Membership

Membership Matters

by

This sermon was preached on January 1, 2023.

MP3 audio recording: “Membership Matters”
PDF of manuscript: Membership Matters 1.1.23

Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? Have you broken any yet?

If you do make New Year’s resolutions, what kind do you make? A lot of people resolve to diet and exercise, or to read more, or to save money. Resolutions often require commitment and discipline. Not all resolutions do, however. When I think of New Year’s resolutions, I can’t forget what my college friend, Seth, once said. He said he never makes a resolution he can’t keep. So, one resolution was to never say “oh” in place of “zero” when saying a number, such as when giving someone a phone number or an account number. That’s a trivial resolution, and one you can easily keep.

New Year’s resolutions are usually about commitment. I think we realize that in order to achieve something valuable, or to become the people we want to be, we need to commit. But often, that word, “commit,” is one that makes people uncomfortable. It’s like the word “submit.” These words aren’t comfortable for us because we don’t like to commit and submit. We like to keep our options open. We like to think that by not committing and submitting, we have more freedom. But if we’re free from commitment and submitting to others, we won’t be free to love, to grow, and to be part of something larger than yourself.

Some of us have heard of a man named Jonathan Edwards, a theologian and pastor of the eighteenth century. He lived most of his life in Massachusetts. When he was a young man, he made several resolutions. This is the first one in a long list:

Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.[1]

Edwards resolved to live for God’s glory, as well as the good of other people, no matter the cost. That’s a great resolution, though it’s very different from the ones that most people make.

Today, I want to encourage us to a greater level of commitment to God and to one another. And I want to do that by talking about the importance of the church. Specifically, I’m going to talk about the importance of membership.

What do you think of when hear the word “membership”? If you Google the word “membership,” you’ll see three definitions; the fourth result is a link to Costco. If you keep scrolling, you’ll see links to memberships for businesses, associations, and gyms. Think about what membership means at Costco. If you want to be a member of Costco, you pay an annual fee. Once you pay that fee, you get a Costco account and a card with your name on it. That card gives you access to the store. You can now go into any Costco and shop there.

But if you’re a member of Costco, you have no obligation to Costco. You can become a member of Costco and never shop there. Even if you shop at Costco, you really don’t have any obligation to the store, other than paying for the items in your cart. You don’t need to get to know the people who work there. You don’t have to worry about their lives. You don’t have to serve them. After all, you’re giving them your money. They are there to serve you. The customer is always right.

A gym membership works the same way. You can join a gym as long as you’re willing to pay the membership fee. You can show up or not. But if you show up, you don’t need to interact with the other members or the people who work at the gym. You don’t need to serve anyone.

Churches have members, too. But membership in a church is not like membership at a warehouse store or a gym. Membership in a church means you are a part of this local manifestation of the body of Christ.

This morning, we’re going to read several passages from the New Testament. The main one is 1 Corinthians 12:12–20. This comes from a letter written by the apostle Paul to a church in a city called Corinth. This is what he writes in that passage:

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.[2]

Paul says that Christians are “members” or “parts” of the body of Christ. That’s what we mean when we talk about membership of a church. We’re talking about being a part of the body of Christ. Paul says that all Christians are a part of the body of Christ. This is certainly true of all people who have been born again of the Holy Spirit. But Paul is also writing to a particular church, the church in Corinth, a city located in what is now known as Greece. He’s encouraging particular Christians in a particular local church to use their spiritual gifts in a way that builds up the entire body of Christ.

Throughout the New Testament, the church is described in various ways. It is the body of Christ (Eph. 4:4, 12). In that metaphor, Christians are members, or body parts. The church is also described as a temple (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21) or a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5). In that metaphor, Christians are living stones. The church is sometimes described as a flock (John 10:16; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). In that metaphor, Christians are sheep. The church is also described as the family or “household” of God (Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 4:17).[3] In that metaphor, each Christian is a child of God. The point in each metaphor is that Christians not only belong to God, but they belong to each other. Christians belong to something larger than themselves. They belong to something that includes other Christians.

I think that’s an important point to make, especially in our individualistic culture. It’s not uncommon to hear people talk about their faith in Jesus as if it’s just Jesus and them. You know, they come to the garden alone and walk with him and talk with him. But God’s word, the Bible, clearly indicates that though each of us must have our own individual faith in Jesus, we do not live the Christian life alone. We have an obligation to love God with everything—heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30). But we also have an obligation to love each other. We are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). And the love that we have for each other in the church should be even greater than our love for just anyone (Gal. 6:10).

Think about all of these commandments that are given to Christians. Most of these come from Paul and nearly every one of them comes from a letter written to a specific church. These are some of the many “one another” passages in the New Testament.

Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

Galatians 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Ephesians 4:1–3
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (See also Col. 3:12–13.)

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 5:18–21
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (See also Col. 3:16.)

1 Thessalonians 4:18
Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:15
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24–25
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 Peter 4:9
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

I think the point is clear. Christianity is a “one another” religion. We can’t faithfully live our lives as Christians unless we are committed to each other. Christianity is not a solo sport, and it’s certainly not a spectator sport.

I think there are a number of reasons why church membership matters and why every Christian should officially join a local church. Here’s the first one: Throughout the Bible, God’s people are numbered. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were numbered. That’s why the book of Numbers is called Numbers. It begins with a census (Numbers 1–2). Then another census is given forty years later (Numbers 26). The point of each census was to count the number of men eligible to fight for the nation. But still, the people were numbered.

This is true in the New Testament as well. The book of Acts starts with a group of Christians who number about a hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15). At Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the disciples and Peter gives an impassioned sermon, about three thousand people were added to the number of Christians (Acts 2:41). Soon, the number grows to about five thousand (Acts 4:4). The point is that the church was growing. But still, there is a sense that certain people belonged to the church. And those people did life together. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” And Acts 2:44–45 says:

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

More to the point, in 1 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy that in a church, the widows should be listed. Widows over sixty should be listed so that the church can take care of them (1 Tim. 5:9). But for that to work, the church has to know which widows belong to the church and which widows do not.

And, finally, all of God’s people are listed in the “book of life” (Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). The Bible teaches that God has always known his people. From before he made the universe, he had a book of life, and the names of all the people of God throughout the ages are written down in that book.

So, the principal is that God knows who his people are, and the church should know who God’s people are.

Here’s a second reason why church membership matters: Christ gave the church authority. Let’s look at Matthew 16:13–19.

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Here, Peter recognizes who Jesus really is. He is the Messiah, the Christ, and the Son of the living God. And after Peter makes that confession, Jesus says, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Peter’s name is Petros which is Greek for “rock.” So, Jesus is doing a bit of wordplay. Peter is the rock upon whom Jesus will build the church. Now, Jesus does not mean that Peter is the first pope, or the bishop of Rome, as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. But Jesus means that he will build his church upon the apostles and their teaching. In Ephesians 2:20, Paul says that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.”

Jesus says that his church will not be overcome by the gates of hell. In other words, the church will not die. But here’s the really interesting part: the church will have the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The church is not the kingdom of God, but it’s related. The church is the visible representation of the kingdom of God on earth. And the church has the power to admit people into the kingdom. This is done through preaching the gospel, baptizing people, and making disciples. Now, to make this abundantly clear: the church doesn’t save anyone. The church doesn’t decide who is saved. God is the one who saves. It’s his decision and his action. But what is done in heaven should be reflected on earth in the church. The church has the obligation to recognize who are Christians and who are not. It’s possible that local churches can get this wrong.[4] Still, the church’s duty is to help people understand if they are Christians or not.

So, the church has the opportunity to open the doors of the kingdom of God to people by preaching the gospel, by baptizing people, and by making disciples. Jesus also says, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This refers to forbidding and permitting certain things. Specifically, it refers to forbidding and allowing certain behaviors of people who have entered into the kingdom. Rabbis used the words of binding and loosing to refer to ethical behavior.[5] Here, it seems that Jesus is saying, “Peter, you and the disciples will be able to say what a citizen of the kingdom of God can and cannot do.” They will do this because they are led by God.

What does this mean for church membership? Jonathan Leeman, who wrote a book on the subject, says that Jesus gave the church “the authority of the keys to continue building itself—effectively to receive and dismiss members. The authority of the keys is the authority to assess a person’s gospel words and deeds and to render a judgment.”[6]

Jesus didn’t limit this authority to Peter. In Matthew 18, Jesus also talks about the church. And this brings me to another reason why membership matters: The church has the authority to discipline its members. Let’s turn to Matthew 18:15–20:

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Here, Jesus tells the church how to deal with someone who has sinned. If someone in the church has sinned against you, it’s your responsibility to tell that person about it. The goal is to bring about repentance and reconciliation. But if the person who sinned won’t listen, then you should bring one or two others. In the Old Testament, the principle of having at least two witnesses was established. If the sinner still refuses to listen, then he or she must be brought before the whole church. And it’s in that context that Jesus says, again, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Again, the idea has to do with the behavior that is associated with a Christian. If the church agrees that a person is sinning and isn’t repentant, they have the authority to remove that person from the church. God promises to be in the midst of this difficult decision. That’s what Jesus means when he says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” That has nothing to do with a worship service or a Bible study or a prayer meeting.

This may all be a bit abstract, so let’s think about a hypothetical situation. Say I know someone in the church—let’s call him Joe—who is sinning in a very obvious, repeated, and public way. When he is rebelling against God and his word, he’s hurting himself. But he’s also bringing dishonor on the church and, more importantly, on Jesus himself. Say he’s been lying, or he’s caught up in some sexual sin, or he gets drunk regularly. So, I go to Joe and I say, “Joe, you have to stop doing that. It’s against God’s will.” And if Joe says, “No, I don’t have a problem, and God doesn’t care that I do it,” then I have to bring him before others. If Joe keeps saying, for example, that cheating on his wife isn’t a problem, and when he’s confronted he refuses to repent, then we wouldn’t have any reason to believe Joe is really a Christian. He may be, but from what we can tell, he doesn’t look like it, and he’s certainly not living like it. (Remember that the Bible warns about false professions of faith.) You can assume that we approached this issue prayerfully and we confronted Joe with love and care. And if we agree that Joe isn’t repentant and must leave the church, then God has affirmed us in our decision.

Now, churches can get these things wrong. There are a lot of churches that call themselves churches but are not. Yet still, God has given the church the authority to carry out such issues, and he has given the church his word, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit to guide them.

If you look at 1 Corinthians 5, we see an example of church discipline. Paul says that a man has been having a sexual relationship with his father’s wife—most likely his stepmother—and the church has tolerated this. Paul tells the Corinthians that they should have removed this man from their church (verse 2). Of course, the understanding is that if this man stops doing what he is doing and confesses his sin, the church could readmit him to their fellowship. But Paul’s concern is that such sinful activity is like a bit of leaven that works its way through the whole lump of dough (verse 6). Paul’s concern is for the holiness of God and the holiness of God’s people. And Paul tells the whole church to do this, not just the elders or pastors.

Paul comes back to the issue of church discipline in his second letter to the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul is either referring back to that case of church discipline or to another one. But regardless of the case, Paul writes this in 2 Corinthians 2:5–8:

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

Notice how he refers to “the majority.” It seems that the majority of the church had voted to discipline this person. And now Paul says this punishment has been enough, and the church should forgive him.

Now, why do I bring up this whole business of church authority and church discipline? One reason is that it shows that to be a member of a church is not like joining a gym, or a store, or some club. You don’t just join a church. You submit to a church.[7] According to Jonathan Leeman, “the local church is the authority on earth that Jesus has instituted to officially affirm and give shape to my Christian life and yours.”[8] If that’s true, and I think it is based on Jesus’ own teachings, then we should gladly come under the authority of a local church. Doing so helps us become better followers of Christ.

The second reason I share these passages is that if a person can be removed from a church, it stands to reason that the person belonged to the church in the first place. And if, in at least one case, a majority of the church approved of a man’s discipline, it stands to reason that there was a list of people who were able to vote on such an issue.

All of the above is related to a third reason why church membership matters: The church makes disciples, baptizes, and cares for the souls of its members. In the Great Commission, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives his disciples their marching orders.[9] This is Matthew 28:18–20:

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The disciples—and the church that is built upon their foundation—were to proclaim the gospel. They were to make disciples. A disciple is literally a student. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. They were to baptize anyone who repented of their sins and put their trust in Jesus. And they were to teach these disciples everything that Jesus taught.

Baptism is an outward sign of a transformation in a person’s life. It represents cleansing of sin. It’s also a picture of the old person dying and the new person emerging. You’ll find that Paul writes about this at the beginning of Romans 6. In that letter, as in all Paul’s letters, he’s writing to Christians. He assumes that Christians have already been baptized. Baptism is a public way of identifying yourself with Jesus. It’s therefore a prerequisite for belonging to a church. If you haven’t been baptized yet, we would love to baptize you here.

The church continues to care for those who have come under its authority. You see that in the many “one another” passages I read earlier. We also see this in passages that are written or about pastors. For example, we see that idea in Hebrews 13:7 and 17. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” The leaders here are obviously church leaders, because they are speaking the word of God. Now look at verse 17: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Before I became a pastor, I didn’t think that church membership was such a big deal. But after I became a pastor, and I read verses like this one, I came to realize that church membership is very important. After all, I am supposed to keep watch over people and give an account for how I’ve done that. But how can I watch over your souls if I don’t know who belongs to the church? I can, in a broad way, care for the souls of people here just by teaching them God’s word. But it makes my job far more difficult when people don’t really get involved in the life of the church. There’s a similar idea in 1 Peter 5:2, which is directed towards pastors. It says,
“shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight.” The idea of a defined church membership helps establish who is part of the flock that is under a pastor’s care.[10]

A fourth reason why membership matters is that much of the Christian life is lived out in the life of the church. How else can you obey all those “one another” commands that I read earlier if you’re not plugged into the life of the church? How can you use your spiritual gifts? It is certainly possible to love other Christians who aren’t part of your church, and it’s possible to use spiritual gifts to serve other Christians and even non-Christians who aren’t part of your church. But it seems that we can best love and serve each other in the context of a local church. I believe that the way people in a church love and serve one another is a powerful witness to the world. It should make the church an attractive alternative to the selfishness and lack of commitment found in the world. Jesus himself said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Finally, here’s a fifth reason that membership matters: Your commitment to the local church is an antidote to the selfish, individualistic, commitment-phobic culture that we live in. Who commits to anything these days? Where can loyalty be found? People don’t commit to marriages, families, jobs, or much anything else. But Christians should be different. We belong to a forever family. Think about it: your relationships with other Christians will outlast all other relationships. Your commitment to God and his people will outlast your commitment to your job, your hobbies, your political ideology, and your support of the Red Sox and the Patriots.

Also, Christianity is more about giving and serving than getting. So many people look for churches and think, “What can that church do for me?” They think, “What am I going to get out of it?” That is anti-Christian thinking. It’s just incredibly selfish, and it reveals how much we can get caught up in the consumerism around us. Jesus came not to be served, but to be served, and that should be our goal, too.[11] Jesus died for the church (Acts 20:28). The church is his bride (Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9). How can we not want to commit to Christ’s church? We should ask not what our church can do for us, but rather we should ask what we can do for our church.

That being said, I will say this: The more you put into a church, the more you’ll get out of it. If you just show up for this worship service and leave, it will be hard to get to know the people of the church. If you come to our class at 9:15, or to the evening worship service at 5:00 p.m., or join us in person or at least online during our Wednesday night prayer meetings, you’ll know others in the church and you’ll be known. And you will receive much more. If you go through the membership process, the same is true.

One more thought about church membership, one that is more practical: If people weren’t committed to local churches, there would be no local churches. Churches exist because in the past there were members of churches who gave their time, service, and money to build those churches. People who come and go to churches, who never commit, are able to attend churches because of the work and sacrifice of others. If everyone just came and went as they pleased, if everyone sought to be served rather than to serve, there would be no churches.

There’s much more to say about church membership, but I’ll wrap up things up by saying this: If you’re not an official member of this church, please consider becoming one. Join us this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. If that time doesn’t work for you, let me know and we’ll arrange something else. If you are a member of the church, I would ask that you recommit to serving the church. Some of you are already doing that, and I am very thankful for you. Imagine what this church would be like if everyone here became a member and actively served. That’s what I would like to see happen here.

Notes

  1. “John Edwards’ Resolutions,” A Puritans Mind (http://www.apuritansmind.com/the-christian-walk/jonathan-edwards-resolutions). ↑

  2. All Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV). ↑

  3. There are also many examples of Christians being called “brothers” (with the intended meaning “brothers and sisters”) or “children.” ↑

  4. Jonathan Leeman (Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus [Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012], 62) writes, “Will the local church exercise the keys perfectly? No. It will make mistakes just as every other authority established by Jesus makes mistakes. As such, the local church will be an imperfect representation of Christ’s end-time gathering. But the fact that it makes mistakes, just as presidents and parents do, does not mean it’s without an authoritative mandate.” ↑

  5. According to Leon Morris, “The metaphor of binding and loosing was used by the rabbis for declaring forbidden or permitted.” The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 426. ↑

  6. Leeman, Church Membership, 59. ↑

  7. This point is made clearly by Jonathan Leeman, Church Membership. ↑

  8. Ibid., 24. ↑

  9. Leeman (ibid., 21): “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, and he gave his church the authority to march on the nations.” ↑

  10. Acts 20:28 is another verse that stresses the pastor’s need to care for the flock. ↑

  11. See Matthew 20:28; John 13:14–15; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:1–11. ↑

Membership Matters

by

Brian Watson preached this sermon on the importance of commitment to membership in the church on January 1, 2023.

Members of the Body (1 Corinthians 12)

by

This sermon was preached by Brian Watson on July 8, 2018.
MP3 recording of the sermon.
PDF of the written sermon (see also below).

I don’t know about you, but I love superhero movies. Perhaps that’s because superhero movies have clear villains who need to be defeated, and the heroes, however flawed they might be, prevail in the end. It’s nice to see good defeat evil.

It used to be that superheroes worked alone. Think of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, or the first Batman movie starring Michael Keaton. More recently, however, superheroes work together in teams. We’ve seen this in the X-Men movies and the Avengers movies and in Justice League, which features Batman and Wonder Woman, among others. These superhero movies have many different heroes coming together, each one using his or her superpowers to fight against a supervillain. The drama in these movies is not necessarily whether they will win; after all, the good guys always win in these movies. The drama comes from how the superheroes will work together. We, the members of the audience, wonder whether the superheroes will set aside their pride and coordinate their efforts, each using his or her strengths, in order to work together.

In one of the most recent of these movies, Avengers: Infinity War, one of the heroes acts selfishly. I don’t want to spoil the plot of the movie, so I’ll simply say that at one point some of the heroes are in a position to thwart the otherworldly villain named Thanos. The heroes are coordinating their efforts, working together to beat the bad guy, when one of the heroes lets his emotions get the better of him. And then Thanos gets away from their grasp.

These movies teach the importance of teamwork. Now, I realize not everyone may like superhero movies. But the same principles apply in other areas of life. Sports teams can have great athletes, but if they don’t work together, those teams won’t win. Coordinated teamwork is required in music, in the workplace, in politics, and even in the home. If we don’t work together, using our strengths and covering up each other’s weaknesses, we won’t succeed.

The same is true of the church. All Christians should work together for the glory of God. We are not all the same. We don’t all have the same talents, the same skills, and the same spiritual gifts. But we should all work together. When we don’t, the church doesn’t work well, and Jesus’ reputation suffers.

If you’re a Christian, my message to you today is to use the abilities that God has given you to help this church. If you’re visiting, if you’re not yet a Christian, you’re going to see a picture of how Christians should work together. We often fail to work together this way. We’re not Christians because we’re perfect, because we’re so good or because we’ve done a certain amount of good works. No, we’re not perfect; we’re perfect messes, saved only because God is merciful and gracious. But we should strive to be better.

To see how we should work together, we are going to look at 1 Corinthians 12. This is part of a letter written by the apostle Paul to a church that had a lot of problems, including problems getting along. We’ll begin by reading the first three verses of the chapter.

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.[1]

From what we can gather, the Corinthians had written a letter to Paul asking him some questions. One of those questions was about spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are abilities that the Holy Spirit has given Christians so that they can serve the church. I think the language of “spiritual gifts” may sound a bit odd to non-Christians or anyone not familiar with our lingo. They’re called gifts because, really, according to the Christian worldview, everything we have is a gift from God. Even our natural abilities, whether that is strength or intelligence or a good personality, are gifts from God. They’re not things we’re entitled to or things that we have created. Sure, we can develop those traits through hard work. But even the ability to work hard is a gift from God. Spiritual gifts are abilities or inclinations that are given to us through the Holy Spirit when or after we come to faith in Jesus.

Paul wants to make sure that the Corinthians understand spiritual gifts the right way. But he does this in an unexpected way. He first reminds them of their spiritual pasts. They used to be “pagans,” or, more literally, “Gentiles.” They once were not God’s people, but now they are God’s people.[2] They used to worship false gods, idols, which can’t speak. Idols can’t speak the truth, and those who worship them become like them. But now they worship the true God, and the Holy Spirit is the one who causes them to say, “Jesus is Lord.” You can’t first make a true confession of faith without the Holy Spirit first causing you to become a new type of person. And Paul’s subtle point is this: All Christians are spiritual, because they all have the Holy Spirit.

Paul makes that more explicit in the next couple of paragraphs. Let’s read verses 4–13:

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Let’s break that down a bit. Paul says that in some ways believers are the same. They have the same Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Or, as Paul puts it here, Christians are baptized in one Spirit into the same body, and each one was made to drink of one Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the one, true, triune God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit. Christians serve the same Lord, Jesus Christ. Christians are empowered by the same God. Christians belong to the same body, the body of Christ.

So, in Christianity there is unity. They belong to the same God who has saved them from condemnation, empowered them, and adopted them into the one family of God. They are brought into the one body of Christ, and they all belong to each other. They are to serve the common good by serving each other in the church.

But Paul also emphasizes diversity. There are various gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to Christians. There are different forms of service. There are varieties of activities. What Paul means is that though Christians belong together and worship the same God, God has not made us all the same. We all have different strengths. We will serve the church in different ways, according to the way that God has made us and the way that God has gifted us once we have become Christians.

What are the various gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to Christians? Well, some of them are rather ordinary, and some are more miraculous. Some seem to enhance natural abilities, like teaching, whereas others are more supernatural. The gifts that Paul mentions in this chapter are: utterance of wisdom, utterance of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Later in the chapter, Paul will mention various people: apostles, prophets, and teachers. We might say that being qualified to serve in those offices is a gift from God, too.

Outside of 1 Corinthians, there are three other mentions of spiritual gifts. One is Romans 12:3–8, which is very similar to what we read here. This is what Paul writes in that letter:

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Again, Paul stresses that there is one body and many members who have different functions and gifts. Again, we see unity and diversity. In Romans, Paul mentions prophecy, service, teaching, exhorting, contributing, leading, and being merciful.

In another of Paul’s letter, Ephesians, Paul says that Jesus gave certain people to the church to build it up and to equip the saints for ministry. That list includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, or pastor-teachers (Eph. 4:11). The ability to serve in those functions is a gift from God, too.

Finally, we read this in 1 Peter 4:10–11:

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

There, we see two gifts that Paul has already mentioned: speaking and serving.

We can group all of these gifts into different categories. First, we have what are called offices. That is, titles given to various people who have served in the church in different ways. Apostles were with Jesus personally and were sent by him to tell others about him. Since apostles had to see the risen Lord Jesus personally, and since Jesus hasn’t been on the earth for almost two thousand years, there are no more apostles. Prophets are those that spoke a message from God. It’s debated whether prophecy ended early in the history of the church or if it’s alive and well today. I’ll get back to that in a moment. But it’s worth considering what Paul says in Ephesians 2:20. There, he says that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” You only lay a foundation once. Prophets might have served a temporary role, revealing God’s will while the various books of the New Testament were still being written. Once the Bible was complete, there is no need to have a once-and-for-all, authoritative word from God for all of his people. Whether there is a lesser role for personal revelation is where the debate is.

We certainly still have evangelists. They are people who tell others the evangel, which means “gospel” or “good news.” The gospel is the message concerning Jesus. It says that though all human beings (other than Jesus) have rebelled against God, have ignored him and dismissed him and failed to love, honor, and obey him, God made a way for his enemies to be reconciled to him. That way is Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who became a man over two thousand years ago (while still being God). Jesus is the only human being who lived a perfect life. He always honored God by loving him and obeying him and representing him perfectly. Yet though Jesus never sinned, he was treated like a sinner. In fact, he was treated like an enemy of the state, as though he were a threat to both the Jewish leaders of his day and the Roman Empire. He was tortured and killed on a terrible instrument of death, the cross. Though people killed Jesus because they didn’t believe him and they hated him, ultimately Jesus’ death was God’s plan. Jesus bore the punishment that sinners deserve, so that everyone who trusts him will be forgiven of their sins, reconciled to God, adopted in to his family, and have eternal life. Trusting Jesus means believing his claims, that he is the Son of God, the God-man, the only one who can make us right with God. Trusting Jesus means knowing that he is Lord, King, Master, our ultimate authority.

This message needs to be shared, so we need evangelists. We also have pastors, or shepherds, sometimes also called overseers. They lead, guide, and protect the church. They also teach and preach. The gospel needs to be taught. So does the fullness of the Bible. Some parts are easier to understand, some parts are harder to understand. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to apply Scripture to our lives. Pastors, who have the gift and ability to teach, help the church make sense of God’s word.

But there are many other ways to serve in a church. If we take all the spiritual gifts, we can group them into different categories. There are two types of gifts that deal with speaking. One category is related to teaching. This includes the utterance of wisdom and the utterance of knowledge. We don’t know exactly what Paul means by utterances of wisdom and knowledge, since this is the only time in the Bible that these phrases occur. But the book of Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Prov. 1:7; 9:10). So, these utterances probably have to do with teaching people about God and how to respect him and live for him. That’s a lot of what pastors do. “The one who exhorts,” which is found in Romans 12:8, can also be translated as “the one who encourages” (the New International Version has something similar). You don’t have to be a pastor to encourage other Christians. There are some people in this church who clearly have the spiritual gift of encouragement.

Another category involves revelatory speech, or even supernatural speech. That includes prophecy, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Prophecy generally is considered “a word from the Lord.” It can be a message about the future, or a message of guidance or direction. As I said earlier, it’s debated whether this continues or not now that the whole of the Bible is complete. In fact, that happened by the end of the first century. The last book of the Bible to be written was probably the book of Revelation, most likely written in the mid-90s. In the early days of Christianity, people couldn’t simply turn to the New Testament to read God’s word, because it wasn’t complete yet, and even the books that were completed existed only in handwritten copies. (This was centuries before the advent of the printing press, which made mass production of books possible.) I think the best argument against modern-day prophecy is that since the Bible is complete, no more needs to be added to it, and the foundation of God’s word, revealed through apostles and prophets, has been laid once and for all. If there’s any kind of “prophecy” that exists today, it might be of a very limited nature, directing someone or perhaps a church to make a certain decision. But if someone comes to me and says, “I’m a prophet,” I’m very wary of that person. Ultimately, beliefs about prophecy rest on theological assumptions that I don’t have time to unpack right now.

Much of what can be said about prophecy could be said about tongues, which could be foreign languages that the speaker doesn’t know but is able to speak miraculously (as in the case of Pentecost in Acts 2), or some ecstatic language that no human knows, but is later interpreted by another. Some people believe this was only something that happened in the first century, and all other talking in tongues is either something faked or something that could even be prompted by evil spirits. I don’t see a biblical reason why speaking in tongues can’t happen today. But I also don’t think it needs to happen. However, I have heard stories about people speaking in tongues in places where there is a great amount of spiritual warfare, or where the gospel is being preached for the first time. So, I can’t immediately write off the idea that people can’t speak in tongues.

If these revelatory and miraculous gifts exist today—and I’m not sure that they do—they are probably quite rare. Therefore, I won’t spend any more time talking about them today.

Other gifts deal with leading. We have already considered the gift of being a pastor or teacher, which is related to the gift of teaching or speaking. In verse 28, Paul mentions “administrating.” The Greek word that is translated that way refers to piloting or steering a ship. This is the job of the pastor or pastors. It’s possible that pastors also discern between good and evil spirits, though this kind of spiritual discernment can be exercised by other people in the church.

Many of the gifts relate to physical service of some kind. Some of those might be miraculous in nature, like healing and working miracles. But most often, the spiritual gift of service will be a desire to serve in practical and mundane ways. In verse 28, Paul refers to it as “helping.” “Acts of mercy,” also found in Romans (12:8), may consist of physical acts of service to those in need. Or it may be an attitude of compassion toward the down and out. “Contributing” (Rom. 12:8) refers to those who are particularly generous.

One spiritual gift is simply “faith.” This doesn’t mean the kind of faith that every believer has, which is also a gift. It refers to a special ability to trust in God and his provision, particularly when things don’t look hopeful. We might call it “hope against hope.”

I could go into more detail with each of these. But hopefully you can see that there are a variety of spiritual gifts. They aren’t the same. Not everyone receives these gifts. But remember this, they are all given “for the common good (verse 7). “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (verse 11). We don’t decide which spiritual gifts we’ll have, and they are not for building ourselves up. They are for the benefit of the church.

And, as Paul will say next, each member of the church is needed. Let’s read verses 14–20:

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Paul’s point here is simple and it’s funny. The members of the church are like different parts of the body. We all need each other, just like the foot needs the whole body, and so does the hand, and the ear. Eyes are great, but if the whole body was an eye, we would be pretty useless. If we were all the same, the church wouldn’t function well. If we were all leaders and teachers, there would be no one to lead and teach. There would be no followers and students. If everyone served in physical ways, but no one was equipped to lead, the church would be chaotic. Every member of the church is needed, and every member of the church should use his or her spiritual gifts to add to the church, just as every part of the body has its purpose.

Paul continues this theme in the next several verses. Let’s read verses 21–26:

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

When I described the various spiritual gifts, you probably noticed that some of them are more flashy or prominent. Some are related to things that are easily seen, like teaching or leading. Some are clearly miraculous. But some seem rather mundane. After all, service and helping could be a person’s desire to do dirty work to help the church or the people of the church. It might be cleaning a floor, or mowing an older person’s lawn, or something along those lines. But all the spiritual gifts are vital to the health of a church.

One person here once said that he was a foot, because he knew he wasn’t a leader. I’m not the head of the church, because the head of the church is Jesus. But in a way, I’m a head of this church. And I cannot say to that man, so the so-called foot, “I don’t need you.” No, I need you. The parts that seem to be weaker are indispensable. We honor the parts of the body that the world might not honor, because each part is needed.

Each person must play his or her own role, according to the way God has made that person and according to the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given that person. Often, the gifts are just enhancements of natural abilities. People with the ability to teach probably already had some decent amount of intelligence, but the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to have special insight regarding God’s word. People with the gift of service already have bodies that work, but the Holy Spirit gave them a desire to use their bodies to serve God. We don’t need the foot to try to be the head, or the eye to try to be the ear. That often happens in small churches, and that isn’t right. We often thrust people into some kind of leadership role when they aren’t leaders. For some reason, this church has thought of service almost entirely in terms of committees, which is very strange, because committees are often tasked with making decisions, which is what leaders do. Pushing people into roles they’re not gifted to do is like exposing an “unpresentable part.” It’s not appropriate, it doesn’t work, and it often leaves people feeling frustrated. Each person should find a role in the body that suits them.

The truth is that if you’re a Christian, you belong to the body of Christ. Jesus himself isn’t divided; therefore, there shouldn’t be division in the body of Christ. Everyone should work harmoniously together. That’s why people who are divisive can be removed from a church, because divisiveness hurts the church. You should care about the rest of the body. If one member of the church is suffering, we should all suffer together. If one is honored, or has something to celebrate, we should all rejoice together. We’re in this together.

Let’s read the last portion of this chapter, verses 27–31:

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Paul once again says that we are all members of the body of Christ, and that God has appointed people to serve in different ways. He then asks some rhetorical questions. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. And so on. We’re not all called to do the same kind of service, and if you are a foot, you’re not less valuable than a head. Paul does say to seek the so-called “higher gifts,” like prophesying (1 Cor. 14:1), but he points them to “a still more excellent way” in the following chapter, when he talks about love. If we have spiritual gifts but don’t use them to build each other up in love, we are nothing.

Now that we’ve gone through this chapter and talked about spiritual gifts, I want us to think about how this teaching relates to this church. As I said last week, the New Testament presupposes that Christians will belong to a local church in some recognizable way. And one of those ways is in service, in using one’s talents and spiritual gifts. I would urge us all to serve this church by using whatever God has given you. You may not know exactly what your spiritual gifts are, but I can tell you that a lack of commitment is not a spiritual gift. Approaching church as a consumer, merely taking when it’s convenient to you, is not a spiritual gift. Approaching church on your own terms and not on God’s doesn’t come from the Holy Spirit.

Now, if you’re feeling God nudge you in the direction of service, you may wonder about your spiritual gift. Some people spend a lot of time worrying about this. This week, a timely article was written by a New Testament scholar and a pastor named Tom Schreiner. He says this: “if you get involved in the lives of others in your church and love as Jesus commanded, then you will discover your gift.” He then elaborates:

Some might say they still don’t know their gift. But knowing your spiritual gift isn’t as important as exercising your spiritual gift. Surely many believers in history didn’t know their spiritual gifts or think much about them, and yet they exercised those gifts in powerful ways. If you aren’t sure what your spiritual gifts are, I wouldn’t worry about it. If you give yourself to other believers in the church, you will inevitably be using your gifts.[3]

I think that’s great advice. Just get involved and the spiritual gifts will become clear. If you see a need, try to meet it. Perhaps you’ll try something that doesn’t fit. That’s okay. In time, you’ll know what your gifts are. Usually, other people will recognize them in you. I can tell you that there people here who obviously have the gift of encouragement. Others are servants, ready to do physical tasks. I’m sure there are some who contribute generously. Some are particularly merciful.

My sense is that most of us will hear this message and walk away without thinking about how they can serve this church. I would urge you not to do that. This church needs your help. How can you serve? Let me list some possible ways very quickly. We need people to serve in ways that help our meetings every week. We need people to help take care of children. Someone offered to help a few weeks ago in that area, and I appreciate that. We need people to help count the money offered. We need people to maintain the building and grounds. We could use a lot more help with yard work and painting and cleaning and fixing things. We could use help from people who have skills with technology. We could use help from people who are evangelists, or people who have connections in our community that might help us do outreach. In a couple of months, we’ll participate in West Bridgewater’s Park Day again, and we need help with that. We need people to contribute generously to this church; at this point in time, we really need more help with that, just in order to maintain and improve this building, but also to do more ministry.

And that doesn’t include the ways that the members of the church might need help. I’m sure there are people here who need help in their homes, in their lives, with their families, with situations that are overwhelming them.

The point is that we should all be involved in the life of the church. God expects this. If you’re not doing this now, please come and talk to me. Talk to me about joining the church and seeing how you can get involved. Talk to the deacons. Talk to people around you. Don’t leave here today, shrug your shoulders, and forget about what you’ve heard. If you’re a Christian, remember that you were bought with a price, which is Jesus’ death on the cross. You were saved from condemnation, from eternal death, not so you can live a comfortable life, but so that you can serve God.

And if you’re not yet a Christian, I urge you to turn to Jesus. You have heard the gospel message. Trust Jesus—trust that he is who the Bible says he is and that he has done what the Bible says he has done. No one else can make you right with God. Jesus laid down his life for his people. You, too, can become part of the body of Christ today.

Notes

  1. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV). ↑
  2. The Corinthians would have been predominantly Gentile, not Jewish, Christians. Paul uses the Greek word for Gentiles (ethne) to describe what they were. They have now joined the true Israel by becoming Christians. ↑
  3. Thomas Schreiner, “How (Not) to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts,” The Gospel Coalition, July 6, 2018, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-not-discover-spiritual-gifts/ ↑

 

 

Members of the Body (1 Corinthians 12)

by

All Christians should serve as members of a church, using their abilities and spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church and the glory of God. Brian Watson preaches a message on 1 Corinthians 12.

The Majority

by

This sermon was preached by Brian Watson on July 1, 2018.
MP3 recording of the sermon.
PDF of the written sermon (see also below).

Every week, people seem to be freaking out over something political, or some event that has political ramifications. This week, people were freaking out over the news that Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court. That means that our president, Donald Trump, will be able to nominate a new judge to fill Kennedy’s open slot, which means that Trump will be able to place two judges on the Supreme Court in two years. Anthony Kennedy was known as the swing vote on the Court. Though he was nominated by a Republican president, Ronald Regan, he often voted in favor of so-called liberal decisions. If he’s replaced by a conservative judge, that means there will be five conservative judges on the Supreme Court bench. If Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 85, retires or dies in the next two years, Trump could place three judges on the Supreme Court.

Now, all of this means that some people are happy, and other people are upset, depending on their politics. Isn’t it strange how so much can hinge on one person? Really, it’s a sign that our government isn’t working the way it ought to be. In fact, that so much can hinge on the presidency shows that our government isn’t working well. Congress should make the laws, the president and his administration should make sure the laws are carried out, and the Supreme Court should determine if laws (and their execution) are constitutional. But the reality is things aren’t work well, and big decisionx are often made by one individual. And that’s strange in a country of over 300 million people.

What about the church? Are all decisions made by one person, or a small group of people? What role does the congregation play in making decisions? I have spent considerable time in this series talking about the role of pastors, or elders, or overseers. (Again, these three terms are used of the same people.) I stressed that they are the shepherds of the church, the leaders. But does this mean that all decisions are made by them? Can the congregation make decisions?

Today, I’m going to talk about the role the congregation plays in making decisions. And since it’s hot and we’re also going to take the Lord’s Supper, I’ll try to make this sermon as short as possible. So, I’ll tell you up front what the Bible seems to say about the congregation’s role in making decisions. In short, the congregation helps decide who is in, and who is out. The congregation has some role to play in determining who can join a church or who must leave a church. The congregation may also play a role in affirming who can serve as ministers.

To see this, we’re going to look at some passages in the Bible. The two most important ones we’ll look at are 1 Corinthians 5 and 2 Corinthians 2. We’ll also take a peak at some other passages along the way.

So, let’s first read 1 Corinthians 5. This is part of a letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Corinth, part of what we now call Greece.

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”[1]

Let’s quickly review what we see in this passage. Paul calls out some sinful behavior in the Corinthian church. He says that “a man has his father’s wife.” He means that a man is having a sexual relationship with his father’s wife. This is probably his stepmother, because Paul doesn’t say “his mother,” which would be even more shocking. Still, this is very bad, the kind of behavior that not even the pagans tolerated. And that’s saying something, because sexual practices in the Roman Empire would make us blush.

What I want us to pay attention to today is the fact that Paul addresses the whole church. He’s not just writing to the pastors, the elders, or overseers. He’s not saying, “Hey, pastors, why have you allowed this? Kick this man out of the church!” No, he says the whole church is failing. Instead of mourning, the people are boasting and are arrogant. Maybe they’re boasting about how tolerant they are, or how diverse they are. But Paul knows that what this man is doing is evil, and even a little evil has a way of producing a big effect, just as a little yeast can leaven a large amount of dough.

So, Paul tells the church, “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”[2] That sounds intense, doesn’t it? What does it mean to hand someone over to Satan? Well, at the least it means removing that person from the protection of the church. Paul wanted this man to be excommunicated, at least for a time. Whenever the man would be removed from the church, he would no longer experience the blessings of the church. His sin would be exposed. He was to be treated like a nonbeliever. Perhaps Paul thought that God would punish this man in some physical way, by using Satan to afflict the man with an illness. But Paul is clear that he wants the man to be saved from condemnation.

This episode shows what is at stake in the church. The great problem of humanity is our separation from God. Our problem is that we start out life with a broken relationship. Something is wrong with us, a power that corrupts us and keeps us from God. That something is sin, the power of evil and rebellion that leads us to reject the one true God and replace him with something else as our ultimate authority. Sin leads to condemnation. Why? Because God doesn’t want evil spreading throughout the world. He is patient. He is merciful. He puts up with our sin. But he won’t put up with it forever. There will be a time when he calls us all to account, when all our sins are judged. And we will pay for them.

We will pay—or someone else will. But the only person who can pay for our sins, besides us, is Jesus. He is the Son of God, who has always existed, through whom God the Father created the universe, and who also became a human being over two thousand years ago. He is the only human being who lived a perfect life. He always obeyed God perfectly because he has always loved God perfectly. Yet he was treated like a criminal, like an enemy of the state and of the Jewish religion. And he was killed, put to death on a cross. This was because people hated him and didn’t believe him. But it was also God’s plan, to have his Son bear the punishment of sinners. All who turn to Jesus in faith, who trust that he is who he claimed to be and that he has accomplished what the Bible says he has, have their sins paid for. They are reunited to God. They are forgiven of all wrongdoings. And though they die, they will rise from the grave when Jesus returns, just as Jesus rose from the grave on the third day.

But since Christians are united to Jesus, and since the church is where Jesus dwells on earth, by means of the Holy Spirit, we shouldn’t keep sinning. Of course, we will sin. We still wrestle with our old nature. But we shouldn’t want to sin and as a church we cannot allow flagrant, egregious sins to occur. Sin has a way of corrupting the whole church. And more than that, it makes Jesus look bad. So, the church should monitor such behavior. Paul says, “Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” He doesn’t mean judge in an ultimate way. Neither you nor I can determine if someone truly knows Jesus. God knows the heart; we don’t. But Paul means judge in the sense of evaluate. We certainly can look at someone’s behavior and say, “This isn’t right. This isn’t what Christians should do.” Notice that Paul says we should make a distinction between what happens in the church and the world. Christians in America have this a bit backward. We spend all our time judging those outside the church and very little time judging those inside the church. Paul says we can’t separate ourselves from non-Christians, or else we would have to leave the whole world. But we can separate unrepentant sinners from the church, and that’s what we should do. “Purge the evil from your midst”—that’s a command that is repeated throughout the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 13:5; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21, 22, 24).

What Paul is commanding here is no different than what Jesus taught his disciples. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus told the disciples how the church should deal with sin. This is what he says in Matthew 18:15–20:

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Jesus says that if a person has sinned against you, it is your responsibility to approach that person directly. Don’t gossip. Go to that person and point out his or her wrong. If they see the error of their ways, “you have gained your brother”—or your sister. But if that person will not listen, then things escalate. The next step is to take another person or two. These people will bear witness to whether the sinning brother or sister is repentant or not. But if that person still won’t listen, then he or she should be brought before the church. And if they refuse to listen to the judgment of the whole church, then they should be removed and treated like a non-Christian.

In both cases, the goal is to bring the sinning person to repentance. But there is another goal, which is to purify the church. And when the whole church says to a sinning person, “This kind of behavior won’t be allowed here,” it sends a strong message.

It’s not just flagrantly immoral behavior that deserves excommunication. That is, it’s not just things like sexual immorality, or violence or stealing or things we think are “really bad.” Paul also says that people who are divisive should be avoided. In Romans 16:17–19, part of another letter that Paul wrote to a different church, Paul writes,

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

Divisive people can be obviously divisive, the kind of people who complain and argue and fight. But they can also be quietly divisive. Either way, divisions in the church threaten the health of the church, and divisive people must be avoided and, if necessary, removed from the church. The same is true of people who teach false doctrine. Paul tells the church in Galatia that anyone who comes teaching a different message is accursed (Gal. 1:8–9). And in 1 Timothy, Paul said that he removed a couple of men who were blaspheming (1 Tim. 1:18–20).

In each case, Paul says that the church should be involved. In another passage, 2 Corinthians 2:5–11, Paul says that a majority of the church had brought a punishment upon a person. This may or may not be the same person that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 5. In this case, the person has attacked Paul personally, but he has also caused pain to the whole church. If that were the man of 1 Corinthians 5, it’s likely that the man resisted any correction, attacked Paul’s authority, and then later the church excommunicated him. But it could be someone else. But, for our purposes, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the punishment was voted on. Let’s read what Paul writes:

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Here, it seems as though the rebuke of the whole church has brought this person to a godly sorrow. Paul worries that if the punishment continues, it might produce “excessive sorrow.” So, he asks the church to forgive and comfort him. If not, they are playing into Satan’s schemes. Satan wants a divided church; he also wants an unforgiving church.

Now, I have to make this point: the fact that Paul says a majority of the church brought the punishment upon the sinner means that there is a definite number of people who voted. And, I would argue, it means that there should be definite church membership, or a roll of members.

Some people don’t like the idea of church membership. They think it is unbiblical because there is no one verse in the Bible that says, “You must officially join a local church.” It’s true that there is no one verse that says so much. But the concept of an official membership of a local church is presupposed in several passages. This is one of them. Who could vote against the unrepentant sinner? Did they take a vote on a Sunday, and everyone who showed up, including people who came for the first time, vote? That doesn’t make sense. But what about someone who had come for a month? Or someone who came to the church for a few years but refused to join and officially submit to the authority of the church?

Joining a local church is important because it’s a sign of commitment. Joining a church says, “This is my church. I belong here. I submit to the leaders of the church. I commit to these people. I will serve and love them. I am also committed to the spiritual health and purity of the church. And if someone starts messing with the church, I am prepared to take action.” That’s a big deal. I think churches suffer greatly because people don’t make that kind of commitment. And I think a lack of commitment to a local church speaks volumes about the level of commitment people have to Jesus.

What we have seen so far is that the congregation has a role to play in bringing discipline to unrepentant members. And what Paul writes suggests that there was an official vote. I think, by implication, that the reverse is true: when people officially join a church, the church should vote on that. The reason is that members of a church may know more than the pastors know about a person, their reputation, and their behaviors. When a potential member is brought before a church, it is like when a pastor asks at a wedding if there is any reason why the couple shouldn’t be married. The Book of Common Prayer says, “Therefore if any man can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.” In the case of church membership, perhaps someone in the congregation knows why a person shouldn’t join the church.

There are also other things that churches may vote on, at least according to Scripture. In the book of Acts, we see the church active in determining who served the church and who were sent as missionaries. Now, we have to be careful, because what is descriptive in the Bible isn’t always prescriptive. To put it another way, what is narrated isn’t always normative. There were some unique things that happened in the early church. But in Acts, we see that the apostles asked the church to find seven men who could serve widows in the church (Acts 6:1–7). We looked at this passage two weeks ago when talking about deacons. So, it might be that the congregation has a role to play in deciding who serves in the church. Elders in churches were appointed, but perhaps that was something that apostles had authority to do. Now that we don’t have apostles, perhaps the church should determine who leads. Or, perhaps at the least, the church should affirm the decisions of those who are serving as elders. If a team of elders, or pastors, or overseers, recommend that another person join their ranks, they should ask the church to affirm their decision. That way, the church is making a statement: “We will submit to this man’s leadership.”

In the book of Acts, the church in Antioch laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off as missionaries (Acts 13:1–3; 15:3). The whole church in Jerusalem, with the apostles and the elders of the church, chose a couple of men (Judas and Silas) to go with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch to deliver a letter (Acts 15:22). So, it would seem that the church has the authority to send people for certain purposes, and the church should vote on that, too.

The Bible does not speak of the congregation voting on all manner of other things, like a church budget or special purchases. But there is wisdom in having a church vote on such things. God uses the congregation to affirm the decisions of leaders. And the congregation, by voting, says, “We will financially support the church’s budget.”

The Bible does not teach anything about committees that consist of lay people. I suppose the leaders of the church can delegate authority and ask committees to serve for certain purposes. But it’s worth considering what Mark Dever, a pastor and author, says: “The congregation’s authority is more like an emergency brake than a steering wheel. The congregation more normally recognizes than creates, responds rather than initiates, confirms rather than proposes.”[3] The elders of the church should be the ones that have their hands on the steering wheel, directing the church as God has directed in the Bible and as the Holy Spirit leads. The congregation can act as an emergency brake if they see that something wrong is clearly happening. The congregation can also recognize what God is doing through its leaders and the congregation can affirm what the leaders have decided.

So, what does this mean for us? I think the main thing we should consider today is that all Christians should care about the health of a local church. And that requires commitment. It requires knowing the people of the church, knowing them well enough to know if there is some egregious sin in their lives. Also, when we read the pages of the New Testament, we get the sense that all Christians should take ownership of the local church. They should care about the welfare of the church. They should serve in the church, which is something I’ll talk about next week.

If you’re here today and have not yet officially committed to this church, I would urge you to make that commitment. We will be inviting some of you personally to do that, and we will announce when a membership class is meeting. If you aren’t a member of this church, I invite you to be more than a consumer. A consumer comes and takes. And, yes, a consumer gives money. But a member of a church is more than that. A member cares about the whole body. A member cares about the health of the whole body. Do you care about this church enough to want to make it better?

If everyone who comes to this church joined the church and was truly committed to the church, we would be much better off. More people serving would mean we could accomplish more things. When few people serve, a great burden is put on a relatively small number of people. The 80/20 rule says that 80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people. That’s probably true of this church. That means those 20 percent are taxed and burdened. It also means that we struggle to keep up with the basics. Instead of working on new things, like doing more outreach, we struggle to keep up with the basics of meeting together in worship and taking care of the building. We need more help. We need commitment. And beyond serving, the health of the church requires commitment. We should be committed not only to our own spiritual health, but the spiritual health of other people in the church.

I also need to say this: If you’re here today and you’re not yet a Christian, I would urge you to make a commitment to Christ now. There is no other Savior, no other one who can make you right with God and grant you eternal life. To reject Jesus is to reject God. And to reject God is to reject your Maker and the very purpose of your life.

Right now, I’m asking that all of us—even myself!—become more committed. Let us love one another. Let us care about each other’s souls. Let us care about the purity of the church, the reputation of the church, and the direction of the church. The church is where Jesus dwells on earth. Let us make sure his house is in good order.

Notes

  1. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV). ↑
  2. It’s interesting that Paul’s life sometimes echoes the life of Jesus. In verses 3 and 4, when Paul says that he is absent in the flesh but present in the spirit (because he had spent time in Corinth and was now writing from elsewhere), he is likening himself to Jesus, who is in heaven but is present with his people through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Of course, the Spirit of God is greater than the spirit of Paul, and perhaps this was Paul’s way of making the church realize that. In other words, if Paul is absent and his spirit compels the church to act in a certain way, how much more should they act in accordance with the Holy Spirit, who is with them though Jesus is in heaven. ↑
  3. Mark Dever, The Church: The Gospel Made Visible (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2012), 143. ↑

 

The Majority (1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11)

by

What role does the congregation play in the church? What kind of decisions can the membership of the church make? The Bible indicates that the church as a whole has the authority and responsibility to determine who is in and who is out. Find out more by listening to this sermon preached by Brian Watson on July 1, 2018.

Striving Side by Side

by

Pastor Brian Watson drew from Philippians 1-2 to talk about the importance of being involved in the local church. If all Christians marched side-by-side and contributed their talents, spiritual gifts, and everything else that God has given them, each local church (and the universal church) would be stronger.