Reflections on the Body of Christ
Morning reflections on 1 Corinthians 12:11-13
As one could witness on any given Sunday church service, there is a variety of spiritual gifts witnessed that make up different parts of the body. All of these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1 Cor. 12:11). Amidst the various metaphors used in the New Testament to describe the church, both local and universal, one of the most helpful is in reference to it being a body. Paul writes, " For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (1 Cor. 12:12).
Paul emphasized what brings the body together is that we are baptized into one Spirit and sustained by one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). The church in Corinth not only was diverse in its composition, being made up of Jews, Greeks, slave, and free but also in its giftedness. The beauty of the church is in the diversity, not everyone being the same thing, but each contributing to the same purpose. This is just like how in a symphony everyone plays different instruments, but they are all playing the same orchestral score.
God came to us through Christ with a physical body "prepared" for him (Heb. 10:5; Phil. 2:7). In this physical body, Christ demonstrated the love of God for humanity in a number of ways - especially through his sacrificial death on the cross (Romans 5:8). God is still demonstrating his love for humanity as Christ works through those he has redeemed. The church, both local and universal, function as "the body of Christ" (Eph. 1:22-23). Given my story and what God has rescued me out of, it is one of the most humbling yet energetic things that God would use me, a member of the body of Christ, to reflect his image in this world.