Body Life

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This sermon is the second sermon in a series of messages about the main purposes or priorities of the church. This message discusses the "Inward Priority" of the church, which is to nurture, edify and care for other members of the body of Christ. It is based on several passages in the New Testament that speak of how believers are to respond to "one another."

Written Excerpts:

Ephesians 4:1-3 ^(NKJV) I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Introduction:

Have you ever used a table knife as a screwdriver? 

How about using a paper clip as a screwdriver?

Have you ever used a pocket knife to clean your fingernails?

There are any number of questions that could be posed to explore the ways people have used tools or items in ways they were never meant to be used. Sometimes (not always) when we use an item in a way that it was not intended, the outcome doesn’t work out so well! I know that I’ve had a few wounds over the years that were caused by trying to use the wrong object to accomplish a task it was not meant to do.

A couple of Sundays ago I preached a message that relates to the purpose God has for something He designed and created – the Church! I briefly outlined the three main purposes God has for the church as described in the Scriptures. And, just like so many other things we could talk about, the church works best when it fulfills the purpose for which it was made.

Those three purposes (or “three priorities”) of the church are as follows:

Upward Purpose/Priority – Glorify God

Inward Purpose/Priority – Nurture and Edify the Body

Outward Purpose/Priority – Evangelize and Serve the World

Two Sundays ago I spoke about the upward purpose and tried to remind all of us that our first and foremost priority in life is to bring glory to the Creator. We looked at several Scriptures which emphasize the expectation that believers should be primarily focused and interested in praising God with our mouths, and also living our lives in such a way to direct worship and praise to Him as well.

I can’t overemphasize the necessity for all of us who profess the name of Christ to regularly and faithfully worship the Lord and extol His majesty and greatness in all of His attributes.

A little over 8 years ago I preached a series of sermons on the attributes of God and I’m sure that a review of those could be beneficial. But just let me say that God is infinite and perfect in all His qualities and deserves to be exalted, honored and adored. He deserves for us to live our lives in such a way that people around us will direct praise to Him as well because of being inspired by what they see in us.

God deserves to be worshiped by every person in Mercer County! God deserves to be praised by every person in PA. God deserves to be honored and adored by every person in these United States. And God deserves to be worshiped and served by every last individual in the entire world. If every single person in the whole world would give praise to God it still wouldn’t adequately honor Him as He deserves to be honored.

As I stated before, giving praise and glory to God is the first priority of believers, meaning that it comes first in importance. When that is constantly our first concern, and our first action, then the other two purposes of the church will more smoothly fall into place.

Today, I want to begin talking to you about the second purpose/priority of the church – the inward purpose. That is, the responsibility that God has given to believers to admonish, nurture and edify one another. (I say, “I want to BEGIN talking about it” because I don’t think we will be able to adequately cover the topic in one sermon.)

God never intended for individual believers to serve Him in an isolated life, kind of like a “lone ranger” mentality. The Bible is very clear that all believers need the mutual support and assistance from other believers.

Quite a long time ago I heard someone say that a really interesting study in Scripture can be had by looking up all the references that use the phrase, “one another.” The NT is filled with passages where either Jesus or the Apostles give us admonitions about what we are to do for one another or how we are to treat one another.

For a little while today, I want to explore some of these references that admonish us regarding our care for “one another.”

What does the Bible have to say about the care we should show for “one another” in the body of Christ? There are a number of references we can look at for answers, so let’s begin.

To live out the second purpose or priority God has given us we need to…

I.    Love One Another

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. ³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

(God is basically saying the world has the right to judge us regarding our authenticity – it is love for each other.)

John 15:12, 17 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that ye love one another. 

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 

Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 

1 Thessalonians 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: 

1 Thessalonians 4:9  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 

1 Peter 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 

1 Peter 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 

1 John 3:11, 23  For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ²³ And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 

1 John 4:7, 11-12  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. ¹² No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 

Well, what does that mean, to “love one another?” You can find out by studying 1 Cor. 13.

Love will affect the way we speak to one another and the way we speak about one another. Love will motivate kindness and care for one another. This goes beyond mere words, and is manifested in action. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” Whatever you wish people would do to make you feel loved, do that.

To practice the “inward” purpose or priority God has given us we need to…

II.  Live In Unity with One Another

Romans 12:5, 16  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 

Passage that was read earlier (Eph. 4) says this,

Ephesians 4:3 (NKJV) endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

This verse immediately follows verse 2, “… forbearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” In other words, one of the natural consequences of having love for each other is “forbearing” in order to promote unity.

Unity in the body was a key ingredient in Jesus’ prayer in John 17. He prayed for His disciples and followers to be one just like He and the Father are one. The purpose for the unity is so the “world will know that you have sent me.”

Unity is not uniformity. Unity is not union. Unity is striving for a common goal and refusing to allow divisions to lead us astray.

To live out the second purpose or priority God has given us we need to…

III.   Live in Peace with (accept) One Another

The word for peace that is most often used in the NT means the absence of conflict.

Romans 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 

To “edify” one another gets into another theme we’ll come back to later, but this verse makes the point that peace between one another is a necessary part for edifying each other.

Romans 15:7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 

Receiving or accepting one another promotes peace between each other. 

Conclusion:

There is more that the Bible has to say about our interaction and relationships with “one another.” We will probably continue looking at those passages next Sunday. The Christian life doesn’t have to be complicated. It may NOT be easy, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

It is as simple as:

Love and worship God first and foremost.

Love and care for fellow believers.

Love and reach a lost world.

May God give us wisdom! May God give us courage!

Let’s end the service today by singing hymn: I Then Shall Live

As we sing, I trust that this will be more than singing a song, but we will be recommitting ourselves to a promise.