1 Corinthians 12: Following Jesus Together, Not Alone

Introduction

"Have you ever tried to do something on your own, when you knew it would be easier with two?" That is the question with which Jeanette opens her message at the Evangelische Gemeinde ELIM Leipzig. Moving a heavy sofa from one end of the living room to the other, putting together a massive wardrobe, or parking a giant camper van: she tells how she ended up saying to her husband, "Can you take over? I'll get out and guide you." Together, they managed to park "this enormous thing."

It is often the same in the faith. There are times when we walk alone with God, and that is good: seeking him alone, reading the Bible alone. But there are also times when we move forward with others, when we can ask a brother or sister, "Can you pray with me about my situation?" or "You know how to hear God's voice, can you help me?"

This message opens a new preaching series titled "Miteinander gemeinsam Jesus nachfolgen," following Jesus together. Over the coming weeks, the church wants to answer one question: how do we live our faith and follow Jesus together? This first message draws on 1 John 1:3 and on 1 Corinthians 12.

Outline of the message

1. The Church is a body: no one can say "I don't need you"

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares the Church to a body. A body has different parts: legs, arms, ears, eyes, and each has its own task. If even one were missing, it would be lacking.
In verse 21, the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you." In verse 26, when one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.
Jeanette uses the example of stubbing your big toe: you yell "ouch," the other foot comes down on top of it, and the hand reaches by itself for the spot that hurts. The whole body suffers with it.
In the Church, it is the same: when a brother or sister is not doing well, we suffer with them, we carry them in prayer, we take the steps with them.
If each member said, "I don't need you, I'll do my own thing," the body would not function. "That would be weird." It is the same when we try to go it alone in the Church.

2. You don't need to be able to do everything, but you have something to bring

God has given each person different gifts. Some are true intercessors: they have barely said three words and you feel like praying with them, even though a moment earlier you didn't know what to say.
"You don't need to be able to do everything." We sometimes look at what someone else can do and think we would like to do it too. That is not necessary. Each person can bring what God has entrusted to them.
If you withdraw from the community for a long time, you lose something: loneliness sets in, and you start to feel the need for others.
But the community also loses something, because what you could have brought is no longer there. It matters on both sides for faith.

3. Sharing the Gospel and your own life

In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul writes to the Thessalonians that they had become so dear to him that he wanted to give them not only the Gospel, but also his own life.
People see your faith in your life. When you say, "I don't understand, but God, I know you have a plan for me and that you are going through this with me," and you keep holding on to him, they see that you have understood that God is faithful.
Explaining that, through Jesus Christ, all our faults are forgiven is not the same as seeing you go to the cross after a mistake and say, "God, I did wrong, forgive me."
"Being a disciple is more than giving someone the right answer. It is walking the road with them." For that, you don't need to be a perfect Christian: you can admit your wrongs, apologize and set out again with God's help.
This does not mean telling everything to everyone, every detail and every failing. That is what trusted close friends are for. But it matters to let others take part in our lives, in contrast to the anonymous world we live in.

4. Being real rather than posting the perfect photo

A friend showed her her family photos: in one, the youngest was not looking, in another the middle child was making a funny face, then it was her, then her husband. Only one photo was more or less successful.
Jeanette smiled: "I understand you." At her house too, someone is always slipping away. In the family photo she showed during the service, her son was lying on the floor looking the other way. It was the only one where everyone was in the frame, and even there, someone was missing.
Yet what we post is the perfect photo, and others think, "Wow, what a family!"
Her wish for the Church: to be real. To take part in each other's lives and, over a coffee, to talk not only about what is going well but also about what has gone wrong.

5. Speaking the truth in love

Being real also means being able to say to someone, "I feel like you are heading the wrong way." Not from above, not to humiliate, but: "I really love you, but are you sure this decision is the right one? Shall we look at it together?"
Back to the camper van: if she had seen her husband about to hit something while reversing and had stayed silent for fear of his reaction, "it would have been pretty bad, especially for our insurance."
Just as bad: shouting, "Stop, what are you doing? Are you stupid? Can't you drive anymore?"
In Ephesians 4:15, Paul asks us to speak the truth in love, so that we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ. The goal of every correction is that the other person grows in faith.
"Truth without love can hurt, it can wound. But love that never says anything and keeps quiet does not necessarily help either." The two go together.
Before speaking, examine your motives: is it out of self-interest, or because it truly serves the other person? "The person matters to me, not the matter itself."
And when you are the one being corrected, take the time to listen instead of immediately going on the defensive.

6. Three concrete steps to live community

Look for one person. If you tell yourself, "I would love to have a good friend to spend time with," start praying for that. And when God puts someone on your heart, have the courage to go to them and spend time together.
Give someone a mandate in your life. Not so that they decide your life, but so that they tell you "the last 10%" that you don't see, your blind spots. Ask yourself: is there someone who really knows you and can tell you when you are on the wrong path? And are you ready to be that person for someone else? "Being a disciple is not a one-way street."
Jeanette tells of asking a very good friend to play that role. She answered "No," for fear that one more step in frankness would end up driving them apart. Jeanette found that answer "really strong." She then turned to one of her leaders: "If you see me straying from the path, tell me, on your own initiative. I need it, your opinion matters to me."
Personal testimony: at one time in her life, she clearly knew that God was asking her to stay single for about a year. She had only told her closest friends. That year, she met someone. A friend immediately said to her, "Stop. What did God tell you at the beginning of the year?" She tried to argue, and he repeated the question. The desire for a relationship and a family does not disappear because God has spoken, and she was grateful for that honest friendship, which reminded her of the word she had received.
Share your life with someone. Don't wait for others to come and confide in you. When someone asks, "How are you?", pause instead of answering "Fine" right away: how was your night, your week, what is challenging you?
Spontaneously suggest a walk, invite someone for lunch without first making the whole apartment sparkle. "These are not grand or spectacular steps," but this is what sharing your life means.

7. Loving as Jesus loved

Let each person ask what they can do so that others feel good. If someone you don't know is sitting next to you, go and talk to them after the service. "Let's stop being anonymous at church," and not only with the five people we already know, but especially with newcomers.
In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives a new commandment: love one another as he loved us. It is by this love that everyone will know they are his disciples.
Jeanette admits: "How can I do it? Love like Jesus, who went to the cross for us? I am not capable of it." Hence her prayer every morning: "Jesus, give me the love you have for people."
When we reach toward that love, people recognize us, "because it is not our love, it is his."
Her wish: a Church of people who do not merely attend the service but live relationships. It begins when each person, herself included, makes room for others in their life: a lunch today, an ice cream next week, or a hot chocolate if the weather turns bad.
"That is what following Jesus means," because Jesus did nothing other than let people see his life and share it with him.
In the closing time of prayer, she invites those who are afraid of others, or who have been hurt after being honest, to lay that fear before God. She also shares an image she received on the way to church: a person caught in a storm, throwing overboard what weighs down the boat. The message she hears in it from God: for a fresh start, there is no need for the baggage of the past, or the grudges we drag along. "Trust me, I have already prepared everything."

Key takeaways

The Church is a body: no member can say to another "I don't need you," and when one suffers, all suffer with them.
You don't have to be able to do everything, but your absence deprives the community of what God has entrusted to you.
Being a disciple is more than giving the right answer: it is walking the road with someone, without needing to be perfect.
Truth and love cannot be separated: we correct so that the other person grows, and we accept being corrected without immediately defending ourselves.
Loving like Jesus is not possible by our own strength: it is his love, asked for every day, that makes us recognizable.

Personal application

In what area are you trying to follow Jesus alone when it would be easier with two?
Is there someone who really knows you and to whom you have given the right to tell you when you are on the wrong path?
When you have something difficult to say to someone close to you, what are your motives: your own interest, or their good?
The next time someone asks you "How are you?", will you dare to answer honestly?
Whom could you invite this week, for a meal, a walk or a hot chocolate, without waiting for everything to be perfect?

Verses quoted

Frequently asked questions

Why not live out your faith alone?

Seeking God alone and reading the Bible alone is good, but the Church is a body (1 Corinthians 12). Jeanette explains that whoever withdraws from the community for a long time ends up feeling alone, and that the community also loses what that person could have brought.

How do you tell a brother or sister a hard truth?

According to Ephesians 4:15, by speaking the truth in love. Truth without love can hurt, and love that always keeps quiet does not help either. Jeanette invites us to examine our motives first and to keep the person in view, not the matter itself.

What does it mean to give someone a mandate in your life?

It means authorizing a trusted person to tell you "the last 10%" that you don't see, your blind spots. They do not direct your life, but they can remind you of what God told you and help you stay on the path.