A Metaphor for Unity
Sometimes an abstract concept is made clear with a well thought out word picture. Unity is no exception. So far, in this series of posts, we have been looking at the Christian conception of unity as an abstract concept. We have looked at unity in Christ and we have looked at some of the practical outworking of this unity, but it has all remained relatively philosophical. If only there was some sort of word picture in Scripture to describe this unity. If only there was some sort of metaphor to make clear for us what Christian unity means. Thank goodness for 1 Corinthians 12:12–31:
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
Paul, paints for us a wonderful word picture of what it means to be united in Christ. He argues that we should think of it like a body. For the rest of this blog post we will examine some of the implications of this metaphor and explore what it means for us today.
1. Two Things that Make Us a Body
The first thing we learn from this passage is how we are united together as one body. We have already seen how we are all united together in Christ, but this passage gives us more detail on what that looks like and how that takes place. Paul points us to two practical things that demonstrate our unity as one body: baptism and the Spirit.
Baptism represents our dying to sin by being plunged underneath the water and our being raised to new life by being pulled up out of that water. It represents a washing away of our sins thanks to the finished work of Jesus Christ and it acts as a public profession of our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. It also serves as a tangible symbol for our entrance into the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 makes this abundantly clear. It says that “we were all baptized into one body”. Through the public profession of faith that we made in baptism, we confess that we are indeed a part of the body of Christ united together for his glory. Baptism, therefore, is a visible sign that we are in the Christian walk together. Not divided, but one.
Secondly, our passage tells us that we “were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). One of the promises Jesus Christ made to his followers was that they would receive the Holy Spirit who would help them live the Christian life. In Acts we see the Spirit poured out upon the believers for the first time at an event known as Pentecost. From this moment on, when someone comes to believe in Jesus Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit who indwells them, sets them apart, and helps them to walk away from sin. When our faith is in Jesus, we are all filled with the ONE and ONLY Holy Spirit, the same Spirit, which unites us together as one body.
What all of this means is rather simple. Because we have been baptized in Christ and because we all have been given the one Holy Spirit, we are united together as one body. These two things—baptism and the Spirit—are proof of that truth.
2. The Organic Nature of the Body
The second thing we learn from this passage is that our unity should be seen organically. Here is what I mean by that.
Notice how Paul does not say clichés like, “you’re all on the same team” or “we are all in this together” to explain the unity that these Christians have. This is intentional. Paul’s metaphor goes much deeper than surface level togetherness. A team can work together for a common goal yet remain divided in its love for one another. People who come together for a greater purpose can work towards that end, but that does not mean that they have any interest in one another. However, a body cannot do this.
A body is an organism. It is not made of individual parts that can function as self-sustaining beings. It is made up of many members that all exist in a healthy relationship of co-dependency. Each part of the body relies upon the other parts of the body for its very existence. The heart must pump blood to the body, the medulla oblongata keeps the heart beating, the heart brings oxygen to the brain which allows the medulla oblongata to function, and so on. This is how organisms work. They are a collection of parts that all feed into one another for the sake of the whole. An organism is an interconnected web of various members united together in a much more intimate way than merely having the same opinion on something.
Looking at 1 Corinthians 12 it becomes apparent that this is how Paul views Christian unity. It is not that we are united around a common idea or purpose, but it is that we are united as a body. Each part, each Christian, is integral to the whole. In fact, you cannot remove a part without doing a damage to the whole. This means is that as Christians we are united together in a more intimate way than we could have ever imagined. We are united together as “the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). We are ONE body, united together, and just as division in physical bodies results in injury, sickness, or death so too does division in the spiritual body lead to spiritual injury, sickness, or death.
3. The Practical Implications of Being a Body
Paul’s point here is to demonstrate the great unity we have as Christians. We are the body of Christ which has some pretty significant implications for our life as followers of Jesus. The first and the most obvious implication is that we should see each other as members of one body, Christ’s. We are not to be divided against one another. We are not to be people who fight and squabble with each other. We are to be people who are united together as a body is united together. Each person maintains his own uniqueness but is held together in the common body of Christ.
Secondly, this means that we all bring something to the table. Looking at 1 Corinthians this is clear. If we are all members of the body of Christ, then we should not see ourselves as “useless” because we do not have the same gifts as other people in the congregation. For “if the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear where would be the sense of smell?” (1 Cor. 12:17) Each of us brings a unique contribution to the body of Christ that is essential for the proper functioning of the body. We truly are an interconnected network of members in a relationship of healthy co-dependency towards one another. Do you believe this? As you consider these things think, “what is my unique contribution to the body of Christ?”
Finally, this means that when one member hurts, we all hurt with them. And when one member rejoices, we all rejoice with them. Let us return to the body metaphor for a moment. When you have a tooth ache your whole body experiences this pain. The whole body suffers together with the tooth that is causing the pain. Likewise, when your tongue tastes something delicious, the entire body delights in this pleasurable experience. The same principle should be true in the church. When one member is suffering, all of us suffer together with that member. It hurts us to see a brother or sister in Christ hurting. Likewise, when one member of the church rejoices, we are happy for them. Joyful on their behalf. Being united together as a church community does not simply mean coming around a common cause, but being united together in such a way that we take upon ourselves the joys and sorrows of one another.
Conclusion
From the above it can clearly be seen that one of the metaphors Scripture uses to speak of our unity as Christians is that of the body. All of us believe upon Jesus Christ, have professed that in baptism, and share in the same Spirit. Due to this we are united together as one body, Christ’s body. And just like a physical body we all have differing abilities, functions, and attributes. Yet, these differences do not make us any less united together as a body.
For example, some of us may be highly empathetic with a deep sense of care for the poor. Others of us may be more logically oriented with a deep desire for financial stewardship. How can these people get along? How can they agree to be united with worldviews that seem to conflict. By recognizing that each of them is a part of the body for a specific purpose. The empath calls the congregation to give for the sake of the poor while the person tasked with financial stewardship seeks to accomplish this in a way that is sustainable and realistic. Idealists and realists existing in one place working together for the sake of God’s kingdom. That’s what it looks like to be united together as Christ’s body.
This will be extremely important to remember in 2024. This divisive year does not need to be drawn along party lines. Instead, we can recognize the unity we have as the body of Christ and not desire hands to be feet and feet to be hands. We can disagree with one another in love, but never in a way that tears the body of Christ apart. When a body is divided against itself death is close by. So let us be united together in Christ this year and seek to focus on our mutual partaking of the body of Christ.