By Scott Bush, D.Min.
Executive Director, Ministry Training Institute, Samford University
A WAY TO SERVE
1 Corinthians 12:12–24
It may surprise you to learn that the idea of membership has its origins in the early church. Today the word is used more loosely — we may be “members” of Sam’s Club or the Y — but the idea of individuals who function together for mutual benefit, like the parts of a human body, originates with Paul. Using the imagery of hands, feet, eyes and ears all working together, the apostle paints a picture of a healthy church where the gifts of the members differ but all live and serve interdependently to bless each other and glorify God.
God’s intent is for Christians to work and serve together. (12–13)
The Corinthians were a divided group socially, morally and doctrinally, so it’s not surprising that they were also divided over their practice of ministry, specifically the use of spiritual gifts. When we read Paul’s letter to them, it’s not hard to imagine bitterness, jealousy or sinful pride as those with certain gifts were celebrated while others went unnoticed.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that, although they are a diverse group, they have been “baptized by one Spirit into one body.” As in believers’ baptism, they have been immersed into the life of the Church together. They are no longer “Jew or Greek, slave or free” but one family in Christ, one body (Gal. 3:28). They’ve been given one Spirit to drink, which unites all Christians in service and love (Rom. 8:9).
God has given every believer a specific role and responsibility in the body of Christ. (14–18)
Paul returns to his main metaphor to show that every Christian fills a vital role in the life and ministry of the Church.
The human body is composed of parts that differ greatly from each other but work together in marvelous ways. The work of the Church is no different. Gifts for preaching and teaching must serve in concert with gifts for service, administration, mercy, hospitality, generosity and encouragement for the Church to achieve her mission.
The apostle compares a member who envies another’s role in the life of the Church to a foot that would rather be a hand or an ear that would rather be an eye. A body lacking feet or ears would not be able to function as designed. Similarly, believers who despise their own gifts and envy the gifts of others are forgetting the wisdom and goodness of the Designer of the Church. Paul emphasizes that it is God who has arranged the body.
Further, God has put His Church, the body of Christ, together in exactly the way He desires. Surely, it is a dangerous thing to grumble or complain about something that is both God’s design and desire.
God has made every believer a necessary part of the body of Christ. (19–24)
Each gift and each member of the body of Christ is necessary. No one is so important that he can say to a brother or sister, “I don’t need you.” In our churches today, we may be tempted to believe that the strong, the talented or the wealthy are essential to our success and others are only incidental.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Paul calls the weaker members of our congregations “indispensable,” and we do well to remember that every member is a gift from God — not only to the Church but to each of us individually as well.
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