12 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. 13 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. 14 Now the body is
not made up of one part but of many. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every
one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 27 Now you are the body of
Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-18,27, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Dear Friends in Christ,
I’d like to begin this morning by turning your attention to the two pictures found on the inside back cover of your service folder.
The first is a picture of Christ that can be found on one of the walls of the Saint Sophia (Greek: Hagia Sophia) Church in modern day Istanbul, Turkey. Saint Sophia dates back to the early fourth century when the city was known as Constantinople. The church itself is an immense, visually striking edifice built by the first Christian Emperor, Constantine, as his personal place of worship. Throughout the centuries Saint Sophia has gone through major revisions due to earthquakes and uprisings, and this picture of Christ (among others) was actually added much later, dating back to only the 12th century.
What you may not be able to determine is that the picture itself is not a painting, even though from a distance that is exactly what it looks like. It is in fact a mosaic, meaning that it is the sum total of thousands of pieces of individual bits of material all properly mounted and arranged...
The second picture is entitled "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." This is a rather famous piece of work painted in the mid 1880’s by the French artist George Seurat. Many of you may recognize it, and some of you may have even seen the original, since it permanently resides in the Chicago Museum of Art.
What makes this painting famous is not the subject matter, pleasant as it may be, but the artistic form behind it. It is considered one of the premier examples of a particular style of painting known as "pointillism." Pointillism is a rather painstaking process of essentially dabbing the canvass with points of paint, rather than brush strokes. If you were to see this painting close up you would notice that it is really composed of thousands of individual dots of paint arranged and aligned by color.
Before we go any farther, let me assure you that we did not gather here on this Unity Sunday for a lesson in art appreciation. There is a point to be made with both these illustrations, and shortly the Apostle Paul will add one more. The principle behind mosaics and pointillism is that individual pieces rightly connected and rightly related to each other converge to form one beautiful, unified whole. Individually each piece may seem insignificant, but in reality every single one is vitally important to the whole.
In our text Paul uses the human body to convey the same truth. This morning we’d like to weave these thoughts together as we consider our position and see ourselves not just as individuals, but as parts of the grand mosaic we call the church… pieces of the pointillistic portrait known as the Kingdom of God on earth… and, in the words of Paul, important, interrelated members of the Body of Christ.
On this Unity Sunday let’s take a look at this portion of Scripture and as we talk about
1. The importance of our oneness
2. The power of our oneness
3. The responsibility of our oneness
"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." In these opening verses Paul tells us three things…
First, he tells us who we are. We are Christians. Secondly, he tells us what we are. We are members of the Body of Christ. And thirdly he tells us how we became who and what we are. This was not our doing, but the work of God the Holy Spirit. Through baptism we have entered the Body of Christ. Through drinking deeply of the Word, the Holy Spirit keeps and preserves us in the Body of Christ.
Let’s define the term "Body of Christ." What exactly do we mean by that. And what are the implications of being a part of it. We might put it this way: In order to accomplish His work on earth, Jesus had a body of flesh and blood. In order to accomplish His work today, Jesus has a body that consists of living human beings. To be a member of the Body of Christ means first to be a believer in Jesus Christ as Savior; to understand that our salvation lies not within ourselves or our efforts, but is totally connected to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. But there is more to it than that. It also means to be a willing worker so that the Body of Christ may be extended throughout the world.
Paul makes it clear that within this Body there is unity. But within our unity there is diversity. Just like the human body. In other words, while we have the unity of our shared faith in Jesus Christ, we also have the diversity of our own individual personalities and backgrounds. We’re not all clones of each other. We come from many different backgrounds and hold many different perspectives, preferences and opinions. Yet in the body of Christ all unite to carry out God’s purposes.
This diversity would have been especially evident and meaningful to the Corinthian Christians. Distinctions like Jews or Greeks, slave or free do not really resonate with us. But it would with them back then when those were seemingly insurmountable barriers for any type of unity. The timeless point Paul makes is that whatever our background or social status – then or now – believers are linked by the common bond of Jesus Christ. And that makes us one.
Paul first of all wants us to know both the blessing and the importance of this oneness we have in Christ. Continuing with the human body illustration, he now goes on to talk about the power of our oneness as we all do our part and interrelate with each other...
"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 a 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 a 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 of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."
By way of background we should know that Paul was responding to an ugly two-sided problem in the Corinthian congregation. Within the church were some very gifted people whom the Lord enabled to do great things, but they, on the one hand, were becoming proud and condescending. Paul begins to address that issue here, but does so more fully elsewhere in this letter.
On the other hand, those who were not as gifted were feeling inferior and unimportant. Paul wanted them and us to know that in the eyes of God there are no little people. Everyone is important. And just as the human body is made up of various and diverse members in order for it to function as a whole, so everyone has an important role to fulfill in the Body of Christ. How do we know this to be true. Because "God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."
If we accept that statement, the inevitable question we must put to ourselves is: "What, then, is my role in the Body of Christ?" Or more specifically, "What is my role here at St. John’s?" The answer: Seek the Lord’s guidance and find out. Adopt a willing attitude to serve and get involved. Pray that the Lord will guide and direct you...
But do not labor under the assumption that you have nothing to offer. Because everyone does. There are no little people. And there are no little acts of service. (Remember how Jesus spoke of giving a cold drink of water to a believer as a high act of service?) All of us are part of the Body of Christ. And when all are exercising their part in it, the Body itself flourishes and grows.
And that leads to all kinds of exciting possibilities and opportunities that God has perhaps not even let us know about yet.
Nevertheless, of this we can be sure: When we are all contributing our gifts to the Body of Christ, and when every member of this body that we call St. John’s is looking to do something so that we can grow and go forward as a church – whether it’s providing our brains or our brawn, our financial support or our prayer support, our willingness to serve in whatever capacity may be open to us – then we as a Christian body will become an even more powerful force for God than we already are. And we will all be blessed in the process.
There is importance in our oneness. There is power in our oneness. And finally, there is responsibility in our oneness. Our text concludes: "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." And if we are all a part of the Body, then we all are a part of each other.
In the last issue of the Lamplighter, I shared this quote from a contemporary Christian philosopher: "People are longing to rediscover true community. We have had enough of loneliness, independence and competition." In the article, I asked you to consider whether you thought that to be a valid observation? I think it is. Couple that with the words of Paul and we will come to this conclusion: Perhaps the greatest responsibility we have toward one another as fellow Christians is to simply care for each other.
Early in our married lives my wife and I were given a wall plaque entitled "God Made Us A Family." I believe the thoughts and sentiments it contains apply not only to families linked by flesh and blood, but also to those who are bonded together as members of the Body of Christ. I also think it serves well to illustrate the responsibility and relationship we have to and with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. It goes like this:
God Made us a Family
We need one another * We love one another * We forgive one another
We work together * We play together * We worship together
Together we use God’s Word * Together we grow in Christ
Together we love all men
Together we serve our God * Together we hope for heaven
These are our hopes and ideals
Help us to attain them, O God
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Allow me to repeat once again what I said just a moment ago: Perhaps the greatest responsibility we have toward one another as fellow Christians is to simply care for each other. Or as Jesus our Lord put it on the night of His betrayal: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." And loving each other is not difficult when we focus on the glorious truth that God made us a family.
The point of our entire text, as well as the point of this first Unity Sunday, is not to force some artificial or contrived sense of togetherness. In this Word of God, Paul simply talks in matter of fact terms about the importance and the power and the responsibility of our oneness in Christ.
So, who are we? We are all individual pieces of the grand mosaic known as St. John’s congregation. We are all individual dots in the pointillistic picture Christ is painting on the canvass of our congregational life. And we are all related to each other and Jesus as members of the Body of Christ.
May God grant that we always find strength, joy and cohesion in our unity, while at the same time enjoying the individual color and nuances of our diversity. And above all, may God use us as individuals and as a congregation for His glorious purposes. Amen.