One Body In Christ

Serving Together.
Worship in Laskela, Karelia, Russia (2002)
Russian Interpreter, myself preaching, Rev. Antti Lepisto as Finnish Interpreter
Two interpreters makes for a very long sermon; yet, by serving together all heard the message 
in their own language.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 

                                                                            (Eph 4:1 KJV)

Only one!  There is only one Body in Christ! There is only one Body in Christ who worships and serves the one Father by the power of the one Spirit of God.

We, all who believe that Jesus who is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, lived and died on the cross for them and yet lives again in and through us all, are members of his Body.

Yet, there are many divisions within the visible church on earth. Not only individuals; but, whole congregations and even denominations, over the centuries, have turned to themselves to micromanage faith; to micromanage mission; to micromanage evangelism! Way too often we do not reach out because we who are in the church consider our own particular ways of being the church more important than being the Body of Christ.

Christ's ministry was to reach out to others. He proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom of God. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. He did all this with hand's on! He came to this earth as a true man for our sakes; to serve us. After teaching us many things, his ultimate act was to usher in the Kingdom of God for us by dying on the cross so that we might be forgiven our sins and live life as citizens of the Kingdom. But, before he ascended to that Kingdom he gave us a command. He told us to go and make more disciples by teaching about everything he had said and done and baptizing others.  There is only one Body in Christ. We are that Body. Christ continues to work in and through and above us all to continue serving others. 

But, if anyone thinks that we should stand aside though while false teachers and prophets proclaim a Gospel that Jesus did not proclaim, think again! Jesus did call out the false teachers and prophets. He did call out sinners. But, he loved them all. He loves us all enough to suffer and die a cruel death that we might live. We too love are to love all people. We ought to love them enough to call them out if they are teaching another gospel.

The faithful will work together to continue the mission of the Body of Christ reaching out to all people. We cannot isolate ourselves from the whole Body of Christ. There is only one Body and every member is needed for the Body to be fruitful. There is not one member more important than another that the other should be cast aside.

The Body of Christ serves others in unity by the power of the Spirit of God.  It is not we who do the work of our Father; but, God himself who is above all, and through all, and in us all. 

May God help us to drop the egos and the isolation so that we may love and serve one another as members of the Body of Christ.

God's Peace be with you all.  Pr. J.

The Building Up Of The Holy Temple

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

                                                                               (Eph 2:19-22 KJV)

We are one in Christ. By faith in his saving work on the cross, we who were not God's children are now God's children; brothers and sisters in Christ; fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God.

To each of us is given gifts to build the Church. The gifts are not necessarily brick and mortar. Rather, they are gifts of the Spirit and some could be referred to as talents. Some may be teachers. Some may be readers or singers. Some may sweep the floors or shovel snow. Others may be gifted with the gift of charity and occupied with feeding the hungry and reaching out to those in need. No matter what it is that each individual has been given the ability to do; all of these gifts are necessary to help build the church on earth and ultimately building up the true Church, the holy temple; the Body of Christ.

God gives us gifts to build up this holy temple; yet, for some reason many congregations seem to not be doing much to build up the Body of Christ. They remain in their little groups catering to themselves rather than going out into the world to share the good news. So intent on saving their buildings and their little circles the great commission is often forgotten. They will say: "we are too old" or "when I retire I will have time to serve the lord." Who knows what tomorrow will bring! 

Consider that each stone in the building is a person and their gifts. If some of the stones have been left out of a building, what will happen when a storm comes along? The wind and the rain and the snow will ravage that place and the people will have to spend even more time focusing on repairing a building rather than building up the Body of Christ. He is the cornerstone on which the holy temple is built. If he is not, then it is not the holy temple that is being built.

We are the habitation of God. Together, we are the holy temple. We are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. That holy temple needs every brick to be complete. Don't be found missing. Serve the Lord together according to each person's individual gifts.

God's Peace - Pr. J