How to Function in the Body

When you are saved, you came alive now part of that new life includes you, being incorporated in the body of Christ. So your salvation then was a great transformation you belong to the world were insensitive to God. All of a sudden by the transformation of salvation placed in the body of Christ saved from deadness unto life from different backgrounds with all sorts of personalities and gifts. But is that simply for diversity sake or is there more to it. A more profound reason John MacArthur works through those questions on grace to you as he continues his series covering foundational aspects of the Christian life series titled spiritual boot camp. Today's lesson focuses on things you ought to do and how God made it possible for you to be an effective member of your local church. So follow along.

Now, as John begins the lesson how to function in the body of Christ.

Now there's a very important verse in the Bible would be the place to start and that would be first Corinthians chapter 12 in verse 13 for by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body. The moment you received Jesus Christ as Savior. You were placed into the body of Christ, whether we be Jews or Greeks bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

When you became a Christian, you are placed in us with the baptizing of the Holy Spirit means you were baptized or placed in the body of Christ. It's like baptism means dipping somebody under a putting somebody into you were put into the body of Christ became a member of the body of Christ that synonymous with the concept of the church became a member of the church of Christ.

You may not join a local church.

Yet, you may not have a unofficial membership in the local church. But the moment you are saved you became a member of the church of Christ's body, and that's one of the terms used for the church. The Bible uses several terms for the church. It calls us a flock Christ as the shepherd calls us branches and he is the vine calls us subjects of the kingdom and he is the king it calls us children in a family and he is the father. There are many metaphors for the church but one of them in the very unique one is the concept of the body that we are members of the body of Christ. Now only came into the family.

We came into that body in first Corinthians 1214 says the body is not one member, but many so we are all part of the body of Christ. Now this occurs at your salvation so point number one is to understand your salvation.

It's very important that we understand what took place when we were saved. Maybe a simple way to approach this would be to have you turn to Ephesians and look with me at chapter 2 chapter 2 verse 11 says wherefore remember that you in time past where he even in the flesh, and that's specifically directed to the Christians who were Gentile Christians.

Verse 12 says that at that time you were without Christ aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world and that is a picture of an unbeliever without Christ. Without God, without hope, without promise, empty, but verse 13 now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made nearby the blood of Christ. You once were far off from God. Without God, without Christ without hope. Without promise, but in Christ you have been made near for he is our peace was made both one and broken down the middle wall of partition between us. It's as if you and God were rebels, and Christ took the hand of God in your hand and brought them together and often you know someone who is mutually loved by two people can succeed in doing.

Sometimes you have a mother and a father who become estranged of the child who is loved by both of them can be the catalyst to bring them back together is a great story that came out of World War II that the French and the Germans were fighting the Germans occupied a farmhouse in the fridge or try to take the farmhouse and they were shooting across the field each other.

All of a sudden one of the soldiers screamed out. Hold your fire because there was a little baby crawling across the field somehow gotten out of the farmhouse and of course the Germans saw the little baby had the same response and that the interesting result of the story was that all the firing ceased and some newspaper reporter when he wrote down the interesting article in relation to that incident said that a babe had brought peace in a real sense, that's precisely what happened with Jesus Christ came into the world to bring peace between those who are enemies of God and man. And the reason we are enemies with God is because he is holy and we are sinful and that strangers us in Christ comes and takes the two parties and brings them together. He is our peace, and the metaphor here is it's like breaking down the wall that was between us and is not just talking about between us and God between Jew and Gentile now further on it says in verse 16 he desires to reconcile both Jew and Gentile, unto God in one body by the cross so Jew and Gentile are brought together and then both of them in the church are brought together with God and the cross accomplishes this cross is the thing the act which took away sin, and sin was the walls and was the barrier between us and God. And so when the cross is accomplished and we put our faith in Christ. The barriers removed. We are brought to God in one body. So the churches all want. If you love the Lord Jesus Christ and you been born again.

Your one in the body of Christ in first Corinthians 617 it says he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit, all those who are joined to Christ are one in Christ now over. In chapter 4 of the season. Verse 17 tells a little bit about our life before we were Christians.

This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk, not as other Gentiles walked how do other Gentiles walked how do unsafe people act in the vanity of their mind having the understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart.

They are past feeling other words, their consciences, no longer really control and they have seared their cats if they disobeyed it so long, it has a little effect.

So that's a picture of an unsafe person he walks like the evening the vanity of his mind is guided by his own thoughts. His understanding is dark and he can't really know the truth. He's alienated from the life of God spiritually dead. His heart is blind. He has no feeling toward God, etc. he gives himself over to evil things to while kind of living, uncleanness, greediness, and all it but you have not so learned Christ when you received Christ a whole new life begins and all that ceases to exist in the newness of life in Christ. So there's a tremendous transformation. One other passage in Ephesians 2 to look at it.

Chapter 2 verse one Ephesians 21 says and you hath he made alive or dead in trespasses and sin before you are a Christian you were dead. Not physically dead but spiritually dead and we talk about spiritual death, we mean an infant inability to respond to God. Remember one day when I was sitting over my office a little boy came running and said please come down the street. My mother needs help our baby sister just died and down here on Roscoe Boulevard about half a dozen houses or so I ivory down the street one in and there was a little baby beautiful baby egg is about four months old lying on the bed just blues it could be stone cold dead and the mother was just sobbing and sobbing and sobbing and there was no explanation as far as she knew, as to how the baby died and she would kiss the baby and hold the baby and nothing she could do would make that baby live because physical death is an inability to respond, and it served to me as a good illustration because probably the strongest of all affections in human terms would be the affection of a mother for a child. That's the most basic kind of affection. The strongest kind of tie that mother tied to that very life that came out of her own womb and all the love she had and all of that energy that she was giving to that little child was totally un-receive because death is an inability to respondent does matter what the stimulus is a can't respond. Spiritual death is the same thing it is to be unable to respond to God is to have God doing things and God moving and totally be in different unresponsive to what God is doing that spiritual death.

The inability to respond to God. And that's precisely what Paul is saying before you are Christian, you were dead in trespasses and sins, your life was characterized by the flesh by the desires of the flesh, the desires of the mind.

Verse three says you walked according to the course of the world over the world said you did you follow the prince of the power the air Satan and you were totally tuned out to God as if you were physically dead and couldn't feel the stimulus of the physical factors so spiritually dead, you can't feel the stimulus of a spiritual reality that all changed.

Ephesians chapter 2 says in verse four, but God is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us. Of course the whole change was begun with God. It was his love and his mercy even when we were dead in sins, has what made us alive was the one thing a dead man needs most life is precisely what God gives and what is he mean by life.

It simply means that he turned on your spiritual sensitivity and you became aware of God you were able to sense God you now walk in the presence of God.

The Scripture starts to mean something to you. Prayer means something to you a whole new dimension opens up of existence. And that's because you became alive spiritually.

That is, you opened up to be able to sense God so your salvation, then, is an awakening into the realm of the presence of God.

When you are saved, you came alive now part of that new life includes you, being incorporated in the body of Christ.

A very important concept. So your salvation then was a great transformation you belong to the world you were insensitive to God. All of a sudden by the transformation of salvation you been placed in the body of Christ been saved from deadness unto life, and you can sense God you can feel God you know God you walk in eternal life, and instill eternal life is in the length of time. Eternal life is a kind of living and that is the new life that comes in Christ so you understand your salvation and what it did now. Secondly, I want you to look a little bit at this idea.

Understanding your position now that you are in the body of Christ. Now you are Christian, what does that mean I listen to me what it means is that you are in Christ, in the truest sense of the word your position to begin with a is you are in Christ. Now, I mean that in the most realistic sense when God looks at you he sees you as it were incorporated in Christ. Everything about you is in Christ and that's why God can impute righteousness to you because he sees you in Christ. That's why God can forgive your sin, because he sees you in Christ. That's why Romans eight says you are a joint heir, because everything that comes to Christ comes to you because you are in Christ. So when you became a Christian, you were made to be identified uniquely in the person of Jesus Christ is a tremendous concept in second Timothy 198 says who is saved as God who has saved us.

Call us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. God even had you in Christ before the world began, he saw you that way. Even then, now manifest. Since Christ has come in Ephesians chapter 1, I think it's verse six it says this God has predestinated us. Verse five to the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ himself, according to the pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Listen through which he has made us accepted. How how has God made us accepted in the beloved one. The only way God can accept you is in Christ, and when you become a Christian you received Christ.

You literally become in Christ. You literally move into him, as it were, and his personality shelters you so that God sees you in Christ. Ephesians 117 is really a prayer that you would understand.

He says I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened, that you would know what is the hope of his calling, and the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the same and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his own right hand in the heavenly places. What he saying there is. I pray that you will understand what it means to be in Christ is to inherit all that is his of the riches and the glory is to inherit all of his verse 19 of the power, the mighty power which raised him from the dead every possession of Christ and every empowering of Christ becomes ours because we are in Christ. Tremendous concept. Of course this is why we say a believer for one reason cannot lose his salvation. There is security their seat. Your identification is in him and Ecclesiastes. There is an interesting versus a lot of interesting ones but one for our thoughts. Ecclesiastes 314 I just point this out because I want you to understand how complete you are in Christ. I know that, whatsoever God does, it shall be forever. That's a good principle of God does anything.

It's a forever thing.

Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it and God do with it, that men should fear before him.

Now, when God does something, there is nothing that can be added to it and there is nothing that can be taken away from. That's true of anything and it's even true of your salvation. If God saved you, that settles it is total.

It's complete you not have saved recorder saved or saved to a point you got add a few little items along the way, if you're saved, God did it, you can add anything to it. You can't take anything away from it. You became a total Christian. The moment you believe it when a baby is born into the world isn't born like pollywog doesn't come in all of a sudden three months sprouts right arm and then all of a sudden six muscle leg pops out pretty soon you little toad type thing. No babies come into the world from the time of the teeniest little thing they have all parts right at all parts.

The parts just get bigger. That's all. When you become a Christian, you are not up spiritual pollywog with just a squid little tail and as you mature you pop out the new parts. Your total Christian. The only question is the process of growing you see what I mean it's only a process of developing what you already are. Because you are complete in him. Colossians 210 says, for you are complete in him. Second Peter 13 says you have all things pertaining to life and godliness you lack, absolutely nothing. There are no ingredients you don't have. There is nothing missing you are a totally perfectly formed baby in Christ. Now you need to grow and you need to mature those parts to bring them to a place where they can really operate for maximum effect, but no parts are missing, you are totally complete. It's a very, very important concept now because we are in Christ God sees us then in fulfillment of all of his requirements. Christ came and fulfilled the whole law since you're in Christ in the eyes of God.

You also fulfill the law, you are spiritually alive to God you're dead to sin your forgiven how much forgiven I is forgiven you all your trespass and your righteous your child of God or God's possession heirs of God, blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly your heavenly citizens are servants of God. You have new life are free from the law crucified to the world.

Your light to the world victorious over Satan your cleanser wholly without blame your free or in Christ or securing Christ your possessors of peace your one year and grace are in fellowship or joyful your spirit indwelt led your spirit gifted your part for service and you have loved.

That's pretty exciting event that's who you are in the eyes of God. That is your position since your spiritually alive to God live the life since you're dead to send out gifts in any place to see what you are positionally before God how God sees you may be different than how you behave. I remember when I was a little kid some neighborhood kids got me and some bad influence annoy you got me to think it was kind of a neat deal to smoke a cigar, say so. I smoked a cigar I thought was really limited.

Big-time deal. So they decided he'd show me I could steal things in the dimestore.

I was really a great kid.

I just got in bad company and her right but anyway so we wound up stealing some stuff from Sears was removed, leaving the story got caught by the store detective and they put us in jail city jail while they called my father was playing golf with some deacons and said were guiding those going anyway came to the jail. He thought it was a mistake and he had the deacons within their come back to me my son. So anyway comes a time in the sellers so my dad arrives and he bails me out of there. You know I remember going to church and my dad was a preacher so everybody knew I was the word got around about me being in jail and do a lot for my family's image. Anyway, we say to me off, how could you do that, don't you know your father is my mother would say don't you realize what you realize how you how you dishonored our family. How could you a pastor Sandhu that people would say we seek. The point was I wasn't living up to my position interested because of who I was.

There was a certain level demanded of me I was living up to now. The Scriptures give us both sides. There are many scriptures on our position and their many on our experience for our practice and we need to have both you need to be consistent. I have a friend who well II just got traded to the Washington Redskins before that he played football for the Miami Dolphins used to be a high school athlete here in LA at Centennial high school and he played for about five or six years under Vince Lombardi at the Green Bay Packers and used to say what was amazing about the years that Lombardi was coaching, and over the years. They want all transit championships was that people play beyond their ability. There was something about putting on a pecker uniform that grew out of you more than you even had there was something so dignified about being a Green Bay Packers that you just lived up to the name and the reputation used to be in the great years, the New York Yankees, the same feeling where they said just put a Yankee uniform on major hold of her ballplayer will I think in a sense, that's the idea being a Christian. There is a certain position that we have as Christians that we are to live up to in the tragic thing that occurs in a Christian's life is often your practice doesn't match your position. You know, and what what the Holy Spirit is saying he was, what are you doing acting like what you know who you are as you know, your father is so your practice needs to match your position, but your position is perfect. You are in Christ and your position secures you forever. Spiritual growth has nothing to do with your position. Your position is already perfect. Spiritual growth occurs in the area of your practice to match your position. So it's a very important thing right in understanding your position your position.

First of all is in Christ. Secondly, since you are in Christ. You are also in the body of Christ. The church you have a very important position.

There is at the center of the church is Christ spirit of Christ. Christ rules in the church through evangelists and pastor teachers. This is giving up the organization of the church in a circle fashion. The spirit of Christ rules through evangelists and pastor teachers. Their ministry is to equip the saints. The saints that are equipped by the leaders of the church to minister when the saints minister.

The body of Christ is edified or build up in the result of that is that the elector added. People are say this is basically a simple look at the structure of the church, the heart or the head of the church Christ spirit of Christ through evangelists and pastor teachers are the elders of the church. The saints are equipped once the saints are equipped, they begin the minister once they begin to minister the body gets build up the bodies build up the elector added divorce. That's the structure of the church.

Your task is to be equipped so that you can minister for when you minister the body will be build up another people will be saved. Now that's a simple look at the organization of the church are part that is to submit to teaching and leadership. That's John MacArthur with a reminder about how God desires you to function in your local church. Along with being the Bible teacher on this broadcast John is Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary. Today's lesson is part of his current series on grace to you, titled spiritual boot camp will John still thinking about functioning in the local church body. One of our listeners recorded a question for you on specific aspect of life in the church and so I want to play that question now from our Q&A line and then you can respond.

I got my name is Ron Milwaukee Wisconsin I give all my money commissions rather than giving to the church I pastor says to get to the church person giving commissions to be over and above tightened to the church.

I give all my money to the mission because I believe they really needed a lot more than the church does because the church with time goat with him to have a lot of waste. Is it okay in God's eyes. My doing the right thing by giving all my money to omissions rather than to the church. Thank you so much well run appreciate that question and I know it's a heartfelt question that you have obviously you have some issues with what the church is doing with money and you've made the decision that you can trust certain missions, certain parachurch organizations to be more directly using what you give in the cause of Christ, then in your own church that that's a decision you have to make and I don't think it's wrong to give all your money to missions.

I think the bigger issue is that you need to ask yourself why am I a part of the church that I can't trust with my resources. How how can I trust the church with the souls of people. If I can't trust them with money and me.

Jesus basically said that if you're faithful over little things you can be given the trust to be granted bigger things. So I think the question is about your church. Shall you feel free to give it where your heart desires.

But know this you you need to be a part of the church that you can wholeheartedly support. Ideally, your church would then taking the money that you give their and invested wisely in the kingdom whether it's in the church life itself or in missions but that's that's your decision. I would encourage you to find a church you can trust right and thank you John now friend. If you have a question about Scripture. The church's role in the world are really any theological topic.

Let me encourage you to call our Q&A line. You leave a message with your question and you could hear John answer it on a future broadcast. Contact us today. The number for our Q&A line is 661-295-6288 Megan phone the number, leave a message with your question and you may hear John answer it on a future broadcast.

The number one more time.

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