… for we are members of his body.
Summary: Being a member of the body of Christ is more than simply saying, “I believe.” We must find a way to get along with other believers, too.
As Christians, we need to understand the wording of the statement, “We are members of his body.” Jesus is not a member of our body. Spirituality is not an appendage of our world. The Holy Spirit is not a pill we take to alleviate spiritual pain. The truth is just the opposite. The body of Christ is an enormous collection of souls with Jesus at the head. We are members of his body.
Paul writes about this at length in 1 Corinthians 12, beginning with verse twelve. In this famous passage, Paul equates us to different body parts in the body of Christ. Some are more important than others, but all are needed for the body to function. Whether they are “honorable” or “less honorable” does not matter. Some parts are presentable, and some are not. Regardless of the differences, Paul writes, “there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (1 Cor 12:25)
This is a big challenge for the members of Christ’s body on earth. How do we have “equal concern for each other” if we are mostly concerned with ourselves? Hebrews, chapter twelve, begins with this famous line: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses …”
The “cloud of witnesses” are all the faithful who have lived before us and are now part of the spiritual body of Christ. In the spiritual body, there is truly no division. Turning once again to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he writes, “ For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
To see “face to face” spiritually and to be “fully known” is intensely personal. We achieve full transparency in heaven. There is no place to hide. Here on Earth, things are different. We can hide things, especially from ourselves.
When the body of Christ assembles together, we call the meeting “church.” Ideally, the church is doing the business of Jesus. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we give voice to God’s priorities for us. God wants his name to be respected (“hallowed”). He wants his kingdom to include the people of Earth, and he wants us to do his will, to love him above all else, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
As the members of Christ’s body come together here on earth, we are confronted by our lack of transparency. Hidden sins and our frustration with others who do things differently become like sand in the gears of a very large machine. For the body of Christ to function, we need to be as open and transparent as possible. We also need to be humble.
Humility is one of the defining characteristics of our Lord Jesus while he was on earth. Moses, famous for his leadership of the Israelites and his relationship with God, was said to be “more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). Humility is putting others first.
Wherever you are in the body of Christ, I pray that you can be humble and find yourself surrounded by believers who are also humble.
Application: Being part of Christ’s body requires us to strive to be Christ-like.
Food for Thought: Whom do we serve when we serve ourselves first?
Whom do we serve when we serve ourselves first?
Romans 6:16 ESV Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
When we serve ourselves first, we are really a slave to sin. Our sin becomes our master. When we serve Christ, and give service to others, we don’t need to serve ourselves because our needs will be taken care of.
Thanks Chris!
Your comment prompts me to think about the three definitions of sin:
1. Separation from God
2. Rebellion against God
3. Falling short while trying to serve God
When we serve ourselves first we are putting God second (if that). How many ways does that qualify as sin?
I really like Chris’s response this morning. We may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are only serving ourselves (which of course is partly true and is selfish), but we will serve a master. If we are not in Christ and living for Him our master could be materialism or humanism or hedonism, but whatever that other master is will consume us and is ultimately a sinful pursuit. And it will lead us away from the Lord. Matthew 6: 24.
Thanks Rich!
Ah yes … “No one can serve two masters.”
Good verse!
Definitely agree with CH and R!
Whom do we serve when we serve ourselves first?
Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
We can serve God, grow in our spirit as we live in obedience to the Holy Spirit, or we serve the desires of our flesh, and the god of this world Satan.
Thanks Ron!
Kind of a stark choice, isn’t it?
Whom do we serve when we serve ourselves first?
In short we are serving the father of lies, the deceiver. When we don’t serve the one True God, our Lord then we are being deceived into serving something else and that’s what the evil one wants. He doesn’t care what or who you serve as long as your not serving the Lord.