Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.  1 Corinthians 12:27-31

I think the opening statement here by Paul , sums up most of his teaching on the Church. Paul said “Now You Are The Body of Christ” You Are The Church! We as Christians waste so much time debating who is the correct denomination or raising money for buildings, the simple understanding is you are the Church, as a Born Again believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, you are now the Temple of God, there is no denomination in the Kingdom of God, everywhere you go, there is the Church! Think about that!

Most of you know I live in Pennsylvania, and Penn State football is huge in our area. I’ve been to a few games at Beaver Stadium where they can seat over 100,000 people, tied for the largest stadiums in the country. And during the games they chant “We Are” and then the crowd roars “Penn State” this is obviously a pretty cool experience hearing that many people chanting the same thing.

Now what if we were as excited to be part of The Church? Do you get excited to assemble with our brothers and sisters, or is it a dread or a box to check off for the week? Imagine all Christians united chanting “We Are The Church” But unfortunately many Christians refuse to worship together, some even communicate with each other, over man-made interpretation of traditions. As Jesus said “They honor me with their lips , but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8)

Again Paul here is emphasizing , we all have different gifts and different roles of the Holy Spirit, this should not be a reason to divide or be envious of your brothers and sisters, we are all on the same team! Right? Jesus is our Lord, we are his hands and feet , fulfilling the Great Commision and building God’s Kingdom, why would you be angry if a brethren demonstrates a gift of the Holy Spirit? Going back to the football analogy, is everyone the Quarterback? Is everyone the Head Coach? Is everyone a lineman? Of course the answer is no , we all play different roles and functions, but everyone is important, this is the same with the Church!

The Apostle Paul finishes with a strong message “But covet earnestly or desire greatly , the best gifts, yet show I unto you a more excellent way” Just imagined if everyone actually followed the will of God, used their gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit, and worked in unison with each other? The gates of Hell would not prevail against this Church as Christ said, this is the excellent way, be obedient to God and love your brothers and sisters because We Are the Church, Amen!