For the Common Good

John Farley
Pastor Teacher
Sunday,
May 12, 2024

For the Common Good.

EPH 4:1-6

This one body is the church.

EPH 1:22-23

What does Paul mean by referring to the church as “one body”?

He starts with something that we are all familiar with - the human body.

Then he applies that truth to the church.

Paul gives his fullest treatment of this analogy of the body in 1 Corinthians 12.

1CO 12:1

Chapters 12-14 are about one subject: spiritual gifts.

1CO 12:4-7

Each of us receives a manifestation of the Spirit - better known as a spiritual gift.

Here the unity is expressed by the word “same”.

Paul uses the analogy of the body to support his teaching on spiritual gifts.

1Co12:12-13

The human body is one organism.

Yet my human body has many members.

The body is not a bunch of unrelated parts.

Now Paul uses this analogy to explain the body of Christ - a spiritual body.

There one body of Christ.
There is only one.

Every believer since the ascension is a member of the one body of Christ.

We are all indwelt by the one Spirit.

We all share one inheritance.
We have one hope -

- the resurrection of our bodies to eternal life at the Lord’s appearing in glory.

We all have one Lord.

We all share one faith: the message of the gospel.

We share one baptism: the baptism by the Spirit into Christ.

We have the same Father.

GAL 3:26-28

1CO 12:13

The Holy Spirit baptizes each believer into Christ permanently.

“baptized into Christ” means to be placed into Christ and identified with Christ.