1 Corinthians 12:12

For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?

But now God has set the members, every one of them, in the body as it has pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where would be the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. The eye cannot say unto the hand, "I have no need of you," nor the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." Nay, much more, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary.

And those members of the body which we think less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor. And our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need. But God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to the part which lacked, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another.

Father, we do ask that You would regularly remind us of the realities that we find here in this text. You have brought us all together as one, and Lord, it is Your desire, it is Your will, that there would be no schism or division. God, would You work in us that we would endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?

Peace, Lord, as much as is possible, as relies upon each of us, that we would be at peace with one another within the body. God, work this out in our lives. In our natural carnal tendencies, we are prone to division and schisms. We need You. We desperately need You to work in us by Your Spirit. So, we ask that You would do that even in this very moment, as there are differences of views and differences of opinions regarding some of the things that we look at in this text. God, bring things together in You, we pray. Teach us Your word. Give us insight and understanding. Transform us more and more into Your image. We ask in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen.

You can be seated. Before we press on into the remainder of 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and on into chapters 13 and 14, still dealing with the gifts of the Spirit and the operation of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, I wanted to touch on something again that we looked at several weeks ago. We considered some things about this text that I believe to be important as we continue on.

I shared with you that I believe that all believers, at conversion, are baptized in or with the Holy Spirit by Jesus. Jesus is the baptizer, and the Holy Spirit is the element, if you will, with which we are baptized. In the Gospels, John the Baptist confirms this. All four Gospels record this for us. First, in Matthew chapter 3, there John proclaims or confesses, "I indeed baptize you with water." So, John is the baptizer, and water is the element with which he was baptizing. He continues, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. But he that comes after me is mightier than I," speaking of Jesus, "whose shoes I'm not worthy to bear. He, Jesus, shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

So, there John reminds us that Jesus is the baptizer and that He is going to baptize us with the Holy Spirit.

Again, this is recorded not just in Matthew, but also in the Gospel of Mark. In Mark chapter 1, verse 7, John preached, saying, "There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I'm not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Then, again, it is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke chapter 3, verse 16, John answered those who were talking to him. He said, "I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I'm not worthy to loose. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

Once more, in the Gospel of John, he proclaims in chapter 1, verse 33, speaking about Jesus, "I did not know him beforehand, before he was revealed, but he that sent me, God the Father, sent me to baptize with water. And the same settles me, so God the Father told me, upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizes with the Holy Spirit."

So, there in the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and also here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we read of the baptism in or with the Holy Spirit. In chapter 12, verse 13, it states, "For in one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body, whether it be Jews or Gentiles, whether it be bond or free, and have all been made to drink one Spirit."

I do not believe that it accords with the Scriptures to say, "I'm a Christian, but I've not received yet the baptism of, or with, or in the Holy Spirit." In fact, the actual words "the baptism of the Holy Spirit" are not seen in the Scriptures. One might say, "Well, it's just mere semantics." That's fine, but what we must recognize is that Jesus is the baptizer, and the element with which he baptizes is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, no one can say, "I'm a Christian, but I don't have the Spirit."

To support this, let me read to you from Paul's letter to the Romans, specifically Romans chapter 8, verse 9. He says there, "But you, speaking to the church, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if any man—notice this—if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." If you do not have the Spirit of God in you, you are not His.

Then you are not a Christian. A Christian has the Spirit, and we have all been baptized with, or in, the Holy Spirit. We have been discovering for a number of weeks, as we have been going through these passages, that when we receive the Spirit, we also receive gifts as Christians, which God desires that we would use for the profit of the body of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7, it states that the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man. Speaking in the context of Christians, it is given to every Christian for the profit of all. God has empowered us with His Spirit and has given us gifts by His Spirit. I believe that all Christians have the Holy Spirit and that they have received Him at conversion. With the Holy Spirit, they have gifts.

Now, there may be objections. If you object, there are at least two questions you probably should ask. If you say, "Well, I don't know if I fully agree with this," that is perfectly fine. However, there are at least two questions you should ask when I say that I believe the Holy Spirit is received at conversion and that with the Holy Spirit come gifts.

The first objection you may raise is, "How then does the book of Acts witness to a post-conversion baptism of the Holy Spirit in at least four places?" You may cite Acts chapter 2, where on the day of Pentecost, the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem and were filled with the Holy Spirit, which was manifested through them speaking with other tongues. You might also refer to Acts chapter 8, where we see another filling of a group of people, and then Acts chapter 10 and Acts chapter 19.

So, that is the first point you should bring up if you say, "Well, I don't know that I agree with that statement." Let's consider the book of Acts for just a moment. The book of Acts is called the Acts of the Apostles, and it is descriptive more than prescriptive. What do I mean by that? The book of Acts is a book of history and is not necessarily a book of doctrine, whereas the epistles, the letters of the New Testament, are put forth primarily as instructive to the body of Christ.

The book of Acts is more descriptive than instructive. It serves as a history book and is descriptive and not normative. Some of the things that take place in the book of Acts are not normative in Christianity. One such event is what takes place in Acts chapter 5, where a couple of people, Ananias and Sapphira, lie to...

The Holy Spirit, and God, in dealing with that, strikes them dead right there. Is that normative Christianity today? Many of you should be thanking God that no, that's not normative Christianity at this moment. But God did do that. It's descriptive of what happened there.

The book of Acts is descriptive; it's a history book. It does not interpret or apply the events that take place; it describes them. It narrates events that occurred and teachings that were given, such as times when Paul preached, or Stephen preached, or Peter preached. Those things are narrated for us, and we can learn from them; we can glean doctrine from them. However, the book of Acts, in its entirety, is not necessarily a doctrinal book.

To carry that just a step further, the book of Acts shows in Acts chapter 16 when Paul took Timothy and said, "You're going to come with me as a co-laborer in the ministry." The first thing he did with Timothy was have him circumcised. Is that descriptive, or is that normative Christianity to say that if you are going to serve, one of the conditions of service is that you have been circumcised? No, that's not prescriptive; it's descriptive. Many of us might say, "Well, thank you very much, I'm glad it's descriptive and not prescriptive."

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul, in at least two places in the book of Acts, observed Jewish purification rites and rituals and partook in Jewish vows that are not placed upon the church today. It was descriptive of something that Paul did; it's not instructive that we also are to follow in that way. So, again, the book of Acts is descriptive more than instructive.

But what about the post-conversion evidences of the filling of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts? Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 10, and then one that is often pointed out as Acts chapter 19. Let's deal with the first three for just a moment because they're extremely important, and we need to not diminish the importance of what is taking place in these passages.

You see, in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus told his disciples, "You, church, shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts, or the Gentile world." In Acts chapter 2, the Spirit is poured out upon the apostles in Jerusalem.

Evidenced by the power of the Spirit being manifested through the speaking of tongues, this occurred among Jewish believers in Jerusalem and continued into Judea. The first sign that God was fulfilling His word, prophesied through Joel in Joel chapter 2, is why Peter tells those gathered there, "This is what was spoken of by Joel in Joel chapter 2, that the Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh." This included Jews in Jerusalem and Judea.

However, the gospel did not remain confined to Jerusalem and Judea. It was God's plan from the start to extend beyond those regions, and it began to reach into Samaria in Acts chapter 8. God had given a certain authority to the apostles, specifically Peter, to be one of the instruments through which the gospel would first go to the Jews, as seen in Acts chapter 2, and then carry on to the Samaritans in Acts chapter 8.

In Acts chapter 8, the gospel is proclaimed to the Samaritans. Peter, along with some of the apostles, goes into Samaria. When they arrive, they pray for these believers, and the Spirit is poured out upon them; they are filled with the Holy Spirit. This is significant because God established for the Jewish Christians that there is no difference between Jewish Christians and Samaritan Christians.

Under Judaism, Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. In John chapter 4, Jesus is in the city of Sychar in Samaria, where He meets a Samaritan woman at the well. He asks her for a drink, and she responds, "How is it that you, a Jew, are talking to me, a Samaritan woman?" Jews had no dealings with Samaritans, highlighting the absolute division between the two groups. However, God, in His church, declares that there is no division. We see this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, where it states that in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither bond nor free.

God reveals this truth and provides evidence of it in Acts chapter 8, where the Spirit is poured out upon the Samaritans. This is both descriptive and instructive, demonstrating that there is no separation in the body of Christ between Jewish Christians and Samaritan Christians.

The message goes a step further in Acts chapter 10, where a Gentile man named Cornelius invites Peter to his house in the city of Caesarea. Peter goes to Cornelius' house and preaches the gospel. As he is preaching, God pours out His Spirit.

His Spirit is on this group of Gentiles who are now believing. They are converted and filled with the Spirit. Why did He do it in that way? Well, again, He is revealing to the apostles that there is no difference between Jewish Christians, Samaritan Christians, and Gentile Christians. The same Spirit is poured out upon all of them freely and fully.

Notice what Peter says about this. When he is called to Jerusalem in Acts chapter 15, the council of leaders in the church gathers together. It is called the Jerusalem Council, and they are discussing this very issue of Jewish Christians versus Gentile Christians. Let me read to you Acts chapter 15, verse 8. Peter is speaking about this. He says, "And God, which knows our hearts, bore them witness, these Gentile believers, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as He did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

Peter recognizes and shares with the council of Jerusalem that God bore them witness. God did not want there to be a separation between Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles within His body because we are all one body, even though we are diverse. He bore witness that they are equally, for lack of a better word, equally qualified to receive the Spirit by pouring out His Spirit upon Jews in Acts chapter 2, on Samaritans in Acts chapter 8, and then again on Gentiles in Acts chapter 10. The Apostle Peter was always there as a witness of these things, and then he proclaims it to the rest of the body of Christ. Yes, God did this, and we are so grateful, aren't we?

Most of us here today are Gentiles. There is a very good possibility that in a group this size, there may be some who come from a Jewish background, but for the most part, we are Gentiles, and we have received the same Spirit in full measure. We are not second-class Christians. This is an awesome truth that we have been given the Spirit of God.

Some may say, "What about Acts chapter 19?" Acts chapter 19 is an important passage. Would you turn there just briefly? This is the primary verse that people will take you to when they...

The baptism in, with, or by the Holy Spirit is a subsequent work to salvation; it comes after conversion. They will come to Acts chapter 19 and read this.

In Acts chapter 19, verse 1, it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples. He comes to Ephesus, and there is a group of disciples that he meets. Apparently, they are disciples of something having to do with God. He says to them in verse 2, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?"

Now, notice their response, because this is very important. It reveals to us who these disciples were. They said, "We have not so much as heard whether there were any Holy Spirit." They did not even know about the Holy Spirit.

Here is my contention on this: I do not believe that this group of about twelve people were disciples of Christ. They are not Christians. Why? You cannot be a Christian without the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in you. We just saw that in Romans chapter 8, verse 9.

So, you may ask, what were they disciples of? I believe they reveal that they were disciples of John the Baptist's ministry. Notice what we read in verse 3. Paul said to them, "Unto what were you baptized then?" They replied, "Unto John's baptism."

Then Paul said, "John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him, which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

What happened when they heard this? When they heard this, they were all baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. They had never been baptized in the name of Jesus. These were not Christians.

Well, what happens after that? When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. All the men were about twelve.

Right at conversion, they received the Holy Spirit in His power as they put their faith in Christ Jesus and were baptized in Jesus. You see, their baptism in water in the name of Jesus is important because, in the New Testament, baptism in water was an initiatory work that a Christian undertook.

Christianity begins with an initial response to faith in Jesus Christ. In our current culture, it is not uncommon for someone to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, to be converted, and then to delay baptism for weeks, months, or even years. There are some people here today who have been walking with Jesus for a long time but have never been baptized. What hinders you from being baptized? Nothing. I will dunk you in that little pond we have outside. It may seem funny, but we will do it if necessary. Nothing hinders you from being baptized.

We have a baptism coming up soon, especially a beach baptism in August or at the end of July. Mark knows the details. Those who are baptized are believers, and they are now filled with the Holy Spirit.

In Acts chapter 19, verse 1, Apollos is mentioned. We were introduced to him in Acts chapter 18, where he was preaching in the city of Ephesus. Paul wasn't there, but Paul's friends Aquila and Priscilla were. They heard him preaching in the synagogue and recognized that what he was preaching was interesting because it was very close to the gospel. When they inquired of him, they realized he did not have full knowledge of Jesus. He was a disciple of John the Baptist, and they shared the gospel with him. He became a believer in Jesus and began preaching about Him.

Prior to that, Apollos was just like the twelve that Paul encountered in the same city—disciples of John the Baptist. However, they became Christians and were filled with the Spirit as soon as they believed.

You may raise the objection: why do believers sometimes experience the Holy Spirit's power at a later time in their lives? Or why do not all Christians experience the Holy Spirit's power if they have the Spirit of God dwelling in them? As I have said before, while all Christians have all the Holy Spirit, many times believers have not allowed the Holy Spirit to have all of them.

We Christians need to make a decision, as we are told in Galatians chapter 5, to walk in the Spirit. We already have the Spirit; we must decide to walk in the Spirit by the power of God's Spirit. Galatians 5, verse 16 states, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Why? Because God has given you His Spirit, and you have a choice. You can walk in the flesh, and the evidence of that will be clear.

Or you can walk in the Spirit, and it will be clearly made known. We need to seek to be continually filled with the Spirit. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18 states, "Be being filled with the Holy Spirit." D.L. Moody often spoke about the filling, the continual filling of the Holy Spirit. One time, someone asked him why he constantly talked about the filling of the Holy Spirit. He replied, "Because I continually leak."

You are likely familiar with this reality. There are mornings when we wake up on the fleshly side of the bed, if you will. We get out of bed feeling grouchy and angry, defaulting to our natural tendencies instead of walking in the Spirit. As a result, we may be angry, snippy with people, easily offended, and upset. What do we need to do? We need to repent. We should pray, "God, would you fill me? Would you help me to function relying upon you today? Because I'm totally walking in the flesh." Am I just speaking to myself here? Does anyone else agree? There are times when we are just totally carnal.

Remember, this is the same church, the church at Corinth, that Paul repeatedly addressed, asking, "Are you not carnal in this?" We can default to carnality so quickly. Someone may then ask, "What is the experience that some call the second blessing or the baptism of the Holy Spirit after they were saved?"

A person might say, "I remember confessing Christ at a harvest crusade in 1992. It wasn't until five or six years later, at a men's retreat or a women's retreat, that I went forward for prayer, asking to be filled with the Spirit. I experienced a transformation in my walk with the Lord." What is that?

I believe that you are yielding to the work of the Spirit of God that is already in your life and experiencing the manifestation of His power. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7 states, "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man for the profit of all." However, I do not believe that you are receiving anything new from God by His Spirit. When we become Christians, we receive the Spirit of Christ. Colossians tells us that we have all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Therefore, you are not receiving just a down payment of Jesus; you have the fullness of Him.

And then later on, maybe when you do something right or pray in a certain way, you receive the Spirit. We need to yield to Him so that we might witness the manifestation of His power as we obediently submit ourselves to His will. We can quench His will, can't we? By saying, "No, I don't want to walk in the Spirit." When we do that, it's almost as if you take a hose and pinch it off, not allowing the Spirit to flow through your life.

If we are to walk in the Spirit and experience the abounding fullness of the Spirit of God in our lives, then we need to daily submit ourselves to Him. The Spirit resides in us. First Corinthians chapter three, verse 16, and First Corinthians chapter six, verse 19 make it very clear: we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He desires to possess and animate every aspect of our lives. As He does, we see the manifestation of the Spirit flowing through us.

Let me add a couple of things. Number one, I believe that you here this morning are capable students of the Scriptures. We are all called to be students of the Bible, to rightly divide the word of truth, and to study to show ourselves approved unto God. You need to reason these things out for yourself. If you think that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is something that happens after you're saved, that's fine. I don't have any heartache if you disagree with me on this point. I believe it to be a secondary issue within doctrine, but you've got to study the Scriptures to reason this out.

As I've said before, it is imperative that we not allow our experiences to inform the Scriptures. It is essential that we examine and explain our experiences by the Scriptures, not just say, "I had this experience, and therefore it was God." Why? Because if you remove this as the foundation, and this is no longer your measuring rod or your governing stick, if this isn't the way by which we govern our lives, then it's purely experiential. Someone can say, "Well, you know, when I was in high school, I was slain in the Spirit. I had this experience, and that was God." The Bible nowhere supports that. The only place we see "slain in the Spirit" is in Acts.

Chapter five describes when Ananias and Sapphira were slain in the spirit and subsequently carried out and buried. This event must be defined by the Scriptures. Some may say, "I was at this spiritual meeting and I got stuck in the spirit." However, there is nowhere in the Scriptures that supports this notion. As soon as one claims that there are experiences outside of the Scriptures, anything goes. Who is to say that such experiences are not of God? This is dangerous, and we must recognize this.

The second point I want to make, which I have mentioned before, is that I am always suspect of doctrines that teach or establish division within the body of Christ. Aside from not finding full support for the second blessing teaching in the Bible, I believe it creates a class or caste system among Christians. As we examine the rest of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, this becomes incredibly important. We are one body with many members, and no member of the body has greater importance than another. No one is lesser than another. While we are diverse, we are a unified whole—one body.

Oftentimes, the second blessing teaching establishes a greater-than-less-than dynamic within the body of Christ. Someone may come along and say, "He has the spirit and the anointing, but you don’t have the spirit and the anointing." This creates a hierarchy where one person is seen as gifted, possessing the gifts and power of the Spirit, while another is deemed inept and deficient. Consequently, a group of people may conclude, "Oh, I guess you're just not filled with the Spirit. We just need to work on that." This perspective is simply wrong and not supported by the Scriptures.

It is amazing to me that since I first shared this about three or four weeks ago, several people in the church have approached me privately to express their gratitude. They feel that this teaching has liberated their walk with the Lord, as for many years they have felt that they were not fully included in the body of Christ.

Some people may feel like second-rate believers because they believe they don't have the Spirit of God like others do. They might think, "I just don't have what that person has." In my opinion, this teaching can be incredibly freeing for such individuals within the body of Christ. Sometimes, people experience what we might call spiritual inferiority complexes.

Let me show you this concept in the Scriptures. Look at First Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 15. Paul says, "If the foot shall say, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, 'Well, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body?" Paul emphasizes that the body is one. In First Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 12, he states, "For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." He establishes that we are one body.

Paul uses an illustration to explain this deep truth, and illustrations are incredibly helpful. They enable us to grasp profound concepts and visualize them in common ways. This allows us to say, "Okay, I understand this." Jesus often taught using pictures, parables, and illustrations. For example, when He met with Nicodemus to explain conversion, He said, "You must be born again." Nicodemus struggled to understand, so Jesus explained that it is a move of the Spirit. He said, "The Spirit is like the wind. It goes where it will. You don't know; you can't see the wind, but you see the effects of the wind." In this way, He brought a deep truth down to a level that Nicodemus could grasp.

Similarly, when Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, He used the illustration of living water to explain profound truths. Illustrations are incredibly important. When Jesus was here on earth, He had a body made of...

Flesh and blood are what He used to accomplish His work. Today, after Acts chapter one, Jesus has ascended into heaven. He is seated on a throne in heaven, but He still has a body made of flesh and blood believers here upon the earth to do the work that He has called them to. We fulfill and accomplish His purpose here upon the earth. He has a body, and we are His body.

When we look at the church and think about the church today in our modern context, we often think of it as an organization. It has a building, a board of leaders, bylaws, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and bank accounts. Thus, we perceive it as an organization. However, every time the church is revealed in the Scriptures, it is pictured not as an organization, but as an organism.

There is a difference between an organization and an organism. An organization is a structured system, while an organism is a living system. The difference can be illustrated by comparing you to your car. Your car is an organization; it is a structured system with everything built together, functioning for a purpose, but it is not alive. You don’t call your car and say, "Come pick me up," although we might be getting to that place. It is not a living person; it doesn’t have intellect, emotion, or will.

The church is not an organization; it is an organism. When it is pictured in the Bible, it is depicted as a flock, a vine, a bride, or a body. On a couple of occasions, it is referred to as a building. However, when that terminology is used in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 5, it states that this building is built with living stones, which is paradoxical to us because we cannot conceptualize a living stone. Yet, you are a living stone.

We are built up into a holy habitation for the Lord. Therefore, we are a living organism, and every part of this living organism is important. Each part is placed in its position by the sovereign will and action of God.

Places us there within the body. Therefore, no one can look at the place in which they are placed within the body and say, "Well, I guess I'm not important. I'm just a foot." You might think, "You stick me in that hot, sweaty, dark shoe. It smells." The hand gets to do so much; it's out in the open. Everybody sees it. I'm just a foot. It's absurd, isn't it? We look at that and we just go, "Come on, that's just foolishness." But that's the way that we sometimes think about ourselves. We might say, "I'm just really not that great."

But you see, we are to be a unified body. The body has unity because we've all been brought together as one by Jesus Christ. First Peter chapter two, verse ten says, "In times past, we were not a people, but now we are the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now we have obtained mercy." By God's grace and His mercy, He has brought us together as one. We have been brought into communion with God.

Because we are in communion and fellowship with God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the righteous, each of us individually comes into communion and fellowship with God. Then God takes us and places us within the body, unified together as one. Now we have community with one another because of the communion we have with Him.

We are the gathering of people who have this one primary thing in common. The one primary thing that holds us together is Jesus Christ. He has brought us together. There is the reality that there are certain people in this room today that you would have never identified with. You probably would have never talked with them. If you saw them in the grocery store, you might have just passed them by. Some of them, you might have even gone to a different aisle when you passed them by because you looked and thought, "I don't want to go near that person."

But they are a part of the body of Christ. Because of Him, we've been brought together as one. We have Him in common, and that commonality gives us unity. When I think of community, I often like to think of a common unity. We have Him in common, and therefore we are in unity together. So we are the body.

We have unity, but we're many members within the body, so we have diversity. We must recognize that the diversity we share within the unified body is a good thing. We cannot have such great unity without diversity. This, I believe, is one of the reasons why Paul uses the illustration of a human body, because we can grasp this concept easily. You don't have to be very old to understand the idea of the body of Christ being like a human body. It has unity, and it has diversity.

My daughter Addison, who is 16 months old, grasps this idea. How so? I ask her, "Addison, where is your nose?" What does she do? She points to her nose. I ask, "Addison, where is your head?" She pats herself on the head. Then I ask, "The one you love the most, Addison, where is your belly button?" She lifts up her shirt, tries to find it, and sticks her finger in her belly button. And then you know what she wants to do? She wants to try and find your belly button. So she's looking.

But see, she recognizes something. She is Addison, unity. She is one body, but she recognizes the diversity of her parts. She is made up of many different parts. Paul uses this illustration to drive it home for us. That's why it's absurd for us to imagine that one day the foot might say, "Well, I guess I don't have as good a part as the hand, so I'm just not part of the body." No. God has brought us together. All these diverse parts with diverse talents and gifts have been unified as one body. Just because you don't feel as though you're playing an important part or you feel inferior does not mean you're not a part of the body of Christ or that you are unimportant.

Notice what Paul says in verse 17: "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be?" God has sovereignly ordained all these pieces. Have any of you ever seen that Pixar movie "Monsters, Inc."? Remember Sully? He was just this big eye, and it was freakishly weird. Because that's just strange; it's just an eye. It doesn't fit. It's like something you'd find on the Twilight Zone—a whole race of just eyes. But that's not what God wants. He wants unity. We're all just one, but we're diverse pieces within that.

We can comprehend this if all the members of a football team came to the coach and said, "Coach, we're incredibly united together. We've all decided we're all going to play quarterback." No. We don't need that.

Forty-two quarterbacks. It just does not work. We need the offensive tackle to make sure that he blocks in his place and opens up a hole so that the quarterback can hand off to the running back, who can then run through that hole and score to win. If there's not all of that, it does not function. Every part is important.

There are those who feel that since they are not the quarterback, they are not very important. Not so. We have unity brought together by God as He brings all the diversity of each individual together and places them within the body. This unity comes from God, and this diversity also comes from God. In 1 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul says, "Who made you to differ one from another? God did." He made you the way that you are.

A human body illustrates unity. A human body illustrates diversity, but a human body also illustrates sovereignty. Every human body illustrates God's powerful sovereignty, that He created us. People who look around and say it wasn't created, that it just kind of happened by mutation over millions of years and chance, have had to go to a lot of school to dismiss the concept, the reality of God as Creator. It's foolishness to come to that conclusion.

We see God's sovereignty in these human bodies. He places the nose in the right place and pointing the right way so that it is not pointing up, which would lead to drowning when it rains. He did this by His sovereign will and plan. Where do we see that? Look at verse 18 of 1 Corinthians chapter 12: "But now has God set the members, every one of them, in the body as it has pleased Him." If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, yet one body.

We could spend weeks on verse 18. We're not going to, but we could. God has set the members, every one of them, within the body. We are unified because of the work that God in Christ Jesus has done to bring us into unity. We are diverse because God is the one who created us with diverse talents and has gifted us with diverse gifts. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 11, it says, "The Spirit of God is the one who distributes."

Gifts to the believers are given as He wills. It's His plan. He has created each of us like a master artist who, standing before the canvas, has a palette of all these colors. He takes a little from here, a little from there, and He makes Eric. Then He looks at this canvas, which is His portrait, and says, "I'm going to put Eric right there." Eric is unique in every way that God has created him.

Then, God takes a little bit of color from here and there again. He says, "Okay, here, this is Pastor Mark. I'm going to put him right there in that place." He places us there for His purpose, for His pleasure, and for His glory. That's why we are here—to be a portrait of Him to this world. He has placed us in those positions.

You may say, "Well, no, He has placed a few people in those places, but He didn't place me. I put myself here in this church." No, every one of us is placed by God. In 1 Corinthians 12, verse 18, it says, "But now God has set the members, every one of them, in the body." Not one member of the body is misplaced by the Lord. This is God who created, named, and set all the stars in the sky. He placed them there and calls them forth by name. The prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah chapter 40 that He is the one who put them there. He also placed us where He wanted us to be.

Have you ever had that question pop into your mind? How is it that I was born here in this nation, in Southern California, and not somewhere in Indonesia? It's God's plan. He placed you here for His purposes. He has given you responsibility in this place to fulfill His purpose and to bring Him pleasure. He has done it as it has pleased Him, as stated in verse 18.

You see, you have the position, placement, and gifting that you have within the body of Christ because it pleased God to put you there. We are most pleasing to Him when we function within the gifting that we have received from Him. We glorify Him the most when we operate within the gifts He has given us.

Over the years that I have been in ministry, I have met a number of people whom God has gifted with talents in music. Their ability to read music, to sing, and to play instruments is a great talent from God. When they become believers, God gifts them to lead people in musical worship, bringing the body of Christ into adoration of God. There they are, in that position, fulfilling their purpose.

Leading and then they start to say, "I'd really like to be a teacher. I'd really like to be a preacher. Maybe I'm just going to set this aside and I'm going to do that." So they work really hard to study and to teach, and they can do it. They get up and they teach.

But here's what I've noticed: a lot of times, teaching is a labor week after week. They strive to try and do that, whereas this just flows from them. Why? Because God has given them talents, abilities, and gifts to do that. I could go and try to learn guitar and try to be a worship leader, and I’ll tell you, week after week, it would be a labor. I used to lead worship on Saturday nights acapella, and it was hard. This just flows. I can stand up and teach—no problem. Why? Because God has set me in this position and gifted me with the ability to do it.

That's why I don't believe it's hard to figure out what gifts you have. What just flows out of you that glorifies God? Do it. We are most pleasing to Him when we function within our gifting and do so joyfully. It’s just not glorifying to God when someone says, "Well, you know, I'm serving God, but I really hate what I'm doing. I'm doing it. It's a sacrifice, but I don't like it." Do you think God is up in heaven saying, "Yes, I'm so pleased with that"? No, that's not glorifying to Him.

We are most pleasing to Him when we recognize that we've been placed where we are for Him and not for us. That hurts. It hurts us because we like ourselves. God has set us within the body, and He has placed us there as He willed for His pleasure. We can look around and say, "Well, I guess I'm not important because I don't have the giftings that that guy has," or "I don't have the position that that guy has."

Or we can recognize that we've been placed where we are with the gifts that we have to glorify Him. We've been painted on the canvas that is His portrait to bring honor and glory to Him, and we shouldn't have this inferiority complex spiritually. The problem is that there are other people who conclude that not only are they not inferior, but they are super important. They can develop a superiority complex.

Look at verse 21: "And 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.'" Sure, there are those within the body that feel inferior, but sadly...

There are those who take on a superiority position, believing that they can do it on their own. This is simply not true; it is not reality. We need one another within the body of Christ. Both superiority and inferiority complexes are rooted in pride, and both of them can be addressed when we recognize that God has taken the diversity that is each individual and brought them into unity within the body of Christ by His sovereign direction.

When we acknowledge that God has done this, we can function in harmony. There is unity, there is diversity, and there is sovereignty. When these elements function together, they bring harmony within the body of Christ. However, when inferiority and superiority complexes arise, they challenge God's sovereign action and disrupt harmony.

Let me try to bring this full circle in two and a half minutes, which may not happen, but I will attempt it. Through my personal study and meditation on this passage, God has opened my eyes to something I had not seen before, even though it has been right in front of me for a long time. Just a few years ago, we Americans were introduced to a term that we had not really heard before. It may not even be so much a term as an occupation: the community organizer.

This term, community organizer, is new to most of us, although it has recently come into the public eye. It is new to many because we are in the midst of a cultural shift in our nation. Some people become quite anxious about cultural shifts, but they are not necessarily a bad thing. Culture is always changing because it is organic. As a result, culture is transforming the way we think and our perspective on how the world and our nation operate.

There was a time in our nation when we greatly valued and exalted the rugged individual. This kind of idol worship of the rugged individual was clearly evident in the marketing campaigns that dominated our nation for a long time.

Like the Marlboro Man, the rugged individual was honored, valued, and idolized in our society. We celebrated the great solitary scientist who locked themselves in a room for many years, only to emerge with that "aha" moment, prompting everyone to exclaim, "Whoa, look at that guy!" We also admired the inventor who toiled away and then unveiled something truly awesome. The individual was the focus of our culture.

While these figures still inspire us in many ways, we are witnessing a shift in our nation from an individualistically oriented culture to one that is more group and community-oriented. However, I need to step back because this shift can be unsettling for some people. When they observe this change, they are often reminded of Marxism and Cold War communism. Their immediate reaction is one of rejection, as they fear the implications of a community-focused approach.

If we examine Christianity over the last sixty years, it has been predominantly individual-focused. The message has often been about personal fulfillment, encouraging individuals to seek their best life now and to prioritize their own happiness. This perspective seems far removed from what God intended.

The reason we approach the idea of community and the body of Christ, with its diverse members united in purpose, with a certain suspicion is due to our own carnality. It is crucial to clarify that I am not discussing communism or socialism here; I am speaking about the body of Christ. Our aversions to communism and socialism stem from the destructive potential that arises when these ideologies are wielded by a powerful, charismatic individual leader—figures like Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler. When a group is united under a depraved, carnal leader, it can lead to destruction.

In contrast, the body of Christ is brought together under one head, which is Christ. When we recognize this, we can appreciate the true nature of community within the body of Christ.

God is able to do awesome things through His body and through His church. In my lifetime, I'm 31 years old. I know I'm the young one, but as I've been growing up, I have seen a shift taking place in America, particularly in the educational system. There was a time when our educational system was completely focused on the individual, building up the individual, and preparing them for tests so that they could thrive.

However, in my lifetime, especially during junior high and high school, everything became about group work. They would gather us together, and you would have three or more people working on a project. I hated group work. Why? Because of carnality. When you get a group together and they say, "Okay, here's your task, here's your project," you're supposed to divide up the responsibilities and everyone is expected to do their part. The problem is that two or three people often don't do their part. If you want to pass, someone has to take on the responsibility. I found myself, many times in junior high and high school, saying, "Okay, I guess I end up doing the whole thing," and then I would get a good grade. I hated it. But that's just me; we'll move on.

Here’s the thing: we, the body of Christ, are a group that God has called together to accomplish a specific task. It functions in glorification to Him when we recognize that He is the one leading it, and we fulfill the work that He has called each of us individually to do. We recognize that He has gifted each of us for a purpose so that He is glorified. This brings forth great harmony as He gathers diverse members together and unites them under His sovereign plan.

As I've been studying through this over the last several weeks, I've been challenged and encouraged in my thinking. Here’s why, and I will try to wrap it up quickly. About five years ago, when we started our School of Discipleship, our endeavor was to give every opportunity to the body of Calvary Chapel of Escondido to be equipped and built up. We look at Ephesians 4:11, which says that the pastors and leaders of the church are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. We wanted to provide every opportunity for the church to be equipped.

As soon as we started training the body in the School of Discipleship, I immediately found myself thinking, "Okay, now that we're equipping people, we have to find a way to organize them so that we can do the work of the ministry." For the last five years, I confess that I have struggled with this whole concept of needing to organize everybody. We are training them, and we need to give them things to do and raise up the body. Then the Lord spoke to me as I have been studying.

Through this last week, I had a conversation where I said, "Equip the saints for the work of the ministry, not organize them to do something." I went, "Oh, wow. That's true." Then I read something from John MacArthur that made it so clear. Unfortunately, Christianity has become very organized. As one writer put it, when Christians get organized, they get very unchristian. You hate to admit it, but he's right.

The church was never designed to be ordered along the lines of the world's organizational principles. It was never intended to be a management outfit or to follow business philosophy. The church was never meant to be a selling agency in which people are motivated by Madison Avenue promotion, gimmicks, and money-making schemes. Unfortunately, it has become just that. Furthermore, the church was never intended to be a business for profit-making, but it is. There are churches today that own money, properties, businesses, and corporations, and they are turning a profit.

Additionally, the church was never designed to be run by paid professionals who do all the work while everybody else watches. We live in a society of watchers. We watch the world happen on a screen. When we leave home, it's often to go and watch something, whether it's people playing games or listening to music. We have no involvement, no responsibility, no commitment; we just watch. The church has also fallen into that category.

I'm convinced that the church was never intended by God to be a community social center where everyone goes because it's a nice place to be. It is not like a country club; you don't have to pay. Besides, you can get involved in the power struggle, and if you're lucky, you can become your own little tin god.

So, what is the church? The church is an organism, not an organization. Paul's point is clear: a body is one whole because it has all the necessary functioning parts. We had better operate, or the body is not going to properly present the picture of Jesus Christ. I don't know what your gifts are, but you ought to know how the Spirit of God uses you and how you can define your ministries to be useful to God.

Now, notice this conclusion: Do you know what I see the church doing? A whole bunch of living, breathing members of an organism ministering and doing what they do. If you don't do what you do, you really jam up the works.

Can you imagine a body in rebellion where you say, "Go hand," and the hand says, "I'm not going anywhere"? It happens in the church. We have to train the foot to do what the hand does because there aren't enough hands to do the work. We compensate. One of the reasons the church gets organized is to do what the organism won't do. You have to get organized in order to bypass carnal people. That's unfortunate because what really ought to be done is to deal with the carnality instead of organizing around it.

That’s heavy. It hit me that there are countless pastors in our nation who are trying to be community organizers. God has not called me to be a community organizer. Why? He is the one who organized us as a community. He is the one who sovereignly gifted us to fulfill the work. He is the community organizer.

As the leaders of the church, we want to give every opportunity so that you are fully equipped to be organized by Him to do the work of the ministry. We are not going to come along and say, "Okay, now you're going to do this ministry, and you're going to do this ministry, and you're going to do this ministry." If you are waiting for us to give you a ministry to do, you are waiting for the wrong one. Call upon Him. "God, show me what you want me to do." And He'll say, "Here, I want you to do this."

The problem is that sometimes we say, "Well, I don't want to do that." But that's what He has called us to. We might want to do something else, but He hasn't called us to that. "Be faithful in this, and I'll do greater things."

Amen. Let's stand and pray.

Father, we thank You for Your Word. Help us to think on these things and to reason them out as we read through it and pray about it, Lord. Transform us by the renewing of our minds because we are so culturally driven sometimes that we fail to recognize what it is You are desiring to do. Lord, help us to lay aside our will, our focus, and our desires in favor of Yours because Yours is always infinitely better. God, work in us to will and to do Your good pleasure, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.