ONE BODY OF MANY PARTS (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If you wanted to pick one chapter of the Bible that was focused on the matter of church unity, you would be hard pressed to find a better source than the twelfth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. The theme of being one is a common theme.

First we see where we are all influenced by the same Lord and the Holy Spirit He sent to be our holy Counselor. We never have to be worried about conflicting messages from multiple gods. There is only one God with one message for His people.

This same God is the singular Giver of gifts to His people and while each person is gifted in different ways to carry out the will of the Lord, those different gifts come from one source.

As we turn to our message today, the first focused on how the Lord expects His church to be united although each person within is unique and distinct in their own way, we continue to see the message of unity take center stage. Let’s look at the first two verses in this very important block of scripture which begins at verse 12 and ends at verse 31:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  1 Corinthians 12:12-13

The human body is one of the most complex living organisms in creation. The American Association of Anatomists has listed parts of the body and they number a whopping 7,500. Now consider that although each of these 7,500 parts has a distinct function and purpose, they all have to work together in order for a person to live and function properly. Only God, our perfect Creator and Designer, could produce such a marvel.

It’s this incredibly intricate inter-working of multiple components to facilitate proper body performance that the Bible uses to discuss church unity with Jesus as the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23).

The church is one body made up of many different parts and like the parts of the body, each church member has been given unique responsibilities to make sure the church operates properly. A healthy church is where all parts are doing what they should do just as what happens within a healthy human body.

To ensure this happens, that all parts of the church function individually and collectively as God intends the Lord has sent His Holy Spirit to lead believers to do what He wants them to do, when He wants them to do it. All Christians are baptized by the Holy Spirit and thereafter were led by that Spirit to do their part within the church, the body of Christ.

One body of many parts. That is how the Bible wants us to view the church.

We’ll take a closer look at this in tomorrow’s second devotion of this series.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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