Main Idea: Being the body of Christ means that each church represents Christ’s presence in the communities of our world.

There’s a quote about the local church from Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, that I never get tired of hearing. It is an expression of his conviction that the destiny of the world is in the hands of the local church. He says that what grips his heart daily is the knowledge that the radical message of transforming love has been given to the church. He writes, "That means that in a very real way the future of the world rests in the hands of local congregations like yours and mine…The local church is the hope of the world…It’s the church or it’s lights out. Without churches so filled with the power of God that they can’t help but spill goodness and peace and love and joy into the world, depravity will win the day; evil will flood the world. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Strong, growing communities of faith can turn the tide of history. They can! Don’t bother looking elsewhere. The church is it…Still to this day, the potential of the local church is almost more than I can grasp. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close." (Courageous Leadership, p. 21-23).

I know I’ve read that to you before and I have read it myself over and over many times. Yet regardless of how many times I read it or hear it, it still reaches me in that place where I am reminded of who we are and why we are here and what we are to be as the First Baptist Church of Jonesboro. Paul phrased it so simply in his letter to the church at Colossae. He called them "the body" of Christ. He wrote. " Christ is the head of the church, which is his body." (Col. 1:18)

What does it mean for the local church to be the body of Christ? Well, in the same way that you are not recognized or understood without your physical body, so Jesus Christ is not recognized or understood without groups of Christians who gather together and call themselves "a church." This local congregation that we call First Baptist Church of Jonesboro is the body of Christ. We are not the only body of Christ for there are many others who represent Christ. What is essential is that we understand that this local church is the presence of Christ in the communities of our world. We are the representation of Jesus Christ to our world!

That message was one that Paul urgently wanted these Christians at Colossae to understand. The city of Colossae was located in a river valley near the center of what we know as Turkey today. While never having been to the church itself, he was concerned that the church was being infected with false teaching. The effect of the false teaching had caused the Christians in that church to lose their distinctive identity due to the moral breakdown in their behavior. He instructs them in Colossians 3:1-11 to correct their negative behavior by removing the sinful actions and habits from their lives. Then in verses 12-17 he affirms the positive actions that were to characterize their lives as the body of Christ.

To help them understand the significance of their role as the body of Christ, he reminds them of how God sees them. He tells them that they are people whom God has chosen to be holy and that God loved them uniquely. (Col. 3:12) He does this because our behavior flows out of the amount of recognition or affirmation we receive or don’t receive. His telling them just how much God thought of them was to raise their understanding of their own identity, which in turn would shape their behavior. I believe one of the reasons that we as representatives of Christ’s body choose to live lives that are a contradiction to everything we say we are is because we don’t really accept or understand what God thinks of us, how he sees us and how much he loves us. When you choose to act individually in a manner that brings shame on the body of Christ it is an indication that you really don’t understand who you are in God’s eyes!

When we do accept and understand just how special and wonderful we are to God then that will be reflected in our church and in our lives personally. Yet that is a choice that only we can make. Paul tells these Christians earlier to make decisive choices about their past behavior (Col. 3:5, 9). Then he tells them in 3:12-17 that they must make decisive choices in the future if they are to truly represent the body of Christ in their community. We don’t have a choice about whether or not as a church if we are the body of Christ. The choice we have is only how we are going to represent him. Are we going to live and act in ways that honor Christ or dishonor him? Are we going to do the things Jesus did or are we going to deny that we are his by our rejection of his commands. We are his body! It is just a matter of what kind of "Jesus" people are going to see!

What does it mean to be the body of Christ? Being the body of Christ means that a church chooses to love with Christ’s love (Col. 3:12-14). Paul is very descriptive of the way the church should respond to each other and to those without Christ. He lists seven qualities that are to identify their behavior and ours: Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and forgiveness. Each one of these is essential to the kind of lifestyle that individual Christians are to demonstrate both to Christians and non-Christians. I mean, wouldn’t it make a difference to you to know that when you came here or when others came here that you were going to be treated differently than any other place in the world? That people were going to open their lives to you, treat you with kindness, to come to a place free from competition, where they put up with your faults and you find freedom from the shame and guilt of your past? If I knew that would happen in the church, then that would be enough.

Yet Paul doesn’t stop there because he says that the most essential quality that Christians demonstrate is love. He says that love is what pulls all the other qualities together and makes us whole. (v. 14). He says that "love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony" (v. 14). That implies that there are barriers or hindrances to our unity and harmony that only love can remove. Think about that for a moment. Think of all the things that stand between us as Christians, all the differences we have with each other, all the habits and character flaws we have that separate us, all the ideas and persuasions about everything from politics to whether Taylor or Katherine is going to win American Idol. Yet when we put on love—it covers up our differences and we are one. When I decide that my love for you is greater than the differences I have with you then we will know what it means to live in perfect harmony. Jesus said, "I command you to love each other" (Jn. 15:17 NLT). Being the body of Christ means choosing to love each other with Christ’s love.

Being the body of Christ also means choosing to be controlled by Christ’s peace (Col. 3:15). Paul tells them that their lives were to be controlled by an intangible force that was essential to their identity and unity: "The peace that comes from Christ." The word "peace" means to be free from disturbance and to possess a feeling of rest. It is an absence of disagreement or conflict. He says that this peace comes from Christ. In other words, it is not something we create or manufacture but it is, instead, something we release. He goes on to say that this peace is to "rule" in our hearts. The word he uses is the word for umpire or govern. It means that this peace is to be the norm or standard that pervades the life of the church so much so that when a disruption comes you know it and are alerted to it. He finally describes the purpose of this peace by saying that our goal as a church is to live together with this peace overwhelming our lives. The Message says it is to "keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other."

Some weeks ago Kathy and I were awakened in the middle of the night by one of the carbon monoxide detectors going off in our house. I ran to the room where it was and pulled it off the wall and managed to get the battery out to shut it off. Now I was certain that it was not a carbon monoxide leak because our heat wasn’t on but Kathy wasn’t so sure. The danger of carbon monoxide is that it is odorless and can be deadly without you knowing it. We assumed it was either a faulty detector or bad battery because our other detector hadn’t gone off. The next morning I put the battery back in and moved it to another room and it went off again. To be sure we didn’t have a problem, we had the gas company come out and check for carbon monoxide leaks. After a thorough check, it was determined there were no leaks but it was a faulty detector, which was replaced.

Disruptions in the peace and harmony in the body of Christ can be subtle and indictable at first, just like carbon monoxide. Sadly, it is only after people are hurt does the evidence of the problem become obvious. The reality is that each of us are to be so sensitive to the peace of Christ ruling our lives and our church that the slightest "leak" in the peace creates alarm within us. Rick Warren says, "It is your job to protect the unity of your church…If you are a part of God’s family, it is your responsibility to protect the unity where you fellowship. You are commissioned by Jesus Christ to preserve the unity, protect the fellowship, and promote harmony in your church family and among all believers" (The Purpose Driven Life, p. 160-161). Is that easy? No, but it is essential. If we would choose to be the body of Christ then we are going to be ruled by peace, the peace that comes from Christ.

Being the body of Christ means as well choosing to celebrate Christ’s word (Col. 3:16). This verse speaks to what we do together when we gather to worship. Paul identifies that the central feature of our coming together is to be focused on the "words of Christ." That means not merely the words of Christ written in red in your Bible but the truth of Christ expressed in our speaking and our singing. He says that these words are to be absorbed into our lives and our hearts so much so that they burst out of us in our teaching, instruction and our music. That is why every Sunday School class is focused on the Bible. That’s why our children do Bible Drill. That’s why our music has texts that are founded on the words in our Bible. We gather to celebrate Christ’s word in so many ways but uniquely and particularly in these hours on Sunday morning.

Now, I want to say something that I need to say and you need to hear: Worshipping together as the body of Christ is not optional for you as a healthy, growing believer! Unless you are providentially hindered, you are to be with God’s family on a weekly basis to celebrate God’s word together, both spoken and in song. Our gathering to worship is first and foremost about God regardless of your style preference of the music or your evaluation of the sermon. That is not an excuse for us to just throw something together and hope you like it. No, it is an understanding that our gathering is our opportunity to celebrate our identity as the body of Christ.

You may say, "My worship of God and my relationship with Jesus Christ is personal so I don’t require being present in a gathering at a church." Someone else can say, "I don’t go to church because I’ve been hurt by the hypocrites at church." There are hundreds of excuses and reasons you may give for not gathering with God’s people to celebrate Christ’s word. You know what? They ultimately don’t matter because while your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intended it to be private! You are a part of the body of Christ. If I severed my hand from my body, my hand would shrivel and die. In the same way, you can’t live disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of the celebration of Christ’s word in worship. Warren says, "Your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist" (The Purpose Driven Life, p. 131). Because you are a part of the body of Christ, it is essential that you make the choice to celebrate Christ’s word with a community of believers.

Finally, being the body of Christ means choosing to represent Christ’s name (Col. 3:17). As Paul concludes this thought, it is as though he couldn’t decide what more he could say so he says, "And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus…" (v. 17). What he is doing here is not laying down a whole system of rules and regulations but a fundamental principle that should guide all our conduct. What is that principle? It is this: Can I do what I want to do, live, as I want to live, act as I want to act and do so as a representative of Jesus Christ? John Ortberg asks, "Can I do this in Jesus’ name?" It is asking that question that causes us to see our actions as positively or negatively representing Jesus Christ.

I realize that asking that question can become a challenge to our behaviors and actions—it’s supposed to do that! Think of that question like you think of your wedding band. Your wedding band represents your exclusive devotion to the person to whom you are married. It means everyone else is off limits because you are exclusively committed to someone else. I can remember a theme that shows up in some country songs of someone removing their wedding band before they commit adultery. It is a removal of a reminder that they are committed to someone else and that by removing the reminder they somehow are free to sin with another person. Stating the obvious: If you have to remove your ring of devotion then what in the world are you thinking?

In the same way, if you somehow must remove "the name of the Lord Jesus" (NASV) from some activity before you do it – what are you thinking? All of our life is to be as a representative of Christ’s name and if we can’t have Jesus’ name attached to it, then why are we doing it? Being the body of Christ means choosing to represent Christ’s name in all that we do and all that we are. The sad thing is that when one of us takes off our ring and denies our identity as a representative of Christ, it is like we all have done it. Yet the other side is true also. When one of us chooses to represent Christ’s name positively, then we all do it together!

I Am Sam tells the story of a developmentally challenged adult who raises his daughter, Lucy, on his own. Sam works at Starbucks and spends time with four other men who are also equally challenged. Sam's friends are excited about the new addition to Sam's life, often offering to hold or feed little Lucy.

Prior to beginning the first grade, Lucy needs new shoes. Money is tight for Sam and his friends. They must walk everywhere they go. Sam's wages are barely sufficient for the one-bedroom apartment he and Lucy share. But he and his four faithful friends set out with Lucy to buy her a pair of shoes. They all take the task seriously as they search for the perfect pair, presenting each offering to Lucy. They find shoes with lights that blink, pink shoes, and leopard-skin shoes five sizes too big. The shoe salesman is somewhat frustrated by this exasperating process, but he cooperates.

When at last they find the perfect pair, Sam asks the shoe salesman the price, and the salesman says, "$16.19 with tax." The mood becomes uncomfortable as Sam counts out too little money. Sam says, "I only have $6.25." There are people in line behind them, and Lucy begins to exchange nervous glances with Sam and his friends. "That's all you have?" says the salesman. "Yeah," responds Sam, "because I didn't get my whole check, because I had to go to the parent and teacher meeting this week." "I'm sorry, sir, the price is $16.19." Sam's friends, without being asked, reach into their pockets to make up the difference. Quickly, all the money that is needed is on the counter. Lucy smiles, and they all leave with balloons. (I Am Sam, New Line Cinema, 2001)

What Sam couldn’t do for Lucy himself, his friends helped him do together. They were each unique in their own way. Yet what a picture of the body of Christ! We are each unique with our own gifts as well as challenges; people whom God has chosen to represent the very living presence of his Son, Jesus Christ. When each of us chooses to share our gifts and our lives, we accomplish his purpose and represent his presence in the communities of our world! Being the body of Christ means choosing Christ’s love, Christ’s peace, Christ’s word and Christ’s name not only for us but also for those who have yet to understand God’s love. When that happens then we are "the hope of the world" and we all leave with "balloons"!

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church, Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org