If you read my article last week you may have noticed that the image that comes to your mind for “the church” and the biblical description of the church may have been different. The church is not the building or even one member alone. The biblical description of the church is the entire Body of Christ made up of individual parts that come together to work together as one. Last week we unpacked that principle with verses like 1 Corinthians 12:27 where the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
The early “church” had no physical location or building. The early church had no pews, stained glass windows, hymnals, PowerPoint, or sound system. The early church had no stage with an organ, piano, or praise team. The first Christians gathered in homes and were focused on what Christianity was actually about which is “Christ” and the true mission of the church. The early believers were taught by the Apostles of Christ, and they knew that “the church” was the group of believers made up of many parts called the “Body Of Christ.” Over 2,000 years later “the church” has gone through many cultural transitions, and unfortunately the world and culture have influenced the church in many ways. Some of those influences have been beneficial, and others have not been beneficial to its true mission. However, today we want to unpack the fact that “every part” of the Body of Christ matters!
In 1 Corinthians 12:12-18 the Apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” There are many points to be made from this passage, but today I want to point out that as a Christ follower you matter to the local and universal Body of Christ. Can you imagine if you woke up one morning and your hand decided to separate from your body? Or imagine if you will if your foot decided not to participate for the day and wouldn’t function. If one or many parts of your physical body decided not to participate it would be a very difficult day if not impossible to accomplish anything.
Just like the physical body every part matters when it comes to being a part of the Body of Christ or what we often call “the church.” We all are created to be different parts, and we need one another to come together to function. For example, imagine if you came into church and everyone had an acoustic guitar. No one was greeting people at the door. No one was helping in the children’s ministry. No one was helping people find parking in the parking lot. Everyone was just walking around playing music and singing. Would the church be functioning the way God intended it to function? Or let’s say that you volunteer with helping set up coffee and food for hospitality. It’s not onstage. It’s not glamorous. Do you ever have the thought, “It doesn’t really matter if I show up or not; anyone can make the coffee. It isn’t like if the worship leader didn’t show up.”
What Paul would say is that you don’t realize how massively important your part is to the body. Your service to the Lord and others helps bend the knee to help the body walk. In short, the body of Christ needs you, and you need the Body of Christ to accomplish the mission for the church that Jesus gave all of us. It’s so important for “the church” to come together here in Fayette County to impact our community. This Sunday at South Side we will continue our series entitled “Your Part Matters.” Be sure to come early, and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and snack at Café Connect. We have child care, and children’s classes for all ages. Also, South Side offers two worship times being 8:30 & 10:45. We hope to see you there!
In Christ,
Barry Pettit
Lead Pastor
South Side Church of Christ
www.southsidewch.com
