The Gathering: One Body, Many Parts 1 Cor. 12:12-30

Word. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts, and though all its parts are many,

they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one spirit into one body,

whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given the one spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand,

I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

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 cease to be part of the body. 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?

But in fact, God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you.

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

And the parts we think are less honourable, we treat with special honour,

and the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,

while our presentable parts need no special treatment.

But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it,

so that there should be no division in the body,

but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.

If one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ,

and each one of you is a part of it.

And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles,

second prophets, third teachers,

then workers of miracles,

also those having gifts of healing,

those able to help others,

those with gifts of administration,

and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles?

Are all prophets?

Are all teachers?

Do all work miracles?

Do all have gifts of healing?

Do all speak in tongues?

Do all interpret?

But eagerly desire the greater gifts?

Well, the church is a body,

and there are many parts,

and one of those parts is Ralph,

and he's going to come and preach.

So, over to you, Ralph.

Thanks very much.

Thank you.

Now we come to hear your word preached.

And Lord Jesus, I ask that your spirit would take your word and cause it to be wedded deeply in all of our hearts to the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

In just a few weeks, our very near neighbours in Britain are going to vote in a referendum.

And a referendum is this, whether to stay in or whether to leave the European Union.

This potential British exit is more commonly known or referred to in the media as Brexit.

And it's a defining moment for both the United Kingdom and for Europe.

Will one of the big countries of the EU choose to leave or will it stay?

So, as the British and the Northern Irish are munching over their cornflakes on Thursday the 23rd of June, it will be time for them to decide.

Now many folks, well, they feel like that they're more British.

British and yet want to remain part of this diverse body of nations.

While others, also feeling British, think it's time to opt out.

As they're really too different.

They're on a different track to the rest of everyone else.

And they no longer want to be part of the club of the European Union.

Now you're wondering, well, what does this have to do with the text that's before us this morning?

Well, I think in many ways the local gathering of Christians in the Church of Carn was facing a similar kind of decision point.

Similar issues of identity and belonging.

Just like when different countries come together, I think the gathering of these different Christians in Carn was starting to produce infighting.

It was producing factions.

It was producing doubts about the whole project of being a church.

So instead of finding order and a caring community when you went to the church in Carn,

it seems like it had become really a pit of one upmanship.

Everyone contending for themselves.

It almost feels like every single member was in conflict with every other member.

They were just tearing each other apart.

A body at war with itself.

And I'm sure you've noticed that.

I mean, we've gone through 1 Corinthians over a long time.

But just to remind you, if we go back to chapter 1, right at the beginning,

verses 10 to 12 in chapter 1, Paul, he's writing to them.

He says,

What I mean is this.

One of you says,

Well, I follow Paul.

And another,

I follow Apollos.

And another,

I follow Cephas.

That's Peter.

Still another,

I follow Christ.

And as we go through the pages,

as we flick through,

there's just example and example of this kind of factious behavior in the church.

Again, one of the most recent examples we looked at was in chapter 11 and verse 18.

In the first place,

talking of the Lord's table,

I hear that when you come together as a church,

there are divisions among you.

And to some extent,

I believe it.

Division within the church was common.

The church really is taking a battery.

And whether it's being the Lord's table,

or in this case,

it's really about the use of gifts,

or deciding which leader it's going to follow,

what kind of theology it was going to embrace.

It was just leading to division and argument.

And I believe in these verses before us this morning,

we get a sense of the real damage that that does to the body,

the real damage that does to the church,

this constant infighting and issues.

And some folks,

well, they were feeling disillusioned,

and were maybe feeling a little bit inferior,

and struggling,

while others were pushing the vulnerable,

members out of the church.

So Paul has a big task in his hand,

doesn't he?

To correct some of this.

And to combat this damage,

the church needs to see

what the church is.

The church needs to see what the church is.

The oneness that they have in Christ.

A oneness that is sustained

by the diversity of members

and by the diversity of gifts.

And I guess if that's one thing to take away from this morning,

it's that.

It's that idea that

the oneness that we have

is sustained by a diversity of members

and a diversity of gifts.

The oneness in Christ that we have.

And it's in this context

that Paul introduces the idea

of a physical body.

Look with me at verse 12.

The body, he says,

is a unit.

Though it is made up of many parts,

and though all the parts are many,

they form one body.

So Paul is going to help them

work through this issue

by using an illustration.

It's the illustration of the body.

Think about your body.

Well, it's just one body, isn't it?

You have one body,

but it's not just body.

What I mean is this.

The body, the one body,

is itself made up of different parts.

You see, it's the diversity of parts

that produce a unified body.

It's one body, many parts.

Or we can look at it the other way, can't we?

We can say many parts and one body.

And Paul is asking the Corinthians

to do this here, isn't he?

He says,

when you think of the one,

well, I want you to think of the many.

And when you're thinking of the many,

well, I want you to think of the one.

Do you see that?

You can't separate the oneness

of the church body

from the manyness of the church body.

This is how it is with Christ.

Christ has one body,

his church on earth.

Each of us has enjoyed

the same baptism in the Holy Spirit

into one body,

whether we're Irish or British

or Northern Irish

or young or old,

whether we're leading up the front

or whether we're singing at the back.

Verse 13,

for we were all baptized

by one Spirit into one body,

whether Jews or Greeks,

slave or free,

and we were all given

the one Spirit to drink.

You see,

there are to be no tiers

within the church.

The church isn't structured

in that way,

kind of hierarchically.

There's going to be no tiers.

We are not to divide the body.

We're not to divide the church

along ethnic lines.

We're not to divide

as long lines of, say,

clergy and laity,

that kind of idea.

We're not to divide

the church body

by saying,

well, they're spirit-filled people

and they're,

well, they're into the Word

and they're kind of Word-filled.

That's not how we're

to divide the body.

There are no first

and second tier Christians.

We are all one in Christ.

But Paul also says

we must not think

of the church

as being made up

of just one type of Christian.

Yes, there are no tiers

of Christians or Christianity,

but that doesn't mean

that there's no variety.

And if we go on

to the next verse,

we see that.

Now, the body

is not made up

of one part,

but of many.

You see, the body

is not just one thing,

but rather it's many things.

We speak of one body

and I'm going to repeat this a lot,

but I want you to understand

and hear from God's Word.

But when we do,

when we think of the one,

we need to think of the many.

We need to think of the variety

that has been pulled together

to make the one body.

The key thing in this then

is really who has pulled the parts

together to make the one body.

Who has done this?

Who has designed?

Who has made this one body?

And Paul repeats this

a number of times

again and again in the passage.

Now, we're just going to

scan through here,

but notice verse 18.

Start of verse 18.

But in fact,

God has arranged

the parts of the body.

Skip down with me

to verse 24,

in the middle part of 24.

It says,

but God has combined

the members of the body

and given greater honor

to the parts that lacked it.

And then finally,

verse 28.

Verse 28.

And in the church,

God has appointed.

Now, let's take that in

for a moment.

What it says,

across those three verses,

is that it is God

who arranges,

it is God

who combines,

and it is God

who appoints

in the body.

God does the arranging,

God does the composing,

God does the appointing.

And when we speak

of our lives

and when we speak

of the church,

we don't often think

in those categories,

do we?

We like to take

the spotlight

that Paul is shining

on God

and God's work,

and we like to

creak it over

a little bit

and put it

somewhere else.

And what that looks like

is, well,

we constantly just talk

about our choice

in coming to Jesus.

We talk about

our choice

in coming to this church.

It was our choice

to pick our seat

this morning.

It was our choice

about what we did

during the tea and coffee

and who we were

willing to speak to.

It was going to be

our decision

during this week

how much time

that we are going

to give to other people.

You see,

because it has to fit,

of course,

doesn't it,

into our schedule.

And we tend to pick

and to choose

based on our preferences,

our preferences

for people.

Oh, they're great folks

and, well,

I'm pretty awesome myself.

So, you know what?

I'm going to help them

out this week

with mining their children.

Well, you know,

because they'll return

the favour

and that's cool.

We get on really well.

Isn't that great?

And it is great.

I'm not to cast aside

all that we do

for one another.

But again,

where is the emphasis?

What are we saying?

You see,

in our hearts,

in our hearts,

the tendency

is to treat

this church thing

like an

a la carte menu.

You know,

when you go to the restaurant

and you can kind of

pick and choose

from each course.

Pick and choose

as it suits.

That's okay.

Have we forgotten?

Have we forgotten?

Paul is asking,

have we forgotten

that the gathering

is Jesus' gathering?

The people,

the people are arranged

in the body

by Christ

and for Him.

Is this not

the house of God

filled with the people of God?

This is the new humanity

of Christ

where He has shed

His own precious blood

to save us

and to bring us

into this family,

to bring us

into this body,

to be part of the people

of God.

You see,

the emphasis

is on

He has chosen

and we,

we would do well

to respect

His choice

in the matter.

Will we turn away

from those

that Christ welcomes?

This is what Paul

was calling the church

to embrace

and calling the church

to understand

about the church.

Their identity

as both a united

and yet a diverse body.

But it was too easy,

it seems,

for the church

in Corinth

to subdivide.

In Corinth,

it seems to me

almost as you read

through it,

that every time

an issue arose

that things began

to splinter

and fray

and some would start

to opt out.

They would start

to stand away

from being part

of the church.

Individuals,

they didn't feel

like they fitted in anymore.

They were feeling

maybe somewhat inferior

for some of the others

in what they were seeing

and this disconnect

was starting to happen.

We see that

in the next verses,

15 and 16.

If the foot should say,

well,

because I'm not a hand,

well,

I don't belong

to the body.

It would not,

for that reason,

cease to be part

of the body.

And if the ear

should say,

well,

because I'm not an eye,

I do not belong

to the body.

It would not,

for that reason,

cease to be part

of the body.

You see,

often comparison

is a thief,

isn't it?

Comparison is a thief

of joy.

Comparison with others

causes this discontentment

to set in.

And I'm not,

I'm not like that person.

Do I fit?

You know,

I don't really like it

in the church

because I just,

I don't seem to be

like anyone else.

It's easier then

just to step back,

to opt out,

to insulate yourself,

even ultimately

to leave.

But the word of God

is clear,

isn't it?

As God speaks

through Paul

as he's writing scripture,

the second half

of verse 15

and the second half

of verse 16.

You see,

if you didn't choose

to be part of the body,

it's not just the case

of simply opting out.

You can't just declare,

well,

I'm not part of the body,

and then cease

to be part of the body

because,

again,

it's God

who was chosen.

The word of God

that says

that such faulty

thinking about the body

is actually

quite comical.

You know,

there is humour

in the Bible.

Maybe we don't

appreciate it.

Verse 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?

Imagine a body

that was just an eye.

An eye,

the size of a body,

and it was just an eye.

And imagine you

driving down to school

tomorrow to drop

the kids off,

and there on the cycle

lane is the eye.

Boing,

boing,

boing.

Person-sized eye

bouncing along.

It would just be,

it would just be ludicrous.

How strange and bizarre

to see a body

that was just an eye.

Or,

as we walk out

this morning,

there's this leg.

It's about the size

of a person.

And it's just kind of

slithering around

the car park.

You know,

we'd be,

well,

okay,

that's weird.

Maybe it's part

of a bigger body

or something,

you know,

where did that come from?

Ludicrous,

ludicrous imagery.

And the same way,

Paul is trying

to get us

to think here,

a body doesn't

look like that.

A body doesn't

behave like that.

You see,

we shouldn't want

to opt ourselves out

when we get discouraged

and disillusioned

with church

like somewhere

in Corinth.

And that is a very

real part

of church life.

Life together

does highlight

difference.

It does bring

tension.

It can bring

division.

This is very real,

but it's our reaction

to it and our

understanding of what

church is that's

going to help.

We might find it

hard at times

and our hearts

do begin to whisper,

I don't belong.

We might struggle

when we look around

in this church

and we don't see

many others

that are kind

of like us.

Maybe I'm the

only teenager here,

so why bother?

Surely I can just

follow Jesus on my

own.

Can't I have Christ

without the church?

Isn't that a solution?

Can't I just kind

of opt out

and do my own

thing?

No.

No, Paul says,

verse 18,

but in fact,

God has arranged

the parts in the

body,

every one of them,

just as he wanted

them to be.

Again,

if you were all

one part,

where would the

body be?

As it is,

there are many

parts,

but one

body.

You get it?

You get it?

God has arranged

it.

It is Christ's

body.

It's not your

body.

Instead of

lamenting who

you are not,

we need to

switch our

thinking around.

The diversity

that God

brings about

in this church

is achieved

through you

being here.

Did you ever

consider that?

That you being

here is what

makes this

church,

Cargoline Baptist

Church,

a body.

Your diversity,

even if you feel

like you're the

only one,

the only one

that's like you,

that is

helping to

make this

a body.

And that has

amazing implications.

It means that

our decisions

about following

Christ,

being part of

his church,

should be

transformed.

And we should

think very

carefully that

when we begin

to opt

ourselves out,

when we begin

to separate,

and we can

blame others,

and yes,

life is

difficult,

church life

is difficult,

but really we

are taking

away from

the diversity

that Christ

has put

in place.

That is no

small issue.

To maintain

the unity

of the spirit

is what we

are called

to.

It is no

small issue

to separate

yourselves

from what

God has

put together.

You may

feel weak

and limited,

but God

has put you

here today.

You are

the body

of Christ.

Now,

this diversity

that each

believer

brings to

the body

has another

important

consequence.

It not only

affects how

we think

of ourselves

and how

we think

of our

place

within the

body,

but it

should also

affect how

we relate

to the

other parts

of the body

and how

we think

of others.

Because there

was another

aspect to

this,

and that

was the

issue of

superiority.

Verse 21,

the eye

cannot say

to the hand,

I don't

need you,

and the

head cannot

say to the

feet,

I don't

need you.

You see,

while some

were feeling

maybe inferior

and maybe

discontented

and were

opting out

because they

feel like

they didn't

belong,

there were

the others

in the

church that

were kind

of opening

the door

and watching

them leave

and giving

them a kick

up the

pants on

the way

out.

That was

their

approach

to diversity.

The attitude

in that case

really is one

of self-sufficiency

of arrogance,

you know,

I am the

all-seeing

eye.

I have

no need

of you,

lowly hand.

I am

the all-knowing

head.

Be gone,

little feet,

be gone,

out the

door.

And again,

if it wasn't

so tragic,

we could

just laugh

at the image

that Paul

paints for

us of

this warring

body that's

trying to

dismember

parts of

itself and

thinking by

getting rid

of these

bits that

somehow a

better body

or a

more real

body.

But make

no mistake,

this behavior

and this

attitude

was absolutely

tragic.

Absolutely

tragic.

Look at

who was at

the receiving

end of this

treatment,

verse 22.

On the

contrary,

those parts

of the body

that seem

to be

weaker

are indispensable.

And the

parts that we

think are

less honorable,

we treat

with special

honor.

and the

parts that

are

unpresentable

are treated

with special

modesty,

while our

presentable

parts need

no special

treatment.

Do you see

who was at

the receiving

end?

Paul talks

about the

weaker members

of the body.

He says the

less honored

and the ones

in need of

special treatment

protection.

these were

the ones

who were

being lined

up at

the door

for special

attention

by the

super gifted,

the up the

front,

the loud

and the

large crowd.

But the

special attention

and special

treatment was

this,

consignment

to the

thanks but

no thanks

pile in the

church.

Isn't that

tragic?

Doesn't that

make your

heart hurt?

But Paul

is clear

here,

isn't he?

The parts

that we

see as

weak,

as lacking

honor,

and in

need of

special help,

how are we

to treat

them?

Where to

see them

as

indispensable?

They are

to be given

special honor.

They are

to be given

extra dignity.

You see,

our natural

instincts,

our sinful

instincts,

if we put

it like

that,

is to

divide and

to shun,

to just

want more

and more

like me

and less

and less

like the

other.

And Paul

says to

bind up.

Where we

want to

discard,

Paul is

saying to

pull

closer.

The author

is Kevin

DeYoung and

Ted

Cluck,

co-authored a

book a

number of

years back

called Why

We Love

the Church.

It's a

great title.

It's a good

book.

I read it

recently.

Ted Cluck,

one of the

co-authors,

he writes in

response to

the recent

trend in

Christianity

to try and

divorce,

and I

kind of

talked about

that,

to divorce

Jesus from

the church,

to kind of

distinguish

between the

two.

And the

argument and

the criticism,

and there's

merit in this

at times,

that's made,

is that

churches are,

by and large,

inward-looking

social clubs

that are more

concerned with

performance and

appearance than

living out the

Christian life.

And there is

some merit to

that criticism.

It's a real

criticism, and we

need to appreciate

that as churches.

But the answer

given by those in

what is called the

Emergent Church

Movement is that

in order to

follow Jesus

fully, we need

to leave the

church.

Do you see?

Because you

can have Christ

without the

church.

And what does

that look like?

Well, they

suggest all kinds

of variants.

One, you know,

you might just

meet up with

Christians at

Starbucks, or

on the golf

course, or out

on the ocean.

And that's

cool, where two

or three are

gathered.

There I am in

the midst of

us, the midst

of you.

Jesus is there.

We have a

church.

We hold each

other accountable.

We do kind of

cool stuff together.

We do kind of

social action stuff

and really care for

the body.

That way, you

know, we're able

to better serve

each other

organically and

do some good in

the world.

Now, Kevin

Young and Ted

Cluck are

regular, boring,

everyday kind of

church guys.

And one of the

things they do

in the book is

look at examples

of what this

regular and

somewhat mundane

and somewhat

plodding, long

haul church life

looks like when

it's been

properly, when

it's properly

being the body

of Christ.

And so they

look at some

other examples

in response.

And Cluck

speaks of the

church where

his brother-in-law

goes to, college

church in

Wheaton, Illinois.

And when he

went there, it's

in a kind of a

posh area, you

know, he

initially saw

it as one,

and this is a

quote, big

affluent churches

in that they

only care about

catering to the

whims of their

affluent clientele.

So they're only

kind of looking

out, that was

his perception

of the area and

what the church

building looked

like.

But then he

was convicted

of his

judgmental attitude

when he started

to speak with

his brother-in-law.

Because his

brother-in-law

told them about

this disabilities

ministry that

they had in the

church called

STARS.

It's a ministry,

and this is a

larger church than

us, so don't

be put off.

It's providing

various help to

hundreds of

people in the

Wheaton area.

And it started

back in the

1960s by a

woman in the

church named

Jean.

And Jean,

God bless her,

she saw a

child with a

developmental

disability and

was saddened

that there was

nothing in the

church that

was helping to

bridge to that

child.

And so Jean,

she lobbied the

elders, and she

was eventually

given a Sunday

school classroom to

start something with

this one child.

And today that

church serves 80

families in and

outside of the

church body.

They provide

disability-friendly

church events,

they provide

respite care for

parents, and they

give financial

assistance.

Clark tells us

that the ministry's

key verses are

these.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

and verse 21

and 22.

Think of what

they're doing and

listen to these

words.

The eye cannot

say to the

hand, I don't

need you, and

the head cannot

say to the feet,

I don't need

you.

On the contrary,

those parts of

the body that

seem to be

weaker are

indispensable.

Isn't that

beautiful, folks?

Isn't that

beautiful to

think of the

work of the

body?

You know, when

it talks a few

verses later about

the presentable

parts and the

unpresentable

parts, I'm not

a Greek expert,

and I rarely go

for this kind of

thing, but the

underlying Greek

phrase or our

idea is this,

it's talking about

those that are

elegant in figure

and graceful.

Elegant in figure

and graceful.

So that's who the

presentable are.

And we can kind

of picture that,

can't we, being

elegant in figure

and graceful.

Those that need

no special

treatment, that

can carry

themselves around

without any

problems.

So then we can

begin to understand

what the

unpresentable are

like.

They're those

that are

inelegant.

Those that are

ungraceful.

Those that

naturally, and

not in a bad

way, we would

just notice them

and say, well,

they're a little

bit clumsy.

They're maybe

even somewhat

embarrassing in

public life.

We just notice

they're struggling

a bit.

And do you

know that in

our church, there

are people who

at times feel

like that?

In our church,

that feel

unpresentable?

Those that are

suffering from

depression at

times, from

lifelong disability,

developmental

delays as

they're growing

up, neurological

issues, physical

limitations, social

limitations.

There are people

that come here

that find all of

this quite hard.

Those people,

Paul says,

are worthy of

our special

treatment.

They are a

special and

altogether

worthy part

of the body.

Pull them

closer, God

says.

God is

really telling

us through

his word this

morning to

stop.

Where we

could decide to

opt ourselves

out or because

we don't fit in

and where we

want to opt

others out.

God says

stop.

He says stop

dividing.

Stop judging

one another.

Stop the

envy.

Stop the

condescending,

looking down on

others.

Be a body

with all of

its parts.

And follow

me as we

read through

the verses

from the

middle of

24 down

to 26.

But God

has combined

the members

of the body

and has

given greater

honor to

the parts

that lacked

it so that

there should

be no

division in

the body

but that

its parts

should have

special concern

for each

other.

If one

part suffers,

every part

suffers with

it.

If one

part is

honored,

every part

rejoices

with it.

So how

do we

stop?

How do

we address

this problem

of division

in the

body?

Well,

a surprising

part of

the answer

is actually

by embracing

more diversity

where diversity

can bring

tension

that lead

to division.

We need

a kind of

a God-given

diversity

that sows

seeds

that are

going to

lead to

unity.

We saw

that last

week in

verses 4 to

7.

There are

different kinds

of gifts

but the

same

spirit.

There are

different kinds

of service

but the

same

Lord.

There are

different kinds

of working

but the

same God

works all

of them

in all

men.

Now to

each one

the

manifestation

of the

spirit

is given

for the

common

good.

You see

spiritual

gifts

are given

by God

for the

good of

the church

and Paul

is going

to tell

us again

that

Christ

brings

both unity

and diversity

that they

fit together

and that

when we

think of

the one

we should

think of

the many.

I thought

you'd be

ready to

echo that

back at

this stage.

Verses

27 to

30.

Now you

are the

body of

Christ

one body

and each

one of you

is a part

of it

the many

and in

the church

God

is appointed

first of

all

apostles

second

prophets

third

teachers

then workers

of miracles

also those

having gifts

of healing

those able

to help

others

and those

gifts of

administration

and those

speaking in

different kinds

of tongues

are all

apostles

are all

prophets

are all

teachers

do all

work

miracles

do all

have

gifts

of healing

do all

speak in

tongues

do all

interpret

God has

appointed

diverse

gifts

in the

church

we are

not

all

the

same

praise

God

now we

spoke

last week

about

these

lists

and how

it can

be a bit

misleading

at times

that we

read a

list

and we

try to

pick where

we are

in the

list

but we

know that

this list

is different

from the

list in

verses 8

to 11

so we're

not meant

to do

that we're

not meant

to just

pick one

list and

think that's

everything

rather we're

to see that

there's a

diversity of

gifts given

to a

diversity of

members

and they're

not verse

28 they're

not given

in the

Christian

but he

talks about

them being

in the

church and

in the

church God

has appointed

so again

the key thing

here is

diversity

of gifts

to a

diversity

of people

in the

church

they're

primarily

for the

church to

build up

the church

now just

briefly one

of the

things that

comes up

here in

this list

is the

ordering

first of

all apostles

second

prophets

and third

teachers

and then

he goes

on to

list a

whole other

set of

gifts that

aren't

ordered

and this

order one

two three

can be

taken in

two ways

the first

is the

order that

they emerge

in the

early church

so initially

we have

Christ appoints

his apostles

to bring

the good

news

and to

build the

church on

that apostolic

teaching of

the gospel

and secondly

we have

those that

are prophets

that speak

the word

of God

within

individual

church

contexts

and declare

the word

of God

in an

authoritative

way

and then

there are

teachers

who continue

to explain

and apply

the word

of God

within the

body

so we

have

apostles

preachers

and teachers

now there is

a sense

of the

order they

come

and also

the relative

importance

to the

life of

the church

and I think

that's why

those gifts

are ordered

Paul writing

in Ephesians

2 puts

it like

this

we are

God's

people

and members

of God's

household

built on

the foundation

of the

apostles

and the

prophets

with Jesus

Christ

as a

chief

corner

stone

so there's

a variety

of gifts

given by

God

within the

church

and we

thank him

for sound

apostolic

teaching

that continues

today through

the preaching

of the word

of God

the Bible

preachers

and teachers

continue to

proclaim the

same gospel

as the

apostles

and we want

to thank God

for that

as D.A.

Carson puts it

we need to

thank God

for stomachs

so we're

talking about

the body

so let's

take that

as an

illustration

we need

to thank

God

for stomachs

and you're

going

what is he

talking about

well the

stomach

Carson explains

well it takes

in a lot of

food doesn't

it takes

in the food

and it

digests the

food and

then it

begins to

distribute the

food to

the rest

of the

body

and such

is the

role in

the body

of pastors

and teachers

they take

in the word

of God

they digest

it and

then distribute

it to

the other

members

so anyone

that's

teaching or

preaching in

any way in

this church

you're not

the head

that's not

the symbol

you're to

use for

yourself

you're to

use the

idea of

the stomach

and the

diversity

that God

gives like

this is one

reason why

organizations

outside of the

church

aren't the

church

so Christian

unions are

fantastic

I was

president of

the

CU for

a while

in

University

College

Cork

I met

my wife

in

UCC

so

Christian

union

has been

very good

to me

you know

I'm not

knocking the

Christian

union

the

Christian

union

is

fantastic

but

it's

not

the

church

it's

not

the

church

as

great

as

those

times

are

together

of

fellowship

and

friendship

and

staying

up

late

and doing

crazy

things

and witnessing

on

campus