Leadership Training 03

The Body of Christ (Part 2)

I. The church is not the brick and mortar building, not budgets to
be met, reports to be filed. Instead it is men and women linked to
God, formed by his Holy Spirit, called to live a life in Christ.
As leaders, if our whole leadership is dealing with problems
related to maintaining the institution and planning for
achievement of its goals - budget, staffing, buildings, committees,
etc, then we have missed the purpose of leading the body.
II. Realizing that we are the body and Christ is in control brings
release!
Philippians 4:10-19
I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your
concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no
opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in
need, for I have learned to be content whatever the
circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what
it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who
gives me strength.
10

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as

you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with
the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared
with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;
16
for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than
once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I
desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received
14

full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied,

now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.
They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to
God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to
the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Release means:
a. We are able to trust God with the outcome of what we are
doing. We don't have to be concerned that the outcome will be
according to His will.
b. We will realize that failure from a human point of view might be
success from God's perspective.
c. We will learn to live with Him as Master and ourselves as
Stewards.
d. We will be liberated to trust other people. The early church
succeeded because they trusted Christ and the Holy Spirit, and
also each other.
By putting trust in Christ we will free ourselves to:
a. follow the Great Commission: go preach the gospel
b. follow the Greater Commission: feed my sheep
c. follow the Greatest Commission: Follow me.

III. Allegiance

How many said the pledge of allegiance every day in school? Do

you know what the word means?
loyalty or commitment to a group or cause.
synonyms loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, obedience, homage,
:
devotion
If Christ is the head of the church, as leaders, it is pretty obvious
where our allegiance must lie. We must look to Christ for
guidance; stand aside and let Christ be the head. Each of us must
accept responsibility to lead in the way and work the way Jesus
calls us.
As a body, we must also have allegiance to each other. If I am to
survive I must also ensure your survival; we must continually
encourage and lift each other up.
We looked at Corinth last week, and I mentioned how we would be
coming back to this very dysfunctional church. A lot of what they
were doing showed their allegiance was not to Christ.
A. Threats to Allegiance via the Church at Corinth
1. Focus on Human leaders
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, [a] in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you
say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be
perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters,
some from Chloes household have informed me that there are
quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, I
follow Paul; another, I follow Apollos; another, I follow
Cephas[b]; still another, I follow Christ.
10

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized
in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of
you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were
baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of
Stephanas; beyond that, I dont remember if I baptized anyone
else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the
gospelnot with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ
be emptied of its power.
13

Corinth wasn't focusing on Christ; it was focusing on human

leaders. We can be so caught up in personalities that we forget
that our allegiance is to Christ.
2. Focus on personal rights
6:1-8
If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it
before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lords
people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lords people will judge the
world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent
to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge
angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you
have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from
those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to
shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise
enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one
brother takes another to courtand this in front of unbelievers!
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have
been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged?
Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and
do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.
7

Our society teaches us that we have rights. We can sacrifice our

allegiance to the body by demanding our rights.

3. Focus on Christian Liberty

8:9-13
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not
become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a
weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an
idols temple, wont that person be emboldened to eat what is
sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom
Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin
against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you
sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or
sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not
cause them to fall.
9

We are free to do so much. Yet if our allegiance is to this freedom

instead of to the Body then we have missed the whole point of the
freedom!
4. Focus on a cause
11:2-3
I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to
the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to
realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the
woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
2

Woman/women in Corinth who apparently had taken up acting like

a man. It is thought that the men may have been discriminating
against the women. Whatever was going on this person's cause
had taken her to sin and the church- she had forgotten that her
allegiance was not to "causes", but to the Body.
5. Focus on Hierarchy
12:4-7

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.
4

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the
common good.
7

They had forgotten their allegiance to each other in their quest for
"who is the greatest".
6. Focus on doctrinal interpretation
Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. [e]
34
Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for
there are some who are ignorant of GodI say this to your
shame.
33

Corinth was the home of Greek philosophy. And this showed in the
church. They were debating the resurrection. Paul spends the
chapter correcting their false ideas. They had forgotten their
allegiance to the body, and were tearing the church apart with
doctrinal debates.

B. Allegiance to Christ and to his Body will bring about

a. An atmosphere of love
b. An atmosphere of unity and peace.
c. An atmosphere of acceptance.
d. An atmosphere of non-judgmental attitude
3. An atmosphere of spiritual growth.

The nature of allegiance is shared life; if we pledge our allegiance

to the body then we are "all in this together", and we will work to
lead the body to greatness.