August 14th, 2024
by Dr. Josh Franklin
by Dr. Josh Franklin
Perhaps you do not feel as though you are significant. However, God has a special place for you in His church. Martin Luther once said, “God creates out of nothing. Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.“[1] Positively speaking, when I understand that I, too, am nothing, perhaps God can make something out of me. We need to realize that God wants to make something special out of us.
God's Word uses different images to convey how His church is to function. His church functions like a family. Ephesians 2:19 says, “You are members of God’s family” (NLT). Believers in Christ are brothers and sisters in Christ and are part of the family of God. His church functions like a body. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” His church functions like a bride. Ephesians 5:25-27 speaks to how husbands and wives relate to each other in marriage, and how it reflects Christ and His bride, the church. These images help us understand how a church is to function together.
In 1 Peter 2, the church is visualized like a building. He previously stated that Christ is the Cornerstone, and we are living stones being built together. Believers collectively are the building of God. We sometimes will state that we are “going to church” for worship. That’s fine, as long as we keep in mind that the building is not the church – believers are the church. Christians are the bricks, and God is placing each brick together to be His building for holy purposes.
We should come to the place where we understand our value is found in God’s church. There is nothing very special about the bricks, but there is something wonderful about the building. I read that one architect described building this way: “Good architecture is not an arrangement of beautiful materials; it is a beautiful arrangement of materials.”[2]
You and I are the materials God will use. We've given our life to Jesus Christ, and God is going to make something extraordinary out of something common. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:16-18, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
In God’s Church, there is a special initiation that brings people together. Something happens when a person says, “Jesus, be my Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
1 Peter 2:5 says, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices." In this building, Jesus is the Cornerstone, but we are living stones. First, we come to Christ and then, we become like Christ. We are identified as a living stone, but what is our purpose?
The purpose of a stone is not to lie alone in a field. In my backyard, I have some gardening stones; some form a neat border wall, while others are stacked behind the garage. A stone on its own in a field doesn't serve much purpose unless it's connected to a building. Once a stone or brick is attached to a building, it gains a purpose.
A wall serves the purpose of protection and stability for the building. More bricks make a stronger building that safeguards from external elements. Walls are valuable for what they enclose. A brick is valuable only when it finds its place, just as we're meant to find our place in the building Jesus is constructing.
We should forever dismiss the idea of being a solitary Christian, thinking that we can be Christian without going to church. While it's true that you can be a Christian without attending church, if Jesus is truly your Lord, then He wants to use you to contribute to something special in His kingdom. He wants to build something out of you, but you're just one part of it. This highlights how we all rely on each other. Are you playing your part in the building of God's kingdom?
We must understand that our value lies in our unity, and we cannot say to one another, "I don't need you here," or claim that someone doesn't need us. We all need each other. We are interdependent and interconnected as the people of God. The church is not just a physical building, but we, as a community of believers, are the church. We unite to construct this beautiful building for the glory of God, relying on each other's support and cooperation.
Let's remember to support and encourage one another as we live in Christian community. Hebrews 10:25 says, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” The Living Bible paraphrases it this way, “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage…”
Picture yourself as a brick in the beautiful building God is constructing. Jesus holds us together (see Colossians 1:17). Look up and reassure the brick, “Stay strong!” Look to the left and say, “Stay with me!” Look to the brick on the right and say, “We’re in this together!” This is how we should keep encouraging each other as we are built together by Christ!
Remember how the Church is illustrated as a body in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27? Notice some of the verses from that passage:
1 Corinthians 12:12, 18, 21, 26-27 (NKJV)
12For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. …
18But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. …
21And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” …
26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
Each body part is important to the body. One important observation is that if a body part became severed from the rest of the body, its vitality and life would be gone. It is no longer valuable to the rest of the body. This passage highlights also that the weaker, less visible members of the body are oftentimes more significant to the body as well. 1 Corinthians 12:22–24 says, “No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it.”
Whether we are talking about the parts of a body or the bricks of a building, believers must see their value in the collective whole of the Church. We need one another. Every member is valuable.
“Lord, thank You, that You are showing me how valuable I am to You and to Your church. I pray that I find my place in Your body. I pray that I appreciate where You have placed me, to serve You and Your people and to touch people for You. I rejoice that You have placed me where I am. I will thrive in what You have called me to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
[1] https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/colorful-sayings-of-colorful-luther, accessed 8/72024.
[2] Adrian Rogers, “Life on the Rock,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), 1 Pe 2:4–9.
God's Word uses different images to convey how His church is to function. His church functions like a family. Ephesians 2:19 says, “You are members of God’s family” (NLT). Believers in Christ are brothers and sisters in Christ and are part of the family of God. His church functions like a body. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” His church functions like a bride. Ephesians 5:25-27 speaks to how husbands and wives relate to each other in marriage, and how it reflects Christ and His bride, the church. These images help us understand how a church is to function together.
In 1 Peter 2, the church is visualized like a building. He previously stated that Christ is the Cornerstone, and we are living stones being built together. Believers collectively are the building of God. We sometimes will state that we are “going to church” for worship. That’s fine, as long as we keep in mind that the building is not the church – believers are the church. Christians are the bricks, and God is placing each brick together to be His building for holy purposes.
We should come to the place where we understand our value is found in God’s church. There is nothing very special about the bricks, but there is something wonderful about the building. I read that one architect described building this way: “Good architecture is not an arrangement of beautiful materials; it is a beautiful arrangement of materials.”[2]
You and I are the materials God will use. We've given our life to Jesus Christ, and God is going to make something extraordinary out of something common. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:16-18, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
In God’s Church, there is a special initiation that brings people together. Something happens when a person says, “Jesus, be my Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
1 Peter 2:5 says, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices." In this building, Jesus is the Cornerstone, but we are living stones. First, we come to Christ and then, we become like Christ. We are identified as a living stone, but what is our purpose?
The purpose of a stone is not to lie alone in a field. In my backyard, I have some gardening stones; some form a neat border wall, while others are stacked behind the garage. A stone on its own in a field doesn't serve much purpose unless it's connected to a building. Once a stone or brick is attached to a building, it gains a purpose.
A wall serves the purpose of protection and stability for the building. More bricks make a stronger building that safeguards from external elements. Walls are valuable for what they enclose. A brick is valuable only when it finds its place, just as we're meant to find our place in the building Jesus is constructing.
We should forever dismiss the idea of being a solitary Christian, thinking that we can be Christian without going to church. While it's true that you can be a Christian without attending church, if Jesus is truly your Lord, then He wants to use you to contribute to something special in His kingdom. He wants to build something out of you, but you're just one part of it. This highlights how we all rely on each other. Are you playing your part in the building of God's kingdom?
We must understand that our value lies in our unity, and we cannot say to one another, "I don't need you here," or claim that someone doesn't need us. We all need each other. We are interdependent and interconnected as the people of God. The church is not just a physical building, but we, as a community of believers, are the church. We unite to construct this beautiful building for the glory of God, relying on each other's support and cooperation.
Let's remember to support and encourage one another as we live in Christian community. Hebrews 10:25 says, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” The Living Bible paraphrases it this way, “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage…”
Picture yourself as a brick in the beautiful building God is constructing. Jesus holds us together (see Colossians 1:17). Look up and reassure the brick, “Stay strong!” Look to the left and say, “Stay with me!” Look to the brick on the right and say, “We’re in this together!” This is how we should keep encouraging each other as we are built together by Christ!
Remember how the Church is illustrated as a body in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27? Notice some of the verses from that passage:
1 Corinthians 12:12, 18, 21, 26-27 (NKJV)
12For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. …
18But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. …
21And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” …
26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
Each body part is important to the body. One important observation is that if a body part became severed from the rest of the body, its vitality and life would be gone. It is no longer valuable to the rest of the body. This passage highlights also that the weaker, less visible members of the body are oftentimes more significant to the body as well. 1 Corinthians 12:22–24 says, “No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it.”
Whether we are talking about the parts of a body or the bricks of a building, believers must see their value in the collective whole of the Church. We need one another. Every member is valuable.
“Lord, thank You, that You are showing me how valuable I am to You and to Your church. I pray that I find my place in Your body. I pray that I appreciate where You have placed me, to serve You and Your people and to touch people for You. I rejoice that You have placed me where I am. I will thrive in what You have called me to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
[1] https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/colorful-sayings-of-colorful-luther, accessed 8/72024.
[2] Adrian Rogers, “Life on the Rock,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), 1 Pe 2:4–9.
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