One Body, Many Parts - 7 May 2009

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church…

Now all of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.”     1 Corinthians 12:7,27

When I became a Christian one of the things that I struggled to understand was the three-in-one, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

The doctrine of the Trinity is perhaps the greatest mystery of Christianity. Nothing seems to adequately explain it – how God exists in a unity that is characterised by diversity.

On the other hand the created world is full of examples of unity in diversity and vice versa, and these are reflections of the Creator. Take, for example, the human body. It is made up of a great number of diverse parts. The more we learn about it, the more complex and intricate it appears to be.

Paul observed, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 12:12

Just like the human body, all the members of the body of Christ have a unique part to play in the life and health of the church. Not all members of the church have grasped that he or she is a separate and necessary part of the church. Many feel perfectly comfortable playing no discernable role in the church’s life – except, perhaps, as a spectator. Yet each member has been endowed with a special role and the means to fulfil it. We are each granted unique “spiritual gifts” given by the Holy Spirit as a means to helping the entire church of Christ.

A church works best when all it’s members function as they were designed to do. Christ works best through his body.

If we have found our gifts let us put them to good use. If not let us continue to seek them through God’s Holy Spirit. Then it’s “All for one and one for all.”

Unbeatable!