Identity in Christ
03 – The Body of Christ
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 KJV
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
1 Corinthians 12:27 KJV
Corporately, as individuals, or many members, joined together, we are the Body of Christ.
Paul, inspired by Holy Spirit, uses the analogy of the physical body for the body of Christ.
- For all its many parts, it still functions as a single entity
- We, being many, are to function in unity
What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV
- We believers are joined together by Holy Spirit who is dwelling within us
- Our individual choices, decisions, and obedience or disobedience affects the functioning of the body as a whole
And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Corinthians 12:26 KJV
We are to operate as one.
- Sharing one another’s burdens and rejoicing in one another’s blessings
- This happens in relative degrees, depending upon proximity and level of knowledge
- We are to care for one another – those within our circles of influence
- We are to pray for all believers
A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:34-35 KJV
Love for one another is what binds us together.
- We are commanded to love one another
This would be a good time to review the study we did on The Wall.
- We, as believers, are the living stones
- We, the living stones, are held together by the mortar, love
The study on the wall and living stones is a good foundation for knowing our identity in Christ.
- Check out the “Past Sunday Sessions” on the web site, AnokaAwakening.com, or find the lessons in The Living Room
- This is where discipleship begins
- Being a disciple and making disciples
- Understanding how we are knit together and are to operate in unity
The Wall from Past Sunday Sessions, 08DEC19 through 14JUN20
- Christ Jesus, The Cornerstone – 08DEC19
- Apostles and Prophets, The Foundation – 12JAN20
- Believers, The Living Stones – 09FEB20
- Stones becoming Walls – 08MAR20
- Molding Stones, Part 1, Disciples – 12APR20
- Molding Stones, Part 2, Making Disciples – 14JUN20
That study lays out the structure for the body and provides an understanding of how we are to interact with one another.
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
Ephesians 4:15 KJV
Remembering always that Christ is the head of the body.
- We are to grow in faith and deed to be like Him (Christ Jesus)
- Love is the driving force
- To be like Christ is the goal
Be ye followers of me, even as I am also of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV
We all need, and should have, a mentor or mentors who lead by example.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19 KJV
- For instruction, for leadership, and for encouragement
We should also be mentors and examples for others.
- We are commanded to make disciples
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
Matthew 28:20a KJV
- A consistent message to be handed down by believers to believers
- All are to be on the same page, operating in unity of belief, faith, and purpose
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:4-6 KJV
- We each have a responsibility to God who has brought us together as one body
- We each have a responsibility to one another for the health of the body; unity in love
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?
Romans 6:3 KJV
In our baptism we died to our old way of life.
- It was put behind us
- We are baptized into His death and given new life
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:6 KJV
Our old man, old lifestyles, old behaviors, have been crucified with Christ Jesus.
- Sin is no longer our master
- We now serve the Lord, Christ Jesus
- We now have the power and authority to overcome the strongholds of our sinful ways that are now dead
- Christ has set us free
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Galatians 5:24 KJV
- We put those old ways to death as we follow Christ
And He said to them all, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Luke 9:23 KJV
The life of holiness is a daily battle.
- The cross is a means of torturous death
- It is a daily battle to crucify our old ways and follow Christ
- It is a daily battle of choices to deny our selfish desires and lusts
- It is a daily battle to choose to serve Christ and one another in love rather than serving oneself in pride, lust, and greed
- We must die to self daily
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ livith in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 KJV
Christ gave himself for us as He died on the cross for our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
- Now freed from our old ways, we live for Him who loved us
- We do this by allowing Him to love through us under the leading of Holy Spirit
- We die to self and live unto Him
- We do this by allowing Him to love through us under the leading of Holy Spirit
We love Him, because He first loved us.
John 4:19 KJV
It is because He loved us that we have been forgiven and set free. We can live free by loving Him and by allowing His love to flow through us.
- Christ Jesus is the head of the body
- He directs the body on how to live and move
- We are to live for Him
- We are to care for the body, for one another, and not for self alone
- We must have a clear revelation and realization of what it is to be a part of the body of Christ
- In Christ we are members of His body
Next Up:
All Parts of the Study: