07 The Diversity of the Church

[* We are considering "The Marks of a Healthy Church." Over the past two weeks, we began focusing upon the Unity of the Church. * First we saw that Paul's teaching on unity was based upon the exhortation that he gave in verse1: that believers should "walk worthy of the calling with which we were called." This "calling" was to be conformed to the image of Christ. Christ's desire for His followers were for them to be one in order that the world might know that He and the Father were one. Hence, as we are conformed to the image of Christ, we will demonstrate His desires for the assembly. That desire for unity will be revealed in our conduct and reflected in our doctrine. * Last week we saw how our call to be conformed to the image of Christ should be the common goal of the body of Christ. Jesus prayed for His followers to be made perfect in oneness. Hence, the desire - collectively - to be conformed to the image of Christ is THE mark of perfection to which we should strive toward and be participating in. That is best accomplished when the body is functioning synergistically. * As we saw last week, God worked out the process by which the church can/should accomplish this goal - 1) The Lord Endows the Body; 2) The Leaders Equip the Body; and 3) The Members Edify the Body. Today, we want to continue to examine this process through a consideration of Paul's teaching to the church of Corinth. * This message was presented on June 5, 2022 by Bob Corbin.