To The Persecuted Church:

Pastor Don Carpenter

The Jesus Letters / Revelation 2:8–11

The following are current stories from Voice of the Martyrs.

After holding a rally, radicals in Gujarat state issued a statement to district authorities telling them that if they did not stop church activities in the region, the radicals would take matters into their own hands. The document issued by the radicals listed the names of 56 churches and pastors and gave district authorities three days to act. In response, the police told pastors not to conduct church services or they would risk attack by the radicals — and the police would not protect the Christians. Instead, they said they would arrest the pastors. Several pastors have already been arrested, many of the churches have stopped meeting, and pastors are unable to visit people. “The churches are all in fear and seek prayer for this matter,” a VOM contact wrote. Pray that these Christians will be able to worship and work freely, and pray for the hearts of the radicals and the police to be changed.

____

Rama and Joseph have fled their home in Syria after threats from family due to their marriage. Rama is a former Muslim who now follows Christ, and Joseph is from a Christian background. When Rama’s family learned of their marriage, they complained to a police officer. The officer beat Joseph and warned him to stay away from Rama. The couple then escaped to a neighboring country that also does not recognize marriage between a woman who is legally considered to be Muslim and a man who is not a Muslim. Joseph and Rama have now applied for resettlement to a Western country. Pray for God’s peace in their hearts while they wait. Pray for their resettlement application to be accepted so they can move to a country where their marriage is legally recognized and where they can start a family.

____

Momina Namee, 30, grew up in a Muslim family and was pressured to marry a Muslim man while she was young. Soon after they married, they had a son. But three years after their son’s birth, Momina’s husband suddenly fell ill and passed away. Devastated and a single mother, Momina struggled to get by as her husband had been the provider for the family. One day, two Christian women met Momina on the street and shared the gospel with her. Momina told them that she was a Muslim, and the Christian women asked her address, visiting her often. Eventually, Momina placed her faith in Christ and began attending a Christian church. But when the Muslim woman who provided shelter to Momina find out about her newfound faith, she drove Momina and her son out of the house. Momina was homeless, and her family and relatives stopped associating with her because of her faith in Christ. When Momina’s church leaders heard about her situation, they rented a home for her. Pray that Momina will be able to provide for her and her son as she rebuilds her life. Pray that she can be a faithful witness to Christ to her family, and pray that they will come to faith in Him.

___

Ever since Jesus founded the Church, churches and Christians have faced persecution, and still do today. This morning’s Jesus Letter is one to the Suffering and Persecuted Church at Smyrna. This tender letter has no condemnation but is full of words of comfort. The truth our Savior shared with His beloved sheep in Smyrna, is truth we can embrace too. When all seems hopeless, Jesus offers healing, compassion and hope to those of us who are hurting.

Jesus Applies Salve To A Wounded Church

Revelation 2:8 KJV

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

The healing comes from knowing the Great Shepherd.

Psalm 23:1 KJV

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The Shepherd is Eternal

John 1:1 KJV

IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Micah 5:2 KJV

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Revelation 1:18 KJV

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The Shepherd Has Already Defeated Death

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 KJV

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Shows Compassion to a Hurting Church.

Revelation 2:9 KJV

I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

I Know!

???????a; ????a; ???????a; ??????a, ??? f: to possess information about1

1 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 333.

I Know Your Works

Psalm 23:4 KJV

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

I Know Your Tribulation

John 16:33 KJV

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

1 Thessalonians 3:4 KJV

For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

I Know Your Poverty

2 Corinthians 8:2 KJV

How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

2 Corinthians 8:9 KJV

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

I Know The Blasphemy of Fakers

Romans 2:28–29 KJV

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Jesus Gives Encouragement to a Weary Church.

Revelation 2:10 KJV

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Fear None of Those Things

He Already Knows What Will Happen

People were betrayed to provincial officials by delatores, “informers,” and by the early second century it is attested that Christians in Asia Minor were generally charged only if accused by such informers. By the early second century, Jews in Smyrna were reportedly fulfilling this function against Christians (such as Polycarp). But simply claiming publicly that Christians were no longer welcome as part of the synagogue community was a form of betrayal; Christians who were not seen as Jewish had no protection against civil requirements for participation in the emperor cult.1

1 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Re 2:9.

The Devil is on a Leash

The Suffering Has an Expiration

ten days A round number, reminiscent of Dan 1:12. Their testing might literally last for 10 days, or the number may be figurative and indefinite.1

1 John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Re 2:10.

“Ye shall have tribulation ten days.” There were ten intense periods of persecution by ten Roman emperors (these dates are approximate):

Nero—64–68 (Paul was beheaded under his reign)

Domitian—95–96 (John was exiled during that period)

Trajan—104–117 (Ignatius was burned at the stake)

Marcus Aurelius—161–180 (Polycarp was martyred)

Severus—200–211

Maximinius—235–237

Decius—250–253

Valerian—257–260

Aurelian—270–275

Diocletian—303–313 (the worst emperor of all).1

1 J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: The Prophecy (Revelation 1-5), electronic ed., vol. 58 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 76.

Be Faithful Unto Death

Revelation 2:11 KJV

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

1 John 5:4–5 KJV

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Revelation 20:14 KJV

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

You Are An Over Comer that will Not Taste the Second Death

Virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed: for prosperity best discovers vice, but adversity best discovers virtue.

Francis Bacon

1 Elliot Ritzema, 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Reformation, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:10 AM September 18, 2021.

YE Are The Body of Christ

Pastor Don Carpenter

Connected! / 1 Corinthians 12:20–27

This story was related by Donald Grey Barnhouse. Several years ago, two students graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The highest ranking student in the class was a blind man named Overton and, when he received his honor, he insisted that half the credit should go to his friend, Kaspryzak. They had met one another in school when the armless Mr. Kaspryzak had guided the blind Mr. Overton down a flight of stairs. This acquaintance ripened into friendship and a beautiful example of interdependence. The blind man carried the books which the armless man read aloud in their common study, and thus the individual deficiency of each was compensated for by the other. After their graduation, they planned to practice law together. No believer is complete by himself, we are to minister to one another, as a family. (Source unknown).

As we finish our series: “Connected” let us review what we have learned. We learned that there is a unique bond between believers and it centers around the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We also saw that there are specific abilities given to specific believers and that centers around the empowering of the Holy Spirit. We saw that Jesus Created the Local Church to be the tie that Binds believers to each other. We saw that the Body of Christ is indeed the local church, not a mystical universal or Catholic body. Today we will see that Paul drives these truths home by showing the feuding church at Corinth that they are the Body of Christ. So look around. God has placed you in this local Body for a reason. We need each other. We all have value. We are fused together by God’s perfect design. YE (second person plural) are THE Body of Christ.

Every Member Is Co-Dependent Within the Body.

1 Corinthians 12:20–21 KJV

But now are they many members, yet but one body. 

And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Romans 12:3–5 KJV

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

 Diversity in the body is an evidence of the wisdom of God. Each member needs the other members, and no member can afford to become independent. When a part of the human body becomes independent, you have a serious problem that could lead to sickness and even death. In a healthy human body, the various members cooperate with each other and even compensate for each other when a crisis occurs. The instant any part of the body says to any other part, “I don’t need you!” it begins to weaken and die and create problems for the whole body.1

1 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 609.

 • The eye cant tell the hand he has no need of him.

 • The head cannot say to the feet I have no need of you

 • Body parts need each other. Each part has a specific function but only as it is interdependent WITHIN the Body.

Colossians 3:15 KJV

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

 • So for one member of the church (Christ’s Body) to say about another member, I do not need him/her…would be a false statement.

Every Member Has Value

1 Corinthians 12:22–23 KJV

Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 

And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

 • Those members which SEEM to be more feeble are necessary.

 Which seem to be more feeble. Weaker than the rest; which seem less able to bear fatigue and to encounter difficulties; which are more easily injured, and which become more easily affected with disease. It is possible that Paul may here refer to the brain, the lungs, the heart, &c., as more feeble in their structure, and more liable to disease than the hands and the feet, &c., and in reference to which disease is more dangerous and fatal.1

1 Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: I Corinthians, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 235.

 • Those we THINK are less honourable. upon these we bestow more honor.

Are more necessary. The sense seems to be this. A man can live though the parts and members of his body which are more strong were removed; but not if those parts which are more feeble. A man can live if his arm or his leg be amputated; but not if his brain, his lungs or his heart be removed. So that, although these parts are more feeble, and more easily injured, they are really more necessary to life, and therefore more useful than the more vigorous portions of the frame. Perhaps the idea is—and it is a beautiful thought—that those members of the church which are most retiring and feeble apparently; which are concealed from public view, unnoticed and unknown—the humble, the meek, the peaceful, and the prayerful—are often more necessary to the true welfare of the church than those who are eminent for their talent and learning. And it is so. The church can better spare many a man, even in the ministry, who is learned, and eloquent, and popular, than some obscure and humble Christian, that is to the church what the heart and the lungs are to the life. The one is strong, vigorous, active, like the hands or the feet, and the church often depends on them; the other is feeble, concealed, yet vital, like the heart or the lungs. The vitality of the church could be continued though the man of talent and learning should be removed; as the body may live when the arm or the leg is amputated;—but that vitality could not continue if the saint of humble and retiring piety, and of fervent prayerfulness, were removed, any more than the body can live when there is no heart and no lungs.1

1 Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: I Corinthians, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 235.

Every Member Is Fused Together By God’s Design

1 Corinthians 12:24–25 KJV

For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

 But God hath tempered the body together. Literally mingled or mixed; that is, has made to coalesce, or strictly and closely joined. He has formed a strict union; he has made one part dependent on another, and necessary to the harmony and proper action of another. Every part is useful, and all are fitted to the harmonious action of the whole. God has so arranged it, in order to produce harmony and equality in the body, that those parts which are less comely by nature should be more adorned and guarded by apparel.1

1 Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: I Corinthians, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 236.

 • God has designed the body to have no schism.

1 Corinthians 3:3 KJV

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 1:10 KJV

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

 • God has designed the Members to have the same care for each other

 • One member suffer, all suffer

A Mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a Mouse-Trap Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The Chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The Mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The Pig sympathized, but said, I am very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be Assured you are in my Prayers.”

The Mouse turned to the Cow and said, “there is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The Cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse, I am sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house – like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The Farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake was furious and bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a severe fever.

Everyone knows that you treat a fever with a fresh chicken soup. So, the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and relatives came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The Farmer’s Wife did not get well and she died. So many people came to the funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. And, Said, “I warned them about the mouse trap but they did not take my warning into account…”

 • One member rejoice, all rejoice.

 • You(second person plural) are the Body of Christ

 • You are members in particular

Imagine that we are putting together a 1,000 piece puzzle. In turn we each put pieces into place; slowly the beauty of the picture begins to take shape. As we continue putting the puzzle together we talk about what it would be like to be a part of the scene before us. As the final pieces are being put into place we are suddenly confronted with the fact that our picture is incomplete; 4 pieces are missing. How do you feel about all our work together knowing that it will forever remain incomplete?

Now imagine that instead of missing pieces, the puzzle is alive. As the final pieces are being put into place they change shape and refuse to be joined together with the adjoining pieces. Or worse yet we watch as parts of the puzzle we have put together suddenly separate and pieces leave the table. How do you feel knowing that the beauty of the image being put together will never be finished, because the pieces won’t cooperate with each other?

I wonder if that is sometimes how God feels about His church? He fits people together only to find that some are missing, or individuals which He has purposed to join together refuse to be connected or deliberately separate from each other. I know that there have been times when I have had those kind of feelings.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:24 AM August 27, 2021.

Something To Brag About

Pastor Don Carpenter

2021 Bible Reading Challenge / Jeremiah 9:23–24

One of the most effective tools that Satan can use against believers is pride. We often get cocky when we start to think that God needs our talents, our abilities, and our skills in order to further His kingdom. The prophet Jeremiah was given some words from God that will help to refocus us upon the truth. We will see that we should not be thinking about our own skill, but rather on the fact that in spite of our weaknesses, God gives us something to brag about.

Jeremiah 9:23–24 KJV

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Neither let the mighty man glory in his might, Let not the rich man glory in his riches: 

But let him that glorieth glory in this, That he understandeth and knoweth me, That I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: For in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Do not glory in your own ability.

 Do not glory in your wisdom

  1. You are not wiser than God.

Proverbs 21:30 KJV

There is no wisdom nor understanding Nor counsel against the LORD.

Job 5:12–14 KJV

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. 

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: And the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. 

They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope in the noonday as in the night.

  2. Do not measure yourself by your own standard.

Isaiah 5:21 KJV

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

  3. Man’s wisdom blinds him to the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:19–21 KJV

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

1 Corinthians 3:18–20 KJV

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 

And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

 Do not glory in your own might.

Daniel 4:30–31 KJV

The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 

While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

Daniel 4:37 KJV

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

 Do not glory in your own riches.

Luke 12:16-21 “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” 

Glory in your relationship to God.

 Saved though Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:10–11 KJV

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Dead to the world.

Galatians 6:14–15 KJV

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Glory in who God is.

Exodus 34:5–7 KJV

And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Lovingkindness

Psalm 51:1 KJV

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Judgment

Psalm 146:7–9 KJV

Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: Which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: 

The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: The LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: The LORD loveth the righteous: 

The LORD preserveth the strangers; He relieveth the fatherless and widow: But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Righteousness

Romans 3:25–26 KJV

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

EDISON COULDN’T MAKE LIFE

Are you extremely proud of your lifetime accomplishments? It was on November 21 of 1877 that Thomas Edison announced to the world that he had invented the phonograph. Edison’s accomplishments are often forgotten. In his Menlo Park, New Jersey fix-it shop he designed the following items: the household light bulb, a motion picture device, the telephone transmitter, stock ticker improvements, the mimeograph machine, the dictating machine and much more. If anyone had a right to brag, Edison did. However, he humbly acknowledged he couldn’t create the simplest form of life.

The Creator of everything and everyone has this perspective on bragging rights. He inspired: 

jer 9.23-24 “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Neither let the mighty man glory in his might, Let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, That he understandeth and knoweth me, That I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: For in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” 

 When you understand how incomparable your Creator is and then realize how your knowledge, talents and wealth are but gifts from his limitless storehouse, then and only then will you discover how few bragging rights you really have.

(AMG Bible Illustrations. 2000. Bible Illustrations Series. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers.)

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:23 AM August 18, 2021.

The Tie That Binds – the Body of Christ

Pastor Don Carpenter

Connected! / 1 Corinthians 12:12–13

In one of Aesops fables he describes an old man who had several sons, who were always falling out with one another. He had often, but to no purpose, exhorted them to live together in harmony. One day he called them together, and he gathered a bundle of sticks and tied them together and asked each one of them to try to break them. Each one tried as hard as they cold but none of them could break the bundle of sticks. Then the father cut the cord that he tied them together with and told his sons to break them separately. This was done with the greatest ease. “See, my sons,” the old man said “the power of unity!” Bound together by brotherly love, you may defy almost every mortal danger, but divided, you will fall prey to your enemies.

---

In our passage this morning Paul is expanding on the fact that we all have been given spiritual gifts and have a providentially designed place to use those gifts. This morning as we continue our series “Connected” we will discover that God’s purpose for every New Testament Believer is to be part of the Body of Christ, to be baptized, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Please have your Bibles ready, and your pen an paper ready because this morning we are going to challenge some presuppositions widely held among Catholics and Protestants. Traditional Baptists have always held to the Biblical position I will be outlining this morning.

Let us not get lost in the weeds as we dig a bit deep this morning. The message of the passage is clear. God has called us to One Body, through One Baptism, to be empowered by One Spirit.

One Body.

1 Corinthians 12:12 KJV
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.

The Body of Christ is the Church.

Colossians 1:18 KJV
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Colossians 1:24 KJV
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

The Church is a Called Out Assembly.

Matthew 16:18 KJV
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Assembly

1. ekklesia (????????, 1577), from ek, “out of,” and klesis, “a calling” (kaleo, “to call”), was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens “gathered”

Ecclesia in the New Testament

1. Used over 100 times
2. All but 5 uses refer to a specific assembly.
3. The abstract and general uses find concrete expression in a particular local, visible assembly.

The Church is a Physical Manifestation of the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:25–27 KJV
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

1 Corinthians 1:2 KJV
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

The New Testament Generally Refers to Churches, not THE CHURCH. The Universal Church is a Catholic Invention.

Acts 9:31 KJV
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

Acts 8:1 KJV
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Acts 13:1 KJV
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Romans 16:1 KJV
I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

2 Corinthians 1:1 KJV
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

1 Peter 5:13 KJV
The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

Acts 11:22 KJV
Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

1 Corinthians 4:17 KJV
For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

There once was a mule who found himself between two haystacks, completely unable to decide which one to eat first. Because of hi, indecision, he didn’t eat either one; he just stood there until he starved.

Many people are like the mule when deciding which church to attend. They wander back and forth, never committing themselves, and meanwhile going hungry.1841

1 Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 63.

One Baptism

1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV
For by one Spirit are we all 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.

• Paul was writing to a dis unified church at Corinth.

• The Body of Christ is the Local Church.

Baptized BY the Spirit, not in the Spirit.

› (use baptized by pastor into water)

en used 2768 times in NT.

Translated by 143 times… shows an agent of action.

Matthew 5:34 KJV
But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Matthew 5:35–36 KJV
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

Matthew 12:24 KJV
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

Matthew 12:27 KJV
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

Matthew 14:13 KJV
When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

Baptism and Church Membership are natural after salvation.

Acts 2:41–42 KJV
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

One Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV
For by one Spirit are we all 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.

That Indwells Every Believer at the Point of Salvation.

Romans 8:9 KJV
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

That Endues Believers with Power for a Purpose.

Acts 1:8 KJV
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

That Gives Unique Gifts to Be Used in the Local Church.

1 Corinthians 12:4 KJV
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin had every reason as teammates to be friends, but they were not. Incognito harassed and bullied Martin. He called him a racial slur in a voicemail played by every media outlet in the country. He threatened to kill him and his family. Incognito claimed all of this was just locker room talk. It is the way the guys talk to one another in the NFL.

Apparently, Martin didn’t get the memo. Martin left his lucrative job citing emotional issues and fearing for his life. Though we don’t know all the details, it appears as if Martin has some culpability, as well. He was far too passive in dealing with Incognito’s threatening behavior. As a teammate, it appears, he should have expressed how troubling Incognito’s threats were to him. These two men had many more reasons to get along than to have a toxic relationship. Consider all the reasons they had to be friends.

They were both football players.

On the same team.

Had the same coach.

Both were offensive linemen.

Both played on the same side of the line.

Both were starters.

Both wanted to win.

Both are big dudes.

Both were millionaires.

Yet somewhere along the way one or both of them forgot they played for the same team and began to treat the other like a New England Patriot. They forgot the enemy was in another city. They forgot enemy is on another team.

Similarly, we have many more reasons to honor one another than to dishonor one another.

We have the same owner!

The same Father cheering us on from the press box.

The same Savior who scouted us and forgave us.

The same Spirit within.

The same playbook.

The same purpose.

We are going to same place when life is over

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:25 PM August 14, 2021.