Body Life at Its Best, Part 2

Important in the cells that function are all spiritual in nature. Today, Chuck Swindoll points to a biblical metaphor that depicts the family of God.

And when they function. We one another. There was no revolt.

There was no resistance there was no mutiny.

There was no disease when the functions of the body are going on pervades and the wonderful thing is people get billed getting mega churches, even online churches, but according to the apostle Paul, the best way to picture the church is to think of the physical body in which all of the parts work together in perfect nation today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll helps us understand the metaphor Paul used in Ephesians 4 apply these principles to our unable to join us for Friday's program will begin with a helpful summary titled this message body life at its best easily forget that the church is a body we have tried to operate the church as an institution Corporation, a business, but the reality Paul wants us to grasp it. Ephesians is that the church is a body made up of cells in the cells are individual believers.

You and me and other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each cell has a unique role to play in keeping the entire body healthy.

No section of Scripture addresses this clearer than Ephesians 411 to 60. It is on me why churches all around the world aren't serious students of and models of Ephesians 411 to 60. It is beyond me.

If and when that becomes our reality in our midst as a church we will be blown away at how healthy we stay how the close.

They though they may come knocking will not get a foothold in our lives and how we will care for each other like the body's cells care for one another what you witness in church splits church arguments and church battles and church fights is nothing more themselves in revolt, and the body isn't function look again at Ephesians 4 and be reminded of Paul's words as he starts the chapter I'm a prisoner of the Lord. Remember he's in Rome he's under house arrest. He's literally bound to a Roman soldier for an undetermined period of time during that while he writes letters that it come to be known as the prison letters Ephesians is one of the and so he really is a prisoner because of his commitment to the Lord, and he implores the reader in Ephesus to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which he has been called.

Please note the words in the first to follow with humility and gentleness and patience, tolerance and love. Those are not corporate terms.

Those are not institutional guidelines. Those are body functions.

When the body of Christ. The church is at its healthiest stage you will witness before your eyes, and so will the world at large. To their amazement, the outworking of humility. The absence of pride, gentleness, the absence of force patience. The absence of impatience and rage and anger tolerance. The absence of legalism and restrictive thinking and love the absence of ignoring others fighting with one another. How is that done verse three tells us by preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond P and with that he launches into a great treatise on unity. If you have a market already look at the frequent repetition of the word.

One there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one thing, one baptism, there is one God, the father of all who is overall through all in all, he couldn't be much clearer. There is 1111.

In fact, there is one God over all who is over, through, and in all and in it all is the sovereign hand of God, superseding overshadowing, guiding, under the direction of the head of the church Christ. The body of Christ, but verse seven begins always notice why there is a connected particle that contrasts the context but now, up till now it's been unity unity 11 all all to each one of you.

Grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift was that mean well initially, it means you were given the gift of salvation through faith in the Savior, through faith in Christ you receive forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. You came to the cross by faith like those sitting around you and the family of God, and you submitted yourself to Christ, acknowledging that your lost you turned away from that lifestyle and return toward Christ. Repentance, you accepted the gift of eternal life, and you received grace to live it.

It not only means salvation at conversion. It means a spiritual you were given at least one spiritual gift. If you do not have a gift. You are not a Christian. If you are a Christian you have at least one probably more than one spiritual gift. Grace was given each one of you Steadman continues each one of us is gifted. It doesn't matter whether we are old John, rich, poor, talented, awkward articulate, quiet, handsome, plain, popular, unknown you have a spiritual gift.

If you do not have a spiritual gift. You are not a Christian. If you know an exercise your gift you contribute to the vitality and ministry of the church if not listen to this, you will the church of a measure of the impact and influence God intended his church to have in the world. That's a new way to look at it. If you have the gift of showing mercy. But you don't show mercy part of the body is hurting because you don't part of a need in the body is not it goes unmet. If you have a gift of organization and that is your joy that is your Spirit empowered gift and you don't exercise it. The church hurts because of that. If you have a gift of teaching and you're not engaged in teaching in God's time as he opens the door for you to teach, then part of the group of God's people that could be taught by you is going to remain untaught and the truth will remain unsaid because you were not exercising your you have abilities that God has given you to use in the body of Christ, and it will be different from the other person.

It will be different from people in your family but God designs the body so that we carry out his giftedness to the body.

Look at verse 11, he gave some as apostles, he gave some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, he gave those gifts in the body and artist friend of mine do a little rendering of the body not prepared to show it to. Okay, here we are proud of is there are no children in it, but you can put them there as they are omnipresent.

If you will notice there you are. There's your there's your pictures to your self find yourself until the body, but find yourself there all different sizes all different ages all started they all different sexes. Both sexes see will see you will see all of it right there in the body and we are all made up of all friend sizes and shapes, and we therefore have all different things to contribute to the body question is why. Why has the Lord gifted the body with these spiritual apps on the couldn't get done it. Sherry could have done if he can do it. Always God but couldn't. Angels of God absolutely always got a new essay doing there all over us, and everywhere. But the didn't do that.

He said I want the body to function within itself. I want the cells within my body to serve the body itself and so all the way through the writings of Paul.

Not all the way. But in many places Paul talks about the body functioning in health and the analogy is the church is the body know why does he do that I want you to look at verse 12 because it is the answer to that question. Why there's an immediate reason there is an intermediate reason progressive reason and there is an ultimate reason the immediate reason is for the equipping of the saints, the intermediate reason is for the work of service, the ultimate reason is for the building up of the body of Christ. Look at the verse he gave some as many names all these gifts here and the reason he did that was to begin with, for the equipping of the saints here gift when it is exercise equips saints my gift when it is exercise equips saints.

Your gift may not be as visible as another person's gift is not important. The Lord looks at the heart, not at the outward appearance, always on that little artist rendering is the body's but what we really should have seen is the gifts that are going on within the body.

It occurred to me when I was preparing this and I've never seen anybody carry a picture of an x-ray of one of their organs nowise over 70 show you my kidney you will never believe it makes us laugh and look at my stomach would get that I ever seen a stomach coming than the stomach. Not the other. Or here's my heart looked like it would seem we don't do that.

We carry pictures of our the extern. The Lord sees us through x-ray eyes and the body he sees is not a body that's heavyset then or 6 feet to 5 feet three or male or female. That's not the body that's important. The body that's important and the cells that function are all spiritual in nature, and when they function. We equip one another. There was no revolt.

There was no resistance there was no mutiny. There was no disease when the functions of the body are going on health pervades and the wonderful thing is people get billed to get equip one of the reason God gives us pastor teachers you will see that listed last in the list of verse 11 is that you might be equipped out put my neck on the line if you leave a church service following any meeting we have for I am a teacher and you were equipped better to live the life you got ripped off. I did not do my job market down or if I did my job. You may not have listened and taken it in, the point is there is equipping going on. Even now the primary purpose of the gifts. Unless it is the gift of evangelism is not to evangelize the lost.

It is to equip the saints and in the saints evangelize the lost. The church hasn't gotten that message and the result is starving congregations the world over. Because of not being equip this word equip is the Greek term convert it so K ATA RTI CO cutter tinsel is an interesting word. It means to add what is lacking so the original purpose is fulfilled each use for a nap that's torn and when the net is patched sewn back together. It is, tiptoed its prepared so that its original purpose is fulfilled. If you pull up to happen to have something happens to your arm and you get get pulled out a joint and somebody resets the joint, so it's in place. They have cutter kids of the joint. If you break a bone and the physician sets the bone and puts it in the castle that it heals. And it's not healthy again. You he has cutter tips of the bone. If there is an army going into battle and you equip the Army with the weapons and ammunition, whatever that Army has been contacted so now this is not about ships or armies or bones or joints, sort, or nets. This is about the body of Christ. The purpose of your time in the body of Christ. Initially thanks to these gifts is to be built up or equipped so that you function in ways that you otherwise would not know to function at the next for the work of service isn't that great.

The purpose of the gifts is to equip the saints so that the saints take up the work of ministry. Traditionally, people hire staff so the staff will do the work of ministry and we sit back, arms folded, and if something needs to get done. We hire more and we hire more if they didn't get done, hire somebody's nothing is said about volunteerism is just hire someone nothing wrong with staff at the purpose of the staff is to do the work is to train others to do the work of ministry is an eye-opening thought is one of my more colorful mentors used to say, the church is too much like a football game. 50,000 people in the stands and desperately in need of exercise watching 22 people on the field definitely and desperately in need of rest. Howard Hendricks gets credit for that we are not to be a group of spectators watching a few people do the work of ministry. We participate we are engaged in meeting the needs of the flock you with the other with him.

He with hammer her with her me with you, you with me. It is a give-and-take. It's like the cells working and when they work together.

It's remarkable what a health pervades and we take up the work of service, the word service.

By the way, is the word Deacon we Deacon we learn the work of serving one another, and ultimately please observe to the building up of the body of Christ.

Think of this as a strong body are you laughing really strong muscle, no pumping iron really able to stand firm, climb mountains, go around the world, and the boat doesn't matter whatever happens or not good you not to give up go after it. Why because you been built up you been prepared.

You been equipped human cartoons owed to somebody life when the body functions as it is to function.

The live begins to flow needs get mad and we no longer live like little children look until we all attain to the unity of the faith marked the word unity and of the knowledge of the son of God marked the word knowledge to a mature man marked the word mature. If you wonder what that standard, it is to the major of the state of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

He is our standard as a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. But true thing. It marked the word truth in love, we are to grow challenged us to grow up several days ago. Some of you remember being a little stunned when I use those words grow up and there they are right there in the Scriptures. Verse 15 we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head of an Christ. This is body life at its best.

We grow up we are not adults living like children, we are adults handling ourselves in an adult manner. Now be careful here is nothing wrong with children.

I love children and in fact often they don't have a clue. That's what's so cute about being with the day I was with the Boston. Our five-year-old grandson and that he was in the pickup with me and we were riding alone when the streets here in Frisco and turned a corner and there's a brand-new fire station on the right and I said us fire station like that new white fire truck is more excited than the one look at that fire truck the goat. I know it Bobby's as far firemen are good good people are important, but I'm to be a trainman as it really will be a tree nice is when I am grown up.

I said when he got to be grown-up when I'm 600, 600, then he starts to count by tens to 600 so I'm waiting through that is the 10 2034 that he had just learned that in school and so he would practicing on is a learned 600 as far as he could go so he can be 600 will be blessed not know what I'm kidding. Is that what I'm 13.

I'm leaving home to go to train school so now it's 13, he's going to be 13 kn and one has to question often you like to eat.

He said yes sir, it's my favorite thing that's it. Don't leave home at age 13 son a lot of hunger out there, stay there as long as a pump food in you and then shove off. You know is I know that he says I'm grown-up when I'm 42 doesn't have a clue what is going to be grown-up fun and laughed at more fun. The front seat there.

My pickup laughing together and all of a sudden I came that afternoon to this passage and I thought, but when adults act like that. It's tragic stretch. Nothing cuter than little children being clueless.

Few things more tragic than adults living clueless lives. Along comes some slick capable spokesman for the cult and he opens the door of his car. Insist it in and we slide writing and we buy that whole message because we have been deceived by the trickery and craftiness of deceitful scheming.

I have a grown-up. When you are properly equipped to doctrinally when you are properly equipped, physically and spiritually. You don't give in to the cults you stand against it.

You can sniff it out. You can smell this is wrong and you have the courage to say no thank you.

In fact, let me explain to you the truth, and on your own without a pastor nearby, you can open the Scriptures and show them the way that's adult while I'm on the subject.

Let me add when you hear of splits in the church church fights church arguments what you're hearing is children at play in adult bodies. That's what you see, that's what you hear. That's what's so tragic. Few things are more tragic than a child in an adult body because you have the permission but you haven't the wisdom to handle the role the exercise of the gifts the equipping of the saints prepare you for hard times and you grow up in all aspects into one of the great things about being adult is your no longer some what is it we remember and love so much about our mother's is it whether it was day or night, weekends are weekday when we were sitting there is because we know they gave up this so that we might have. It's called unselfish maturity. The end goal. The steps prescribed by Paul lead us into spiritual adulthood. You're listening to Insight for living in the Bible teaching of pastor and author Chuck Swindoll to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org in a week when the eyes of the world are focused on an important national election were intent on placing our confidence on the one who taught us we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. Instead, as Paul said we are to grow up in all respects into him who is the head, even Christ. With this in mind I like to point you to a helpful resource designed to stimulate your spiritual maturity is a daily devotional check is written called good morning Lord. Can we talk as the title implies, Chuck's book is intended for morning reading times in Scripture, followed by candid conversation with your Lord and if you're looking for a devotional to guide you through the uncertainties of 20, 21, we highly recommend securing a copy of good morning Lord, you can do that right now by going to Insight.org/store or by calling us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 in a ministry. The scope and size of Insight for living can't be sustained on the sale of resources alone. Instead, this global outreach is fueled by the voluntary gifts of listeners like you were especially grateful for our monthly companions.

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