“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”
(1 Corinthians 12:12–20 NIV)
Introduction
For a long time, I have wanted to get into shape. I remember as a teenager purchasing a set of weights and a bench press. I had all these dreams of what I would look like. I worked out a bit but soon lost interest. From time to time, I thought about it again, but it seemed like so much work. Now that I am in my forties, I have committed myself to getting into shape. I have joined a gym and have been going regularly. I am aware now, much more than in my teens or twenties, that I have to be active in getting my body in shape or there will be consequences later on in life. It is interesting that when Paul, after all his negative examples of the church in Corinth, describes the church in the way it is supposed to be, in terms of a body. Not just in body, but the body of Christ. After Jesus’ resurrection, he ascended to heaven. But in a way, he remained. Jesus was still active in the world through a different body, a body made up of all his followers. Paul’s use of the word body is very deliberate. Instead of using a purely theological word, he used a concept that we all understand. What we are going to do today is look at the idea of body building, not in terms of our physical bodies but of the body of Christ. Just as we would work to build up our physical bodies, good intentions alone will never build up the body of Christ. There are specific exercises that we can do that will enhance our Christ body building.
Connection
One of the most memorable passages for me in this chapter is where Paul says “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV) What Paul is trying to say here is that we are all interconnected and we have to take into account each other. I want you to picture me on a treadmill. What do I need to run on a treadmill? I need good strong legs. That is true, but what if my lungs are full of pneumonia. I will feel what is happening in my lungs, even though technically it is only me legs and feet that are touching the treadmill. Or what happens if I want to curl some weights? I need a strong grip on the weights and I need strength in my arms. But happens if I badly hurt my back? It would make things difficult. Or what if I had a terrible migraine? How would that affect the workout? On the other hand, what would happen if I had an extremely restful sleep, enjoyed a nutritious breakfast, had a beautiful drive up to the base and began my workout on a positive note? What all this means is that our bodies are all interconnected. When something goes wrong, it does not affect just one small part. When things go right, it does not affect only one small part. How does this affect us as a church? Technically, we could keep operating as long as you supported us financially so that we could pay our bills and you kept showing up weekly to hear religious lectures. We would not have to care about each other to keep the doors open. There seems to be many successful organizations that do not care. But that would not be the church, that would not be the body of Christ. Love binds us together. It is no coincidence that Paul immediately follows up teaching on the body with his famous love chapter. Paul is expecting that we actually love one another. If that is the case, there are two things that should be immediately noticeable: we should mourn with each other and we should celebrate together. When Abby was sent to a group home, that did not just happen to me, it happened to you. When any of you had grandchildren born, it did not just happen to you, it happened to all of us. Every single bad and good thing to one individual should be something that is felt by all of us. Here is the trick. We cannot wait until we all feel like it. We need to act on these things, mourning and celebrating together, aside from how we feel. Like all exercises, it is the consistency that will build the body.
Respect
One of the main points that Paul makes in this passage is about respecting diversity. In the church at Corinth, the Christians heavily valued speaking in tongues. If you had other gifts, that was nice, but get out of the way of the people who were really important. Paul urges the Corinthians to see themselves as a body. He asks them to imagine if the entire body was just one part, just a giant eyeball or a giant ear. It would be a monstrosity. The truth is that we need the entire body and all of it is important. This means that we have to build up the entire body. Can you imagine if I decided to spend four or five hours at the gym every day but also decided to only work on my forearms? By the time I was done, I would be able to do a pretty good Popeye impersonation, but I would be pretty useless. I have to work different parts of my body because all of them are important. We all agree that the pastor needs time to study and learn the Bible and understand the current trends in society. But I am only one part of the body. If our body is to be healthy and strong, all parts have to be healthy and strong. I am not more important because I have some theological degrees and an office. The church is about all of us working together, respecting our differences, relying on each other’s strength. We dare not ever look down on one another or overlook one another. Try doing pushups without toes, it does not work well. We must respect each other and build each other up to have a strong body of Christ.
Head
As much as Paul emphasizes the body, he also speaks of the head. Imagine the most fit person you have seen, the biggest body builder or most talented athlete. Now chop of their head and think about how impressive they are. Without the head, we are nothing. For the body of Christ, Jesus is our head. Of course we cannot get rid of Jesus, but we can stop listening to him. This happens all the time and it is extremely dangerous. When I workout, it is not just my arms or legs doing their own thing. They do what my mind tells them, or at least to the best of their ability. There are times that I am on the bench press and I am looking the weight held above my body and I tell my hands and arms that they better keep those weights from falling on my chest. If they stopped listening to my mind, things would not go well. What makes us think that things will go any better when we stop listening to the mind of Christ? We are not just an organization. We are not just a group of people with some common interests. We are the body of Christ. That means that we must listen to our head, we must listen to Jesus. How do we listen to Jesus? The first place we go to is the Bible. We have four Gospels plus numerous other books of the New Testament that reflect the teachings of Jesus. Study and learn the words of Jesus. Pray and listen. Ask Jesus to give guidance. But also take the time to listen to what Jesus has to say. Watch the rest of the body. Perhaps if we are having trouble hearing Jesus, there is another part of the body that can. Listen to the Spirit. In the human body, there are nerves running through our body passing signals down from our mind. The Spirit is our nervous system. It is often through the Spirit, who speaks in the still small voice or in the circumstances, that Jesus speaks to us. However it takes place, we must listen to Jesus or his body will never be built the way it needs to.
Conclusion
I do not know how you feel about physical body building. Even if you are not interested in working out, you likely at least believe in staying healthy. None of that happens by just wanting it. Decisions have to be made, actions have to be taken. Exercise has to take place. We are part of the body of Christ. We can be a part of a weak and sick body or a strong and healthy body. In order to get strong, there are important exercises we need to participate in. We need to connect in love by mourning and celebrating together. We need to respect one another, celebrating the differences, and strengthening all the diverse parts. Finally, we need to listen to our head, Jesus Christ. By doing these things we can build the body of Christ into what Jesus always intended it to be.
