Body Image: Paul’s Analogy for the Church

1Corinthians 12:12-27
Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX MI
July 27th, 2003
Profession of Faith for Richard Costello & Josh Rowlison
Received into membership the Rowlisons

For those of you who are here this morning – who exercised those clingy bed sheet

demons that threaten to keep us abed on Sunday mornings – let me offer you a little good

news. This is from Time magazine.

Everyone knows about the old codger who lives to be 100 and cavalierly
attributes his longevity to booze, black cigars, beautiful women—and never going to
church.
According to Dr. George W. Comstock of Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and
Public Health, that kind of impious longevity may be the exception, not the rule. In
studies of the relation of socioeconomic factors to disease in the population of
Washington County, Md., Comstock and his colleagues made an incidental but
fascinating discovery. Regular churchgoing, and the clean living that often goes with
it, appear to help people avoid a whole bagful of dire ailments and disasters. Among
them: heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, tuberculosis, cancer of the cervix, chronic
bronchitis, fatal one-car accidents and suicides.
The most significant finding was that people who go to church regularly have
less arteriosclerotic heart disease. The annual death rate from such disease was
about 500 for every 100,000 persons among weekly churchgoers, nearly 900 per
100,000 among “less than weekly” attendees. As for bronchitis, Comstock is at a loss
to explain the relationship. (Maybe all that hymn singing helps clear the tubes.) In
any case, he has a name—or at least a nickname—for the whole phenomenon, which
he humorously calls the “Leo Durocher” syndrome. “Nice guys,” concludes the good
doctor, “do seem to finish last.”i

Congratulations! By coming this morning you have set yourself on the path for better

health and wellness! But lest you get too comfortable and cocky let me share with you

some not so good news – diseases that are unique to churchgoers.

“Morbus Sabbaticus,” better known as “Sunday sickness,” is a disease peculiar

to some church members. The symptoms vary, but these are generally observed:
1. It never lasts more than twenty-four hours.
2. It never interferes with the appetite.

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 3. It never affects the eyes. The Sunday newspapers can be read with no pain.
Television seems to help the eyes.
4. No physician is ever called.
5. After a few “attacks,” at weekly intervals, it may become chronic … even
terminal.

No symptoms are usually felt on Saturday. The patient sleeps well and wakes feeling
well. He eats a hearty Sunday Breakfast, then the attack comes until services are
over for the morning. The patient feels better and eats a solid dinner. After dinner,
he takes a nap, then watches one or two pro-football games on TV. He may take a
walk before supper, and stop and chat with neighbors. If there are church services
scheduled for Sunday evening, he will have another short attack. Invariably, he
wakes up Monday morning and rushes off to work feeling refreshed. The symptoms
may not recur until the following Sunday, unless another service is scheduled at the
church during the week. ii

Even more alarming is the ailment Divers Diseases. Listen to this one diagnosed

by an old preacher one Sunday morning.

The old preacher stood up to preach. He read his text in Matthew 4:24, “ … they
brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases.”
The preacher said: “Now, the doctors can scrutinize you, analyze you, and
sometimes cure your ills, but when you have divers diseases, then only the Lord can
cure. And brethren, there is a regular epidemic of divers diseases among us.
“Some dive for the door after Sunday School is over. Some dive for the TV set after
church. Some dive into a list of excuses about not working for the Lord. Others dive
for the car and take a trip over the weekend. Some dive for their nickels and dimes
to put in the offering, instead of paying their tithe. Some dive for the door as soon as
the minister gives the appeal to pray at the altar at the service. Yes, it takes the Lord
and the love for the church to cure Divers Diseases.”iii

I hope you all find these as amusing as I did! As I read through these illustrations

in preparation for this morning I laughed out loud. There were a host of them – including

some great one-liners – but we need to get on with the business at hand: discerning what

the Word of God says about our participation in church.

This is a topic on which pastors and congregation members often disagree. In our

live and let live society, we are hesitant to instruct on the necessity of being among God’s

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people and participating in corporate worship and instruction. God is Lord of all, so isn’t

it just as good to worship him along the shore of the river while we are fishing or out on

the fairway while golfing. After all, we see stand there in the midst of his handiwork and

not the brick edifice made by the hands of man. Or can’t we get the same thing at home

if we watch the Hour of Power or D. James Kennedy or Charles Stanley or … you fill in

the preacher’s name. The Holy Spirit indwells us, so church really isn’t necessary – it’s a

good idea, but not necessary. You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.

Let me go on record as saying such a statement is completely contrary and in

disagreement with the Christian life presented in the Scriptures. When I look over the

Scriptures – on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, a believer in his name – I

cannot conceive of a Christianity that does not include involvement in the church. No

amount of freethinking, live and let live outlook can bury the truth of the Scriptures on

this matter. To be in relationship with Christ is to be in relationship with his Body – the

church. One necessitates the other.

There, I have given you the goods up front. Now let’s take a look at what the

Scriptures say in this matter. The apostle Paul offers us one of the most compelling and

far-reaching images when he speaks of the church as the Body of Christ. Within that one

image he offers insight into the relationship between the believer and the Lord Jesus

Christ and the relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ. This morning we take

a look at Paul's analogy for the church as a body. We will take a look at the

interdependent nature of life in Christ – how our spiritual growth and life are intimately

connected to other believers.

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 Our text for this morning is 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, but I want to draw on two

other texts as we explore what it means to be the Body. To better understand the

multifaceted vision presented in the Scriptures as the Body, I would like us to begin in

Romans 12:3-6

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of
yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with
sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given
you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these
members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are
many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We
have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

The context for this passage is the famous passage 12:1-2 – the call to be

transformed by the renewing of the mind. What is important to notice about this is that

Paul calls for the renewing "in light of God's mercy" – the mercy that Paul outlined

through chapters 1-11 of Romans. So because God has been so merciful to us, so

gracious to us, let’s show our love and gratitude by being transformed by the renewing of

our minds that we may prove what the perfect, good and pleasing will of God is. How

are we transformed? What is God’s perfect, good and pleasing will? That’s the answer

Paul offers in vv.3-8. Now remember, Paul is casting this all as a response to the mercy

and grace God has shown us.

How does Paul use body image in this passage to express God’s will for us? He

calls for a symbiotic relationship between believers. That is, he says that our relationship

to one another is like the relationship between the parts of the body. If any part of it is to

survive it must have the influence, presence and cooperation of the other parts.

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 So, he calls us each to be exceedingly humble in regards to our place in the church

and our gifts because we are all members of one body. All are important, all are

necessary. Because we are all in Christ – in whom we live and move and have our being

– we stand on equal footing. None of us is given greater honor than another. Every – and

I stress every – member of the Body is necessary for the transforming life the Scriptures

call us to. There are no appendixes in the Body of Christ

The implication of this is because of the symbiotic relationship, our growth is

directly connected to our involvement in the Body of Christ. We see this reflected in

Paul’s use of the body image in Ephesians 4:11-13.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be

evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s
people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of
God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness
of Christ.

Using this passage to inform our reading of the body image in Romans 12 we then see

that our lives are transformed by our engagement in the Body. The differing function of

the gifts in the Body have a particular purpose – that all of the Body is edified and

encouraged – that as a whole it is built up to attain the fullness in Jesus Christ. Through

our involvement, we see the grace of God manifested in the lives of others through the

use of our gifts. Likewise, we see the grace of God manifested in our own lives through

others using their gifts.

We can conclude, therefore, that to neglect the Body – that is, the church – is in a

very real sense to neglect the grace of God and to resist the command to be transformed.

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Being transformed requires of us to be involved in the Body – giving of ourselves for the

building up of each other’s faith. The only way for the Body to remain healthy is for

each member to do his or her part – to engage in self-giving. In short, the actions of each

member of the Body impact the faith life of the other members. You presence or absence,

your participation or indifference impacts more than your own spiritual walk. How you

live out your faith in the midst of Christ’s Body – his church, God’s people – matters

significantly in the faith lives of the saints God has joined to you in the assembly of the

local church.

Correlating to Paul's discussion in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4 is his discussion in

1Corinthians 12 – his discussion on the gifts. Prominent in this discussion is the idea of

unity – the reality that the body does not exist as separate, constituent parts, but rather as

a whole in which different parts have different functions necessary for the whole to fully

live.

Full life in Christ is realized only in the context of being in the Body. The critical

issue to realize from this passage is that our life and identity is determined by being in

Christ – not by what part of the Body of Christ we are. We do not derive our worth from

being a prophet over against the person whose gifts lie in service and may be the person

who fills the paper towel rolls. Each member is a part of the other and therefore essential

to the faith life of the other members. This reality becomes extremely important when

you consider Paul’s discussion on the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11 and discerning

the Body.

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 Discerning the Body has two senses to it. The first is of course recognizing in the

elements the symbols that image the body and blood our Lord offered as atonement for

our sin. The second sense is that we must discern that as we take the Supper to ourselves,

we image the Body of Christ. That is we act as one Body – unified in action and purpose

– to proclaim the Lord's death until he returns. As we partake of the supper we are united

with all the church through space and time – right down to the apostles and our Lord

himself – in this one event. Why? Because we are all members of one another and the

supper is nourishment provided by our Lord for his Body. It is one of the means he uses

to unite us to himself more fully and to one another.

This morning we have received new members into this body. We have recognized

through our rites of profession of faith and membership that God has united us with the

Rowlisons, with Richard and Josh in Christ his Son. We have acknowledged that we are

members of one another – that we need each another. If we are to obtain the fullness in

Christ – the life God desires of us – we must have their deliberate and loving

participation in the body. If they are to obtain the fullness in Christ, they must have our

deliberate and loving participation in the body. We must each use our gifts for the

building up in faith of the other.

So what does all this mean for the Church and for our place in the Church?

a. First, that it is the Lord's will for us to be part of a visible manifestation

of his Body. He desires us to express the unity and oneness of the Body

publicly by being engaged in a local body of believers. For those who

say that they don’t need to be in church to be a Christian or to worship

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 Christ, I say technically true in the short term, absolutely false in the

long term. “Just Jesus and me” theology does not line up with the

Scriptural witness. It is God’s will for us to gather in community for

worship, instruction and to receive the sacraments. There is no such

thing as a lone ranger Christian. Anyone who thinks otherwise is

deceived. The Scriptures leave no room for life in Christ separated from

the Body.

b. Second, that it is only in the context of the Church that we can give our

life in Christ fullest expression. Without a place to share the gifts we

have and to have others share their gifts with us, the life of Christ does

not find its fullest expression and no amount of personal devotions will

make up for the deficiency in fellowship.

c. Third, that it is only in the context of the Church that we are able to

grow fully into the people God intends us to be. Since our relationship

to one another is symbiotic – we are members of one another – we must

be part of a body if we are to be "transformed" as God calls us to be.

The Proverbs 27:17 says that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens

another. We need each other if we are going to be our sharpest for

Christ.

d. Fourth, that to stay outside the church is to live in disobedience –

contrary to our nature as new creatures in Christ. By remaining outside

the church we abandon the part of the purpose for our calling – to edify

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 one another. In other words, we live contrary to the will of God for his

people as expressed in Ephesians and elsewhere – to be conformed to

the image of his Son.

e. Fifth and finally to stay outside the church is to fail in discerning the

body of Christ – to break the unity of the body unnaturally.

When you take the Scriptures seriously and consider carefully the analogy of the

Body it becomes unbearably evident that to be part of a local church – a local

manifestation of the Body – is necessity if we are going to live in full obedience to God

and fully experience the life he has in store for us as his people. To say that you are

Christian without a church is like saying that you are a bee without a hive. Bees without

hives do not survive long.

We began this sermon with a light-hearted look at what keeps people away on

Sunday morning. Let me end with this

“You see, God, it’s like this: We could attend church more faithfully if your day
came at some other time. You have chosen a day that comes at the end of a hard
week, and we’re all tired out. Not only that, but it’s the day following Saturday
night, and Saturday night is one time when we feel that we should go out and enjoy
ourselves. Often it is after midnight when we reach home, and it is almost impossible
to get up on Sunday morning. And you must realize that you have picked the very
day on which the morning paper takes the longest to read—the day when the biggest
meal of the week must be prepared. We’d like to go to church, and know that we
should; but you have just chosen the wrong day.”iv

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, some people ought to love their church
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greatly. But true love for the church and for Christ is measured in our consistent,

constant presence and participation in the Body of Christ. We are members of one

another – and just as a human body becomes deformed and less capable in the loss of one

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of its members, so it is with the church. And just as the lost member ceases to grow, but

putrefies and petrifies once it is severed from the body, so it is in the life of the believer

who remains absent from the church.

Let’s not be putrid and petrified Christians. Come join in the life God intends for

you – to live in communion with him and experience the fullness of his grace and

presence through his Body. It is his will for you. Only then, will we all reach unity in the

faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole

measure of the fullness of Christ.

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i
Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996.
ii
Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996.
iii
Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996.
iv
Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996.
v
Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996.