Know who you are

By R. van Leerdam

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:14-16

How good and pleasant it is
 when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head,
    running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
    down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
    were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
    even life forevermore. Psalm 133

Question: How does the Lord’s supper signify and seal to you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?

In this way:

Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup in remembrance of him. With this command he gave these promises:

First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely was his body offered for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross.

Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and the cup of the Lord as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely does he himself nourish and refresh my soul to everlasting life with his crucified body and shed blood.

Question: What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his shed blood?

Answer: First, to accept with a believing heart all the suffering and the death of Christ, and so receive forgiveness of sins and life eternal.

Second, to be united more and more to his sacred body through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us. Therefore, although Christ is in heaven and we are on earth, yet we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones, and we forever live and are governed by one Spirit, as the members of our body are by one soul.

Question: Where has Christ promised that he will nourish and refresh believers with his body and blood as surely as they eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup?

Answer: In the institution of the Lord’s supper: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. This promise is repeated by Paul where he says: Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Lords day 28

Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,

One of the key marks of the Reformation was returning to the Bible as the sole guide for the Christian life – Sola Scriptura.
You would agree with me when I quote the text,
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my path and a guide for my feet.”

I do not know of any place in Scripture where it says that anything else other than the Word of God with the illumination of the Holy Spirit is to be our guide for life and faith, or for the way the Church is to look like and the model God’s people are to follow. Our text this morning tells us of God’s design for the Church. It is if you like – that here we find what the DNA of his people ought to look like and when the DNA is right there are certain outcomes – then the body functions in the healthy way that God has designed. The church is made up of many members – just like the body is made up of many members – each member looks different and has a different function within the body.
Yet with any body there is a basic unity.
Consider the basic unity of the body of Christ.
1.There is ONE BODY! This is the first of the 7 times Paul uses the word ONE so we might understand the basic organic unity that God has made us to be as His people. Since He has made us one – to deny or destroy that unity is to our own peril and detriment. Remember Psalm 133 …
Disunity results in forfeit and in suffering loss of blessing.

Instead of experiencing the Koinonia God intends for us; we feel alienated and frustrated. This then often leads to people ending up being hurt. There are too many people who have been hurt by people in the church and have given up on being connected to the body of Christ. Perhaps you have been hurt too. How can this be avoided and indeed overcome? Only as God’s people and the church as one body follows the only guide for life and faith – the Bible.

And One Spirit Baptism in the Name of the Holy Spirit assures us that He the giver of faith and new life. The Holy Spirit lives within us and changes us by His power from day to day until at last we will be presented before God perfect – in the splendor of life eternal.

One hope to which you were called.
Our hope is in God alone.
We believe that God is faithful and will keep all He has promised in Christ Jesus.
Not only heaven but God is now working towards the day when we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

One Lord, It was Jesus Christ who has given some to be Apostles,
some to be Prophets, some to be Evangelists, and some to be Pastors & Teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service.

Nowhere do I find in Scripture examples of any people who were self appointed to positions of leadership or any other roles within the Church. If Christ was not physically present, it was the leadership of the church who appointed people.
They did so in the Name of the Lord.
As Paul says in Timothy 3:1,
“If anyone sets his heart on being an Elder, he desires a noble task.” – following are the qualifications or DNA the leadership of the church should be looking for.

One Faith, There is one doctrine of teaching – as I said earlier, one of the key marks of the Reformation was returning to the Bible as the sole guide for the Christian life.
Another of the catch cries of the Reformation was:
“Reformed and always reforming.”
What was meant by that? The Church should be continually examining herself to see that she is adhering to the only guide for life & faith – the Word of God. It saddens me greatly to hear people who were members of the Reformed Church saying, “I am no longer Reformed.” It causes me to ask the question, “Do they really understand what it means to be Reformed?” Indeed if anyone has a question about whether a doctrine or practice in the Christian Reformed church is Biblical, they have the obligation to bring this to the proper authority within the church. This follows the model of the Church Council in Jerusalem when they met to consider the issue of non-Jews becoming Christians. I find it difficult to handle the model where there is a single senior pastor who is not accountable to anyone else for their doctrine & life. Indeed The Apostles appointed ‘Elders’ not an Elder to form the leadership of the Church. We should also note that a healthy church is one made up of members who are faithful to the faith God has given – a faith that is grounded in Scripture.

One Baptism, Baptism into the Name of the Father assures us that He adopts us as His children and surrounds us with His love and care.
Baptism into the Name of the Son assures us that through His death and resurrection we are set free from the condemnation of sin and are made right with God by faith in Him alone. One God and Father of all; who is over all; and through all; and in all. What a powerful message to make sure our children learn. Everyone of us need to know that we are loved and that we are significant – “I count!” I am precious to another person. Every child needs to know that their parents love them! The Apostle Paul encourages us to do this when he says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Pauls plea is that we as Christians live a life worthy of our calling – based on who God has made us. We will not be perfect members of the body this side of heaven. There will be – Times of failure which could make us despair or give up on God or ourselves. But God is faithful. He has given His Spirit to guide and lead us by His Word the Bible. He has made us a part of the Christian community the church that we may find encouragement, strength to go on, picking up the pieces. The church that is, the other members of Gods family are given by God to help in the whole process of becoming more and more what we are in Christ!

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Only when there is a personal relationship with the true living God is the God-shaped vacuum that is in every human heart filled. Only then do we find peace – it is well with my soul! We need to teach our children to watch out for the schemes of Satan. All the things Satan puts in our way are imitations designed to take the place that belongs to God.

Too often people seek to quench this thirst for significance and love with water from the mud-pools of their own making. Jesus is the water of life!

What are the messages you are going to give your children and to the other members of the body?

“Is it: You do not belong? You do not count? You are not important or good enough?” Let us know who we are in Christ! We are a new creation, therefore we put to death the deeds that belong to the old nature and are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Act accordingly! We are teaching our children all the time – often without realising it. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to live a life worthy of your calling.

your calling to be the children of God.

your calling to be Christian parents.

Your calling to be Christian brothers and sisters.

Your calling to be a Christian carpet cleaner, domestic engineer, brick-layer, employee in what-ever field God has called you.
We are to be active using our God given gifts and talents.
Sin divides, separates, and splinters.
We have been redeemed.

We have peace with God through Christ. The Proverb I read today was, “Fear God, shun evil.” Therefore we have been called to live in peace with one another. In humility we are called to exhort, correct, and encourage each other to be what we are in Christ.

Amen