From 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Paul is speaking to the Church of Corinth about the body of Christ. If we understand that every one of us is a certain part of the body of Christ, then we would better understand that the body of Christ can only function if every single member gets involved and does their part. If someone or a group of people in the Church decides not to take part, then the body of Christ becomes more dysfunctional and handicapped.
Collective Members
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 “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. 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. For the body is not one member, but many.”
It means regardless of our races, genders, ethnicities, abilities, we are considered as members who make up a collection together known as the body of Jesus Christ.
The reason why people skip a sermon, house visitation, street preaching, or Church activity, in general, is because they fail to consider themselves as an important part of the Church. They are not motivated to keep the Church or team together. Sometimes it seems easier for us to sacrifice our Church activities than our worldly leisure activities because we lost the vision of our great unique Church. We need to always keep in mind, that when the odds were stacked against us, God was the one that pulled us through. Without this gratitude in mind, it will be easy for us to lose our motivation in serving the Lord as a collective one body of Christ.
Concerned Members
1 Corinthians 12:15-17 “If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 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? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?”
This shows that there are some members in the Church who are concerned about their own roles and importance. Just because we fail to realize our own importance, it does not discard the fact that our contribution is still much needed and appreciated.
If we are the ‘finger’ of the body of Christ, then we should not view ourselves in comparison to the hand, to the foot, or to other parts. We often perceive a finger to be dispensable and not needed. Nonetheless in critical situations, a finger will often come in handy.
Consecrated Members
1 Corinthians 12:18-20 “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.”
We see that these members are consecrated by God and put into parts of the body of Christ as one to glorify Him.
Hence, it is important for us to know that Christ is the head of the Church, not the members, not even the pastors, which reminds us that our reason to serve the ministry is that we do it for Christ’s sake, not for fleshly and worldly reasons.
There will be times where we face unexpected betrayals in the Church, people turning against one another, or even the death of members in the Church. When those times arrive, what are we going to do? These will remind us that in the face of adversities and sufferings, we need to rely on God, not men.
Controlling Members
1 Corinthians 12:21 “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.”
On the other hand, as a member of the Church, we should not discredit the importance of other members.
Some of us may be faithful and dependent on God, but there’s another extreme where we do everything by ourselves and end up jeopardizing our health and life. This happens because we think we do not need other parts of the body of Christ and that we can handle all the volume and workload all alone. This is a sign of selfishness, not selflessness.
We need to give others a chance to bear the fruits of the spirit.
Crippled Members
1 Corinthians 12:22 “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:”
This refers to some of us who desperately want to please our Church or our pastors, that we are afraid to make mistakes or experience hiccups while serving the ministry. This can potentially mean that we lack humility, or the courage to admit that we are not the perfect helper and that we are feeble members of the body of Christ.
We should just learn from the correction that others give us and be fixed through the grace of God. Then only we will be able to contribute to the Church more effectively.
Contributing Members
1 Corinthians 12:23-24 “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. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.”
This means that a Church should function in a manner that the members are there to support each other, to fill the gap of one another, and to contribute to one another. As opposed to judging each other or comparing own spiritual walk with one another.
We have to be mindful of other people’s character, and complement theirs with ours; to help them grow spiritually instead of criticizing them, because we may not fully know what they are going through in our lives.
Caring Members
1 Corinthians 12:25-27 “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
The simple application here is that, when one member suffers, we suffer together; when one member rejoices, we rejoice together.
On the other hand, as a member who has weaknesses, we need to really be mindful of our weaknesses, and not let them burden the Church as that is considered a selfish act.
To think about it, if both types of members fix our faults, then we will be in sync together and the body of Christ will be at peace. In contrast, if both sides go according to their own fleshly ways, then the Church will be destroyed.
Don’t be the member that pulls down the Church.
‘Now ye are the body of Christ‘, let’s not grieve Jesus’ body.