continuous effort to divide the Body of Christ. Through fleshly desires and pursuits, he leads the children of God to engage in un-loving and un-Christian acts that make them participants of his plan of destruction. Falling prey to Satan’s temptations to denigrate a believer in Christ has led brothers or sisters in Christ to fall away and thus, separate themselves from the One Body, the family of Christ. Led by the flesh rather than the Spirit, they disregard God’s Word and succumb to Satan’s urgings, engaging in all sorts of unloving manners and attitude that breed division and schism; separation and estrangement between family members. Often those who no longer respect or love their brother or sister in Christ amputate themselves from the body, doing what St. Paul says should not be done; separating from the body because they love the world more than they love their family. Instead of complaining they should voice their satisfaction; instead of self-disparagement there should be self-appreciation. However, those who engage in this self-deprecating practice do so at their own peril, even if they claim some “right” to do so. Because once separated from the body what do they become? According to our Lord, they become a dead branch, no longer connected to the vine and fit only for the fire. If this should be the case, then Satan has captured another soul. St. John warns us not to be like Cain, telling us it is not difficult to know who are or are not members of the One Body, the family of Christ. He wrote, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10 ESV).

Moreover, Holy Scripture warns us against those who would pursue animosity and anger, whose goal is to divide the One Body, the family of Christ. St. Paul in his letter to the Church at Rome wrote, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil” (Romans 16:17-19 ESV). Again, in his pastoral letter to Titus he counseled, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11 ESV). Animosity, anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, these have no place within the family of Christ for they oppose the will of God and are unnatural growths upon the Body of Christ. Like a cancer they defile the Body. Our Lord Jesus tells us, “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19 ESV).

No, no, a thousand times no. When these ugly practices, fed by the desire of Satan to destroy the One Body, the family of Christ, raise their ugly heads, we are to reject them. We are to say to ourselves, I am not a body unless I am whole, and what makes me whole, my brothers and sisters standing beside me in the one true faith, glorifying God and receiving His means of Grace, Word and Sacrament. What makes us whole? Loving our God and our brothers and sisters in Christ! Thus, we defeat Satan’s attempt to divide the One Body, the family of Christ when we obey our Lord’s explanation of the Great Commandment; to love, “the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to love, “your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37, 39).

Furthermore, each of you has been blessed by God to be a member of the One Body, the family of Christ; to be a child of His. Throughout Holy Scripture the Lord reminds us just how blessed we are. The Holy Spirit tells us; “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13 ESV). Again He says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16-17 ESV).

Much is expected of each of you who are called and given the gift of faith to believe in Jesus and who are children of God and members of the One Body, the family of Christ. St. Paul sets forth this standard of conduct for God’s children when he wrote to the members of the church at Philippi. He wrote, “Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Philip. 2:15-16 ESV).

God is a God of order not chaos, therefore unity in doctrine, unity in faith, and unity in love is the foundation of the Church of Christ. Moreover, peace, harmony, and forgiveness are what our Lord has commanded you to abide in. Our Lord Jesus says to you, “be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50); again, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (John 14:27 ESV); and again, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV). St. Paul reminds you to, “Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:16 ESV); to “live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5 (ESV); and to, “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14 ESV). Furthermore, if you expect to be forgiven by God for your sins, then you need to heed the words of our Lord Jesus who said, “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14 ESV). Moreover, these are not just instructions for a pietistic way of living; they are commands for living as children of God: those who have been baptized and given the gift of faith to believe that our Lord Jesus suffered the pain, humiliation, and death of the cross so your sins could be forgiven and you could be reconciled to His heavenly Father and live for eternity with Him in heaven as members of the One Body, the family of Christ.

Dissension, anger, schism, these are the ways of Satan. These are his tools by which he endeavors to accomplish his plan of destroying God’s Creation. However, we have been liberated from his bondage, therefore, why would we ever want to go back? Why would we want him to place his shackles on us and keep us from the heavenly reward God has promised us through His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ? There is no compelling reason to succumb to the temptation of Satan to denigrate a brother or sister in Christ.

However, if we are denigrated, cursed, blasphemed, disrespected, shunned and generally abandoned, take heart for this is a true sign that you are not of the world. If you were of the world you would not be persecuted for loving Christ. Our Lord Jesus comforts us by telling us, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 ESV).

Furthermore, St. Paul expands on this when he tells us, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14-21 ESV).

One body, many parts, that’s the One Body, the family of Christ. We all are called by the One and only begotten Son of God to believe in Him and to seek forgiveness of our sins in His name for life eternal. His love for us suffered the indignity of man and the wrath of God all for the redemption of our sins. Therefore, we love because He loved first. Of all the people on earth we, who have been called by Christ and given the gift of faith to believe that our sins are forgiven because of His sacrifice, should always strive to be loving and forgiving. This is God’s will.

Therefore, in closing, I remind you of the words of St. Paul who wrote, “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Col. 3:12-13 ESV). Our Lord Jesus has called you and given you His love enabling you to go from here this morning empowered by the Holy Spirit to always love your brother and sister in the One Body, the family of Christ. Amen.

May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.