The Body Of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:24-27 NKJV
24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
This twelfth chapter has some great things in it—the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or manifestations of the Holy Spirit, which are still relevant today. But the bulk of the chapter is devoted to a discourse on the body of Christ.
Paul is making the case, by inspiration, that the body of Christ is made of many members with many different functions. Just as in a human body, the body of Christ is composed of many different members. We need all of our human body parts functioning, and the same applies to the spiritual body, the body of Christ. God has determined the place for each of us individually. And as Paul said so succinctly, "now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." This is why we are to treat one another well. This is why we do not disregard one another. And if we really focused on this area, we would not assign superstar status to anyone. We are all part of His body, and He is the head.
Paul may have still been dealing with the Corinthians' childish practice of putting some in the body above others. This was the church identifying too strongly with ministers. He writes that because God is the One who composed the body, there should be no schism or division in the body. The members should have the same care for one another. If we put this into practice, think how counter-cultural this would be in our status crazy society. The nature of the flesh is to divide the "haves" from the "have nots." But according to the revelation given to Paul, we should suffer when one member of the body suffers and rejoice when a member is honored.
Paul is leading into the next part of his message to the Corinthians. It is God who sets people in the body of Christ. It is God who assigns gifts and callings. And it is God who has set all of us in the body of Christ together. One body, one Lord. And it's good to desire the gifts of the Spirit but there is a more excellent way. This leads directly to Paul's discourse on the divine kind of love. More on that next week.
Prayer
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for placing me into the body of Christ. Thank you for equipping me to function in my role. Help me to be a body-builder as one who cares.