Welcome to the Come to Jesus Daily Devotional as we continue in our series, God’s vision for the church. Today, we reflect on how the church is a living organism, and is likened to a living body.
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‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised 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. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.’ (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
We all know that there is an incalculable difference between a living and dead body. We all know that if we were to offer an operation to, say, replace one’s hip, but without general anaesthetic, we would refuse…I assume! However, a dead body has no such concerns. We bury dead bodies but I assume that none of us would bury someone who was alive.
The church is likened to a living body. She’s not a building. She’s not a denomination. She’s not meetings… she’s a living body. The church is alive because the life of God is dwelling in her. Jesus likened it to a branch in the vine - Jesus is the vine and we, each of us, are branches that are alive because of our connectedness to Christ.
Baptised by one Spirit
Our text tells us that we are a part of Jesus’ body because, ‘for we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body…’ It’s vital that we understand what’s meant by this phrase. This cannot be about some post-conversion experience of empowering by The Spirit (although I believe in such experiences!). Rather, the ‘for we…’ shows that the second phrase is an explanation of the first phrase. This is about how all Christians have been ‘immersed’ (the meaning of ‘baptism’) into Christ by The Spirit and are therefore ‘one body’. This is what a Christian is. He or she is united to Christ and has His life flowing into them. Lloyd Jones writes of what a Christian is:
‘He is ‘in Christ’, he is joined to Christ, and the life of Christ is in him. Christ is the Head, and he is a member of the body. Christ is the Vine, and he is a branch. He is ‘in Christ’, a part of Christ. The life of Christ is in him. And it is the same life in all the members. All this is true of the Christian because he has been baptised into that one body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.’ (Lloyd Jones Ephesians 4:1-16 P 130)
Given the one Spirit to drink
This second phrase, ‘and we were all given the one Spirit to drink’, likewise, is principally, it seems to me, a restatement of the first phrase about how we’ve been ‘Baptised by one Spirit’. Drinking of the Spirit refers to our regeneration and new life through the Spirit. We must be careful not to diminish the original purpose of this teaching, which is to emphasise the nature of our salvation and unity in Christ. While seeking experiences of the Spirit is important, we should not overlook the foundational message about our transformation and oneness in the Spirit. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the words ‘baptised’ and ‘drink’ are passive aorists which means that they are things that were done to us in the past - i.e. we were joined to Christ by the Spirit at our conversion.
Response
Let’s be inspired by God’s vision for the church as a living body. Let’s readjust our thinking if need be. Do we see the church more as an organism with the life of Christ flowing in each member or do we see it as meetings, organisation, buildings etc? To be a Christian is a radically supernatural event and existence. You are united to Christ and His life is flowing into you. If this is true of you, is this being reflected in your attitude and lifestyle? Specifically, is this affecting your readiness to allow Jesus to work through you to serve and bless others?
Together meeting notes
At this week’s 'Together' evening, we will continue to reflect on our 'God's vision for the church' vision series. This week, we consider what it means for the church to be the body of Christ.
‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised 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. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.’ (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
Discuss:
What sorts of things does this metaphor of the body of Christ mean for how the church relates and operates?
What does it mean to be ‘baptised by one Spirit’? (Be careful to read the context of this phrase).
Read 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 and discuss: how have you grown in your gifts in the past? How are you or could you grow in your gifts in the present?
Pray together:
Pray for CCP to be a healthy body - united, diverse and submitted to Jesus our ‘head’.
Pray for your Community Group meetings to be places where we meet God in the Spirit and use our gifts to build one another up.
Pray for one another to be filled with the Spirit afresh so as to be empowered to use our gifts with greater effectiveness.
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