4.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The church is the body of Jesus Christ.
• If you are a believer, then God makes you one with:
  - His children everywhere in the world.
  - The church in the area where you live.
• Humility is the secret to unity (being one).
• Just as a body has different members, the church has different members with different gifts.
• When the church lives in love, then the world can see who Jesus Christ is.

4.2 Romans 12:1–16←⤒🔗

^12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service.

^12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

^12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.

^12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function,

^12:5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.

^12:6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.

^12:7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach;

^12:8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

^12:9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.

^12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.

^12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.

^12:12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.

^12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.

^12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

^12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

^12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.

© NET Bible

4.3 The Church is a body←⤒🔗

The church is not a man-made organization. It is the living body of Jesus Christ. In Romans 12, we see what it means to be the body of Christ. Verse 5 says, “In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

First of all, we must understand that it is God who made us the body of Christ. In Romans 1 to 8, this truth is explained very clearly. God is the one who has given us faith in Jesus Christ. He has also given us his Holy Spirit. In this way, all of us have become part of one body.

4.4 The body is one←⤒🔗

Your feet and your hands look different, but they belong to the same body. They work together and they need each other. In the same way, the members of the church belong together. They need each other. They are one (verses 4–5).

If you are a believer, then you are one with all God’s children, everywhere in the world. Even if you don’t know the believers in other countries, you must still pray for them (Ephesians 6:18). We are all one body. We need each other.

But God’s church is also in the area where you live (your neighbourhood, town, or country). Think of what you have learned in Lesson 3. Jesus Christ brings people together, to worship him.

Some churches are very small, others are big. But if the true Word of God is preached in a church, then that church is the body of Christ. God wants you to be part of such a church in your area.

4.5 The secret to being one←⤒🔗

How can the members of a church be one with each other? Verse 3 answers this question. It says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” Every church member must be humble.

You must not think too highly of yourself. You must know the truth about yourself. That is what it means to think of yourself with “sober judgement.”

What is the truth about me and you? Here it is:

• We are sinners who have been saved by God’s grace.
• We are not better than anyone else.
• We do not know everything.
• We need other people and they need us.

Humility is the secret to unity. Verses 10 and 16 show us further what humility looks like. In verse 10, we see that we should honour other church members above ourselves. In verse 16, we see that no one in the church should be proud. We should be friends also with the poorest and weakest people in the church (the people of “low position”).

Pride moves us apart. But humility makes us one.

4.6 The body has different members←⤒🔗

To be one does not mean to be the same. If your whole body were an eye, how would it hear? If your whole body were an ear, how would it see? (see 1 Corinthians 12:17). God is wise. He gave different gifts to each of us. In this way, the church can become a picture of God’s rich and wonderful grace.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts to each believer. He gave you gifts not to use for yourself, but to use for others. That is why verse 5 says, “Each member belongs to all the others.”

Do you have the gift to encourage other people, to speak to them, and to give them new hope and strength? Then use it in your church! Do you have the gift of money, to help other people with? Then use it to help the poor people in your church. Remember that your church needs your gifts. You also need the gifts of the other people in your church.

4.7 The body lives in love←⤒🔗

When we use our gifts to serve each other, then we are living in love. In verse 9 we read, “Love must be sincere.” The means our love for each other must be deep and real.

Verses 9–16 describe the love that must be in the church. For example:

• We must focus on what is good (verse 9).
• We must be willing to serve, wherever we can (verse 11).
• We must be joyful and patient (verse 12).
• We must not stop praying for each other (verse 12).
• We must share with God’s people who are in need (verse 13).
• We must practise hospitality. This means that we must welcome each other into our lives and into our homes (verse 13).
• We must be glad with those who are glad, and we must be sad with those who are sad (verse 15).

When the church lives in love, then the world will see who Jesus Christ is. That is why we are called the body of Christ.