The Church--The Body of Christ

     "Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular." (1 Cor. 12:27)


     Centuries ago the psalmist said, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139:14). The human body is a marvelous example of unity in diversity. Dozens of organs all performing different functions, yet working together in such harmony that we must make a deliberate effort to think of the human body in any way other than as a unity.
     In the church at Corinth some had gifts that others did not have and, as a result, they thought of themselves more highly than they should have. This provoked the less gifted to jealousy. The result was discord and strife among the members. In substance Paul was saying to them, "You do not realize your relationship to one another and to Christ. You are joined to one another and depend on one another just as the members of the body are joined to one another and depend on one another.  You are the physical expression and instrument of Christ in this world just as the body is the physical expression and instrument of the mind." "Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular." (1Cor. 12:27) Several practical suggestions about the church are called out by this text.

     1. Each member of the church is different from every other member.
    The church has the unity of a living organism. No two parts are alike, and each part carries out a different function for the good of the whole. Some inescapable, practical implications are seen.

     A. Every member of Christ's church has some place of service cut out for him or her. Sometimes we wonder about the function of the appendix or the tonsils, but all in all, there are no useless members or organs of the body. They each have a function to perform, and unless they do, the whole body suffers. Likewise, no two members of the church have equal abilities. But every member has a function to perform for the common good. Under the leadership of the Spirit it is each person's privilege and duty to discover what that place is and to fill it.
     B. Each member of Christ's church must perform his or her own function in the church. As Paul says, "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!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable" (v 21-22). Every pastor has had members of his church say to him, "All I can do is just go to church and just sit there." The majority of those who say something like this could do more if they wanted to. If every member of every church would only fill his or her place of service, what a difference it would make!
     C. No place of service is so low as to be despised or looked down on, and no place is so high that it justifies conceit on the part of the one filling it. Some members  at Corinth were discouraged. Their attitude was: "We don't amount to much in the church." Paul said to them, "If the foot should say, "Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body" (v15). Some at Corinth had too high an estimate of their worth. To them Paul said, "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I  don't need you!" (v21). To the Romans Paul was even more specific, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, But rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each one of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (12:3-6).

     2. Each member of the church is to be devoted to the best interest of every other member.
    Someone has said, "In brute creation it is the stomach that rules the world. "Selfishness rules. The law of the jungle is "Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost." But in Christ's church the ultimate aim is the well being of one's fellow members and therefore the whole church. Since the church is a living organism, each member is to be devoted to the highest good of every other member.
     Paul told the Corinthians, "There should be no division in the body, but...it's parts should have equal concern for each other" (1 Cor. 12:25). He gives two reasons for this:

     A." If one part suffers, every part suffers with it"  (v 26). When one member is the victim of half-truths or untruths, when any member is the prey of cheap gossip, the church is the loser. When one member falls into sin, all suffer. Sinning on the part of one member of the church is like putting poison in the public water supply. Sooner or later all the members are hurt by it.

     B. "If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it" (v26). Since the church is a body, what is for the good of one is for the good of all. Paul urged the Romans, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves" (12:10). The members of a church are to be devoted to one another to the building up of the body in love. If only we followed that ideal, how different things would be in our churches!

     3. Each member of the church is dependent on every other member.
    The human body is dependent on the functioning of each individual organ. When one organ is diseased and unable to perform its function properly, the whole body is sick. The proper use of the hands and feet is dependent the health of the nervous system. The welfare of the nervous system is dependent on proper circulation. No part of the body is independent of any other part.
    Likewise, no member of the church is independent of any other member in the worship and service of Christ. And no member is the whole of himself; his fellow members complete him. If the church is to grow and move forward, every member must fill his place and perform his function, because every other member is dependent on him!

     Consider a serious question: What is the function of the whole body, each member performing his or her individual part? "You are the body of Christ," our text says. What the physical body is to the mind and soul, the church is to Christ--the physical instrument by which He works His will in the world.