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Members of One Body - 1Cor. 12
Members of One Body - 1Cor. 12
Paul began this letter saying that there were divisions within the church at Corinth. He has been dealing with each issue in turn. Here in chapter 12, he gives the underlying reason that such division is a problem: there is only one body and it is made up of many members.
When we read ‘members’, we are apt to see this from our 21st century perspective and think of being a ‘member of a club’ or a ‘member of a baseball team’. While such a perspective can give us many good thoughts about unity and fellowship, Paul was speaking of a much more significant unity. Hence, he speaks of the church as a BODY, a living body. Hence, the members are likened to ‘eyes, foot, and hand’. While being a member of a club can have a take it or leave it quality, the loss of a body part in the 1st century would have had major consequences to the life of the body.
The first application of this concerns being a divisive member! If you ARE such a member of the body, it is like mutilating your own physical body. It is easy to cause division: it requires no character or knowledge. And after you have caused it, what do you have? Thus, we are to STRIVE to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We are to love one another with a pure heart, fervently.
Secondly, such awareness of this should motivate us to be a living part of such a body. It is a ‘one another’ relationship. Paul uses this ‘one another’ phrase five times in this letter (1Cor. 6:7; 7:5; 11:33; 12:25; 16:20). A broader search of the NT shows it is used over 100 times! If you have never studied this, I would suggest you write out each and every one of these ‘one another’ duties and then set out to practice them. All of them.
We are added together (Acts 2:26), we join ourselves to the saints (Acts 9:26), and ‘going in and out among them (Acts 9:28). We become a living, active member to a living, active body.
If you severed yourself from the body you ‘belong to’, would they miss you?
Hugh DeLong
