By Will Kynes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
CONNECTING TO CHRIST’S BODY
1 Corinthians 12:12–24
Some in the Church, the body of Christ, value only those who share their gifts, seek to spread their influence by shaping others into their own image and denigrate those who differ with them. In medical terms, they become a cancer that privileges the success of their cell type over the health of the body as a whole. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul depicts the Church as a body which thrives through a unity that incorporates diversity — of gifts, ethnicities and social classes — with all serving each other for the common end of vibrant life.
God has designed the Church as one united body. (12–13)
In his context, Paul’s emphasis on the unity of the church, in which all — Jew, Gentile, slave and free — share common baptism into the same Spirit, was a radical claim. Even the Apostle Peter struggled to accept the unity and equal status of Jews and Gentiles in the church (Gal. 2:11–16).
Paul, however, explains in Ephesians 2:11–19 that Christ’s “purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.” That “one new humanity” would then include other groups that the world separates, whether by race, class or gender distinctions (see Gal. 3:28–29).
All who belong to Christ equally share in the redemption He has accomplished. If Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour of the week, as Martin Luther King Jr. observed a generation ago, then the Church is failing to be the unified body that Paul envisions.
God has given believers roles and responsibilities within the body. (14–18)
Unity does not mean sameness, as if all distinctions between Christians are erased. That fundamental unity involves a diversity of gifts, which various Christians express in different ways. It’s because of this fundamental common belonging, Paul argues, that the different parts we all play should not pull us apart and turn us against each other. In contrast to the divisiveness and tribalism currently plaguing our nation, the Church’s vitality
depends on this unity combined with difference — “many parts,
but one body.”
God has made each Christian a necessary part of the body. (19–24)
The us-versus-them polarization that permeates our society implicitly acknowledges the failure of individualism. We need the support of others. Polarization, however, creates community through enforced conformity of the “us” and antagonistic opposition to the “them.” Unfortunately, this unhealthy divisiveness in unity’s clothing often seeps into the Church.
Yet, Paul claims every part is necessary, and the weaker, less honorable and even unpresentable parts of the body deserve our special care. Which specific gifts or members of Christ’s body Paul has in mind here is unclear. In fact, it’s probably best to apply his advice generally. Each of us has our strengths and weaknesses. Like the interchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood stream, the Church’s vitality depends on our constant use of our strengths to support the weaknesses of others, and of their use of their strengths to build us up in our weaknesses.
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