"The Body of Christ - A Call to True Unity"
I Cor. 12:12-27
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
I believe we need to see the importance of Unity in Body of Christ. Is it important? Based on this passage, it is! All of us who are truly part of the Body of Christ will see that we need each other - no lone rangers in Christianity. I've seen Christians do that (the lone ranger thing), and they may say, “I love the Lord, I'm growing spiritually, and I'm doing fine. Just me and Jesus”! I would say, firstly, you may think you're doing fine, but are you pleasing God? Secondly, if you are doing fine, why are you robbing other Christians of your God-given talents and gifts? Just something to think about. Now let me get off my soapbox and let's look at this passage.
Verse 12 - For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
We the Body of Christ are one unit, but many members.
We are foot, hand, ears, eyes, etc., Our many members make up just
ONE body, not 2 or 3, or 1,000,000, etc. We are one body - THE BODY OF CHRIST.
Verse 13 - For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
No favoritism or distinction in God's Body.
Oh, how it hurts me to see the favoritism they give to certain people in some churches. Jew, Greek, bond, free (accepted, outcast, rich, poor, black, white, married, single, divorced, or of a certain denomination, etc…), we have been all made to drink into one Spirit. That's something to get excited about!
Verse 14 - For the body is not one member, but many.
The Body of Christ is not just ONE LIMB, ORGAN, or PART, but MANY parts. We need the many parts!
Verse 15 - If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
Verse 16 - And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
You (foot, eye) may think, “I'm not like that person (hand, eye) so I don't belong to the Body.” But we are all equally part of the body, we just have different purposes/functions.
(Also see Romans 12:4-8)
Verse 17 - If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
If you lacked one part, you would be lacking what makes the body work as a UNIT.
Each part of the Body of Christ relies on the other parts. (Also see Romans 12:5)
Just as God designed the physical body to rely on each member to function most efficiently, so the Body of Christ was designed to rely on each other to function most efficiently.
Verse 18 - But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
"...as it hath pleased Him (as He desired)." God has placed us where He wants us in His body, and He knows where we're needed to produce a UNITED, EFFICIENT Body.
So don't fight the place where God has placed you, He knows best. Besides it's where it pleases Him, so if it pleases God, that should be enough for you and me.
Verse 19 - And if they were all one member, where were the body?
Thank God we are not all just one part, we wouldn't be a BODY!
Verse 20 - But now are they many members, yet but one body.
Many members (parts, functions), One body.
Verse 21 - And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
Verse 22 - Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
Verse 23- And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
In verse 15-16, YOU (foot) are saying, “I'm not part of the Body,” and others (eye, head) are saying, “you're not like me so I don't feel you (hand, feet) belong to the Body”. It hurts bad enough when you don't feel you are part of the Body; but I think it hurts even more when others tell you or make you feel like you're not needed or are part of the Body of Christ. If you feel like you have been treated that way, don't let it bother you. Those who treat you that way are ignorant of your importance or are spiritually immature in this area (and I hope none of you have treated anyone like that). God knows of your importance in the Body, go with God's Word! We ALL need each other! Also it says those parts that "...seem to be more feeble (weaker)...." Do you feel like the weaker member? Well, the Bible does not say they (you) are weaker, but it just seems to be weaker (big difference), and it also says they are necessary. Praise God!
Verse 24 - For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
God has so composed/adjusted the Body of Christ so that more abundant honor goes to that part which lacked apparent importance.
Verse 25 - That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
Why? So that the result will be that there will be NO DIVISION and the members will have the SAME care one for another.
Verse 26-And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
When we are in UNITY as God intended, we'll have the heart for each other as seen here; and when one suffers, we'll all suffer (sort of like your natural body, hit your finger with a hammer and watch how the rest of your body joins in, eyes are watering, mouth is screaming, and hand is swinging, feet are running all because of a finger). When one is honored, we will all be rejoicing with that brother or sister, or at least as this passage becomes real to us, we will. (Also see Gal. 6:2).
Verse 27 - Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Now we are to see that as a whole we are the Body of Christ, and as members we each have a distinct purpose and function all intertwined with each other. A body is not an eye (an eye is an eye). The body is not an ear (an ear is an ear). The body is not a hand (a hand is a hand). The body is not a foot (a foot is a foot). But you put those parts (members) together
and you have a BODY. So it is with us spiritually. As a part, Jim is Jim (doing what pleases God), but put him together with other Christians (members) and we have the Body of Christ. PTL!
Now you need to study this passage, pray to God for Him to reveal this passage to you and make it more real to you than the air you breathe.
SOME OTHER HELPFUL CLOSING THOUGHTS ON AIDING AND HELP US IN APPLICATION OF THESE TRUTHS ARE:
1. BE WILLING TO RECEIVING FROM ONE ANOTHER - Read Eph. 4:16 - "whole body" "every joint." We (the whole Body) are held together BY WHAT VERY JOINT SUPPLIES.
2. BY WALKING IN GOD'S LOVE WITH EACH OTHER
We see following I Cor. 12 (Unity in the Body) the LOVE chapter
(I Cor. 13) I believe it is placed after chapter 12, because Love
(Chapter 13) is necessary for the application of chapter 12.
Also in the Body ministry of Romans 12:4-8 we are then immediately
exhorted in the following verse to LOVE v.9-10
And lastly, by bearing one another's burdens we fulfill the Law of Christ
(which is LOVE) - Gal. 6:2b
In my final words, let us remember that not only will we benefit and be blessed as the Body of Christ, but it will also be a witness to a lost and dying world - John 17:21-23
This is a very serious devotion (and longer than most), and I believe the benefits are insurmountable. If we, the Body of Christ, would apply these truths, it would be an awesome thing in the Church and ministering to a lost and dying world that needs Jesus.
Be blessed in the LORD,
Jim (BibleFood@aol.com)