Members of One Another

1. INTRODUCTION

   1. In the previous lesson, we began this study of our relationships with one another by considering the love we are to have for one another.

      1. The term "one another" is reciprocal, which means that it indicates an interchange of action between persons.

      2. For us to properly love one another, every individual Christian must love every other individual Christian.  In John 13:34-35, Jesus said,

         ³⁴"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  ³⁵By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

   2. In this lesson, we will consider the loving fellowship we have with one another as members of the body of Christ.

       

2. YOU ARE CHRIST'S BODY AND INDIVIDUALLY MEMBERS OF IT

   1. The relationship of the church to Christ is understood through the figures of the human body and head.

      1. This figure is defined in Ephesians 1:22-23, which says, ²²"And [God] put all things in subjection under [Christ's] feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (see also Col. 1:18).

      2. The relationship between the head and the body teaches us about Christ and the church.

         1. As head of the church, Christ has authority over the church.  The church is subject to Him just as the body is subject to the head (Eph. 5:24).

         2. As the body of Christ, the church is cared for by Christ just as a man cares for his own flesh (Eph. 5:29-30).

   2. As the collective body of Christ, we are members of the body individually.

      1. This principle is taught in detail in 1Corinthians 12:12-27.

         1. Verse 12 says, "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ."

         2. Verse 27 says, "Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it."

         3. Notice that the members of Christ's body are individual Christians and not denominations as some teach.

      2. Just as each member of the human body has unique functions and is necessary for the overall performance of the body, so also every Christian is unique and necessary within the church.

         1. Just as the human body needs eyes, ears, a nose, hands, and all other parts of the body, so also the collective church needs all of its individual members (1Cor. 12:14-21).

         2. Just as the individual parts of the body work together for the welfare of the whole body, so it also is within the church.  Christ has given various talents to Christians "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12).

         3. The goal of the individual members is the growth of the whole body.  Notice Ephesians 4:15-16:

            ¹⁵...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

   3. We are not only members of the body of Christ, but we are also members of one another.

      1. Just as the members of the body are connected and depend on one another, so also Christians are connected and depend upon one another. Notice Romans 12:4-5:

         ⁴For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

      2. As members of one another we must have an awareness and concern for one another.

         1. Membership in one another means that we must be affected by one another's lives, whether for good or bad.  Notice 1Corinthians 12:25-26:

             ²⁵...so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  ²⁶And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

         2. Similarly, Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

      3. Losing a member should be painful, and we should do all we can to avoid it.

         1. Our relationships with one another should be so strong that losing any member would be like having a part of the body amputated.  We should do all that we can to prevent the loss of any member.

         2. Certainly, no member should ever be allowed to simply drift away and disappear.

         3. Withdrawing from an unruly Christian is sometimes necessary, and there is a process that must be followed (Matt. 18:15-17; Rom. 16:17-18; 1Cor. 5:1-13; 2Thess. 3:6-15).  However, it should be the last resort.

      4. Membership in Christ is membership in one another, and the two cannot be separated.

         1. No one can have Christ without the church, for the body cannot be severed from the head.

         2. No Christian can have Christ to himself.  The body of Christ is more than one individual.

             

3. WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER

   1. The unique relationship we have with one another within the body of Christ is called fellowship.

      1. The subject of fellowship is often complicated by men, but it is quite simple.  Fellowship means that two or more people share something in common.  They are fellows of one another.

      2. Fellowship in Christ means that Christians share their faith in Christ, including their blessings and responsibilities, with one another. They are "fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (Eph. 3:6).

   2. Our fellowship with one another is based on our common walk in the light of Christ.

      1. Just as our fellowship with God depends upon partaking of God's holiness (1Pet. 1:15-16; 2Pet. 1:4), so also our fellowship with one another in Christ depends upon the same factors.  Notice 1John 1:6-7:

         ⁶If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; ⁷but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

      2. The fellowship of individual Christians is indicative of the unity of Christ's body.

         1. The individual members of the body are to work together "until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13).

         2. Christians share common beliefs, common traits, common goals, and a common hope.  This is because we have a common Lord and head, Christ Jesus.

      3. Having fellowship with one another is the same as being members of one another. 

   3. We cannot have this fellowship with anyone outside the body of Christ.

      1. Being members of one another and having fellowship in Christ is an exclusive privilege of Christians.  By definition, we do not have fellowship with those who do not share our faith.

      2. We may share ordinary things in common with unbelievers, but we cannot have the kind of fellowship that exists between Christians with them.  Notice 2Corinthians 6:14-18:

         ¹⁴Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  ¹⁵Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  ¹⁶Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  ¹⁷Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.  ¹⁸And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty.

          

4. CONCLUSION

   1. In Christ Jesus, we are members of His body and members of one another.  There is no other relationship in the world that is like the one we have in Him.

   2. Therefore, let us behave as members of one another by loving one another and caring for one another.