- I am the vine; you are the branches.
- If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;
- apart from me you can do nothing.
- ......
The Body Of Christ - The Church - Part 2
1. We, the church, are the body of Christ, and each of us is an essential part of it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
2. The body of Christ (us) learns things from Jesus so that we can have peace in Him. Jesus also tells us that we will have trouble in the world, but not to worry because He has overcome the world!
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
3. It should be comforting to know that if you should sin in the body of Christ, the blood that Jesus sacrificed for you will atone for your sin.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
4. It is also essential to know that some are involved in leadership, staff, and worker positions in the body of Christ that do not belong to it. Those are the ones who either willingly leave eventually, get thrown out, or continue serving in the body of Christ but with evil intentions.
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
5. Those who are in the Body of Christ produce fruit – fruit that will last, which is the fruit of the Spirit. So when the Spirit of God works in you through Jesus, you have the fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
6. In the Body of Christ, we are given gifts by the Spirit and skills to serve Jesus, all for God’s glory, who does His work in all the gifts and services provided to us.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7. God helps us do our work through His Word, which is given to us.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.