Many Members, One Body
1 Corinthians 12:12-31[1]
Most of us typically like to spend our time with people with whom
we have things in common. It’s a feature of life that is customary across all
kinds of lines: race, religion, political affiliation, regional customs, and
personal interests. This tendency is reflected in the saying, “birds of a
feather flock together.” The history of that adage in the English language can
be traced at least to the mid-16th century. But almost 2000 years
before that, the Greek philosopher Aristotle observed that “like cleaves to
like.” It seems that our inclination to associate with those who are like us is
one that has defined the human family for a very long time.
Unfortunately, in the church, that trait has led to the observation
that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. Most of us prefer
to go to church with people who look like us, who talk like us, who dress like
us, who share our beliefs and values, and who practice the same lifestyles as
we do. While this preference is understandable, it flies in the face of the
biblical vision of what the church is meant to be. Despite the fact that the
Bible can use the language of “chosen people” for a certain group, the intent
of the church is clear from its founding on the day of Pentecost: it is to be a
church of all nations, all races, all languages, all ethnic groups; in short, a
church of all peoples.
As I mentioned last week, the church at Corinth was a church that
was badly divided, not least by their differing views on spiritual gifts. And
it would seem that they had a problem with people forming factions and cliques
with others in the church who were like them. In fact, this problem showed up
in their observance of the Lord’s Supper. It is likely that they shared a meal
prior to the Lord’s Supper. But in the church at Corinth, this was not a time
for the whole family of faith to gather and share their bonds of fellowship. At
least not for them all. Paul chides them for the fact that the wealthy members
of the congregation came early and enjoyed a feast, while those who were not so
well off came later, very likely after work, and only had meager fare.
It’s hard to imagine a more blatant demonstration of the division
in the church at Corinth than a meal at which some feasted and others were left
to make do with bare necessities. And St. Paul tells them off quite plainly. He
says, “it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” because they are despising the
church as the body of Christ and “humiliating those who have nothing” (1 Cor.
11:20-22). In fact, he goes so far as to say that those who distort the Lord’s
Supper in such a way “eat and drink judgment” on themselves (1 Cor. 11:29)! It
is clear that Paul believed it should not be so among them!
The challenge was how to balance the differences between them with
the unity they were meant to embody in Christ. As in any group, there were many
differences among the church at Corinth: they came from different ethnic
groups, they had different religious backgrounds, they practiced different
customs, and they even represented different classes of society. While those
differences affected their lives in practical ways outside the church, within
the church, St. Paul insists that what united them in Christ was more
significant. They had all received one and the same Spirit; they all placed
their faith in one and the same Christ; they all belonged to one and the same
body—regardless of what their lives outside the church may have looked like.
On the other hand, it’s not as if St. Paul was opposed to
diversity in the church. In fact, he viewed the diversity among the members of
the church at Corinth as a good thing. He recognizes that just as our bodies
have many different parts, so it is a good thing for the church to have members
who have different strengths and backgrounds. The members of the church are not
all the same; in fact, they are not meant to be all the same. Difference is
good; it can be healthy. It is necessary for our bodies to function properly,
and it is necessary for the church to function properly. But that difference
must never be allowed to invalidate the fact that all members of the body of
Christ are one (1 Cor. 12:12-13).
Rather than granting different levels of honor to individuals in
some kind of “spiritual” hierarchy within the church, Paul insists that all of
the members are equally important. In fact, he says that, just as we show
greater respect for “less respectable” parts of our own bodies, so also in the
church “God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor” to members that
might seem to be “inferior” to others (1 Cor. 12:23-24). I think St. Paul has
already made it clear that he doesn’t believe that anyone in the body of Christ
is “inferior” in any way.
I think St.
Paul’s comments also make it clear that, as the body of Christ with all its
different parts, the church’s purpose is to function together as one. He says
that the way that God has “arranged” the members of the church is so that “there
may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care
for one another” (1 Cor. 12:25). While it may be a practical reality of life
that people naturally associate with those who are like them, our lesson from
St. Paul for today teaches us that this is not God’s purpose for the church. It
is to be a church in which people from all races, nations, ethnic groups,
political persuasions, and economic classes may join together as one. The
fact that there are many different members in the church is a good thing. But
while there are many members, we must always recognize that we are all part of
the one body of Christ.
[1]
©2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 1/27/2019 at Hickman
Presbyterian Church, Hickman NE.
