We’ve been looking at Paul’s description of the body of Christ in his first letter to the Corinthian church. In my last post, we saw how we were all uniquely made for God’s purpose. But we need to see that being unique doesn’t mean we’re independent.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”
1 Corinthians 12:21-22
We were all created for a different purpose. Therefore, we all need each other. This is true whether you know it or not.
That’s one of the tough facts of being part of a body. Each part has an effect on all the others. Sometimes you don’t even know what that effect is on the surface.
You can’t just look at what someone is doing for God and say, “That’s not needed.” It all works together to bring about God’s plan.
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
1 Corinthians 12:22-24a
Even those who are weak in the Lord have a role to play. This was brought home to me a couple of years ago when I had an accident.
While walking in the woods, I had climbed a rock and coming down from it I landed awkwardly. I felt a sharp pain in my knee. It turns out that I tore my ACL and bruised my meniscus. I didn’t even know those parts existed until I heard the doctor’s diagnosis.
Part of the healing process was occupational therapy. I was told to stand on one leg. To my surprise, I couldn’t balance on one leg. That’s because one of the jobs of these parts is to provide balance. So, these two weak, unknown parts were actually doing something that I considered very important.
It’s like that in the body of Christ as well. You may think that this weak Christian is just a nuisance. Instead, they may be providing an opportunity for the growth and strengthening of others in the body.
Of course, there’s always the unpresentable parts – the ones that need to be covered. I may be judgmental, but there are believers that shouldn’t let anyone know that they’re a Christian. They’re actions do more harm than good for the Gospel.
But does that mean that they’re unneeded in the body of Christ? Absolutely not! Every believer is required for the church to function as God desires. There’s a place for everyone; even if it’s not always front and center.
But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
1 Corinthians 12:24b-26
The simple fact is that we’re all in this together. We’re interdependent upon each other. Even though it may not be obvious on the surface – I need you and you need me.
It takes the whole body, functioning as a unit, to complete God’s plan for the church. That’s why prayer for each other is so important.
We wonder why we don’t see the miraculous like we feel we should. I believe it’s because God wants to work through the body and not simply through individuals. As we all grow in our callings together, we will see the hand of God more and more working through us.
Question: What are some unseen functions of believers that have a great effect on the church?
© 2019 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 