I Corinthians 12:12 – The Body
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Paul is comparing the church of Christ to the human body in this passage. It is an apt comparison, when you think about it. The human body is made up of so many different members or parts, and all of them are different…and yet all of them are needed to fulfill their own unique function in order to help the body overall to function with maximum efficiency.
The Human Body is much like the Church.
It’s the same with the church (cf. 12:14-27). This coming Sunday, take a look around you in the church building auditorium. Look at your brothers and sisters and think about the differences you see. Not everyone is the same, and not everyone has the same talents, abilities, knowledge, or spiritual maturity level. Yet, all are needed in order for the church to grow (Eph. 4:16). When just one Christian is not doing his or her part, the church is not functioning like it should.
I broke a rib once. Just one bone in my body was taken out of the picture, and yet I found that there were so many things that I either couldn’t do or couldn’t do well while that rib was out of action. Christian, are YOU out of action in the church? Are YOU contributing to the work and the mission of the church? Or are you contributing to the church’s weakness by not doing your part?