EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

The church is the body of Christ. We are His living presence here on earth. The church is the visible presence of Christ. We are His hands of service, eyes of compassion, and heart of love. Jesus lives in us and works through us.

Jesus promised to send His Spirit to empower the church. He said, "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me" (Acts 1:8) He said, "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do." (John 14:12) Jesus said that believers would be witnesses to Him and do greater works that He did. GREATER WORKS! I believe that Jesus is referring to the collective body of believers when He speaks of greater works (greater in scope not greater in kind).

The body of Christ consist of many members (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:27). All believers are joined to the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). All believers are gifted by Christ to serve within the body (Romans 12:6-8; Eph. 4:7-8; 1 Corinthians 12:18).

For the church to be healthy and strong all members of the body must work together as a team. I love team sports. Paul used sports analogies a lot in his writings. Sports teams that rise to the top and win championships are teams that work together. Every person on the teams knows his responsibility and shows up to play in every game. You don’t miss practices. You don’t miss team meetings. You certainly do not miss games. You belong to a team!

According to Ephesians 4:16 every believer is vital to the life and work of the body. The body is joined together by what each member supplies. The body is healthy only when every member does his share. This makes us interdependent. Paul wrote that we are members of one another. One of the greatest truths about spiritual gifts is that they make us interdependent. The church is not a few people. It is not built upon the gifts of a few. Everyone has a gift and therefore the church is only as strong as our commitment to do what God has gifted us and called us to do.

I’ve heard people say: “I don’t need anyone else to live the Christian life.” or “I don’t need to belong to the church or be a church member to live the Christian life.” Many people have declared their independence from the church! Well, if the church is like a human body, what happens if one of the members is severed? The answer is simple: IT DIES! If a member of my body is severed, it dies and my body is left with a void and because of the missing member my body is incomplete. The same is true of the church body. If a member separates itself from the body death occurs and the body is left with a void. A severed member will dry up and die spiritually if it becomes separated from the body life of the church.

What kind of church would my church be if all its members were just like me? How would the attendance be if every member attended like I do? Sunday morning? Sunday evening? Bible Fellowship hour? Wednesday? What would the offering be if all members gave like I give? How many souls would be won to Jesus if all church members witnessed like I do? What would the community think about the church if all the members of the church lived like me?

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