Culture of the Kingdom
Today’s Topic: Fellowship: The Body of Christ
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 Corinthians 1:11-13; John 17:22
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
We left off discussing the Body of Christ and how it is Holy Spirit’s mandate to arrange and order the various parts or members of the Body of Christ until the arranging is complete for the return of the Lord Jesus. Let’s look at the scripture for confirmation.
1 Corinthians 12:13:”For by one Spirit are we 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.
The Spirit that baptizes us into the one body, who is the Body of Christ is Holy Spirit. Now the way Holy Spirit arranges the members of the Body of Christ is not determined by the members preference, it is quite the opposite. The members are arranged based upon the Will of the One who sent Holy Spirit, who is Jesus Christ. The way Holy Spirit does this is by searching the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10). Now the fellowship between the members of the Body of Christ and Holy Spirit is to guide each member, no matter the gifting into the fulfillment of the Will of God for that member and for the glory of God to be be shown in the Earth.
The way Holy Spirit assembles us in the Body of Christ is to place us in relationships that are best suited to support who we are and what we are to become. In 1 Corinthians 12:27: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” So even though we are many members in the body of Christ, there is still one Body! We are meant to function together as the body of Christ. Division is one of the most devastating conditions in the Body of Christ and Paul dealt with this with the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 1:11-13:”For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions (divisions) among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
See Paul understood His position in the Body of Christ and it is clear that the people at Corinth had a misunderstanding. The people at Corinth were viewing the people who brought the gospel to them as the access point of God and so they divided among themselves on that line. Paul comes in to correct this and asks them is Christ divided? See the family they belong to is the House of God and they are in the Body of Christ and even though the body of made up of many members, it is still one Body. Jesus spoke about this in very crucial issue John 17:22.
John 17:22:”And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
In the next message we will look at this and examine how Jesus and the Father were one and how we and Christ are to be one. What does this all mean? Stay tuned and continue to study with us.
At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.
