a) One thing that is true of all of us is that we have bodies. There are some variations, of course. There are male and female bodies; there are taller and shorter bodies, and thinner and more well-built bodies. We all understand what bodies are like because we all have one, and because we all understand at least something about our bodies and the way they work, Paul uses the body here as a picture for us of a church.
b) This chapter is also an example of the way God can bring good out of evil. The situation in the
1. The church is one body with many members
a) The important v. here is v.12. You have a body but it has many members. So also is it with Christ; he has a body made up of many members. And in a particular place,
b) Now the body is the body of Christ, v.27 and Christ is the head of the body, though that is implied here rather than stated as it is elsewhere. The point is this; if I belong to Christ I naturally belong to all the others who belong to Christ. If I trust Christ and follow him then I naturally become one with the others who are following him – it is as simple as that. We might say that a church is a body of people who trust Christ, who help one another to live for Christ and serve him together, and who are going to Christ. But he is our head, and that is vital. Our bodies are under the control of our heads, our minds. Our minds decide where we are going to go, what we are going to do, how we are going to live, what we are going to say and our bodies obey our will. So it is with Christ our head – this is simple, but very important. He is Lord over his people.
c) If the body is under the headship of Christ it is energized by the Holy Spirit, v.13. The Spirit baptizes us into the one body of Christ, he puts us into the body and he also fills us, that is the point of the last phrase. It is his presence and power which enables us to live under the Lordship of Christ. He produces his fruit in us, Gal.5:22,23,25. We are sinful people, apt to go our way, to do our own thing, but the Spirit gives us a new mind, a new attitude, he helps us to see our responsibilities to the whole body and to live accordingly. He is like our breathing, the oxygen which we take into our lungs and without which we would not only not be able to live or work adequately, we would die. Or he is like our life-blood, which constantly circulates through the body, bringing oxygen from the lungs to every part so that all the parts can work effectively.
d) If a church is a body, and if it is under Christ as its head and indwelt and empowered by the Spirit, that means the members all form a unity, they are one body. That is why Paul speaks as he does in Eph.1:1-6. In Christ we are united, we cannot change that but we can spoil it, and sadly often do. How?
i. By failing to realise that sin remains in us and we have to be watchful and obedient.
ii. By becoming careless in our behaviour and relationships.
iii. By letting our brothers and sisters get under our skin.
iv. By grieving the Holy Spirit, Eph.4:30.
v. By failing to keep close to Jesus and dependent on him.
2. Though one body the church has many members
a) If you consider your body you will know that its members, its parts, are very different from each other. The passage mentions the foot and the hand v.15, and the ear and the eye, v.16,17, and by implication the nose, because the same verse refers to the smelling. Of course it is true that we have a pair of hands, feet, ears and eyes, but each pair is very different from the other and none of the pairs is perfectly symmetrical. It would be no good swapping your left and right foot over, either they would have to face backwards or else they would be unbalanced. The point is this. In the body of Christ we are all different. We are not meant to be the same, but this is one of the facts that can make unity in the church difficult, but which also magnifies the grace of God. How remarkable it is that such diverse people can love each other, can pray together and work together. This isn’t always easy, but we must remember Romans 15:7. Moreover, if we were all the same we couldn’t work as the body works, each part having its own function and enabling the whole body to work.
b) So it is not just that we are different people, we are also given different gifts and serve the Lord in different ways, and it is this that Paul is emphasizing in this chapter. Look at vv.4-7. Differences of gifts, differences of ministries, differences of activities – but for the good of all, for the whole body. It is the Spirit who has done this, v.11, our gifts and abilities are not ours, they come from the Spirit and they are different. See also v.18. God puts the members into his churches, just as it pleases him. God in his sovereignty forming different people, giving them different gifts and abilities, putting them into the body so that they could serve him and the whole body. No wonder Paul was so concerned that the Corinthians were all seeking the same gift; they simply didn’t understand what God had done and how they should relate to each other and serve him.
c) This leads us to consider that all the members function in different ways and do different things. This is obvious if we think of Paul’s illustration in v.15. In some ways the hand and the foot are similar, but the way in which they work is quite different. The hand is extremely versatile, in can do a great variety of actions; the foot can’t do nearly so much if you compare the two. But your foot enables you to stand up, and if you can’t stand your hand can’t do as much as it could you were standing up. And it is the feet which enable you to get about, to make progress, to get from one place to another. Now there is no direct analogy to either foot or hand in the church, but some members are very versatile and are able to do many things, other members may bring stability and solidity to the church, and a church needs that, others again may enable it to reach out, to make progress. I’m afraid that sometimes we give the impression that every Christian needs to be much the same, and doing much the same sort of thing. In fact, we should think in exactly the opposite way; we should look for the different gifts that people have and encourage them and give them opportunities to use those gifts. And we should recognise that the gifts some have will mean that their main work is to act as members of the church in the world, not directly in church activities at all. I believe it is a good thing for younger Christians to be helped by church officers and more mature members to discover their gifts. They should be encouraged to get involved in as much Christian work as they reasonably can in order for them to find out what they are good at – and also what they are not good at! Warren Wiersbe in one of his books says: ‘Find out what you’re good at and stick to that.’
d) The different members of the body are all necessary, vv.15-19. How often do some Christians feel, and sometimes are actually made to feel, that they can do nothing and are almost a burden in the church. ‘Oh, pastor’, they say, ‘I’m afraid I can’t do anything much in the church.’ And some try to do things they have no aptitude for simply because they feel they must try and contribute something. And when people are ill or get old, they often feel like this. Or they compare themselves with some highly gifted, very active person and feel an utter failure because they’re not like him or her. One group in the early churches that could easily feel they could do little consisted of those wives whose husbands were not Christians. Peter writes to such, 1 Pet.3:3,4. I’m not sure that a gentle and quiet spirit is very precious in the sight of the leaders and members of some churches, but it is very precious in the sight of God; and it makes a great impact on unbelievers too. I know that we can all be lazy; none of us is as devoted to the Lord, to his church or to the service of Christ as we should be, but we must be careful. Every member of the body is necessary, and all have a part to play in the life and spiritual growth of the body. We must take to heart v.21,22: those members which seem to be weaker are necessary.
e) All the members are to be honoured and cared for, v.22-25. There are parts of the body that we always leave uncovered, but other parts we cover, not because they are not part of the body, or there is anything wrong with them, but because they are private and personal to each of us. But we cover them and dress them and make them presentable and make them honourable. In any group of people there are always some who catch the eye, whose gifts and abilities are evident, and there are also others who are more retiring, whose gifts are not on the surface, and who tend not to be noticed. So in the church we make sure that they that are not overlooked, that they are appreciated, that we value and honour them as members – or, to be truthful, mostly we do not, but we this is what we ought to do. As v.25 says, we should have the same care for one another. No-one should be left out, or feel left out, there is to be no division in the body.
f) Finally, all the members are to feel for each other, v.26. It is amazing how a pain or injury in a very small part of the body affects the whole. A toenail is scarcely a part at all, but if is ingrowing you can’t walk properly or without pain, you can’t sleep at night and you might have to have a series of operations to cure the problem. Or think of a toothache; or you who are gardeners, a tiny thorn from a rose bush that gets into a finger or thumb. We must feel for our suffering fellow believers. I know we sometimes find that hard, but to truthful, what Paul says next is often even harder, 26b. Do we rejoice, or are we envious? Think of it like this. You have a good meal and the whole body feels satisfied; go for a good walk and your whole body feels better; your mind is clearer, even your eyes seem brighter. Or think of it in family terms. Parents are glad when their children do well. So if a brother or sister is rejoicing, rejoice with them, you are one with them in the body, and if they are honoured, so is the whole church, because they are a part of it.
3. All the members are to work together as a body
a) My wife and I are always humbled when we go, as we have done for the past couple of years, to the annual holiday of the Disabled Christian Fellowship at St Annes. These people suffer from a variety of disabilities, but several suffer from cerebral palsy, some very severely, and they can’t co-ordinate the parts of the body as most of us can. They seem so awkward and ungainly at times; an arm goes here, a leg there. Their movements are jerky and unpredictable. These are fine Christians and of course they cannot help their condition which they were born with.
b) The sad thing is that churches can be rather like that. Instead of being one, working together and serving the Lord together, the church may break up into groups, each with its own little agenda. Some do one thing, others something else, you are never quite sure what is going to happen next. Some are individualists and go off at tangents rather than working together with others, they seem to be in the church but not of it. The result of all this is that some members get overlooked, there is an atmosphere of general unhappiness and dissatisfaction. In all too many cases it leads to churches breaking up and the Lord dishonoured.
c) So the question is: how can a church work together; how can a collection of very different sinners, though saved by grace, manage to work and serve together and glorify their Father in heaven? I believe the answer is in v.31. In this case I am going to follow the marginal reading in the NIV, though the translation is my own: But you are seeking the greater gifts, and I will show you a still more excellent way. The Corinthians were seeking great gifts, gifts that would mark them out as very spiritual people, especially the gift of speaking in tongues. Paul wants them to see there is a far better way to spiritual prosperity in the church than that. What is that? It is the way of love. If you can have all the gifts in the world without love, they’re worth nothing to you. What is love like? 13:4-8a.
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