1 Corinthians 12

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 1 Corinthians 12:16

Paul just used the foot and the hand as comparative parts of the body. Now, using the same type of comparative analysis, he mentions the ear and the eye. Each has an important function for the body, and if either is lacking the whole body will suffer. But some might say one is more important than the other. Although not universal, it is common to hear people say that if they had to choose seeing or hearing, they would choose seeing. Because of this, the ear may hear and fear that should the choice be real its time has drawn near.

But Paul asks, “If the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” does it change the fact that it is actually still a part of the body? Of course not! The ear doesn’t stop being a part of the body just because its feelings are hurt that its not an eye. And so the ear can cry (well, if it were an eye), and wonder why its not an eye, but we should not fear that the ear will refuse to hear, even if it attempts to try.

The ear will continue to be a part of the body and it will continue to allow us to enjoy all the marvelous sounds for which it was intended. Both the ear and the eye were designed by God for special purposes which each beautifully performs when it is operating properly. And so it is with those in the church. If the individual understands that their gift is truly needed and of value, they won’t complain against those with other gifts, but will instead work in harmony with them for the building up of the whole body.

Life application. If you are an ear, be happy that you can hear. For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Someone spoke the word to you and you believed it was true. In that you were saved, when you rightly behaved, by believing not by sight, but in your heart as God says is right. Be thankful for who you are and use your gift to His glory.

Lord, when I think of the intricacy of the body, I stand amazed. Every part fits together so that we can hear, smell, feel, taste, and see. And then we can apply these senses to put together amazing meals, build ships that can fly to other planets, and make timepieces that are so intricately constructed that they can count the moments with the most astounding precision. If the creature can do this, how much more glorious is the Creator. Lord I stand amazed at You. Amen.

Monday, 15 December 2014

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 1 Corinthians 12:15

We were just told that “the body is not one member but many.” In support of this, and yet in order to defend the unity of the body, Paul will use parts of the body as if they were in a sort of rebellion against one another. This then would be likened to individuals within the church who were warring over their individual gifts. And so he begins with the hands and the feet.

A foot is a foot, but maybe it wants to be a hand. However, it is a foot, and so it rebels and says that it isn’t a part of the body because it’s not a hand. Does this change the fact that it is a member of the body? Not at all! It remains a foot and it will continue to serve as a foot to the body, regardless of whether it is happy about its “footiness.”

And whether the hand feels exalted over this or not, there is a truth which it may actually find to be rather underhanded. The hand can’t get the body to where it’s going without the foot! If the body is hungry and the necessary food is down the road at the market, the hand is rather useless in getting the body to the market. In fact, the hand may think that a conspiracy is afoot against it! But this isn’t the case. Rather, the foot is designed to perform its function and get the hand (and the rest of the body) to the market in a fairly fine fashion, thus out-footing the footlessly failing hand.

The body was constructed in a handy way to ensure that all of its parts are interdependent so that none outfoots another, but instead each part will graciously accept the role which Divine Providence has handed it.

This very passage of Scripture may have been on the mind of Alexander Pope when he penned these words to consider –

“What if the foot, ordain’d the dust to tread,
Or hand, to toil, aspired to be the head?
What if the head, the eye, or ear declined
To serve mere engines to the ruling mind?
Just as absurd for any part to claim
To be another in this general frame:
Just as absurd to mourn the fate or pains
The great directing MIND OF ALL ordains.
All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul.”
Alexander Pope, The Essay on Man, 1734

Life application: If you’re a foot, you are no less important than a hand. You are a part of the body which is indispensable to the whole. Be content with who you are; the body cannot work properly without you.

Lord, I am so thankful to You for this life. I know You have placed me in the exact time in history, in the exact location that I am, and in the perfect position in life for me to seek You out and to be used by You. All of the things that have happened to me along this journey have been a part of bringing me to where I am right now. Thank You for having selected every single thing, good and bad, to mold me for Your purposes. And help me to use it all so that the world can see You through me. Amen!

Sunday, 14 December 2014

For in fact the body is not one member but many. 1 Corinthians 12:14

“For” in this verse serves two purposes. First, it reiterates what was said in verse 12, which was expanded on in verse 13. There it said, “For as the body is one and has many members.” And secondly, it prepares for a continued expansion on the thought through actual examples of real body parts claiming they are not a part of the body and what the result of such a claim entails.

In the church, like the human body, there are various gifts, ministries, and activities which make up the whole. Even though the body is animated by one soul which is indivisible, the body itself is made up of an immense number of parts. Some of the parts, the head for example, are made up of smaller parts – the eyes, ears, mouth, hair, etc. But even these are made up of smaller parts. The mouth for example has lips, a tongue, taste buds, etc. And yet these are made up of smaller and smaller parts. Everything is interconnected and yet it is a functioning whole intended to work for the same purposes.

In this unity there is diversity, and yet in the diversity there is harmony. Such is how it should be within the church among its many members.

Life application: Are you a mouth? Don’t boast over the tongue and taste buds because without them you wouldn’t be a mouth. Work in harmony with others for the purpose of glorifying the Lord.

Heavenly Father, the more I look at the structure of the church, the more perfectly I see that it all fits together as a whole. Each part is important and every person has value. Help me to remember this when I look at those around me in the congregation. I don’t ever want to lose sight that each is an individual, created in Your image and for Your glory. Help me to treat them with this thought in mind and to show them the respect that they deserve as You work to accomplish Your purposes through them. Amen.

Saturday, 13 December 2014

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13

The opening words of this verse, “For by one Spirit” continues on with the theme of the previous verses. From verse 4-11, we have been shown that the gifts and ministries all came from the same Spirit and therefore their use should be united for one ultimate goal. There should be no disharmony among the believers, no boasting about one’s gift, and no feelings of being of less value within the body because of the gift or ministry we may possess.

To support this, we are told that by this “one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” Paul just explained that “the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body.” As this is so, then each member is a part of a cohesive whole which should be working towards the accomplishment of the purposes of the whole body. To further bolster this point, he then gives two examples which demonstrate the greatest extremes possible.

The first concerns the identifier “whether Jews or Greeks.” This is the Old Testament’s greatest distinction. To be a Jew was to be of the chosen people of God. To be a Gentile was to be outside of the covenant promises. But now in Christ, that immense distinction is erased. Both Jew and Gentile have been baptized into one body.

Similarly, the same is also true with “slaves or free.” A slave was one without rights and was under the authority and control of another. A free man had rights and could own slaves, choosing to direct what the slaves did, when they did it, etc. However, the same Spirit baptized both slave and free into one body. In this body, each member has the same rights and privileges extended to him.

Together, regardless of the category they stood in from a cultural or societal aspect, they “have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” Each received the same healing waters of regeneration.

A question which arises from this verse is whether the “baptism” mentioned is speaking of water baptism or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The latter is certainly the case. Paul has been speaking of the work of the Spirit consistently. Water baptism is only an outward sign of an inward change in the believer. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event which occurs upon belief and it is granted to all who believe – Jew and Gentile, slave or free.

As a final point, it should be noted that a Gentile doesn’t become a Jew when they believe and a Jew doesn’t lose his cultural status as a Jew. This is a point which some confuse, but throughout Paul’s writings, he never equates one with the other. A slave who belongs to a human master doesn’t stop being a slave to that human master when they come to Christ. Nor does a Jew stop being a Jew when they come to Christ. The very fact that Paul mentions the categories proves that those categories continue to exist after the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Life application: In Christ, you are no different than any other who is in Christ. You are a member of the body and have all the rights and privileges of that inclusion. Strive to be the best you can for the glory of the whole!

How good it is to be a child of the Lord
To know that I am one of His people
I will live my life according to His word
And will exalt Him with others under the church steeple

By His grace and love He saved me from sin
And for eternity I will praise my Lord, Jesus!
A great change has been made without and within
What kind of love He has lavished on us!

Thank You Lord! I know that regardless of who I am to the world, as a member of Your body I am loved and cared for. To You, it doesn’t matter if I’m poor or rich; the color of my skin is irrelevant; the things I did in the past are washed away; and I share in the same Spirit as all others. No matter what the world thinks of me, I am Yours. That is what counts. I am Yours. Hallelujah and Amen!

Friday, 12 December 2014

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12

Paul now introduces a metaphor to help us grasp our position in the body and the gifts we have received from the Spirit. In doing this he will make a somewhat complicated issue more easily understood. God fashioned man as a soul/body unity. In our body, there are “many members.” We have arms, legs, fingers, toes, eyes, ears, internal organs, a covering of skin, bones, and so on.

Despite each being an individual thing, together they comprise a single unit; as Paul says, they are “all the members of that one body.” None are independent of the body, but are a part of the whole. As noted, they “being many, are one body.” The finger on your right hand isn’t independent of the hand and the hand isn’t independent of the arm, etc. Each member is dependent on the whole. If a finger gets cut off, it is no longer a part of the body and it cannot continue to function. The same is true with any part of the body. If it is removed, it simply ceases to function.

In the human form then, there is a united existence where every part of the body has a particular function and without which the body will not be able to function properly. Understanding this, Paul says, “so also is Christ.” The body of Christ, meaning the individual believers who have been given individual gifts, are not independent of the body. Instead, they are “all the members of that one body, being many” and yet they “are one body.”

Life application: If someone is saved, they are a part of the body of Christ. In that body, they are assigned a particular gift which is intended to meet the needs of the body. This is why the Spirit gives gifts according to His wisdom. It is a specific gift to meet a specific need. If God fashioned man to be a marvelous organism which functions properly, how much more will He fashion the members of the body of Christ to function properly! Whatever your gift, use it with this in mind.

Thank You God for the gifts and talents You have given each of us. And thank You for allowing us to use them in a way which will bring You glory and which will be of benefit to others within the church. Please continue to give us the strength needed to accomplish the things You have ordained for us to do. And help us to not boast in our accomplishments, but rather to pass the credit on to You, from where our strength came from! Amen.