A COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY (1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27)

SERIES: THE COMMITMENTS DISCIPLES MAKE, PART 3

GCEFC: OCTOBER 19, 2008

INTRODUCTION

1. In the year 1623, John Donne wrote the following words: No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

2. 1600 years earlier, the Apostle Paul wrote these words: The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

3. Each person must respond to the calling to be Jesus’ disciple individually. It’s not a decision I can make for you. It’s not a decision you can make for me. It’s a personal decision.

4. We enter the life of a disciple personally, individually, and voluntarily. BUT—having entered the life of a disciple individually—we instantly become part of a larger community.

5. Illustration—jar of coins.

6. In September we began exploring our new mission statement. As you know, it has 3 major components—calling…growing…impacting.

7. The life of a disciple begins at the point when we accept the call of Christ to follow him. To say no to the calling is to say no to being Jesus’ disciple.

8. To say yes is to receive Christ as Savior, as Lord, and as Master. He becomes the ultimate boss of my life. He sets the agenda and he is my authority and my final court of appeal.

9. Saying yes begins a lifelong journey of growing spiritually as a disciple. Just as babies and plants are meant to grow—disciples are meant to grow too.

10. And while disciples are growing, they should be making an impact on the world. Impact comes in many ways, but a primary way is through service.

11. This month we began exploring Disciple Distinctive. That is, what makes a disciple different? What sets them apart from those who are not disciples?

12. We are now in a series looking at The Commitments Disciples Make.

a. We said that a disciple has a commitment to the Word of God.

b. We said that a disciple has a commitment to Prayer.

c. And today we’re going to see that a disciple has a commitment to Community.

A. THE MEANING OF COMMUNITY

1. So we’re all on the same page, let’s start with a definition. What is community?

2. Community is defined as: a group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.

3. So a community:

a. Shares common characteristics. In the case of the church we share common beliefs, we share common values, we share a common mission, we share common concerns, we share a common spiritual destiny.

b. And in the case of the church we are distinct from the larger society within which we exist. We are distinct from other communities in the larger community.

4. 1 COR 12 provides a lot of insight on this. I invite you to turn to it on page ___ of the sanctuary Bible on the rack of the seat in front of you.

5. 12:12: The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free…

6. A community is a UNIT made up of individual parts. And though there are many parts, there is one community.

7. The church is comprised of those who have been baptized by the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ. The church is a community of believers. A community of redeemed. A community of Christians. A community of disciples.

8. This is what we have in common. This is what makes us community. Like the coins in the jar—different from each other in certain ways—but like each other in other ways.

9. Joined together in the same place in the same way for the same reason for the same purpose—this makes us community.

B. THE CONNECTEDNESS OF COMMUNITY

1. So that’s the meaning of community. A unit of individuals drawn together in common belief, common concern, and common mission that’s distinct from the larger society.

2. But in the case of the Church, the connection is far deeper. In fact, the connection is so intimate that it’s compared not to a jar of pennies, or to a sports team, or to the Elks Club, or even to a family—it’s compared to the human body.

3. V14: Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. This is pretty obvious: One head, 2 eyes, one nose, one mouth, 2 ears, 2 arms, 2 hands, 10 fingers. You get it.

4. If you count cells, our bodies are made up of literally millions of parts. But they are all part of our one body.

a. In V15, the concept is elaborated: If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

b. What if one day you’re working on your computer or a jigsaw puzzle, or writing a letter—and your foot should start feeling neglected—and it says to you: I’m sick and tired of being ignored. You’ve been using your hands all of this time and you’ve been ignoring me down here, and frankly I’m tired of it.

c. I’m officially declaring myself no longer part of your body—I’m moving on.

d. You would say: Wait a minute, hold it right there, you’re not going anywhere. I need you. In just a few minutes I’m going to be standing up and walking to the next room. You’ll be much more useful than my hands in doing that—so stay right where you are. And stop your whining.

e. You would give the same lecture to your ear if it should whine about not being your eye. You’d say: Stop it—I need all of you. You are all important to me.

5. V17: If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

6. V20: As it is, there are many parts, but one body. That’s…community. Many parts, one body. Many members, one community.

C. THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF COMMUNITY

1. So we know what community is. And we know how community is connected to itself.

2. Next we see how the community is dependent upon itself. It relies upon each of the parts to contribute to the whole.

3. V21: The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. V25: so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

4. The point here is that the individual parts of the community are dependent upon the other parts of the community. In other words, we need each other. It’s not saying that the parts of the body are EQUAL—it’s saying that all parts of the body are IMPORTANT. Illustration of glove/losing hand.

5. This is exactly what the Word of God is telling us. That the individual parts of the body are necessary for the body to function most effectively. Even though the body can survive without certain parts—it needs the parts to function fully.

6. But the individual parts of the body must be part of the body in order to function at all as they’re intended to function.

7. The community needs its individual members. The individual members need the community. You need me, I need you, we need you, you need us.

8. Here are 4 reasons why a disciple must commit to community.

a. Community helps keep us accountable. One of the benefits of community in the life of a disciple is the accountability that community provides.

b. I notice that none of you are reading the newspaper at the moment. And none of you are talking on your cell phone.

c. If you were at home, you might be doing both of these things. But the community is holding you to a standard that says these things are not appropriate at this moment.

d. It’s why people get training partners. It’s why 2 friends say: Hey, let’s take this course together.

e. I need accountability. You need accountability. Community helps provide it. PRO 15:31: He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise.

f. And community provides the support I need. ECC 4:10 says: If one falls down, his friends can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.

g. V26: If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

h. Joy shared multiplies it. But suffering shared reduces it. As the saying goes: Sorrow shared is half sorrow—joy shared is double joy.

i. And in community we accomplish more than we can accomplish alone. None of us is as strong as all of us. ECC 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

j. And in community we all benefit from the contributions of everyone else. PROV 27:17 says: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

k. Two pieces of iron aren’t of much use. But if they are used to sharpen each piece of iron, they can be of immense value.

l. You can sharpen me and I can sharpen you. That makes us both sharper. That makes us both more valuable to the community.

D. CONCLUSION

1. So we know what community is. We know how community is connected. We know how community is self-dependent.

2. But who makes up the community? Who comprises the community of the church?

3. The New Testament definition of the Church is clear. The invisible Church is comprised of all true believers in Jesus Christ from Pentecost to Christ’s return. Only God knows for certain who makes up the invisible church. That’s why it’s called the invisible church.

4. The local church is comprised of all professing believers in Christ who have made a commitment to it. The New Testament symbol of a commitment to Christ is baptism.

5. It’s unlikely that there was formal membership in the early church. It was simply understood that professing believers in Christ would be committed to the community of believers through the local church. It was symbolized and formalized through baptism.

6. In the modern world it’s a bit more complicated.

a. First of all it is not generally understood that baptism follows personal profession of faith in Christ. It’s a product of the modern age in many ways. It’s most unfortunate.

b. In the modern world, the more likely indicator of commitment to the local church is membership in the local church.

c. I realize that one can be committed to the community of the local church without being a formal member of it. And I’ve said many times that one can be committed to a life partner without being married to them.

d. But why would anyone settle for this? Why would anyone who’s received Christ as Savior and committed to follow him as a disciple.

e. One who’s committed to a local assembly of professing believers, who’s in agreement with the mission of that church….why would such a person not be a member of it? I wish I knew, but I haven’t the slightest idea.

7. Discipleship begins with saying yes to the call of Jesus on your life. This begins the journey of discipleship, which results in growth and impact.

8. A disciple makes several commitments. So far we’ve looked at three of them:

a. A commitment to the Word.

b. A commitment to Prayer.

c. A commitment to Community.

9. The life of a disciple is about commitment—from beginning to end.