The Body of Christ
I CORIN. 12:12-27
I. The Unity Of The Body Of Christ
A. We Have A Functional Relationship To Jesus
B. We Have A Spiritual Relationship To Jesus
II. The Diversity Of The Body Of Christ
A. The Members Are Different From One Another
B. The Members Are Dependent On One Another
III. The Harmony Of The Body Of Christ
A. We’re To Cooperate With One Another
B. We’re To Be Concerned About One Another
These verses occur in the context of the subject of spiritual gifts. In the opening verses of this chapter Paul has introduced the subject of spiritual gifts, he has said that every child of God has one or more spiritual gifts. He has also said that these spiritual gifts given to believers are to be exercised by them not for their own selfish purposes but for the benefit of the body, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer is to use his spiritual gifts in order that God’s church might be blessed, that it might grow, that it might become everything it ought to be. Now in order to illustrate what he’s talking about here Paul moves now to a very familiar figure of speech. When you study the New Testament you will find that there are several figures of speech that are used to describe what a church is like. For instance, sometimes we’re told the church is like a family, when we’re saved we’re born into the family of God and we are members of God’s family. We sing the little chorus sometimes, I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God. So sometimes the church is illustrated like a family. Sometimes the church is described as a flock. The Bible says that we are the sheep, that the Lord is the Shepherd, we are the sheep of His flock. So sometimes the church is described as a flock. Sometimes it’s described as an army, the army of the Lord, terrible as an army with banners. The Salvation Army has built its whole church affiliation around the concept of the church as a mighty army of the Lord. Then sometimes the church is compared to a bride, the beautiful bride of Christ, and the Bible says that one day the Lord is going to present the bride to himself, a glorious bride without spot and without blemish. So sometimes the church is like a bride, loving the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly bridegroom. On other occasions the church is described as a building and the Bible says the church is built on the foundation of the Lord Jesus and the church, like a mighty super structure, line on line, piece on piece, is being built together to be the mighty building of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But one of the most familiar illustrations in the Bible of what a church is intended to be like is the illustration of the body, the church is compared to a body. Now of course it’s very easy for us to understand the illustration of the church as a body, all of us have got one, all of us have a body, so you don’t have to take a college course on anatomy to understand the body, you know that the feet walk, and you know that the teeth chew, and you know that the eyes see, and you know that the ears hear, and so it is an ideal illustration for us to see the church of the Lord Jesus as the body. Now in these verses you will notice that there is a recurring pattern of thought, you will notice that he over and over again emphasizes that while there is one body there are many members. The body of Christ is one and yet that body of Christ is composed of many different members. Now here’s what we’re going to see as we compare the church of the Lord Jesus to a body. We’re going to see, first of all, THE UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST; secondly we’re going to see THE DIVERSITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST; and then number three, we’re going to see THE HARMONY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.
Let’s begin in verse 12 and following and talk about THE UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. Now four times in verses 12 and 13 he says the body is one, one body. Four times he makes that emphasis there; he is discussing the unity of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every member of the body of Jesus Christ has A FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. Now you notice in verse 12 he says, as the body is one, and has many member, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body. When you are saved you become a part of that mystical body of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are members of that body. Now that’s a thrilling idea. When you get to thinking about it that just simply means then that we represent the Lord Jesus on this earth. You may remember this poem, it goes like this: He has no hands but our hands to do His work today, No feet but our feet to lead men in His way,
No voice but our voice to tell them how He died,
No help but our help to lead them to His side.
So when you’re saved you are placed into vital union with Jesus Christ, you become a member of His body. Now I have on my wrist tonight a watch. I suppose most of you have on a watch. Now there is a difference between my watch and my ear. You see, my watch is an attachment to my body, it really doesn’t belong to my body, I have attached my watch to my body, but on the other hand my ear is not an attachment it is a part of my body, it belongs to me, it receives the same blood that every member of my body receives. Now the unfortunate thing is I fear that there are some people who are merely attachments to the church and they have never been added by the new-birth experience actually to the body of Jesus Christ. Are you an attachment? or are you a member of the body of Christ by the new-birth experience? So the Bible says we have a functional relationship with our Lord Jesus.
Now the church compared to a body means to us then that the church is a living organism. Now I used to preach that the church was an organism and it was not an organization. I was incorrect. The church is an organization also. By the way, your human body, though it is an organism, would be in real bad shape if there was no organization to it. I mean if your feet just decided to go off in opposite directions you’re in big trouble. There has to be organization in the body of Jesus Christ and it is a shame and it is a disgrace that some local churches are so unorganized and the body of Christ becomes spastic in its activity and it doesn’t move smoothly and effectively. But, you see, having said that the emphasis of these verses is that the church is a living organism, it is alive, it is like your human body. The church is alive. Well that simply means then that the church is to grow. If your body is alive it begins to grow. And of course if there is growth that means that there is change. There always has to be change. I dare say that most of you grown-ups are not wearing the same clothes you wore when you were five years old, your body has changed. In fact some of you guys probably aren’t wearing the same size you wore when you were in the services, probably you’re a few sizes bigger now than when you were in the services. Our bodies have a tendency to change and they have a tendency to grow. And the body, like a living organism, also does things. There’s activity, the feet do walk, and the lips do talk, and the ears do hear, and the eyes do see, and the same thing is true about the body of Jesus Christ: where the body of Christ is functioning properly there is activity going on, God’s people are doing things and the church is alive. I want to tell you there is nothing more dismal to me than a church that claims to be the body of Jesus Christ that is morbid and dead and lifeless. The most alive place in the community ought to be the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, you see, there is the unity of the body, we have a functional relationship to Jesus.
But also WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP TO JESUS, and we learn this in verse 13. And in verse 13 he brings up the whole subject of baptism by the Holy Spirit. Notice verse 13, he says, For by one Spirit (and literally it’s past tense there) were we all baptized into the body of Christ. Now this brings up a subject that is of great interest to us: the whole matter of the baptism by the Spirit. In the charismatic movement this is one of the key teachings of the entire movement: the baptism by the Spirit. Now there is a distinction which you need to make in your mind. In Luke chapter 2 we are told about the birth of the physical body of the Lord Jesus. When He was on this earth He had a physical birth, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and He had a physical body. In Acts chapter 2 we are told about the birth of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, the church. Now Jesus said in Matthew chapter 3 that when the Spirit of God would come He would baptize by that Spirit into the body. In other words there would be a Spirit baptism of His coming church. That took place on the day of Pentecost. When the church came into existence the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit baptized believers on that day. But now the Bible teaches that individual believers, when they are born into the family of God, are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. That is our spiritual union with Jesus. It is not so much an experience as it is a positional matter.
Now the moment you’re saved there are several divine transactions that occur, several divine activities which take place in relationship to the Holy Spirit. For instance, you are in-dwelt with the Spirit when you’re saved, you are born of the Spirit when you are saved, you are saved with the Holy Spirit when you are saved, and verse 13 teaches that you are baptized by the Spirit into the one body when you are saved. Now baptism by the Spirit is not something that takes place later on after you’re saved, it takes place the very moment you are saved, and your position in Jesus Christ is secure because the Spirit of God has baptized you into the body of Jesus Christ. Now, you see, that’s a different experience altogether from the filling of the Spirit. Now the Bible nowhere teaches us that we are to seek the baptism by the Spirit. The Bible does say that we are to seek to be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says be filled with the Spirit. The Bible does not teach that the baptism may be repeated, it is a once-for-all event. The filling of the Spirit on the other hand is something that can be repeated and should be repeated. Every Christian every day ought to pray for a new in-filling of God’s Holy Spirit. You see, friends, you don’t just get filled with the Spirit and stay filled the rest of your life. A lot of us are like the old boy who got right with God once a year at revival time. It was out in the country, they had an annual revival meeting, and this old boy would backslide all year long and then revival meeting would come and he’d hit the altar. One night he was down there praying and carrying on and his wife was kneeling right by him and he began to pray, “Oh, Lord, fill me! Oh, Lord, fill me! Oh, Lord, fill me!” And she was overheard to pray, “Don’t do it, Lord, he leaks.” Well, you see, the fact of the matter is we all leak don’t we? and all of us need that daily filling of God’s Spirit, yielding our lives to the control of the Holy Spirit. So we do not seek the baptism but we do seek the filling. The baptism is a once-for-all event, the filling of the Holy Spirit can be repeated.
The evidence of the baptism of the Spirit is not speaking in tongues. This chapter proves it beyond question. Now look at verse 13: For by one Spirit were we all (how many? a-l-l, that means all; by one Spirit were we all) baptized into the body of Christ. Now drop down to verse 30, and he’s talking about the fact that some have some gifts and others have other gifts, so in verse 30 he raises some questions and the answer to the questions is no. Have all the gifts of healing? The answer is no. Do all speak with tongues? And the answer is no. Now, if you said that tongues is the evidence of the baptism by the Spirit then you’re contradicting what is clearly taught in these verses. In verse 30 he says all do not speak with tongues but in verse 13 he says we were all baptized by the Spirit into the body of Jesus Christ. So, you see, there is no evidence, experientially, of the baptism by the Spirit; there is on the other hand evidence of the filling of the Spirit. You say, All right, Preacher, that’s where tongues comes in. No, that’s not where tongues comes in either because if you will study the book of Acts carefully you will be convinced, I believe, that the evidence of being filled with the Spirit is soul-winning power. Acts chapter 1, verse 8, says, And you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me. Friend, I’ll tell you, when you’re filled with God’s Holy Spirit you will be a witness, you won’t be able to keep from being a witness. You get so full of Jesus Christ that every time you get around somebody you’ll have to speak a good word for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s you and I pray that when we get up in the morning in our morning prayer time that God will fill us so full of the Holy Spirit that every time we come in contact with people we’ll tell them tomorrow about the Lord Jesus Christ. So he sets before us in these verses the unity of the body of Christ: many members, one body.
But now then, beginning in verse 14 and following, he talks about the DIVERSITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. Now the emphasis here is not upon one body but the emphasis rather is upon many members. You see the change in emphasis in verse 14? He says, For the body is not one member, but many members. Now he’s going to emphasize the diversity of the body of Christ. Now he’s not talking here about diversity of doctrine, he’s not talking about diversity of what you believer, he is talking about the differences of the members who make up the body of Jesus Christ, and in these verses, in a rather entertaining way, he points out the fact that the members of the body are different from one another, and then he points out that the members of the body are dependent upon one another. Now look at it.
He points out that they are different from another. Verse 15. Now in verse 15 we encounter a fretful foot. I mean here is an unhappy foot. Now you need your foot, everybody has got to have a foot. I mean you’ve got to have a foot to stand, you’ve got to have a foot to walk, you’ve got to have a foot to kick a stubborn door, you’ve got to have a foot. But this is an unhappy foot because, you see, this foot is looking at the hand and the foot is unhappy because as the foot looks at the hand he says, “Oh, what a pretty hand.” And he says, “That hand has got a ring on it. I ain’t got a ring on my toe. In fact I’m down here where nobody sees me. I’ve got an old sock over me and it doesn’t smell too good. Oh, I don’t want to be a foot.” So the foot gets mad and threatens to secede from the body. Now Paul says in these verses just because the foot gets unhappy and just because the foot is lamenting because it is not a hand he says that doesn’t have anything to do with it, that foot is still just as much a part of that body as the hand is. But he goes a little further, not only a fretful foot, we’ve got an enraged ear, we’ve got an ear that’s all upset, and the ear is upset because it’s looking at the eye. Now you need an ear. I mean you’ve got to have an ear to hear beautiful music, you’ve got to have an ear to hear Mom call you to supper, you’ve got to have an ear so your glasses won’t fall down around your neck, there are a lot of purposes for your ear. But this is an unhappy ear because the ear said, “I’m not an eye. Oh, that beautiful, beautiful eye, so pretty. And everybody is always talking about how pretty the eye is, what beautiful eyes you have. And no one ever says what beautiful ears you have. In fact somebody says your ears look like the back doors of a taxi open.” But, you see, because the ear does not want to be a part of the body it doesn’t mean that it is not a part of the body.
Now what’s the point of this ridiculous illustration? Paul’s point of the whole illustration is this: that we are all different from one another, none of us are the same. Friend, did you know when God saved you and made you a member of His body He made you an original and not a duplicate? Don’t you thank God for the diversity of the members of the body? They’re all different. Variety. Aren’t you glad that every member of the body is not Jerry Vines? Amen. I’ve got news, I’m glad they’re not all you either. We’re all different. So Paul’s emphasis here is is that though there is one body there are many members and we’re all different one from another. And, you know, it is a happy day in the life of a Christian when he comes to understand that he can’t be another member of the body he can just be what God has called him to be, and just accept what God has called you to be and be it to the glory of God. If you’re an eye, be the best eye for Jesus you can be. If you’re an ear, be the best ear for Jesus you can be. If you are a foot, be the best member of the body of Jesus Christ as a foot that you can possibly be. We are different from one another.
But then he points out the fact that we are DEPENDENT ON ONE ANOTHER. Now in verse 17 he points out we’re dependent upon one another, he says, If the whole body were an eye. I mean what if you were just one big, round eye? I mean, man, what if you just came rolling in here tonight? Hello there, Mr. Eye. Just come rolling in and sit down here on the front row, just one big old eye. Did you know an eye has trouble picking up things? You ever tried to pick up anything with an eyelash? Now I think some of our girls can do it, they’re growing their own penicillin. But normally an eye has to have some assistance. He said if the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? You see, the eye sees the apple but the hand reaches out and plucks the apple, and then the mouth chews the apple, and then the stomach digests the apple. Every part, every member of the body is dependent on every other member. You know what he’s saying? He’s saying we need each other. You see? I need you and you need me, and the body is not complete and it is not functioning properly unless every member of the body is doing what it is assigned to do. And you see what it says in verse 18? God has set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased Him. He’s the one who made the choice.
So, you see, we have not only the unity of the body but we also have the diversity of the body, and then, number three, he points out that we have the HARMONY OF THE BODY. Now look at verse 21: the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor the head to the feet, I have no need of you. In other words you just can’t say, I can get along without the other members of the body. That’s why it bothers me when I hear some Christians talk about the fact they don’t need the church. Beware of Christians who don’t need the church. We need the church. We need the members of the body. Now watch. He says in verse 22, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. He didn’t say they were feeble, he said they just seem to be that way. All right, he says in verse 23, those members of the body we think to be less honorable. He didn’t say they are less honorable, he said we just think they are.
Listen, there are some parts of the body that are far more important than you think they are. For instance, the big toe. Oh, that big toe is very important. I mean, really, you need your big toe. If you didn’t have you big toe it’s hard to stand without your big toe. But the point is is that there must be harmony in the body, all of the parts of the body, even those that may not seem too important to you, they HAVE TO COOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER. And how do you and I know whether another member of the body is important or not? We’re all important to the Lord, and we all cooperate with one another.
And you know what he says? Not only are we to cooperate with one another he says we’re to BE CONCERNED ABOUT ONE ANOTHER. Do you see what he says? I love this, down in verse 25 he says that we should have the same care one for another. We’re to be concerned for one another. He says in verse 26, when one member of your body suffers, all of them suffer. That’s true isn’t it? You’re doing a little repair work and you’ve got a hammer there and you hit the wrong nail, and when you do your face twists up, your eyes fill with tears, your mouth sympathizes and lets out a yell. When one member of the body suffers we all suffer. You know, that’s the same way it is in the body of Jesus. One member of the family of God, the people of God, here is going through a time of bereavement and we all grieve with them. Some member of the fellowship here is going through a hard time, some businessman and, man, he’s got a tough time on the job and things aren’t going well and the cash flow is a problem right now. And you know what? Members of the body are to just gather around him and love him. And here’s a mother and she’s having difficulty with her children and the members of the body, when one suffers we all suffer.
And you know what? When one is honored we’re all honored. Now that’s a little harder. It is harder for us to rejoice with those that rejoice than it is to weep with those that weep. Did you know that? It really is. Did you know it’s a lot easier to be sympathetic with somebody that’s having a hard time than to rejoice when some member is getting some attention you’re not getting. You know, some people have a real hard time getting blessed in somebody else’s meeting. A lot of people are like wooden matches, they strike only on their own boxes. But, you see, the Bible says if the body is functioning the way it ought to be and if there’s the right kind of concern with one another, when one rejoices we all rejoice. You see, here’s a crown that’s placed upon the head and the foot says, “I didn’t get a crown. Look at that head, the head got crowned.” Oh yes, friend, but when the crown was placed upon the head that means you’ve got a king there, so it’s a king’s head, and it’s a king’s foot, and it’s a king’s hand, and it’s a king’s eye. When one member is honored we’re all honored. You see, Christianity is closer to a game of basketball than it is to a game of tennis because when one member of your team shoots a basket it goes up on your board, and when something good happens to a member of the fellowship of God’s people all of God’s people share in the joy. So he says in verse 27, you are the body of Christ and members in particular.
But do you know the Bible says something about a lost person? The Bible says the lost person is in a body too. In the book of Romans it talks about the body of sin and the body of death. But, you see, if you’ll repent of your sins and receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior you’ll come out of the old body of sin and you’ll be made a member of the body of Jesus Christ.