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The Head and the Body
Eph 1:22,23, I Cor 12:12 - 31
God has given us a marvellous body. I cannot believe that people can actually believe that man evolved and that our extremely complex bodies are here in this world just by chance. Open your hand. Could you please explain to me all the processes in our body that took place as you opened your hand? Very few could explain all the processes which take place in opening and closing our hand but we do it hundreds of times a day. The hand does not function on its own. If you were to cut off your hand, it would lie limp on the table or floor. It can do nothing by itself. It is totally controlled by the brain. Our head is where nearly everything is controlled for all the functions of the body. This is a very important object lesson for us as we study the scriptures today.
Ephesians 1:22 says that God has appointed Christ as the head of the church which is His body. If Christ is the head it requires a body to work through. The church is literally the hands to do Christ's work, the feet to run upon ish errands, a voice to speak his words. (Barclay p. 93) . The church is the complement of Christ. Just as the ideas of the mind cannot become effective without the work of the body, the tremendous glory which Christ brought to this world cannot be made effective without the work of the Church. It mean nothing less than that God's plan for one world is in the hands of the church.
There is a story told of when Jesus returned to heaven after his death and resurrection. The angels were talking to him and Gabriel said: "Master, you must have suffered terribly for men down there. "I did" said Jesus. Gabriel continued, " do they all know about how you loved them and what you did for them?" "Oh no,"said Jesus, not yet. Just now only a few people in Palestine know." "What have you done to let everyone know about it?" asked Gabriel? Jesus said, "I have asked Peter and James and John and a few others to make it the business of their lives to tell others about me, and the others still others, and yet others, until the farthest man on earth knows what I have done." Gabriel looked very doubtful, for he knew well what poor stuff men were made of. " Yes," he said, " but what if Peter and James and John grow tired? What if the people who come after them forget? What if away down in the twentieth century people just don't tell others about you? Haven't you made any other plans?" And Jesus answered, "I haven't made any other plans, I'm counting on them." To say that the church is the body means that Jesus is counting on us.
The Lord is counting on every single believer to use the talents, skills and spiritual gifts which He has blessed each of us with so that we can be faithful to use that which we have been given to further His Kingdom. The purpose of the head is to give direction. A lot of people really do not go to God for direction. They go off on their own and do their own thing for God without checking out what the manual tell us. What Christ wants us to do only becomes clear as we spend time with Him. The Bible is like a huge drawing for a skyscraper. We cannot know how to build a building that is 50 stories high unless we study the plans that the architect has drawn out. Many people however don't bother to look at the plans and start piling up cardboard and boards thinking they can build things on their own. Jesus asked his disciple to abide in Him and then He would abide in that person. If we abide in Him we have the invitation to ask whatever we deem to be in God's will and He will give it to us. We looked at very 19 several times ago. This verse tells us that Jesus will strengthen every believer with an incomparably great power. That power is not given just to do our own little thing but that power is given only when we are in the service of the Almighty King.
Jesus has taken time to guide his disciples to write down everything He thinks is important for us to know to be effective here on earth. How well do we know what Jesus wants us to do? How well have you studied the Bible to know God's plan for your live? The only way that we will be filled with the power of God and do mighty works for Him is if we get to know what is important to God and get busy doing it. We will only know what the head wants the body to do as we study and learn more about the Bible.
Many people go about trying to do God's will without trying to find out what God wants for us before we try to do something for God. Ignorance of God's word is very evident in many churches. Without knowing what the head wants the body to do, we will be running around trying to help others but with no success. In English we have an expression, "Like a chicken running around with its head cut off." When I was a teen I grew up on a farm and I raised some chickens for eating and some for laying eggs. When the chickens go to be about 5 pounds, I would have the responsibility to get them ready for putting into the freezer. I had to cut off the chicken's head to kill the chicken and we could clean the feathers off before the chicken was ready for roasting. I had to catch the chickens, hold them by their feet, put their heads on a chopping block and then with the swing of the ax, off would come the head. Blood would be squirting everywhere as I released the chicken's legs it would often flutter and try to run and fly off without it's head. Kind of gruesome when I tell it now but it was something which we did to bleed the chickens. These were chickens running around without their heads. We need to be careful that we do not get so busy that we are like those chickens and we loose connection to the head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the church has no connection to the head it does not know where it is going and can do some pretty bad damage to individuals instead of helping and building up people, there is gossip, discouragement, jealousy, and bitterness.
Are you connected well to the head? Or are you wandering aimlessly in your Christian walk? Only as we abide in the word of God will be experience the fullness of Jesus, the joy and peace that only Jesus can give us.
Paul uses the image of the church being the body of Christ in I Corinthians 12. His image is used in his teaching about each believer having spiritual gifts. Do you know what spiritual gift you have? If you do not, how can you serve the Lord effectively and with great power? The image of the body is given to illustrate the need for everyone to work together to fulfill the purpose which God has for the church.
Every believer is given special powers and abilities from God to help the body fulfill the great commission which says we are to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing and teaching others so that God will be glorified around the world. When that happens the Bible says that Christ will return.
We can not spread the gospel to the whole world by ourselves. We need others to work together with so that all can come to know God's word. I cannot preach in Lao. For you to understand the meaning of the message God has given to me, Thong (my interpreter) needs to say what I have said in your language. If I start speaking in Japanese or German, none of you would understand and our time here would be worthless. We need each other to work together to fulfill the responsibilities God has given to his body the church. What gift has God given to you so that you can help build up the church, the body of Christ?
Paul also says that if a part of the body suffers all the rest are affected. Some of you are hurting. You have difficulties. If others do not know how to help the whole work of the church is hindered. Therefore we are not only to share the gospel with the whole world but we are to help our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus who are a part of the body to be made whole. If a part of the body is sick or hurt the rest of the body does not function well. If you have a bad back, are sick with the flu, have a bad headache or other injury you do not feel like getting our of bed and going to work. So we all need to rally around those who are suffering and having trouble and help them back on their feet. In the process of helping others we will be growing and God will receive glory because unbelievers will see the love that we have for other believers and want to become a part of the body of Christ.
Several questions : Are you a part of the body of Christ? Are you helping or hurting the body of Christ? What can you do to being healing to the body and make it function better?
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January 13, 2001