Address—C.D. Andersen
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Shall return to 1St Corinthians chapter 6.
First Corinthians, chapter 6.
And verse 15.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?
Shall I then take the members of Christ?
And make them the members of an harlot. God forbid or far be the thought.
What know ye not that we, he which is joined to an harlot, is one body?
For two says he shall be one flesh.
But he that is joined unto the Lord is 1 spirit.
Flee fornication.
Every sin that a man doeth.
Is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you're not your own?
For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.
Which is God's.
Nor ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ.
Dear young people.
If you have confessed the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you know you have eternal life.
You also have the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart.
Because we read in Ephesians chapter one and verse 13.
Having believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
Having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in your heart, and by that Holy Spirit you have been joined to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's why it can be said that you are a member of Christ.
A member of the body of Christ. You belong to the Lord Jesus Christ in a special way.
Abraham couldn't say anything like this, that he was joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. It couldn't be said of David that he was one spirit with the Lord. No, But in this period of time in which we're living, the church age, the age of grace.
The time when the Gospel of the Glory is being preached.
This is the time that we have this wonderful experience.
Are being joined to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit came down on the Day of Pentecost to join believers to the Lord Jesus Christ who had gone to glory.
And so they were on that day, on the day of Pentecost, made members of the body of Christ.
You have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are likewise a member of the body of Christ. Yes, you're a child of God. That's true, Part of the family of God. You know God is your father, but you're also a member of the body of Christ.
This is something special for this period of time in which we're living, which is called the dispensation of the grace of God.
A dispensation is a time in which something special is ministered to us by God.
A time in which God deals with people on the earth in a special way, and we're living in a dispensation in which God has dealt with us and still is dealing with us in a special way.
In such a way that we're special to God, we're special to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Were members of the body of Christ? Were part of the Church of God?
And the church today.
Has a special care of God.
And God has a desire that His Church might be, according to his mind, here in this world, as a testimony.
Oh yes, it's a difficult time. It's not easy to live for God. I know that. And you young people are experiencing this, that it's not easy to live for God.
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Not easy for older folks to live for God either.
Because there is an enemy going about.
Our adversary, the devil, goes about as a roaring lion, Peter tells us, seeking whom he may devour.
Their enemies about.
To work havoc in the church, to bring in ruin. And what a ruin the church is in today.
And I feel.
That it's greatly due to the fact that little is known about our membership in the body of Christ.
There is only one membership.
The membership of the Body of Christ.
Our brother this morning, as he gave thanks for the loaf, he made mention of this, Speaking of the loaf as representing the one body.
Now we know that the loaf as it is broken, speaks of the Lord's body given in death.
But as it's sitting there whole on the table, it speaks of the one body of which all believers in the present time, sealed by the Spirit of God, are members, members of one body.
And it's not just those who were here this morning, as was intimated, who are members of that body.
All believers, all saved ones in this whole world, sealed by the Spirit of God or members of that one body.
And so it is like it says in Ephesians chapter 4, there is one body there.
There is one body you notice the tense of that verb is.
It's continuous. There is one body.
It began on the day of Pentecost.
And from that time until now, it could be said there is one body. And until the Lord comes to take us home, there is one body.
One body. There have never been two bodies. There have never been three bodies. There have never been many bodies. There is one body.
Now we have some solemn words in this scripture that we read.
Since we're members of the body of Christ, the question is asked, shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
What a solemn thing it is.
Person to take liberties with this body that has been given to us and which has been joined to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not simply through faith, but by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Body joined to Christ.
How dare we take this body then, and do with it as we please?
Because we read in verse 17, he that is joined unto the Lord is 1 Spirit Lord. Why didn't it say Christ? Why didn't it say Jesus?
The Lordship of Jesus is being brought in here in this connection.
He that is joined unto the Lord.
You have been joined unto the Lord by the Spirit of God.
You're joined to Him as Lord.
You are to own him as law.
Do we? Oh, this is our problem, isn't it? This is where difficulties come in. If the if the Lord as Lord had sway over us, there would be a lot of things we wouldn't do.
So I believe that what is needed for us is just to submit to him as Lord, bow to him as Lord, own Him as Lord own, that He has a right to us, right to have dominion over us, because that's what the word Lord intimates, dominion.
Do we give dominion to the Lord over ourselves?
Do we have the idea that we can do with our bodies what we please?
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Do we want dominion over our bodies, or do we want the Lord to have dominion over them?
Well, look what it says here.
Verse 19.
Know ye not?
Nor ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God.
And you're not your own.
This body, which belongs to the Lord, is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
And the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
It doesn't make any difference where you go where you are.
What you do, or when it may be the Holy Spirit dwells in this body.
And wherever you go, the Holy Spirit goes, and whatever you do, the Holy Spirit is there.
And sometimes, and oftentimes to our shame, we do those things that grieve the Holy Spirit.
And then we're in trouble. Then we have to go through exercises of soul.
To be brought to confession, to own the wrong, that we might be cleansed from defilement.
The defilement of that thing that we have allowed to grieve the Spirit of God.
That we might be restored to sweet fellowship and communion with the law.
That we might get back to that condition of our soul where we have a sense that He is our Lord and we want to please Him.
Do we really want to please the Lord, or do we want to please ourselves?
In the book of Romans we read much about yielding, yielding, yielding, surrendering.
Surrendering to God, Surrendering to the Lord Jesus Christ.
There was a time when we surrendered to sin.
Now that we're the Lord's.
We are exhorted to surrender to Him.
And you know when it speaks of yielding or surrendering, it doesn't mean just halfway. You know what happens when two armies are at war?
And the one is defeated and the other is the victor.
The victorious army, the victorious general, he's not satisfied with anything but complete surrender.
And that's what is meant by raising up the white flag. Complete surrender.
Have we completely surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ? Is he worthy of it? Of course He is. He's worthy of complete surrender. He's the victor over all of our enemies, and we need to just surrender to Him.
Hoist up the flag.
Make it known to him.
That we surrender to Him.
Now it speaks in verse 20 of a price that's been paid for us.
For ye are bought with a price. Oh, what is that price? The precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that we've been hearing about.
Not Christ. That's been paid for us. Who could think of a greater price than that?
Who could think of anymore?
Anything more precious than the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Can you?
No, but that's what is That's the price that's been paid for us. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ paid to have us for himself.
And we belong to Him in a special way, So he says, Therefore glorify God in your body. Glorify God in your body.
I know we have problems. We have lust. The lusts of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. All of these things are moving in our bodies.
But we are exhorted to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I believe if we have the Lord Jesus Christ before us, and if we yield to the Lord Jesus Christ and own him as our Lord.
We can thank God for the victory which He gives through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank God for the victory that He gives through the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is not victory in anyone else but in him.
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We battle along, we try to get the victory over this and over that, but there's no victory but in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just confide in him. Just trust in him. Just yield to him.
Ominous Lord.
When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, really that's what we do. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus or Jesus as Lord.
And believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. It's part of the confession as laid out by the apostle Paul to those at Rome in the letter he wrote to them. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, Jesus as Lord. And believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. There's Jesus and Lord linked together, Jesus Savior.
And the Lord as one having dominion over us, we confess both when we really confess the Lord Jesus.
We forget that I'm afraid, very often what we have really confessed.
Don't let's forget that. Let's not forget that we have confessed Jesus as Lord, the Lord Jesus. He's both Savior and he's Lord. Isn't it wonderful to have such a one?
That God has provided for us, the Lord Jesus Christ, the older I get.
The more I feel that I can't get along without him.
Perhaps some might think, well, you're up in years now and you don't understand us.
You don't have the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
You don't get beyond that. Oh no, you don't get beyond that. It's still there.
But the secret of victory is Christ.
Keeping our eye upon Him, looking after Jesus, the author and finisher of faith.
You look at the Lord Jesus. He started the pathway down here in faith, doing always those things that please the Father. He finished the pathway in faith, in total dependence upon God. All through his lifetime. He was dependent upon God, his Father.
And dear young people, that's what we need. The Lord Jesus Christ before us.
The author or the beginner and completer of faith?
A walk of faith. A life of faith. Look at him.
Keep your eye upon him.
As our brother Wakefield used to say.
Look up make much of Christ.
Oh, that's what we need to make much of Christ, make much of him.
Now I'd like to turn over to chapter 12.
Of First Corinthians.
And dwell a little bit upon.
The principal thought that.
Is before us membership in the body of Christ.
Now this is not membership in some denominational organization.
I know something about that.
And we don't find it in the word of God.
In verse 12 it says For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many or one body.
So also is Christ.
Christ, the Christ, that's the mystical body.
That's the body of Christ, the Church.
The first part of the verse speaks of the human body.
For as the body is one, that is the human body.
And as many members, and all the members of that one body being many or one body, so also is.
The Christ.
This morning, our brother Reeves.
Brought a suitcase to the children's meeting.
And he used it as an illustration.
But it was empty, that suitcase, and you couldn't go very far with a suitcase like that. If you came to the end of the road to your destination, you didn't have anything in the suitcase.
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You'd be embarrassed, you wouldn't know what to do.
If you don't have the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart when you come to the end of the road.
How sad.
Well, he used a suitcase as an illustration. Now the Apostle Paul is using something here as an illustration.
Brother Reeves had to bring that suitcase as an illustration. But everyone of us sitting here in this room.
Has an illustration of what the Apostle Paul is talking about here.
The Apostle Paul is talking about the body of Christ, the Church.
And the human body he's using as an illustration of that.
Everyone has an example of it, an illustration of it.
I don't know why the Apostle Paul was led to write this, but I'm sure God was behind it.
He was inspired by the Spirit of God to write it, and it has been written for our learning, for edification, for our help.
Peter says that the things that were written aforetime were written for our learning. Well, Paul says that in Romans.
But Peter says holy men of old spacers, they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Why was all of this written? Why is this book written?
Because God sees that we need it. We need to learn something. We need edification. We need instruction. We need help.
And I believe we need help in this day.
To learn a little more about the body of Christ, what it really is, and our responsibilities in connection with.
Being members of the body of Christ.
So he says, for as the body is one, the human body is one, when you think about your body.
Do you think of it as in different pieces or sections?
No, you think of it as one unit, as one piece, as one body altogether in one body.
That's the way we think of it, isn't it?
When you think about, well, I have a body, you don't think about the hand by itself or this hand by itself. You know it's there, yes, but you think of it as one.
So the Apostle Paul says the body is one. He's telling us that the body of Christ IS11 body.
Now it's a strange thing.
But it shows how far we go astray and how we need to be taught by the Lord. But it's a strange thing that just seemed that God had to take me way back over into the middle of Africa to what was then known as the Belgian Congo.
To teach me these things because where I was brought up.
And where I received training.
I did not have these things impressed upon me.
I was translating the Scriptures into the native language of those in the Belgian Congress, the tribe in which we were. God, by his Spirit impressed me with these things, and he showed me these things, and he's still showing me things from his word about this truth.
We never get through learning.
Thank God for that, but the very fact that I could be over there isolated in a tribe.
My wife and I, the two of us by ourselves translating scriptures into the native language.
Shows that this truth is here in God's Word.
Perhaps you hear some things in your assembly at home and you wonder, well, where did that brother get that?
Or where did he get that other thing?
It's right here in the Word of God, that's where it is.
And if you haven't seen it for yourself, it's well for you for you to get to digging, to meditating, looking at the Word of God because it's there. And as you read this portion of scripture, you'll find out it's very, very simple, really.
It's appalling to think how we miss so much of what God has for us in his Word. It's here, it's in his book.
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And so I would encourage you, dear young people, to read the Word, to meditate upon it, not just to get your head filled up with biblical facts. Sometimes that can lead people astray. They get it in an intellectual way, but you need to get it into your intellect. But further than that, you need to get it down into your soul.
And then get it down into your feet to walk in it.
Well, how was this one body formed? It tells us right here in verse 13. For by 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into or of 1 spirit.
Everyone here this afternoon who is saved.
Has been made to drink of 1 spirit.
Everyone has the Holy Spirit dwelling in his heart, and it's that by that one Spirit that we're all baptized into one body.
When did this begin? It began on the day of Pentecost.
And surely this is what the Apostle Paul is referring to by 1 Spirit. Are we all baptized into one body?
On the day of Pentecost, there were 120.
Sitting in the upper room according to the Lord's with one of the Jews feast days.
A feast of Jehovah.
But the feast days had become known as the Jewish feast.
God had been left out of, but nevertheless, this was the day of Pentecost.
One of those feasts of Jehovah.
And on that day.
There was that rushing of a wind.
And filled the whole place, the whole house where they were sitting. That was the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came and baptized all those 120 into one body. You say, well, weren't they one body before? Not in that way.
They had things in common because they had one faith. They believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
They had one life, They had divine life. They were born of God. They were children of God.
They were in the one family of God.
But they were not joined together yet.
You couldn't say that members of a family are joined together.
But when the Holy Spirit came and indwelt everyone of them, they were all joined together in one Unit 1 body.
One body.
Have you ever thought about that?
A great number of individuals.
Joined together in one body.
It's good for us to think about that, just to meditate on it.
You're sitting next to a brother that's saved.
You're sitting next to a sister that's saved.
We are all sitting here together. We are all together here in this room.
Well, we are together in a certain sense.
Everyone who is saved is joined to another one who is saved, and to all who are saved joined together in one body.
I like to use the illustration. I think Brother Brown AC chapter Brown used it.
And I like to use the illustration of a necklace.
You may have 120 beads will take the number that were in that upper room on the day of Pentecost.
Maybe there are 120 beads in a dish.
And they're rolling around in that dish or whatever other vessel it might be.
And they have certain similar characteristics which say they are pearls. They are all pearls.
Something else similar about them? They're round.
Something else similar about them? They have a hole through them.
And maybe there are other similarities, but some are larger and some are smaller, but there are certain certain characteristics they have which make them similar. And they're alike. Well, all children of God are alike. They have similar characteristics. Children of God, those are 120 there in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, they were similar.
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They had life, they had faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.
There were lack in certain things. They were acting alike because they had divine life within them.
But they were not yet one body.
You take those beads and string them on a thread by means of a needle.
And you put all those 120 beads on that thread.
You have them all joined together by that string.
And you tie it and you have something you didn't have before.
You had individual beads before, but now you have a necklace.
They are all joined together in one necklace.
Like the boards of the Tabernacle?
There was one rod that went all the way through the boards joining the mall together, so it became one wall.
Now the Holy Spirit has joined us all together into one body.
So there on the day of Pentecost, there were 120, all joined together by the Holy Spirit, baptized into one body.
And ever since that day, there's been one body. There is one body.
Oh, you say all of them died. They're not here now. No, they're gone.
But others were saved, and they were joined to the same body by the same Holy Spirit.
Only one baptism of to form the one body, Yes, but now each one believes and is sealed by the Spirit of God, and he in turn is made to drink of this one spirit that we read of here, and he is joined to that one body. So there still is one body.
It wasn't that there was a body there on the day of Pentecost and when they all died, then there was another bodies, no.
The same body.
In the army, they form regiments. A regiment usually has a number and a name.
The regiment may go into battle.
And maybe all of them except one or two are killed.
And perhaps later on, two others are killed and the original number of the regiment are all gone.
Does that wipe out the regiment? No. They recruit others, they bring others in.
It's still the same regiment with the same number name.
Just one regiment.
Just because some die off, that doesn't mean that they change the regiment, the number and the name. There's still 1 regiment.
And so it is now. Dear Saints of God are going home, but others are being saved, and they are brought in.
There is still one body.
I.
Well, what about all of this other membership that we see today? Membership of religious organizations?
As I said before, we don't find it in the Word of God.
And I was very much struck as I was translating this epistle.
About the figure that the Apostle Paul uses in connection with dividing the body of Christ.
In the first chapter of One Corinthians.
He brings this out.
In verse 12 of chapter one of one Corinthians now this I say.
That everyone of you says I'm of Paul, and I of Apollo's, and I have Cephas, and I of Christ.
Four systems, 4 divisions.
Of the body of Christ are brought before us here. Well, the apostle Paul is speaking under your figure because we find that out as we go on.
Over into the 4th chapter he says in verse six. These things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to a policy for your sakes, that you might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
Well, it's a sad thing that many divisions have come into Christendom because.
The members of the body of Christ, instead of following the Lord, have followed the men.
And we are tested on that very thing today. It is so easy for us to follow this person or that person.
Let us keep our eye on Christ and follow Him.
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And if we don't, we may reap the sad consequences.
Of a divided condition.
And how can we recognize division, all the sad divisions that have come in?
And I see.
The divisions have come because there was not a submission to the Lord Jesus.
A submission to him and his authority in the Assembly.
A decision was made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in a certain place.
And there were certain assemblies that dared.
To go counter to that decision wouldn't bow to that decision, or it might have been wrong, could be because the assembly is not infallible, but nevertheless it was made. The decision was made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if there's any thoughts that there might be something wrong with it, that it isn't right.
To whom are we to appeal to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church?
Appealed to him, look to him, not look to some brother.
Look to him.
Look to the Lord to be guided by His Word and what to see what His word says. Whatsoever is bound on earth is bound in heaven.
By 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink of 1 Spirit.
All that we might keep that before us.
Now the apostle develops this a little further.
He says in verse 14 for the body is not one member but many.
The body is not one member, but many.
The tendency of the flesh in us is to desire.
Someone.
To take all the responsibility in the assembly, let's remember this.
The body is not one member, but many.
Every member of the body is responsible.
Are you a member of the body of Christ? You're responsible as a member of the body of Christ.
And the Lord alone knows what your responsibility is. But I believe that the Spirit of God will show you. God by His Spirit will show you what your responsibility is as a member of the body of Christ.
And we have the word of God for.
Example.
The sisters are told in chapter 14 that they are to be silent in the assembly.
That's their responsibility, to be silent, but they have other responsibilities. Much is made of them as an example to the younger women, the older women, to be examples to the younger. Just because you're a sister, that doesn't mean you can evade or avoid your responsibility. You have responsibility, and brothers have responsibility. We read about the elders at Ephesus.
And Paul speaks of them as those.
That the Holy Ghost had made overseers in the assembly.
The Spirit of God had laid upon them this responsibility.
And if we're in tune with the Lord, we'll find out what our responsibility is to the body is not one member, but many. I used to think that.
At least I acted like it when I would stand in the pulpit and conduct the whole morning so-called worship meeting in the denominational church where I was.
Ordained by some of those deacons or elders or whatever they call them.
They laid their hands on my head and gave me a title of Reverend.
But it was all emptiness, like our brother Macmillan used to say about himself. They laid their empty hands on my empty head. But what was that for? To make me important. To make me as though I was the one member that everybody else had to lean on. Oh, what a poor stick to lean on.
There stood and this was after we had come home on furlough. 1935, We've been over in Africa for four years.
And the Lord had already begun to deal with me, to make me understand that the Holy Spirit was not given His place in the churches, that He was set aside.
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I needed to see also that the Lord Jesus was being set aside, but I was standing there behind that pulpit that one Sunday morning.
And it just seemed like a voice from heaven came down to me and said, who are you?
To think that you are to take the whole responsibility here.
What if I should want?
Lead someone by the Spirit to give out a song to start the hymn.
To pray to read a scripture.
Maybe I don't need you at all.
Maybe I want you to sit down.
Well, I believe it was God speaking to me.
The body is not one member, but many.
And I am so thankful to see even young people getting exercised and taking hold.
Now, that doesn't mean that a young person would take liberties and he would just take over all together because he has to remember this too.
That the body is not one member, but many give room for others.
Give room for others. Oh, there's something in us that loves to take over and be the important one. May the Lord give us grace to humble ourselves under His mighty hand.
If the foot shall stay because I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? Now why would the foot say anything like that? Well, you know where the foot is. It's way down here, the lowest member.
And because it's not up here like a hand doing all nice, wonderful things. Because.
A hand has been given us by God to be used in special ways.
The foot gets discouraged and says because I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body, I'm useless.
I'm not of the body. Have you ever felt like that in the assembly? I'm useless.
Well, just take the little place, the Lord will use you. Look at the feet. What do they do? They carry the whole burden, don't they?
And you can carry burdens by prey.
Interceding for the dear Saints of God.
And interceding for the loss. Pray for blessing on the gospel. We need burden bearers and all of us need to bear burdens.
We need to have the characteristic of a foot that carries burdens.
If the ears shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? Now why should the ear want to?
Be like an eye.
What if God had put the ears in the front and the eyes on the side? Well, God didn't do that because he has a design in making the body. The ears are needed where they are. The eyes are needed where they are.
Each one has its place, each one has its work to do, and of course, the ear cannot do the work of the eye, nor can the eye do the work of the ear. That's just as plain as it can be. Children can understand that. And I was glad for what our brother Reeves said about making it so simple that the children can understand it. And I believe that God by His Spirit has made it simple so children can understand this truth about membership in the body of Christ.
Maybe you'd like to take somebody else's place in the assembly, You see so and so doing this. Oh, I wish I could do that. I could. I wish I had that place. Don't wish it. Be satisfied with the place God has given you. If you can be a good ear, listen for the Lord.
And you know, we're responsible to use our ears to listen to good things.
We've been warned about listening to bad things. We're to turn away from those bad things.
And of course we've been told not to look at bad things either, because there's the lust of the eye that wants to look at all kinds of things, and we get into trouble when we do that.
But in the assembly we can be an ear or we can be an eye. We need eyes in the assembly.
Those who can see what's going on and discern.
And in a sense, we all need to be eyes.
That is, we need to have discernment. But an ear can have discernment too.
Listening to those sounds, I remember when I was listening to the African language, trying to get the language and writing it down word by word, I had to have a keen ear. I wouldn't be able to do that today because my ear is not keen like that anymore. I was thankful for a good ear and the assembly can be thankful for anyone that listens carefully and perhaps sometimes doctrine is put out, teaching is put out that isn't just right.
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And so.
I am thankful for those who have come to me as good ears to correct me at times.
Because we all need correcting sooner or later. Verse 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?
Well, that's it.
If the whole body were one member did one thing, where would the rest be?
There would be an unbalanced body, but God has tempered the body together. It's a balanced thing, this unit. If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
If you could just hear and couldn't smell, you'd be deficient, wouldn't you? There are some that lose their smelling and they can't smell their smell what they're eating and maybe they should be able to smell it. If it's if it's got a bad smell, he probably wouldn't want to eat it.
But verse 18 says, But now hath God set the members, everyone of them, in the body, as it hath pleased him?
Are you thankful for the place that you have in the body of Christ?
You ought to be because you are just in the place that God wants you to be.
You've been put in the body as it has pleased him.
If there were all one member, where were the body?
No, you couldn't have a body like that, for instance, he says here.
If there were all one member, where were the body?
Well, if there were all an eye, where would the rest be?
But now are there many members yet but one body?
To have just one big eye, you can think of that letter that stands straight up and down as I.
And sometimes it might be true that in an assembly there is one big eye.
That tries to be everything. May God give us grace to leave room for the other members.
Because God has different members that do different things.
Take different responsibilities, and the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee.
Just recently.
My son-in-law up in Canada, he had an accident with an electric tester.
And he was testing some electrical device with it and it blew up in his face while his hands were badly burned.
But his face was, and the only reason they could figure was that the hands just flew up to protect the face, to protect the eyes.
You're not wonderful.
Are you a hand that can be used to protect the eye?
You see something coming into the assembly that's going to hurt the assembly and just protects the face, other members of the body. Is that what we're thinking about protecting, having a care for all the members, the members of the body having a care one for another. You go to wash your hands.
And if you have just one hand, how are you going to wash that hand? You need both hands.
And they wash one another.
Oh, we need one another, dear young people. We need one another. As members of the body of Christ, we need one another.
We can't do without one another.
Maybe I'm off by myself, isolated like this hand if it were alone.
And it becomes defiled. It needs help, it needs to be clean, but there's nobody around to help to clean it.
May be a word of exhortation from the scripture, word of help from the Word of God.
Would help if some other one of the other member of the body of Christ would help that one to get cleaned up. All we do need to help one another. We are responsible to one another. The I cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee. Everyone sat down to to eat this noon.
And what good would it have been if all I could do was look at the food and I didn't have hands to take it, to put it into my mouth? The eye needs the hand.
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Nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you.
Now who's the head? The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the body.
And he can't say even to the lowest member, I don't need you. He needs us. He needs everyone of us.
But sometimes some of us get paralyzed and we're like an arm that's useless, just hang by the side. The connection between the hand and the head has been disturbed, the communication, something has gone wrong with the nerves.
And it's useless, just hanging there. Are we like that? A paralyzed member out of touch with the Lord, out of communication with him?
Let's judge that thing that's hurt, that communication that's disturbed, that connection. Oh, it doesn't mean there's no life there because the arm still has life in it even though it's paralyzed. But the communication, the communion is disturbed. May God give us grace to judge that, that we might go on with the Lord because.
The Lord needs us. Yes, He needs us. He needs you. He needs everyone of us.
He can't do without us. We've been saved to be members of his body and he is head.
As lordship over every one of us, and we all must be in tune with Him.
To find out what He wants us to do. That was the first thing that Saul of Tarsus said when he was converted. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And it was brought to him in connection with his wonderful truth, that the members of the body of Christ he was persecuting down here, The Lord was feeling it up there.
And he says, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do right then? And there he came to know the law.
And he got all these wonderful revelations from the Lord himself that we've been reading in his epistles.