The local church in Corinth was planted in the early 50sAD.  But rapidly the Corinthians found themselves in trouble over many issues.  Paul therefore had to write to them, probably in the mid 50sAD, to address their problems.  I Corinthians 12:12-31 comes in the middle of a section which deals with spiritual gifts.  Paul’s aim is to show the Corinthian Christians how they can use their different gifts in harmony with one another.  They need to function as a fine body! 

The crucial verse is v27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”  In the rest of the passage, he spells out the consequences for the Corinthians, and for you and me.

i Many bits…

Look at v12.  Paul draws an analogy between the human body and the church.  He says that there is one body but many parts.  He’s teaching that the church is made up of many bits.  v14 teaches the same lesson.  v17 spells out that that’s the way it was always meant to be.  The church, then, is a body, the body of Christ.  It’s a unit.  But it’s made up of many parts.

What are the parts of the body Paul is speaking about?  They’re the different members of the church with their different gifts and talents.  That’s spelled out in v27-31.  Paul says that there are different gifts in the church.  Just as in the human body, a leg is ideally equipped to be a leg, so God equips different Christians to serve him in different ways.

That is as true of Carey as it was of Corinth.  We are made up of many bits, many parts, many members.  And God has not made us all the same.  We are not all carbon copies of one another.  We have different gifts.  Some of us are gifted musically.  Some of us are gifted with children.  Some of us are gifted in visiting.  And so on.  That’s the way we’ve been designed.

Do you, then, know what your gifts are?  Are you using them?  That’s actually not such an easy question as it sounds.  After all, how do you know where your gifts lie?  You might suspect that you’re gifted in some way.  But how are you really going to know?  Only by having a go!  Only by asking to be involved!  And that, of course, is risky.  It could all go horribly wrong.  On the other hand, maybe it’ll be the start of a God-blessed, prolifically fruitful ministry.  Are you an effective part of the body of Christ?  If not, it’s time to pray.  It’s time to talk to more experienced Christian friends to see what they think.  It’s time to get stuck in.

There’s another application for you if you’re a church leader.  Do you think about the different people in the fellowship, seeking to discern where their gifts lie?  It’s essential that you do that.  Where are the next generation of preachers or youth workers or whatever going to come from otherwise?  The church has amazing versatility when people use their gifts.  It has limitless potential.

ii …But one body

v12 also teaches that there’s one body.  The church is a unit.  Therefore, the church must show forth that unity by working together.  Paul shows this especially in v25-26. 

Firstly, he teaches that God has blended the members of the body, the members of the church, together, just as he wants.  And he’s done it in such a way “that there should be no division in the body”.  It’s God’s plan for us, in other words, to be united.  The church is an absolute mockery of Christianity when there’s disunity.  May God help us always to walk together as a body, as a unit, in his service.

Secondly, God has blended the members of the body, the members of the church, together so that “its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”  The application is clear.  All the members of the church are to be concerned about all the other members.  Is that true of you?  May the Lord give us grace.  May we bear one another’s burdens.  May we weep with those who weep.  May we rejoice with those who rejoice.  May we show that we are one body.

iii Our boasting…

In v21-22, Paul turns his attention to a problem which often afflicts churches.  He looks at the boasting and pride of some of the members.  Sadly, in many churches there are individuals who are puffed up with a sense of their own importance.  Whenever that happens, it’s a terrible plague upon the church they belong to.  Ironically, as soon as a Christian starts to think about how important he is, he renders himself useless. 

And all such boasting is plain ridiculous.  Paul has an answer for those who think that other members of the church are beneath them.  He says that “those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.”

There are people in the church who feel that they’re weak.  They feel useless, perhaps because they are elderly or expecting or young mothers or unwell or depressed. The Bible says that they are indispensable.  The rest of the church can’t do without them!  They may find that hard to understand and to accept.  We at Carey cannot do without you, even if you think you’re the weakest person in the church!

iv …But God’s building

Paul shows us that the church can only do anything if God is building us.  The real power in the church is always God’s.

Firstly, look at v13.  How did we all become one body?  Answer: we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body.  Literally, we were all baptised in one Spirit into one body.  Paul says that the Corinthians have all been baptised in the Spirit.  Just as someone who gets baptised in water gets immersed in water, so they’ve been immersed in him.  They’ve shared a common, lavish experience of the Holy Spirit.  This has happened, says Paul, to them all.  Therefore, it must have happened at the moment of conversion.  If you’re a Christian, the same thing will have happened to you.  The moment you believed, you were baptised in the Holy Spirit, whether you felt it or not.

It was God the Holy Spirit, then, who brought us into the body, into the universal church and into the local church.  It was God the Holy Spirit who gave us our gifts and our parts to play.

Secondly, look at v18.  There we are told that God the Father is the great designer of the church.  We’re a designer body!  God designs the church so that it has a rich and balanced corporate existence.  He does it all according to his own perfect blueprint.  Each member of the church is there by divine appointment.  It’s humbling to realise that God has made us the way we are. 

Thirdly, look at Ephesians 4:15-16.  Here we see that the church, the body, has a head: God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore we must submit to him in everything.  If he commands us to do something in his word, then we must obey him.  If he guides us into some sphere of service as a fellowship, then we must obey him. 

The entire Godhead has invested himself in the church.  It is precious to him.  Doesn’t that thrill you?  Doesn’t it make you tingle a bit?  What a privilege to be part of the church!

We Westerners tend to think so individualistically.  But maybe it’s time to rethink.  God has taken our individuality and he has put it to work in the church as a whole.  Of course God deals with us one by one.  But he also deals with us as a church.  Perhaps we ought to consider that more often.

Are you a part of the church?  If not, you’re missing out.  Turn to Jesus Christ today.