The Mount Church - www.themountchurch.com

1 Corinthians 12:12-311 Corinthians 12:12-31
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
One Body with Many Parts ¹² The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit. w Some of us are Jews ... that same Spirit: Verse ¹³ may also be translated, “God's Spirit is inside each of us, and all around us as well. So it doesn't matter that some of us are Jews and others are Gentiles and that some are slaves and others are free. Together we are one body.” ¹⁴ Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts. ¹⁵ Suppose a foot says, “I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? ¹⁶ Or suppose an ear says, “I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body? ¹⁷ If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. ¹⁸ But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. ¹⁹ A body isn't really a body, unless there is more than one part. ²⁰ It takes many parts to make a single body. ²¹ That's why the eyes cannot say they don't need the hands. That's also why the head cannot say it doesn't need the feet. ²² In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. ²³ We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, ²⁴ but we don't have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. ²⁵ He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. ²⁶ If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy. ²⁷ Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body. ²⁸ . First, God chose some people to be apostles and prophets and teachers for the church. But he also chose some to work miracles or heal the sick or help others or be leaders or speak different kinds of languages. ²⁹ Not everyone is an apostle. Not everyone is a prophet. Not everyone is a teacher. Not everyone can work miracles. ³⁰ Not everyone can heal the sick. Not everyone can speak different kinds of languages. Not everyone can tell what these languages mean. ³¹ I want you to desire the best gifts. x I want you to desire the best gifts: Or “You desire the best gifts.” So I will show you a much better way.

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My undergraduate focus was athletic training. In college I studied the ability and function of the body in athletic performance. I had to learn all the different major muscles and all the small, little-known support muscles. I remember one tedious assignment that involved listing all the muscles that could possibly be involved with just a simple movement like throwing a ball. The exercise was designed to teach us the interconnectedness of muscle groups. One doesn’t generally consider the use of the abdominal muscles when throwing a ball, but they are being used in some capacity.

Paul describes the Church as a body. The church is a group of very different parts getting along, working together for a common goal. Each one of us is given very different gifts that are each divinely necessary for the wholeness of the body. The Church does not get to choose which gifts that they want and disregard the rest. We cannot dismiss a gift because it isn’t used in the same way our gifts are used. Just because we don’t use our toes to catch a ball doesn’t our feet aren’t need us to get the ball. We need to recognize that no one person can be everything that the church is call to be. It is all the different parts working together that make the Church whole. Every part has a function and the whole doesn’t function properly unless every part serves its function.

Just as the body compensates when it is injured is much like how the Church lives everyday. When thumbs are missing big toes take their place. When an eye is missing we walk around with limited vision. When a leg is missing the Church is slow to move. Yes, the hand still works, vision is still there, and the body is still mobile, but it is not how it was made to be. The Church cannot be whole and healthy without every part of it serving as they were gifted.

The last thing a coach tells the athletes the night before the big game is to get lots of rest. As a finely tuned body the Church need rest in preparation of service and restorative rest after service. Solitude with Christ is the rest that prepares the Church for service. Solitude is the restoration after the service. Even if all parts of the body are serving without rest it will not survive. With solitude in Christ we show up for service focused with our hearts prepared to work for His glory. With solitude in Christ we are restored and rejuvenated after service. With rest the body is fresh and ready for the big game. And with rest it heals from the bumps and bruises from the game.

Each and every one of us is called to serve in a specific way, but when there are needs and those with those gifts are absent we are called to compensate when and where we can. When we are called to service we are to show up focused on Christ’s glory. When we recognize that we are tired and beat up we need to need to retreat for restoration and new strength through Christ.