10-30-05-Who We Are-The Body of Christ
1 Cor 12:12-27 (NIV) 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized bya one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
There is no question that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Working at an eye center, I have been given a book that explains the physical facts about the eye. When I look at the incredible detail in just the eye it is truly amazing to me. Then I think about the fact that the eye is only one of many parts of the body. And all of the parts are just as detailed if not more so than the eye. Yet they all work together so that we have capabilities that are absolutely astounding (e.g. speech, hearing, smelling, walking, etc). In fact, one of the most unique characteristics of a human being is the ability to pick up things with the thumb and fingers.
Paul said that we ARE the body of Christ. Of course he is not speaking of a literal body, but of a figurative body. But what did he mean by saying that we are Christ’s body?
First, I believe we must understand that a body is a living organism, not an organization. The church of Jesus Christ is not an organization, but a living body that functions on the earth. It is the way that God has chosen to make Himself known to the world. This is why Paul said “in Him, we live and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
Second, we must understand that Christ is the head of the church (His body).
Eph 1:22-23 (NIV) And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Eph 4:15-16 (NIV) Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (See also Col 1:18; 1 Cor 11:3)
God placed Jesus as the head, not us! The head calls the shots. He is in control. When we try to be in control, we are taking on the wrong part of the body. We are trying to be the head, and a two-headed monster is what the church becomes!
As with a human body there is both unity and diversity. In this passage, Paul shows the unity of the human body as an example so we can understand the unity of the spiritual body of Christ. He also shows the great diversity in the human body so we can understand that all parts of the body of Christ are necessary.
Paul illustrates the unity in vs. 12–13: In v. 12 Paul says, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts” or in the NASB “The body is one, yet has many members.” Although all believers are different and perform different functions, they all combine to make one functioning unit—the body of Christ. In v. 13, Paul goes on to explain how we became members of the Body of Christ. “By (or in) one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”
So Paul draws a picture of the unity which should exist inside the Church if it is to fulfill its proper function. A body is healthy and efficient only when each part is functioning perfectly. The parts of the body are not jealous of each other and do not covet each other’s functions. From Paul’s picture we see certain things which ought to exist in the Church, the body of Christ.
(i) We ought to realize that we need each other. There can be no such thing as isolation in the Church. Far too often people in the Church become so engrossed in the bit of the work that they are doing and so convinced of its supreme importance that they neglect or even criticize others who have chosen to do other work. If the Church is to be a healthy body, we need the work that everyone can do.
(ii) We ought to respect each other. In the body there is no question of relative importance. If any limb or any organ ceases to function, the whole body is thrown out of gear. It is so with the Church. “All service ranks the same with God.” Whenever we begin to think about our own importance in the Christian Church, the possibility of really Christian work is gone.
(iii) We ought to sympathize with each other. If any one part of the body is affected, all the others suffer in sympathy because they cannot help it. The Church is a whole. The person who cannot see beyond his or her own . . . congregation. . . , has not even begun to grasp the real unity of the Church.[i]
But not only is there unity, but there is also diversity in the body. Paul illustrates this in v. 14–20. One member of a body is not a body. The body is made up of many members (parts); and among these there must be a distinction, difference of function, shape, use, etc. There must be many members (parts), each one different from the others, working in obedience to the head and in cooperation with the others.
So it is in the body of Christ; its members must have different uses, and therefore have different abilities, and be in different places, some having one gift, and others a different gift. Variety in the members of the body contributes to the beauty of it. What a monster a body would be if it were all ear, or eye, or arm! So it is for the beauty and good of the church that there should be diversity of gifts and offices in it.
An important point in vs. 14-15 is, that when we see that diversity is essential to a normal, healthy body, it will save us from two dangers—from belittling ourselves (vv. 15–20) and from belittling others (vv. 21–25). It would be ridiculous for the foot to feel unimportant because it can’t do the work of a hand. After all, the foot can stand, walk, run, climb, dance, and kick, as well as many other things.
The ear shouldn’t quit hearing just because it is not an eye. We take our ears for granted until deafness overtakes us. Then we realize what a tremendously useful function they perform. In fact, we probably take most of the parts of our physical body for granted until we either lose them or their functions; then we truly learn to appreciate what we had.
So it is also true with our spiritual body that we take for granted the many parts of the body of Christ until we lose one or its function. Take for example, when the worship band was not playing, how much we learned that we needed and appreciated them. Yet, every week they spend hours practicing and playing without any recognition or praise, because they know that is their function in the body and they know how essential it is.
God has designed our bodies, so that every part is essential. Think about if the body had only ears and no nose. It wouldn’t be able to detect when poisonous gas was escaping and soon it wouldn’t even be able to hear because it would be unconscious or dead.
Now don’t miss the important fact in v. 18, that God in His great wisdom, has arranged the different members ... in the body just as He pleased. We should give Him credit for knowing what He is doing! We should be extremely grateful for whatever gift He has given us and joyfully use it for His glory and for building up others. To be envious of someone else’s gift is sin. It is rebellion against God’s perfect plan for our lives.
Just as it is foolishness for one person to envy another person’s gift, so it is equally foolish for anyone to put down another’s gift or feel that he doesn’t need the other person’s gift. V. 21 says, 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.” The eye can see things that need to be done, but it can’t do them. It depends on the hand for that. Again, the head might know that it is necessary to go to a certain place, but it depends on the feet to take it there.
In v. 22 it says, Some members of the body ... seem to be weaker than others. The kidneys, for instance, don’t seem to be as strong as the arms. But the kidneys are indispensable whereas the arms are not—this has really been made clear to me as I have seen Joe Gogue going through his battle with needing a kidney replaced. We can live without arms and legs, or even without a tongue, but we cannot live without heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. Yet these vital organs are never put on public display, in fact they are so important that we protect them to prevent them from being injured. So they just keep on carrying on their vital functions in the background.
In v. 24 Notice again the phrase, “But God.” God has combined all the differing members of the body into a living organism. This is to remind us that God is the one who is in control of organizing the body of Christ.
We see in v. 25 that the mutual care of the members prevents divisions in the body. One gives to another what is needed, and receives in return the help which only that other member can give. This is the way it must be in the church. Overemphasis on any one gift will result in conflict and division. When a part of your physical body declares independence from the other parts, it starts to die and you have to visit the doctor. Division in the local church brings weakness and pain (1:10–17) because no Christian can go it alone and be successful. Do you thank God for fellow Christians and seek to care for them?[ii] As in a human body, each church member has a different but important function. Neither a human body nor a church body can be effective unless all its members work in harmony.
Finally, we see in v. 26 what affects one member affects all. This is a well-known fact in the human body. Fever, for instance, is not confined to one part of the body, but affects the whole body. So it is with other types of sickness and pain. An eye doctor often can detect brain tumor, kidney disease, or liver infection by looking into the eye. The reason he can do that is that, although all these parts are distinct and separate, yet they all form part of the one body, and they are so vitally linked together that what affects one member affects all. Therefore, instead of being discontent with our lot, or, on the other hand, instead of feeling a sense of independence from others, we should have a real sense of harmony in the Body of Christ. Anything that hurts another Christian should cause us great sorrow. Likewise, if we see another Christian honored, we should not feel jealous, but we should rejoice with him.
Paul reminds the Corinthian church that they are the body of Christ and each member is important. We are incomplete and disabled without one another’s gifts. . . Paul teaches that Christians should not only function together but also feel together. In a body, the toothache or a sore toe can make the whole person miserable. So it is with the church. Christians should so feel for one another that they are sad or glad together.[iii]
In comparing the church to the human body, Paul shows how the wide diversity of gifts assures unity in the church. Each gift contributes something necessary to the common life and growth of the whole. There is no room for pride and no need to feel inferior in the body of Christ, for each individual is essential to the proper function of the body.
Paul goes on to look at this in another way. “You,” he says, “are the body of Christ.” There is a tremendous thought here. Christ is no longer in this world in the body; therefore if he wants a task done within the world he has to find a man to do it. If he wants a child taught, he has to find a teacher to teach him; if he wants a sick person cured, he has to find a physician or surgeon to do his work; if he wants his story told, he has to find a man to tell it. Literally, we have to be the body of Christ, hands to do his work, feet to run upon his errands, a voice to speak for him.
“He has no hands but our hands
To do his work today;
He has no feet but our feet
To lead men in his way;
He has no voice but our voice
To tell men how he died;
He has no help but our help
To lead them to his side.”
If we can understand how important the many parts of our human body are to our survival, we must also understand how important the many parts of our spiritual body (church) are to our survival. Yes, I said survival. We must realize that every part of the church is just as important and necessary as the other. There are differences of functions, ministries, and positions, but there are no unimportant parts of the body of Christ! The absolute truth is, I need you, and you need me, if we are to function and grow as a healthy body of Christ.
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a Or with; or in
[i]The letters to the Corinthians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
[ii]Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1991). With the word Bible commentary (electronic ed.) (1 Co 12:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[iii]Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide. Includes index. (1st Augsburg books ed.) (Page 587). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.