The Congregation Is One Body

The Congregation is ONE BODY of believers!

1 Corinthians 12:12-19(ESV)
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves £ or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?  18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 

The Body is an illustration of the churchwhere we are ‘one body’ in Christ. Each person there has an important function. We need to support each one. We need to give respect and honor to each individual no matter how different they may look. If we value each member of the body as we value the individual members of our physical body then we will have a proper attitude toward one another.   Individually we need to search our hearts as to where we stand on this issue!

We appreciate that Jesus Christ is head of the church with His member here on earth. The ‘body of Christ’ is the vehicle on earth to announce God’s Kingdom. Our body is a vehicle to express ourselves to others. The human body is an illustration of unity and diversity. Thus, appreciate the differences we all express.

In verse 13 Paul explains how we became members of the ‘Body of Christ” by the ‘one spirit’. At the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit brought the church into existence. It is so noted that the Holy Spirit is the divine operation that places believers in the ‘Body of Christ’. This verse goes on to state the “all have been made to drink into one Spirit” and we all an indwelling Person and receive the benefit of the ministry.

Verse 14 “ For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” A human body is made of different parts that are needed to work together for successful living. These parts need to work together for the human to survive. In the congregation there must be many members, each one different from the others, working in obedience to the head and in cooperation with the others.

The Foot & hand – Would the foot feel unimportant because it can’t do the work of a hand? Yet the foot can do many other things such as get us to the work location.

The ear or eye – What if the ear would stop because it has an eye? How well would we function without our ears? Yes we could see where we are going, but sound is ever present and important.  (We run to the doctor for a new prescription that will be for our ‘corrective lenses’ when our vision becomes blurred.  It would be right that we do that or stay off the roads.)

The Verse:  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? Wouldn’t that be odd? Would we function long with only one sense of seeing, hearing, smelling speaking, etc.

The body is an illustration to teach us that God designed the human body and the church body with much wisdom and purpose. We are given the opportunity to build up others in His glory. It would be a sin to be envious of someone else’s gift as God gave each of us a gift and purpose.  (We can pray for God’s help to identify ‘our gift’ if we are not aware of it.  Generally it is found in what our natural tendency is in various situations.)

1 Corinthians 12:20-26

20  As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21  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.” 22  On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23  and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24  which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

God has ordained that there be many members and yet one body. These members are in connection with our service in the church. It would be foolish for use to think or feel that one part (member) is not of value and needed for the whole. Verse 21 states this argument for us to understand and accept.

Paul says in verse 22&23 that some members seem to be weaker, not so elegant or made visible for all. Are the kidneys as strong as the arms? Ask ourselves how often we’ve heard that a person’s vital organs are beginning to fail and when hearing this we fear death. If our kidneys fail, we fail. We don’t live well without arms and legs, or even without a tongue. How long would the body get around without a ‘heart’?

When our members are not so elegant we compensate by putting clothes over them. Doing so we are like minimizing the differences in the church. God has given us the instinct to appreciate all the members. For us to realize that they are all interdependent and we counterbalance the deficiencies of those that are not so handsome. We work together giving help to one another and the building up.

The scripture sums up that what affects one member affects all. If we get a fever the whole body suffers as it affects the whole system. All body parts are distinct and separate, yet they all form part of the one body. They are vitally linked together in that each affects the other. Anything that hurts another Christian should cause us the keenest sorrow. Because of this when we see another Christian ‘honored’, we should not feel jealous, but we should ‘rejoice with’ him.

May we continue in the faith by loving our bothers as Christ loved us!

LDW