Paul often uses the illustration of a race, or a runner, in his letters to the early church. The reason for that is that we as humans often associate with what we know. The idea of a race is a great analogy for the Christian life. For one, in a race you are trying to reach a goal, winning, but if we translate that to the life of a believer the goal becomes Christ, and we are trying to reach that. Hear me when I say that our actions do not make us closer to Christ, but rather our faith in him. It is in that faith that we strive to be more like Christ. On a personal level this may translate to study and prayer, letting God’s word encourage and move us forward. There is a great importance in building up our own spiritual “body”, but that is not the Body we are talking about tonight. We must not neglect the building up of the Body of Christ, that is to say “us”. As believers we are a part of the Body of Christ, or the Church. Going back to the analogy, a runner must work towards their goal. They cannot only expect to win, while not doing anything to reach that goal, but they must strive towards it, building in strength and endurance to achieve.
-To discuss how to build up the Body of Christ, we must first fully understand that we are the Body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-20
-As members of the body we must strive to be one/unified. 1 Corinthians 12:21-27
-Our motives must not be self centered (Philippians 2:1-5), but rather by a spirit of love. Galatians 5:22-24, Romans 12:9-13
-Do this so that we may together become mature in the Spirit that we may accomplish the task before us. Ephesians 4:1-3, 11-16
-To succeed in building up the Body, we must each set our sights on striving to bring glory to God. We present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God to serve his purpose.
Romans 12:1-8
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