Five Essentials of Being an Effective Member in the Body of Christ
Ephesians 4: 7-16
Membership in a local church isn't about having your name on the membership rolls, but about being an active participant as a part of the body of believers. Each member of the body must function effectively within the body for God to use us as He would. A landlubber who could not swim went fishing with a friend and after a while hooked a really big fish. He was so excited about catching this big fish that as he was reeling it in, trying to get it next to the boat, he leaned too far over and fell into the water. He was panic stricken, and began to yell, "Help, save me! Help, save me!" So his friend just calmly reached out and was going to grab the man by the hair, pull him over a little closer and get him into the boat. But as he pulled, the man's toupee came off and he slipped down under again. He came up again yelling, "Help, save me!" So the friend reached down again, this time catching hold of an arm. As he pulled on it, it came off because it was an artificial limb. The man continued to kick and thrash around, sputter and splash. The friend reached out again, grabbed a leg and as he pulled it, you guessed it, it came off! It was a prosthetic leg! As the man continued splashing and calling out and sputtering, his friend turned to him in disgust and said, "How can I help you if you won't stick together?" (copied) God can only help the church to fulfill its design as each member functions effectively as a part of the body of Christ. I want us to look at five essentials of being an effective member in the body of Christ?
I. There must be a commitment to honor the Head of the Church
A. We must recognize that Jesus Christ is the head of the church.
1. Colossians 1:17-18 “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
2. As we look at the church in the New Testament we note that it had no earthly or mortal head, some person allegedly governing by the authority of Christ. Instead there was a total submission to Christ.
3. Ephesians 1:22-23 “He (God) put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
4. Six hundred years ago, almost to the day, on July 6, 1415, John Huss, a Bohemian monk, was taken to the cathedral in Prague, where he was paraded before the public, stripped and tied to a stake at which point his biographer says he prayed, "Lord Jesus, it is for You that I patiently endure this cruel death. Have mercy on my enemies." He was heard reciting the Psalms as the flames engulfed him. His executioners were so desirous of ridding the earth of every bit of this man that they actually scooped up his ashes and tossed them into a lake so that nothing of John Huss would ever remain. Why was he treated so contemptuously and burned at the stake? He simply had written a treatise in which he declared that the authority of the Bible is higher than the authority of the church and that Jesus Christ Himself is the head of His Church.” And for that they burned him at the stake. – copied
5. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and yet many people attending church don't seem either to know that or are not willing to accept that. We tend to put ourselves or other people on platforms and worship them as if we or they are God seeking to have our own ways. However, we need to remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of all.
B. We must recognize and submitted to Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior.
1. Romans 10:9-10 “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
2. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is necessarily a Christian. Many who profess to be Christians show little or no evidence of a true conversion. Their lives exhibit little or no fruit causing one to question whether they were ever genuinely saved.
3. Matthew 7:18-21 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
4. True believers will struggle with sin in one way or another until the day they die or Christ returns. But one cannot come to Christ for salvation without their becoming a new creation.
5. John MacArthur in his book, The Gospel According to Jesus, makes the point that biblically salvation is defined by what it produces… good works. True salvation wrought by God will not fail to produce fruit.
6. Christians are not saved by works, but as a believer you are to produce good works which demonstrate the authenticity of your faith
7. James 2:18, 26, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works… For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
8. As we submit ourselves to Christ’s lordship in our individual lives, He is exalted in the church.
II. There must be a commitment to follow the Leadership of the church
A. The church is on mission for God, and God has appointed leaders in the church to oversee the execution of that mission. Our pastoral leadership has been appointed by Christ to lead the church.
B. We are to Obey and Submit to their leadership.
C. Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
D. Anglican preacher, John Stott, wrote (Between Two Worlds [Eerdmans, 1982], p. 51), “Seldom if ever in its long history has the world witnessed such a self-conscious revolt against authority.” To prove Stott’s statement, I ask, when you hear the words, authority or submission, what comes to mind? Do you welcome them as pleasant words, or do you bristle and put up your guard? – copied Steven J. Cole
E. What does God mean when He says we are to obey and submit? To “obey” is to: listen to and comply with directions, instructions, and/or commands. To “submit” literally means to stop resisting and give up or yield, to cease from being combatants – it speaks of having a sweet spirit of cooperation, confidence and coalescence by which you are willing to join together with them trusting that the leaders have your best interests at heart, and so you go along with them
F. As we follow their direction we are imitate their example.
1. Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.”
2. 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ”
G. We are to show to respect and appreciate them holding them in high regard.
1. Philippians 2:29 “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem.”
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 “And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake…”
3. Honoring the pastor isn’t conditioned upon whether we like who he is or what he does. It isn’t based upon his personality, his vision for the church, his charisma, his charm, his philosophy of ministry, and so forth. Rather it is based upon his life in Christ, his godly character, and his work and position as one who is called and ordained to the office. – copied
III. There must be a commitment to serve the other members of the Church.
A. Romans 12:4-6 “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…”
B. Every Christian possesses a gift and is called to use it in service within the body to build up the body of Christ, to strengthen the body and to carry out its purpose within the world. Every member is also called to serve the church not only through his spiritual gifts but also through his or her natural talents and abilities.
C. Each of us has a function to perform or a job to do within the church. And when one of us does not fulfill his or her responsibility the church fails to hit on all its cylinders. Like a motor that is misfiring on one of its cylinders will backfire, jerk, stop suddenly and move forward only with difficulty, so the church fails to be operating as powerfully and effectively as possible when not firing on all its cylinders.
D. Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., the Executive Director of LifeWay Research, states that there are three reasons that people are not involved in church…
1. Some feel inadequate or useless. These individuals feel as if they do not have anything significant to offer in ministry. They may believe that they personally are not qualified to serve. (Our calling, to serve, is synchronous with our conversion. In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” HCSB “Based on the gift…”)
2. Some have been hurt by others through criticism or slight and are hesitant to get involved in service again. They don't realize everyone who has served in church for any period of time has been hurt by someone or something. Luke 17:1 “Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come…!” (Answer – Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works”)
3. Some people are just simply lazy. Laziness is a lifestyle for some, but is a temptation for all. But we need to realize that the Word of God says laziness is sin.
4. Laziness violates God’s purpose for us. We were redeemed to produce good works.
5. I think I shall never see
A Church that’s all it ought to be:
A Church whose members never stray
Beyond the Strait and Narrow Way:
A Church that has no empty pews,
Whose Pastor never has the blues,
A Church whose Deacons always deak,
And none is proud, and all are meek:
Where gossips never peddle lies,
Or make complaints or criticize;
Where all are always sweet and kind,
And all to other’s faults are blind.
Such perfect Churches there may be,
But none of them are known to me.
But still, we’ll work, and pray and plan,
To make our own the best we can. - —Selected
IV. There must be a commitment to support the ministry of the Church.
A. Support the ministry with your attendance.
1. Research conducted in 2004 revealed from actual counts of people in “Orthodox Christian” churches (Catholic, mainline and evangelical) that only 17.7% of Americans attended a “Christian church” on any given weekend. This is alarming statistic when you consider that the number includes many churches which do not preach or even believe the Word of God and that 48% of those church-goers attend an average of only once a month.
2. The New Testament pattern of church life was that families of believers were to come together on the first day of the week to worship as the family of God and serve the Lord and others throughout the rest of the week.
3. Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
4. The habit of attending upon the house of God should be so firmly established by every Christian that he would be sorely uncomfortable if compelled to be absent. – Dr. Thomas Murphy (1823 – 1900)
5. The church is a hospital for the sick. It is not a social gathering, or a club. It is a family of true, covenanted believers who come together to worship the Almighty God because of who He is, and that He has saved them in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The goal of the Christian life is to reflect back to God the image of Christ in us. And church is the place where the body of Christ reflects back to Christ His glory. Their heart’s desire is to glorify Christ, to learn more about Christ, and then glorify Christ all the more. It is an endless cycle because worship is an end in and of itself. It is why we go. It should be because we desire to glorify Christ. – Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
B. Support the ministry with your giving
1. The church has no other means of support than that which is furnished by its members.
2. Deuteronomy 16:17 “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God, which He has given you.” (The EXB words it, “Each of you must bring a gift that will show how much the LORD your God has blessed you.”
3. 2 Corinthians 9:5-9 (ESV) “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
V. There must be a commitment to share the message of the Church.
A. Matthew 28:18-20 “Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
B. The mission of the church to evangelize is not to be done within the four walls but out in the highways and bi-ways of life.
C. It has been said that we have focused too much on preaching the gospel behind the closed doors of churches. The four walls of a church are among the most evangelized real estate in America.
D. If we look at the early church, they gathered together to become equipped to go out and proclaim the good news of the Gospel making disciples of others and teaching those disciples to replicate that activity of making disciples.
E. We must carry the message wherever the lost are; whether in the church or outside the church, to every creature who does not know Christ. We must be committed to sharing the message of Christ.
F. The late Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopalian bishop, summed up the situation this way: "In the Great Commission the Lord has called us to be--like Peter--fishers of men. We've turned the commission around so that we have become merely keepers of the aquarium. Occasionally I take some fish out of your fishbowl and put them into mine, and you do the same with my bowl. But we're all tending the same fish."
An effective member of the Body of Christ is:
• Committed to honor the Head of the Church
• Committed to follow the leadership of the Church
• Committed to serve the other members of the Church
• Committed to support the ministry of the Church
• Committed to share the message of the Church
Disclaimer: I make no claims of absolute originality are made for this outline. I like what one man said, "I milk a lot of cows, but I churn my own butter." Please use this material contextually as the Lord leads.
