Members of Jesus’ Body – Part I : 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 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!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

One of the challenges that preachers often face in sermon preparation is coming up with suitable illustrations that faithfully communicate the sense of a scripture passage to a congregation that lives in the modern world. Most of the things that we deal with on a daily basis are significantly different from those things that people in the ancient world had to deal with. For example, when I was a relatively new preacher, I once used a scenario from an American football game to convey a spiritual reality that was first described or told to people in the Roman Empire in the first century. Let me tell you, that one didn’t work very well. I got better at it the more experience that I got.

Fortunately, in this text, the Apostle Paul does a lot of the heavy lifting for the preacher in the illustration department. Today, as you could tell in the reading of the text we are talking about being members of the body of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the illustration that Paul provides, not just because he saves me some preparation time, but his illustration shows that it is a timeless one. It’s an illustration that reflects how the treatment of certain body parts has remained consistent from ancient times until now. Even within that part of the illustration lies continued meaning for the participation of all who are a part of the body of Christ.

The greater context of this passage shows that Paul is talking to the Corinthians about spiritual gifts. Paul lists a few of them in verses 8-10. The general point that Paul is making is that God gifts people in different ways. Even while some gifts may seem more glamorous or more important than others, Paul likens them to different parts of the body. He shows us that there is no gift, however seemingly important, that is more or less dispensable than another. Rather, he points to the indispensability of all parts.  Paul makes this concept so plain and so clear it would seem redundant for me to try to be any clearer. So, to avoid the risk of overexplaining, and thereby possibly getting something wrong, instead of continuing to illustrate, I’ll move on the part of application.

Paul says in verse 27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Ok, Paul, what of it? If you are a part of the body do you just exist in the body? No, as Paul has already said each part of the body has an important role to play. So, if you, as a Christian, are a part of the body of Christ, then what is your role in it? Do you even know? Maybe you haven’t identified yet how God has gifted you for participation in his body. If you don’t, that’s ok! That’s what the rest of the body can help you identify. Paul lists some things about which God can gift you, but scripture isn’t clear that the list is completely exhaustive. Even if it is, the way you have been gifted by God to serve and operate in his body will become more evident the more you try different things and the more you interact with others in the church who can observe you and get to know you. Sometimes a passion or burden that God has given you can be a good starting point. What breaks your heart? What moves you to show God and others love? As you begin to engage in those areas the places where you are able to reach people and make a difference in their lives as well as your own will make your spiritual gifting more evident. But even if you haven’t figured it out yet, you are still valuable and a part of the body of Christ.

Maybe you do know a little bit more about how God has gifted you? Are you being a faithful steward of that gift? Perhaps you did at once but your spiritual fitness has been a little neglected? How are you exercising? A body needs exercise right? And each part of the body is no exception to that need. If you are aware of the gift that God has given you, then simply be active in the church and offer yourself up as a living sacrifice as Paul says in Romans 12. In some situations you may feel like, even though you know your gifting, you are not welcome in a church community. Let me be very clear about this. You are absolutely welcome here. Believe me, I know how there are people, who, for one reason or another feel unwelcome or even outright rejected. If you have felt that way about a particular church community, then there is something unhealthy about that community, and it is not a universal phenomenon. Individuals in the church are flawed people that are still getting worked on by Jesus, and that is true for every, single one of us. But unless we participate and commune together with the Lord, we cannot grow in Grace and maturity as bodies are designed to do.