The Body of Christ
W. Carl Ketcherside
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One of the most thorough studies of the community of the reconciled as constituting the body of Christ is found in a remarkable section of that division of the First Corinthian letter which we designate as chapter twelve. It appears in a context of the regulation of spiritual gifts when used in the public gatherings of the saints to praise God and edify one another, but there are many incidental lessons to be learned from a study of what Paul wrote. We can refer to only a few of them.
1. The unity of the body is a unity in diversity. Indeed there could be no functioning organism upon any other basis. "If the whole were one single organ, there would not be a body at all; in fact, however, there are many different organs, but one body" (verses 19, 20). "There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; varieties of service, but the same Lord; and many forms of work, but of the same God" (4, 5, 6). The members are no more alike than are the hands, feet, eyes and mouth of the physical body. Fortunately, in the human body the members are not dedicated to the formidable task of making one another over, for to do so would make it impossible for the body to exist.
2. There are no useless members or superfluous parts. Just as every fleshly organ has a function to perform, so there are no non-functioning organs in the body of Christ. No one is merely "going along for the ride." God has made no provision for spiritual hitch-hikers who get their transportation at the expense of others. There are no parasites. "But in fact, God appointed each limb and organ to its own place in the body, as he chose" (18). The task of each member is to determine the sphere in which he can function and then do whatever is commensurate with his ability. We are not all equally gifted.
3. The unity of the body is the natural result of adherence to Christ. So long as all are joined to him they need be no more concerned about being one than the various members of the physical body need to worry about their joint relationship. There is one great difference. In the human body some members are joined to the head only because they are joined to other members, but in the body of Christ all the members are joined to one another only because they are joined to the head. There are no remote or secondary members in the spiritual body. The oneness is produced by Jesus. "For Christ is like a single body with its many limbs and organs, which, many as they are, together make up one body" (12). Our unity is personal and is found in the person of Jesus.
4. Every member of the body comes into the relationship in identical fashion. Regardless of the variety of gifts and
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5. In this new relationship we are all sustained by divine provision. Our hunger is appeased, our thirst is quenched, our life is renewed, and our growth assured, by partaking of the Spirit. In baptism we are led into the element, but in our new relationship the divine nature is imbibed by each one. The Spirit leads us into baptism into the one body, that He may dwell in the body of each of us, for the body is the temple of the Spirit. "And that one Holy Spirit was poured out for all of us to drink" (13).
6. The body of Christ is not a human organization, but a divine organism. A human organization depends upon legislation, regulation and manipulation by men. It cannot function without an official board, or without laws and bylaws, charters and covenants. In an organization the entity is created and receives its life from without, but an organism provides life from within. In an organism the body provides life for the members, in an organization the members provide life to the body. Human organizations are always affected by death, and when all of the members enter the grave, the organization ceases to be. The body of Christ is not affected by death, since death only transfers the members to a closer association with Him, uninhibited by the limitations of space and time. A body is never dead so long as the head is alive, and death has no dominion over our head. He met death and overcame it once for all!
7. Membership in the body is not contingent upon being able to perform the same function as any other member of the body. The foot can transport the physical body to the place of work, and may even help the hands earn a living. This is especially true in the operation of a machine equipped with a treadle or foot-operated lever. One does not ordinarily steer his car with his feet, nor apply the brakes with his hands, although he may do so if he is a stunt man or a serious cripple who has specially-built appliances. But the foot should not be envious of the hand or count itself out, because it cannot do the work of a hand. "Suppose the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it does still belong to the body." (15).
8. Membership in the body is not dependent upon recognition of one's relationship or value by another member. Our relationship is not created by men on earth but by God. It is He who appointed each limb or organ to its own place in the body. No other person on this earth can affect your relationship to Jesus. No man can add me to the body, no man can eject me from it. The pronouncements of persons against me are powerless unless I allow them to affect me. "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you.'" (21).
9. Division in the body is avoided through recognition that those who seem to be more frail and unseemly are actually indispensable, and by exertion of special effort to give honor to those who might be regarded as humbler parts. It should never be forgotten that parts are essential to the body, but parties are detrimental to it. Parts help it to function, but parties hinder its functioning. The quickest way to form parties is to create cliques. Those who are left out will soon be out. God needs us all and we need one another. "All of us are smarter than any of us"!