ST MATTHEW SUNDAY AUG 2 2015

| PENTECOST
PROPER 13
YEAR B
Exodus 16:215; Psalm 145:1021, Ephesians 4:116, John 6:2235
Grace, mercy and peace be multiplied unto you from God the Father of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
SERMON TEXT: Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up
in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the
whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is
equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow
so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:1516, ESV)
SERMON THEME/TITLE: When Each Part Is Working Properly
There is nothing that gets me fired up faster than a well manufactured,
fine-tuned piece of machinery. In my early years many hours were spent
under the hood of my cars, fine-tuning and fixing them, trying to keep
them running and performing as they were designed and built for. Some
were overhauled or partially rebuilt so that each part would work
properly. Ask Bonnie, my wife, she can tell you about the greasy clothes,
the incessant requests for more and better tools, and on and on the list
could go.
The thing that drove me was the belief that a machine was made to do a
job, and do it as designed. So if it could not do the job as designed, it
either needed to be repaired, or replaced.
That mindset has been tempered, adjusted and molded by another
mindset over the years. Actually, its more like a renewing of the
mind, as St. Paul speaks of it in Romans 12. That mindset continues to
be tuned and adjusted by the Spirit of God working through the written

Word. Its funny in a way how God works like that. He takes a personality,
any personality, renews the mind by opening it up to the treasures found
in His wisdom, and puts that personality to work for His plan and purpose.
Wow! What a trip; His trip in the life of a human being. I just love it!
Thats what Paul is talking about herehow the body, Christs Body, the
Church functions when each part is working properly. In this regard, there
is unity in the functioning of each part of the body that results in growth,
spiritual growth of the body.
We must however, understand the difference between unity and
uniformity. Unity comes from within and is a spiritual grace, while
uniformity is the result of pressure from without. Paul uses the human
body as a picture of Christian unity in 1 Cor. 12, and he uses the same
illustration here in this section. Each part of the body is different from
the other parts, yet all make up one body, having received their
individual use from Gods Spirit, they are connected to work together
When Each Part Is Working Properly.
Sadly, there are plenty of biblical examples when the parts dont work
together. Corinth, itself, was such a church. Sad, I know, but true. The
Old Testament lesson appointed for today is but another example of how
Gods own people get testy and rebel against Gods appointed servants.
Even so, God is gracious and gives the people what they needbut not
what they wantso that Gods plan and purpose for them may be
fulfilled. In the OT text, He gives them bread from heaven, and enough
meat to stuff themselves.
Another example of body function breakdown is in the Gospel reading.
Jesus did not exalt Himself to be the Bread of Life. He is the Bread
of Life because God sent Him to be the Bread of Life for the world.
Yet people dont believe Him.
Jesus did not exalt Himself to be the Son of Man, the Son of God,
He is the Son of Man, the Son of God to fulfill Gods plan and

purpose for mankind in the world. Yet when He calls Himself the
true bread from heaven, people dont trust His truthfulness.
Jesus did not exalt Himself to be Gods Word made flesh, He is
Gods Word made flesh who dwelt among us, to reveal the fullness
of Gods grace and truth for all mankind to see and hear and to eat
and drink from. Yet people find such words unimaginable and too
hard to understand.
In a similar way, Gods appointed servants do not arrogate or exalt
themselves to a position of authority that is not theirs. Neither do they
deny the authority and gift God has given by His Spirit. This is why
scripture clearly says: When he ascended on high he led a host of
captives, and he gave gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:8, ESV) That too is
hard to believe, yet it is truth.
St Paul goes on to speak specifically of what God means, and the specific
purpose God has in mind. Put simply, God gives gifts to people to build
up the Church so that each part working properly works to build up
the body of Christ in love, His love, because God is Love.
In this regard, God gave specific offices to fulfill His purpose:
Apostles,
Prophets,
Evangelists,
Shepherds and teachers.
These offices are appointed by God to fulfill His plan of salvation for
mankind. When the visible body, the church, a congregation, or a
denomination get these appointments and functions wrong, by claiming
these positions for itself, IT CAN NO LONGER WORK PROPERLY AS THE
BODY OF CHRIST. It is broken and has moved outside of the will of God.
The visible church on earth becomes a rather useless entity in terms of
the glory of God when the parts dont work according to Gods design,

purpose, and function. And, as was seen in the OT lesson, unity is

destroyed leading to discontent, malcontent, and disruptions beyond
imagination. Worse, it gives Satan immense pleasure to see the good that
God does ripped apart. Gods people would be done except for love and
mercy.
And Gods mercy is revealed through the very gifts He gives to the
Church: And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the
shepherds and teachers, (Ephesians 4:11, ESV). These offices have the
specific purpose for which they were established:
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, [And what is that
ministry?] building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to
mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and
fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,
by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
(Ephesians 4:1214, ESV)
Let me see if I can give some mundane, earthbound perspective to this.
Remember what I said earlier regarding unity. Unity is not contrived or
established by us, by merely agreeing to disagree and just getting along.
It is worked in us by Gods Spirit. Yet Gods Spirit does not work in a
vacuum, that is, outside of the means God Himself has provided.
Gods design is that His Holy Spirit works through the written Word. And
this is why we encourage guided Bible Study, Sunday School, personal
Devotions, and regular attendance before the Lord of Hosts for
confession, absolution, and the receiving again of the Bread of Life. This
is how we hear and learn the prophetic and apostolic message which is
the foundation upon which the Church, the Body of Christ is built. These
are the things that God has put in place for our benefit to help us grow in

the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But please
understand this: He will not force Himself on any one soul.
People come to Jesus, not always because they are led by the Father, but
because they are wanting bread to eat or to give away because they see
only the mundane, earthbound things of this life.
Likewise, people think that more people in attendance means growth.
And it is true, the Bread of Life has definitively positioned Himself right
in our midstinto the midst of an unbelieving generation to give growth.
Jesus Christ is the Chief cornerstone upon which the foundation of the
prophetic and apostolic word has been laid.
Even so, we remain a rebellious and defiant people no different from our
oldest ancestors. No wonder: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of
life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me
shall never thirst. [And in the very next verse He says] But I said to you
that you have seen me and yet do not believe. (John 6:3536, ESV)
People dont expect to see Jesus in the written Word, or the water
poured out in Holy Baptism. People dont expect to see Jesuss body and
blood in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. People want what they
can see and understand with the natural mind. Why? The tentacles of
unbelief run deep in our human nature. And they must die in order for the
new nature to live and survive and thrive in order that they may do their
part in the body.
So what now? What do we do if we find ourselves broken, malfunctioning
parts of the body? First of all, REJOICE! Rejoice, and thank God that
we can see our malady! For when we see it, that means the Spirit of God
is with us, doing what He does best, teaching us to observe all things that
Jesus has said. God be praised! That means, dear people, we are not
dead, but very much alive! That means that something is functioning
properly, and I can tell you what it is. It is Gods Word!

Gods Word is what is functioning and causing us to be transformed into

working parts of the body so that from the head to the toe, we are alive!
Sick, perhaps! But Jesus knows exactly how to heal the sick.
We are alive because God has given us life! His Son Jesus Christ, who can
never die again, is our lifethe Bread of Life is feeding us. It is His
lifeblood that flows through us. It is His nervous system that keeps us
living and active in Him. And get this. As the lifeblood of Christ Jesus
flows through us all, that is, as His Word and Sacraments keep us alive,
His Body and Blood give life and function to our body, individually and
together. That means in Christ Jesus we not only can, but we will be able
to overcome obstacles and challenges to the body. Why? Because
together, all together, we are Christ in this place and He has a plan and
purpose for His Body that is clearly stated in this very text when by Gods
Spirit it says:
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into
him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and
held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is
working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in
love. (Ephesians 4:1516, ESV)
Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm! I just love what a fine-tuned machine
can do. Better yet, God just loves what His well-nurtured and nourished
body can do, right here, right now, When Each Part Is Working
Properly! Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep our hearts
and minds safe in Christ Jesus now and unto life everlasting. Amen.