1 Corinthians 12:12-20 (NIV)
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being 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 stop being 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 placed 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.
The illustration that Paul used for how the spiritual gifts work together is the human body. There are somewhere around eleven major organ systems in the human body. But even though some may break these systems down to study them or to treat them medically, they are all vital parts of a single body.
Nobody would think of eliminating all but the digestive system of the body, because they believe it the most important system. Without the health and support of the other systems each working at peak efficiency, the digestive system alone cannot be considered a human being and would quickly die. Even the nervous system, indisputably a very valuable system, cannot exist on his own. Without the muscular and skeletal systems to protect it and carry out its commands, without the circulatory and the respiratory systems to provide oxygenated blood, without the digestive system to provide nutrients, and the systems that eliminate waste to keep it from being overwhelmed with harmful chemicals, the nervous system can’t survive let alone function well.
It is the same way in the Church. No single role and no specific spiritual gifting can be said to be the essential one. Every person operating in the church needs the prayers, encouragement, and support from people with complementary (and often interlocking) gifts, or they will not be able to be effective, no matter how “gifted” or skilled they might be.
The body of Christ and even an individual congregation, is not a single person with “followers” or “supporters”. Instead, it is a group of people, each called to play specific roles, and spiritually gifted for those roles. Each is essential to the smooth and effective function of the whole body. There are no spare parts or bit players. And all must be fully employed in the work of the kingdom if the body is going to be effective in the work to which it is called.
Father, this is a great illustration. I have heard sermons on “all the parts of the body” that completely divorced the verses from their context of spiritual gifting, and which come to the conclusion that “everyone is important to God and should be appreciated”. But in context this is more than a message about being nice. If I am vital to the work of the kingdom and the effective functioning of the body, I can’t just feel good about myself, I must get to work. If I don’t there will be a hole in the body, a disease in the church, that will require resources being spent on filling that hole instead of on the key work of saving souls from in eternity in hell. Thank you for this illustration! Amen.