Class Lesson February 14, 2021

 

Question 1:

When has being part of a group really helped

you succeed?

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

In April 1970, Apollo 13 was headed to the moon when disaster struck. An oxygen tank exploded, forcing NASA to abort the mission. To save power they would need later for re-entry, the astronauts moved from the Service Module to the Lunar Module.

This created a new problem. The Lunar Module was designed for two people, and there was not enough air for three men to last the trip home. The buildup of carbon dioxide threatened their lives. They would need to replace the CO2 scrubbers to clean the air, but the only spare ones were built for the Service Module and didn’t fit the Lunar Module.

On the ground, NASA put together an improvised scrubber using random parts they knew the astronauts had. The instructions were transmitted and the astronauts assembled the makeshift scrubber. It worked and three lives were saved. But no one person can take credit for this. It took a collection of engineers and technicians working together to come up with the solution.1

Our spiritual growth is the same. We need the support and input from others—and they need ours.

THE POINT

Spiritual growth calls for

regular interaction with and ministry to other believers.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 

Paul’s emphasis in this passage is clear and he didn’t want us to miss it. The human body is a unified body even though it has many parts. He repeated the thought in slightly different words and structure, arranging his argument to make it pop off the page for his audience.

The church, like the human body, has many parts or members. The individual members are unique in their personalities, backgrounds, and spiritual giftedness, but they are all one body. The diversity does not work against unity; in fact, that diversity is functionally necessary. 

Paul reminded the church they were all baptized into a single body. While believers come from different races, cultures, and socio-economic levels, our differences do not threaten the church’s wholeness. We are one. Coming from all our diverse backgrounds, we do not become uniform and exactly alike—but we do enter into a single body, Christ’s body.

In the New Testament, baptism often refers to a person’s physical immersion in water. In this passage, though, Paul was not referring to literal water baptism; instead, he was using the term metaphorically to indicate that the church has been immersed into the Spirit. We have been covered by the Holy Spirit.

But Paul didn’t stop with that word picture. It isn’t just that the Spirit covers the church, but the Holy Spirit also is inside the individual members of the church; believers are “all given the one Spirit to drink.” God’s Holy Spirit makes us one, and He fills us and empowers us to function as one. We are each filled with the Holy Spirit and are united together. 

Question 2:

What are the benefits of unity

in the church?

1 Corinthians 12:14-18

14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 

Unity of the body doesn’t imply uniformity among the members. The human body has many members and all of them are important to its function as a whole. The foot doesn’t resent that it’s not a hand; instead, it serves the whole body by being a foot. The ear is not jealous of the eye because the eye sees and it hears; neither does it question its own significance. Without the ear, the body would only have four senses to operate. Paul made an obvious argument to clarify this point. The whole body is not an eye, and the eye is only valuable in relation to all of the other body parts if it functions as an eye. It contributes to the health and function of the body just as other members of the body carry out their specific roles for the sake of the body. 

Just as each individual body part has its own unique role and function, each member of the congregation serves a role and has individual responsibilities. For the church as a whole to function well, each individual member of the congregation needs to fulfill his or her role and responsibility in a way that is consistent with the spiritual gift(s) God has bestowed. (Paul included a partial listing of spiritual gifts in verses 4-10.)

While serving in a specific role does carry with it unique responsibilities, and everyone ministers according to his or her spiritual gift(s), we do share some responsibilities. For example, every member of the body is to pray for other members (Jas. 5:16) and to give and support the ministry of the church (1 Cor. 16:2), and we are all called to share our faith and disciple others (Matt. 28:10-20).

Not all of the body’s members are visible to the naked eye, and not every member in the church has an “out front and highly public” role. If we extend Paul’s analogy, the results are staggering. For instance, the human body has eleven major organ systems containing at least seventy-eight different organs. (Doctors differ on how organs are classified.) We have 206 bones, and our tongues may have as many as 10,000 taste buds.2

Those taste buds have a number of flavor receptors spread on the surface of the tongue that are designed to detect bitter, sweet, sour, salty, and savory. All these components work together to alert us whether or not what we are eating is healthy to eat. For example, because many toxins taste bitter, the taste buds send a warning signal for us to reject bitter tasting food. Salty foods contain necessary sodium, and sweet tasting foods provide instant energy. In each case, the taste buds are gatekeepers to keep needed substances in and harmful substances out. However, those 10,000 taste buds don’t function alone. The taste receptors in our mouths need to work in concert with the nose to enable us to experience the myriad flavors we enjoy.3 

The church, like the human body, is made up of many members that function in different roles and have unique responsibilities, but no one member could function effectively without the rest of the body. Our taste buds can’t do the full job they were made to do without the nose to help them! Even those serving in prominent or visible roles like pastors and church leaders cannot be effective apart from the ministry of the whole church. An effective church has everyone working together for the cause of Christ. 

Question 3:

What are the dangers of comparing ourselves

and our gifting to others in the church?

1 Corinthians 12:19-24

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it. 

Paul’s teaching about unity in diversity was not a hypothetical exercise. The church in Corinth was not healthy; it was rife with divisions. This church desperately needed unity. Carnality and division were tearing the Corinthian church apart. In that context, Paul emphasized that every member of the church is necessary, and must be treated as an important part of the body.

Diversity in the body is necessary, but diversity should not lead to division. Paul underscored this when he said the eye cannot reject the hand because it viewed the hand as useless and unnecessary. Neither can the head reject the feet. Every member, according to Paul, is necessary.

Question 4:

What does a healthy church body

look like?

In a healthy body, systems all work together, supporting one another. Unhealthy churches have the equivalent of an autoimmune disease, however, because one group attacks another. Open division was occurring in the Corinthian church, but in some churches, the disunity can be less obvious. 

In a healthy church, members not only work together, but they value, appreciate, and depend on others who have different roles. Every part of the body is valuable and necessary. The members of the church work hard to practice true Christian fellowship. Such fellowship includes celebrating other people’s joys, crying with them in their sorrow, and walking beside them in their pain—and we need that interaction for the sake of our own individual spiritual growth. Such fellowship sometimes takes effort, but it’s worth it. They need your involvement in their lives, and you need theirs.

Question 5:

How can our group help one another

recognize and utilize our gifts?

UNITY VS. UNIFORMITY

Uniformity requires that everyone be alike. Unity allows diversity as people work together in harmony. 

Answer the following questions about your own church.

What are some ways you are uniquely different from other people in your church?

What are some ways your differences complement others in your church?

Pray that you might appreciate other people’s differences just as you want them

to accept yours.

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were

called to one hope when you were called.”

EPHESIANS 4:4

LIVE IT OUT

How will you deepen your involvement with other believers and serve them? Choose one of the following applications: 

• Talk to someone new. Get to know someone in your church you do not know or do not know well. Make an intentional effort to build a relationship with the person.                                                                                                                                              
• Restore a relationship. If you are at odds with someone in your church, get together with the person and seek to work out the problem. If you need to confess a wrong attitude or wrong behavior, then do it, and seek to restore that relationship.                                                                                                                                  
• Step out and serve. Use some of your vacation time to immerse yourself in a new culture and serve a people group that is unfamiliar to you. Be part of a mission work that serves the body of Christ in another culture or setting. 

Hopefully it won’t take a life-or-death situation to realize we need support and input from others, and that they need ours. But whether in times of struggle or joy, the church works together to bring good to one another and glory to God.

Teacher's Notes:

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Connecting to Christ’s Body

Did you know that your spiritual family is more important than your physical family – why do I say this?

• Because they will last forever. Our physical families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably death. On the other hand, our spiritual family – our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity. It is a much stronger union, a more permanent bond, than blood relationships.
• The moment you were spiritually born into God’s family, you were given some astounding birthday gifts: the family name, the family likeness, family privileges, family intimate access, and the family inheritance. The Bible says, “Since you are His child, everything He has belongs to you. Galatians 4:7

Our lesson’s main point this morning is that Spiritual growth in the family calls for regular interaction with and ministry to other believers or members of the family. We need three things to grow: The Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God. We must saturate ourselves with the Word of God, and we must submit ourselves to the Spirit of God, and we must also surround ourselves with the people of God. We cannot grow alone.

The Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 & 12-24

The apostle Paul wrote to the saints in Corinth to help them grow in their faith in Christ because they were contentious, carnal, and overly charismatic. They were contentious because they were fighting and divisive. They were carnal because they were sensual and sensational. They were overly charismatic because they focused more on the spiritual gifts than on the Giver of the spiritual gifts. The cure for this is growing in the likeness of Christ by being in community with other believers.

 

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (The Diversity of Spiritual Gifts)

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

How would you define a Spiritual Gift?

• Special abilities, ways of serving that are to be used to minister to the needs of the body of believers. Your abilities are the natural talents you were born with. (words, physical, mathematics, music, art, leading people, etc.) All of our abilities come from God.
• Every ability can be used for God’s glory. Your abilities were not given just to make a living; God gave them to you for your ministry of service.

Are there any gifts we should value more than others? Are there any gifts God values more than others? (no)

What is the purpose of these Spiritual Gifts? (to build up Christ’s body the church.)

How can we misuse these gifts?

The world gravitates to people who are talented, highly skilled, or have unique abilities. The more talented a person, the more popular that person often is. But a multi-talented person does not necessarily make the world a better place. God has a different focus. His desire is for us to connect with each other by serving and supporting one another. And He equips us with gifts of grace for that very purpose.

 

1 Corinthians 12:12-24 (The unity we ought to have in our diversity.)

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it.

 

 

How would you describe what the church is supposed to be?

1.    God has designed the church as one unified body.

• The church is the body of Christ made up of believers who have differing but compatible functions.
• Though diverse in composition, the church is made one in the Spirit.
• Beginning at conversion, the Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers to bring unity in fellowship and service.
• Every gift had value because it was from the Spirit and could benefit others.
• The gifts God gives us are for the common good of the body.

 

2.    God has given believers roles and responsibilities within the body.

• The church as a body is not made up of one part but many.
• Each member of the body is important to the functioning of the whole.
• God in His sovereign wisdom and grace equips members for a specific function.
• More than anyone, the Lord knows the best way for a church to function efficiently.
• Paul’s emphasis in this passage is clear and he didn’t want us to miss it. The human body is a unified body even though it has many parts.

3.    God has made each Christian a necessary part of the body.

• It takes all members connecting with each other and carrying out their purpose to enable a church to function well.
• Members of the body of Christ need each other.
• Believers who appear to have lesser gifts are vital to the church.
• We need to find ways to affirm the importance of those individuals who serve in less obvious capacities
• The church, like the human body, has many parts or members. The individual members are unique in their personalities, backgrounds, and spiritual giftedness, but they are all one body. The diversity does not work against unity; in fact, that diversity is functionally necessary.
• Paul makes it clear that we need other believers to grow. Paul says that the eye can’t say to the hand I don’t need you, nor can the head say to the foot I don’t need you. The fact is, every part of the human body needs every other part of the human body. This is true in the body of Christ as well. No one member of the body of Christ is insignificant.

The Point: Spiritual growth calls for regular interaction with and ministry to other believers.

 

LIVE IT OUT

Although we all have different gifts, graces, ministries and functions, there is no hierarchy of believers. God is no respecter of persons and in His eyes we all are equally important to the smooth functioning of the Body and we are all to work in obedience to Christ - the Head. There is no difference in status between believers. God does not differentiate between race or color, gender or age, nationality or education, Jews or Greeks, slave or free for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 

One of the ways we grow is by connecting to a meaningful context of encouragement, accountability, and worship. 

 

Added Thoughts:

When Christ entered our world, He took on a physical body “prepared” for Him (Hebrews 10:5; Philippians 2:7). Through His physical body, Jesus demonstrated the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly — especially through His sacrificial death on the cross (Romans 5:8). After His bodily ascension, Christ continues His work in the world through those He has redeemed — the Church now demonstrates the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly. In this way, the Church functions as “the Body of Christ.”

The Church may be called the Body of Christ because of these facts:

• Members of the Body of Christ are joined to Christ in salvation (Ephesians 4:15-16).
• Members of the Body of Christ follow Christ as their Head (Ephesians 1:22-23).
• Members of the Body of Christ are the physical representation of Christ in this world. The Church is the organism through which Christ manifests His life to the world today.
• Members of the Body of Christ are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).
• Members of the Body of Christ possess a diversity of gifts suited to particular functions (1 Corinthians 12:4-31). “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (verse 12).
• Members of the Body of Christ share a common bond with all other Christians, regardless of background, race, or ministry. “There should be no division in the body, but . . . its parts should have equal concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:25).
• Members of the Body of Christ are secure in their salvation (John 10:28-30). For a Christian to lose his salvation, God would have to perform an “amputation” on the Body of Christ!
• Members of the Body of Christ partake of Christ’s death and resurrection (Colossians 2:12).
• Members of the Body of Christ share Christ’s inheritance (Romans 8:17).
• Members of the Body of Christ receive the gift of Christ’s righteousness (Romans 5:17).