One Body In Spirit
Greetings, and God bless you today!
We come today to the end of the month, and seemingly to the end of our summer. School has been in session for almost the whole month, so for our families the end of summer came when the class bells rang. With the approaching Labor Day weekend, we prepare to launch ourselves into the Fall of the year (but I bet the hot weather stays with us for a while).
Paul is about to launch us into a new focus of who we are, in relation to one another. He will spend the rest of 1 Corinthians chapter 12 speaking to the diversity and the unity of the body of Christ. To accomplish this, he will use the diversity and unity of the human body as an example we can fully understand. Here are his opening words,
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body - so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Now before he moves into the specifics, Paul makes some broad brush statements followed by some very specific truths. For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body. Simple biology teaches us that our one single body has many parts. Some are readily understood and visibly used every day. There are also parts of the body which are unseen and little noticed as they accomplish their purposes. Every part, seen or unseen, is part of one body. This is a self-evident fact. Paul then adds, so also is Christ. In this opening statement as he shifts his focus to the Spirit’s presence and the Spirit’s gifts, Paul states there is only one body of Christ. There are not many but one body with many parts! He will expound greatly on this in the weeks to come.
Having established in a very broad brushstroke there is one body of Christ in the world, Paul now speaks of how we all, each individually, became part of this body. Paul divides his following statement into three sections. The first is this, For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body. The first thing we should note is that all of God's people receive the gift of baptism which was given to us by the direction of Jesus Himself. All the apostles affirmed the use of baptism, and that God is doing something wonderful in the life of a person when they are baptized.
Now while various church bodies have differing understandings of what baptism is and what it accomplishes, let us hold to the truth of Scripture. Paul says we are baptized by one Spirit into one body. There is no denial of the fact that the Holy Spirit of God is present and at work in the waters of baptism. To deny the presence of the Spirit is to deny the words of Jesus Himself as well as the apostles. The question we would seek to answer, is what is the Spirit accomplishing in and through baptism? Actually, Paul gives us the answer. We are baptized into one body! Somehow, in a miraculous working of God, we are made part of the body of Christ when we are baptized. The imagery throughout Scripture speaks of the great work of God to accomplish this. There is the image of adoption, the use of a covenant, the washing of regeneration, the image of death and resurrection, the circumcision not made with hands, even the name of God as a seal. These and other images are used to help us understand the magnitude of what is taking place in baptism. Focus in on whichever image you desire, and the end result is the same, everything Jesus accomplished on the cross and everything the Father's heart desired is made a reality in a person's life the moment they are baptized.
Paul goes on and expands on the fact that this reality is available to everyone on equal footing. He says it this way, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. This would certainly harken back to our earlier discussion of those who were free and or wealthy who were showing a lack of love and consideration for those who were slaves and or poor. In our world we often place the status and importance of a person squarely on their bank account. Those who have are considered of more value than those who have not. There is none of this as we stand before God. There are two places where each person in this world stands equal, the first is the cross and the second is the grave. We stand equal before the cross because we all stand in need of forgiveness of our sins. And we are equal at the end, whether we are in a finally adorned casket or a pine box. Each of us comes empty handed before God and each of us is saved and redeemed by the blood Jesus shed on the cross.
Paul then expounds his third statement which is, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. There are many images throughout the New Testament of the working of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of faith created in the heart through the proclamation of the Gospel. The baptism of the Holy Spirit as we saw on Pentecost Sunday, and the manifold gifts of the Spirit which He distributes as He desires. But here Paul introduces a unique idea, that we are given the Spirit to drink!
The only eating and drinking which is significantly addressed throughout Scripture is the eating and drinking of the covenant meal which God provides once peace is established with His people. This is certainly the case in Exodus 24 when Moses and the leaders of Israel ascend the mountain and see God and are provided a covenant meal by Him. It is certainly what Jesus is referencing in the upper room on Passover night with the establishment of the Lord's Supper.
Should it then surprise us that the Spirit of God is connected to this great meal which we are given to eat and drink? To drink in the Spirit as we receive the Lord's Supper is a fitting image.
It has always been part of the fuller teaching of the meaning of the sacrament, that if I receive the body and blood of Christ and you receive the body and blood of Christ then there must therefore be a relationship between the two of us. Here in our text Paul is referencing the fact that we have shared the same baptism, and we share the same sacrament. In both baptism and the Lord's Supper the Spirit of God has been present to both bless us and join us together. We are therefore one body, the body of Christ, the Church in the world.
The apostle Paul is going to take us deeper in the weeks to come, but today he lays the foundation for who we are as those who are redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ and through the work of the Spirit.
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
We come today to the end of the month, and seemingly to the end of our summer. School has been in session for almost the whole month, so for our families the end of summer came when the class bells rang. With the approaching Labor Day weekend, we prepare to launch ourselves into the Fall of the year (but I bet the hot weather stays with us for a while).
Paul is about to launch us into a new focus of who we are, in relation to one another. He will spend the rest of 1 Corinthians chapter 12 speaking to the diversity and the unity of the body of Christ. To accomplish this, he will use the diversity and unity of the human body as an example we can fully understand. Here are his opening words,
For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body - so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Now before he moves into the specifics, Paul makes some broad brush statements followed by some very specific truths. For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body. Simple biology teaches us that our one single body has many parts. Some are readily understood and visibly used every day. There are also parts of the body which are unseen and little noticed as they accomplish their purposes. Every part, seen or unseen, is part of one body. This is a self-evident fact. Paul then adds, so also is Christ. In this opening statement as he shifts his focus to the Spirit’s presence and the Spirit’s gifts, Paul states there is only one body of Christ. There are not many but one body with many parts! He will expound greatly on this in the weeks to come.
Having established in a very broad brushstroke there is one body of Christ in the world, Paul now speaks of how we all, each individually, became part of this body. Paul divides his following statement into three sections. The first is this, For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body. The first thing we should note is that all of God's people receive the gift of baptism which was given to us by the direction of Jesus Himself. All the apostles affirmed the use of baptism, and that God is doing something wonderful in the life of a person when they are baptized.
Now while various church bodies have differing understandings of what baptism is and what it accomplishes, let us hold to the truth of Scripture. Paul says we are baptized by one Spirit into one body. There is no denial of the fact that the Holy Spirit of God is present and at work in the waters of baptism. To deny the presence of the Spirit is to deny the words of Jesus Himself as well as the apostles. The question we would seek to answer, is what is the Spirit accomplishing in and through baptism? Actually, Paul gives us the answer. We are baptized into one body! Somehow, in a miraculous working of God, we are made part of the body of Christ when we are baptized. The imagery throughout Scripture speaks of the great work of God to accomplish this. There is the image of adoption, the use of a covenant, the washing of regeneration, the image of death and resurrection, the circumcision not made with hands, even the name of God as a seal. These and other images are used to help us understand the magnitude of what is taking place in baptism. Focus in on whichever image you desire, and the end result is the same, everything Jesus accomplished on the cross and everything the Father's heart desired is made a reality in a person's life the moment they are baptized.
Paul goes on and expands on the fact that this reality is available to everyone on equal footing. He says it this way, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. This would certainly harken back to our earlier discussion of those who were free and or wealthy who were showing a lack of love and consideration for those who were slaves and or poor. In our world we often place the status and importance of a person squarely on their bank account. Those who have are considered of more value than those who have not. There is none of this as we stand before God. There are two places where each person in this world stands equal, the first is the cross and the second is the grave. We stand equal before the cross because we all stand in need of forgiveness of our sins. And we are equal at the end, whether we are in a finally adorned casket or a pine box. Each of us comes empty handed before God and each of us is saved and redeemed by the blood Jesus shed on the cross.
Paul then expounds his third statement which is, and we were all given one Spirit to drink. There are many images throughout the New Testament of the working of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of faith created in the heart through the proclamation of the Gospel. The baptism of the Holy Spirit as we saw on Pentecost Sunday, and the manifold gifts of the Spirit which He distributes as He desires. But here Paul introduces a unique idea, that we are given the Spirit to drink!
The only eating and drinking which is significantly addressed throughout Scripture is the eating and drinking of the covenant meal which God provides once peace is established with His people. This is certainly the case in Exodus 24 when Moses and the leaders of Israel ascend the mountain and see God and are provided a covenant meal by Him. It is certainly what Jesus is referencing in the upper room on Passover night with the establishment of the Lord's Supper.
Should it then surprise us that the Spirit of God is connected to this great meal which we are given to eat and drink? To drink in the Spirit as we receive the Lord's Supper is a fitting image.
It has always been part of the fuller teaching of the meaning of the sacrament, that if I receive the body and blood of Christ and you receive the body and blood of Christ then there must therefore be a relationship between the two of us. Here in our text Paul is referencing the fact that we have shared the same baptism, and we share the same sacrament. In both baptism and the Lord's Supper the Spirit of God has been present to both bless us and join us together. We are therefore one body, the body of Christ, the Church in the world.
The apostle Paul is going to take us deeper in the weeks to come, but today he lays the foundation for who we are as those who are redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ and through the work of the Spirit.
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
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