Christ’s Body

Romans 12:^4-5 “Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s Body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” (LB, emphasis added).

Sometimes, someone walks up to me and says, ‘I come to your church, or I like your church’. did you notice the lingo? That is an attender. I bump into another person who says, ‘Pastor, I love the event we had in February. Can we do it again soon?’ Notice again that the lingo here is different. Attenders see it as ‘your church’, members see it as ‘our church’. Members have a sense of connection, so it is what we did, what we accomplished. Similar to the difference between living together and being married, the difference between being an attender and being a member is the word commitment. An attender goes to an event, but a member belongs to a family.

You become a Christian by committing yourself to Christ, and this is huge. But you become a member of a local church family by committing yourself to other believers. Sometimes, people get it twisted. They think that once they are committed to Christ, a part of His body, then they are members of the church. It does not work like that. You become a Christian by committing to Christ. But you become a member of a local church (the body) by committing yourself to other believers. There are many local expressions of the Church and that is fantastic. What I am saying is, be connected to the church you are planted in.

So why did God choose the illustration of a building? It is because in a building, all the parts are connected, they support each other, and hold each other up. The beams, the pillars, the foundation, the roof, the woodwork, everything is connected, supporting each other, and holding each other up. And the benefit of being connected to the eternal temple of God is that you and I get stability and support. You cannot go through life without stability and support. The truth is that the support we get in the church family is truly amazing. As a Pastor, I am a member of the church and the support I have gotten from the church is beautiful. You are going to go through things, and you are going to need support emotionally, physically, financially, or even mentally. But if you are not connected, you would not get the support.

#2. The church connects me to The Body Of Christ. This is the second metaphor God uses for the church. When we connect to the church, it connects us to the body of Christ. Ephesians 1:^22-23 “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body…” (emphasis added).

Prayer: Father, I thank You for making me a part of the body of Christ. Help me to be deliberate and fruitful in supporting Christ’s body, in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen!