The Body of Christ

August 3

Nehemiah 4-5

Psalm 88:6-12

Proverbs 19:19-20

I Corinthians 12

The Body of Christ

“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”  I Corinthians 12:12-13 LSB

The Body of Christ includes all Christians who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior regardless of denomination or physical location.  As believers we function as part of the universal church of Jesus Christ as well as part of a local church congregation.  Each member of the body has been given gifts, talents, abilities, personality, and strengths to serve within the body so that we all function together as one unit.  Paul uses the human body to explain how the Body of Christ should work.  Each member of the body has an important role.  We are interdependent.  We are not meant to function alone, but together we have everything we need to be effective and accomplish all that God has planned.  Just as in the human body, the eye is not responsible for hearing and the hands are not responsible for walking, in the spiritual body we each have our own function.  God created us to cooperate within the body as we do our part.  If everyone is doing what they were designed to do, everything gets done.  The problem is that many people are either not serving within the body or they are serving in ways that they weren’t designed to function and they are getting burned out.  When we are functioning within the role God designed us for, we are energized and fulfilled because our service is meaningful and we can see our purpose.  I’m not suggesting that service will always be fun and easy.  Actually, serving others is hard work and takes commitment and dedication, but it produces a joy in our hearts that can’t be found any other way.    

Being the “hands and feet” of Jesus to a lost and dying world is a monumental task that cannot be carried out by one person or even a group of people.  In I Corinthians 12, Paul explains that some are supposed to be teachers, some apostles, some have the gift of service and some have other gifts.  There is a more complete list of gifts in Romans 12. But he wanted them to understand that they each had a role and they needed to fulfill that role and trust that God will provide others to do the rest.  In the human body, if your hand is hurting, your whole body experiences the effect of the pain.  In the body of Christ, when one member is hurting, we rally around to help restore them.  We need each other spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  We have a responsibility to each other within the body not out of obligation but in love.  We can lean on each other for support when we need it and be there for others when they need help.  The world should be able to see a difference in the way that we love and support each other.