Sermons

In the Name of Christ, Dear Christian Friends, The story is told of a ten year old little leaguer who as spring training drew to a close was given his baseball uniform. The coach said that he would be the starting pitcher for the first game. The lad was so excited. He was so proud. He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t wait any longer. He went out to the field on Sunday afternoon, though the game wasn’t until Monday evening. With his glove and his ball he stood on the pitcher’s mound all by himself. There wasn’t another soul in sight. And as you would imagine his enthusiasm started to fade, his excitement dwindled and with chin to chest he walked off the field. He couldn’t play ball by himself. He couldn’t play ball without a team. This illustration pictures the truth of God’s Word to the Corinthians and his message to each believer here today. We are all members of Christ’s Church on earth and we all possess different spiritual gifts, but we can’t “play ball” alone. That is to say, we are united, we stand together, we are one in Christ. God in the words of our text illustrates this unity in two ways; one by teaching us that we are 1) baptized by one Spirit and secondly, by teaching us that we are all 2) part of one body. The Corinthians had been blessed by the Lord with many spiritual gifts. Sadly they did not always use their gifts to glorify God. They had allowed their gifts to be a cause for division. Paul urged them not to boastfully compare their gifts against each other, but to realize that all of these gifts were gifts from their gracious God and Father. God’s message to us today is still the same, we are one in Christ. Paul describes such unity in our text when he writes: WE WERE ALL BAPTIZED BY ONE SPIRIT INTO ONE BODY. At our baptism we were baptized in the name of the triune God. Were you baptized as an adult? Or were you still an infant? Have you ever wondered why it is we place such an emphasis on baptism? And why does Paul mention it here? I thought he was talking about Spiritual gifts and their use in a Christian congregation? Paul is reminding the Corinthians and us that everyone is equally sinful and equally in need of forgiveness. Children need that forgiveness as much as adults do. The Holy Spirit tells us through King David that we are all sinful. We were sinful even before we were born. Psalm 51 says, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me"(Ps 51:5). We stress baptism and specifically infant baptism, because it is there that we receive forgiveness of sins. Through the water and the Word, the Holy Spirit washed us and made us Holy and Pure. In our baptism, we put on Christ. His righteousness became our own. Through baptism we were cleansed from ALL our sins. Since that time the Holy Spirit has been dwelling in our heart, continuing to strengthen us and making us more and more as God wants his children to be. Regardless of whether we were baptized as children or as adults, we were all Baptized by One Spirit. St. Paul continues in verse 13, WHETHER JEWS OR GREEKS, SLAVE OR FREE — AND WE WERE ALL GIVEN THE ONE SPIRIT TO DRINK. The word that Paul uses here, which is translated "to drink," carries with it the picture of irrigation. This word is also used in 1 Cor 3:6-8 where Apollos is spoken of as watering the congregation. What is it that Apollos watered the congregation in Corinth with? The Spirit of God in Word and Sacrament. If it had not been for God’s Word in the waters of baptism, we would have withered and died like plants in the desert. Indeed we were dead. When we realize how important Baptism is for our Spiritual lives, we can understand why Paul would mention baptism here in a section about Spiritual gifts and congregational service. Had we not been baptized we would have no need to speak of spiritual gifts or service. We were unified in our rebellion against God, but no longer. Now we are unified in our baptism. God baptized us in One Spirit, and he arranged us as part of One Body. Here at Faith we have many beautiful stained glass windows. On the north side we have pictured the Lord’s Supper; one the west side we have pictured the waters of Baptism along with the Word of God. Look at one of them. They are just beautiful. Imagine the artist who made these windows as he sat carefully cutting and shaping each piece of glass. Individually each piece of glass had a element of beauty. But their individual beauty pales in comparison to the radiant beauty of the entire window when all the pieces of glass come together. The artist masterfully put them together for a reason. Our stained glass windows are a good illustration of what God has done with us. In out text Paul writes, "GOD HAS ARRANGED THE PARTS IN THE BODY, EVERY ONE OF THEM, JUST AS HE WANTED THEM TO BE." God has placed us in his kingdom, in his church right where he wants us to be. He did it through baptism. He placed us exactly where we should be and he gave us exactly the right gifts. Concerning the unity that baptism brings to believers, Paul wrote to the Ephesians "From him (that is from the Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (4:16). That’s the way things should be. From the way Paul writes in verses 15 to 17, we can see that the Corinthians weren’t living as God wanted. Paul wrote, "IF THE FOOT SHOULD SAY, ‘BECAUSE I AM NOT A HAND, I DO NOT BELONG TO THE BODY,’ IT WOULD NOT FOR THAT REASON CEASE TO BE PART OF THE BODY. AND IF THE EAR SHOULD SAY, ‘BECAUSE I AM NOT AN EYE, I DO NOT BELONG TO THE BODY,’ IT WOULD NOT FOR THAT REASON CEASE TO BE PART OF THE BODY. IF THE WHOLE BODY WERE AN EYE, WHERE WOULD THE SENSE OF HEARING BE? IF THE WHOLE BODY WERE AN EAR, WHERE WOULD THE SENSE OF SMELL BE?" Paul wrote this because they were starting to base their status on their gifts. Some became sinfully prideful, while others were tempted to covet gifts they had not been given. As Christians who believe that we have been justified because of God’s grace and not because of our own deeds, one would think humility would come naturally. And indeed it often follows, but the devil is crafty. He tempts us to take pride in our humility. "How absurd!" you say, " to take pride in one’s humility?" But do we often do just that? Or if we’re not vulnerable there, the devil comes at us from a different angle. If he can’t get us to be prideful, he’ll try to get us to covet "better" gifts than those we’ve been given. Perhaps this is too abstract. Let’s get closer to home. Have you done that this week? Did you sinfully covet the talents or abilities of one of your coworkers or classmates? Or did you have thoughts of disdain for them because they aren’t as talented as you are. Who are we to put ourselves in God’s place and presume to know what gifts we should have, and what gifts someone else shouldn’t. Imagine one of those pieces of stained glass telling the artisan that he got it wrong. "You put me in the wrong place! And I should be more rounded here. This corner just isn’t right." When we tell God that with our thoughts and actions we slap him in the face. Such sins are even more foolish in light of verse 18, "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." These sins damn us to hell. And then God stepped in. He washed ours sins away in the waters of Baptism! Paul says in chapter 6 of this letter, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (6:11). You were sanctified and justified at your baptism, and you still are. Paul also wrote to Titus, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (3:4-7). Jesus has washed us clean from ALL our sins, and he has made us members of His Body. Verse 27 of our text says, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." What do members of the body of Christ do? Members of Christ’s body do everything that serves and glorifies Him. When we focus on serving Christ, everything else falls into place. Focusing on Christ we fulfill the roles assigned us. Focusing on Christ we can work together to serve Him. Not only will we be working as one to praise and glorify God, we will be presenting a unified front to unbelievers, proclaiming Christ. Like a beautiful stained glass window whose many parts attest to the one that made them, we will show them Christ, our Savior and our head. We are one in Christ: Baptized by one Spirit, and arranged as part of one Body.