FOR THE GOOD OF THE BODY
- Christ sacrificed himself
- Christ rules over all things
We live in a country at a time when the health of one’s body is big business. There are diets of every shape and size. There is a surge in organic foods and an almost frenzied stress on meals low in calories, low in salt, low in sugar, low in trans fat. There are exercise videos you can do on your own, exercise classes you can take with others, and workout schedules that are tailor-made to fit your specific needs in your unique life-style. Entire companies are dedicated to health supplements apart from food and medicine, there are magazines that thrive on this one topic, and almost any bookstore has a separate section on “health and well-being.” If something is advertised as “good for the body,” it will sell. And that’s a good thing! It is a Christian endeavor to take care of your body as well as you can. After all, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” Scripture says. “Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19,20). And so it is natural for us to take care of our own bodies. It is normal to want to feel healthy and to look healthy at least to some extent. Because our bodies are precious gifts from the Lord and they are one of the most important gifts he has given us.
Scripture itself focuses in on the importance of the body as well, but in a spiritual sense. Many times in the Bible, the relationship between Christ and his people is compared to a head and its body. This is the picture that the apostle Paul gives us today at the end of Ephesians chapter one. And it is also the picture that gives us great comfort as we celebrate the ascension of our Lord into heaven. Listen to Paul’s words about our Savior and what his ascension means to us - the body of Christ. “God raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body.” Christ died. Christ rose. Christ ascended into heaven. And he now sits on his heavenly throne ruling all people and all things for one reason and one reason alone: for the good of his body - the Church. And this Church is not one particular organization or one specific denomination. The Church with a capital “C” refers to all those who believe that Jesus is their Savior. A Church whose membership is only known to the Lord because only the Lord can look at the heart and see if someone truly does believe in him. But those who do believe in Jesus as their Savior are honorary members of this exclusive group without doing anything to get in. And Christ cares for them. Christ looks after them. Christ treats them as if they were members of his own body and he were the Head.
And this special kind of love that Christ shows his people is evident by just scanning through the pages of Scripture. Everything that is recorded in the Bible about Christ’s work indicates that whatever Christ did was always for the good of his body. Every action he took, every word he spoke, every desire and want and longing that entered his mind was carried out for your benefit and for the benefit of everyone who believes in him. Christ did nothing for himself. He did everything for his body.
Think of what he went through in this world. Jesus, our Almighty Lord, certainly did not hide his divine majesty in human skin and flesh and bones for his own benefit! He certainly didn’t decide to be born in a sinful world to an unmarried girl for the fun of it! Jesus’ life wasn’t pleasant at all! Immediately after he was born, King Herod tried to murder him by ordering all of the boys two years old and younger to be killed. And it really didn’t get any better for Jesus from there on out! He was thrown out of multiple towns, he was constantly threatened by the Jewish leaders, and his life was continually in danger from both Jews and Gentiles. Some of his own brothers and sisters didn’t believe in him, his own disciples doubted who he was and what he said at times, and one of those disciples, of course, became the traitor who sent him to his death. Jesus had no money, he had no home, and he had no one to stand up for him as he suffered alone. This was not a good life! This is not the life I would have chosen if I were God and could do whatever I wanted! But Jesus wasn’t living for himself. He didn’t die for himself. He didn’t rise or ascend into heaven for himself. Everything Christ did he did for the good of his body. Everything he did he did for you.
Doesn’t that make you fell a little guilty? Usually, when someone is extra nice to me, when someone keeps on doing good things for me without my asking and above and beyond the normal things people do, I start to feel a little bit guilty. Especially when I don’t deserve it! Especially when I’ve done nothing to receive that treatment and I have done nothing in return! “Why is this person being so nice to me?” I think. “Why are they treating me like I’m something special? Why don’t I have the same zeal and Christian love to do these things for others?” I’m obviously grateful for their generosity and kindness, but I feel guilty at the same time.
And so I feel a little bit guilty when I read how much the Lord has done for me, how much he has showered me with blessings and how he promises that he will never stop. Especially because I don’t deserve it. Especially because I’ve done nothing to receive it and because I have really done nothing in return. In fact, instead of doing something for the love he has shown to me, I usually do just the opposite. Christ has made me a member of his own body. And as the Head of this body he has done everything for my good. But I know, I know I don’t treat him in the same way! I don’t do everything in my life for the good of the Head! Many of the actions that I undertake, many of the words that I speak, and most of the thoughts that come to my mind are not for the benefit of the Head, but only for the benefit of myself. I think only about me all the time! I do things only for me all the time without any regard for what the Head of body might want, without ever consulting the one who knows it all and controls it all and preserves it all. I am really not a very useful part of his body most days. I do my own thing. I chase after my own inclinations. I don’t pay attention to the needs of the other members of the body. And I definitely do not pay attention to the will of the Head - because I have my own problems and my own difficulties to deal with...
Many people have all four wisdom teeth taken out because there is no room in their mouth and they don’t need them anyway. When a person’s tonsils get infected, they are simply removed from the body. An inflamed appendix is often times surgically removed as well because doctors cannot yet find what function it serves if they would keep it in. Many of you have had knee or hip or shoulder replacements because those parts of your body no longer worked like they were supposed to. In extreme cases, when a limb is infected to such a degree that gangrene sets in, the entire appendage is cut off and the person learns to live without it. In this sin-infected world, it is not uncommon for a part of the body to be completely removed if it begins to harm the rest of the body, if it is not needed, if it ceases to function like it should, or if it poses a threat to the person’s life.
We should be cut off. We should be permanently removed from the body of Christ for the way we act and who we are. Because we sometimes cause harm to the other members of the body, we sometimes fail to use our talents for the good of the body, we sometimes cease to function because of laziness and selfishness, and sometimes we even blatantly go against the Head because we have our own agenda to carry out. We should be cut off! And the thing is: Christ could get along just fine without us! He could cut us off and his body would still function. He would manage to do everything he wanted to whether we were there or not.
So why are we still here? Why hasn’t the Lord cut us off and moved on? He hasn’t removed us from his body because he is the Head and he doesn’t want anything to happen to any one of his members. He doesn’t want to get along without us. He doesn’t want to see us separated from the other parts of the body. He wants to take care of us. He wants to mend us. He wants to nurture us. He wants to feed us. He wants to forgive us. And so he does. He forgives us for everything we’ve ever done against him because as a member of his body, you are not something he takes lightly! As a member of his body, he does not consider you as some expendable part that can either be kept or thrown away without a second thought. You are precious to him! So precious, in fact, that Christ sacrificed his own physical body so that you could be part of his spiritual body. You are now a significant part of him because he has made you to be! And he will do whatever it takes to make sure you stay connected to him - the Head.
That is what he is doing right now. That is what his ascension is all about. As he sits on his throne, over all rulers and authorities, above all powers and kings, and with everything lying under his feet, he is ruling all things just for you. Everything that you observe in this life is being worked out just for you. And so that means: as a member of his body you may be attacked, but he will not let you be touched beyond what you can bear. As a member of his body you may suffer pain and persecution, but only if he will turn it out for your good. As a member of his body you will have to put up with the sinful actions and the sinful attitudes of those that do not belong to the body of Christ, but he will make sure you will receive the glories of heaven in the end. Your Head, the Lord himself, sits on the throne. And from there he can see it all, he can plan for it all, he can deal with it all. And he will make sure that we, the members of his body, are always protected and comforted and guided and guarded and loved in every way. The health of his body is Christ’s number one priority. And since you are an integral part of that body, you are his number one priority.
And realize that if the Head of the body sits on the throne, if the Head of the body rose from the dead and then ascended into heaven, the body itself cannot be far behind. The two cannot be separated. The two cannot have anything come in between them. And so neither Satan nor death nor sin nor anything else in this world will be able to keep you from joining your Lord in Paradise. Understand what a great privilege it is to be a member of Christ’s body. And understand that your acceptance into this union is not based on your performance or your dedication or your usefulness. It is based on God’s love and his forgiveness. Live as joyful and thankful members of the body of Christ, doing everything you’ve been given to do to his glory. And know that because the Lord is glorified, because the Head is crowned, his body will be honored.
Amen.
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.” - Rev. 12:10
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