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. 19 If they
were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many
parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need
you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 26
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every
part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one
of you is a part of it.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 26,27, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Grace, Mercy and Peace are yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote the letter we know as 1 Corinthians in response to their specific questions. He wanted to instruct and guide them in areas where they were weak. He wrote about such problems as false divisions, immorality, abuses of the Lord’s Supper, misconceptions concerning the Resurrection, and about Public Worship. The area of Public Worship is of specific interest to us today, because it is in this part of the letter that our text is found. Here in Chapter 12, Paul writes specifically about Spiritual gifts.
The Corinthians had been blessed by the Lord with many Spiritual Gifts. Sadly they did not always use their gifts to glorify God. They had allowed their gifts to be a cause for division. Paul urged them not to boastfully compare their gifts against each other, but to realize that all of these gifts were gifts of our gracious God and Father.
Here in the second part of chapter 12 the focus is on the unity which they have in Christ. Paul uses the picture of the body. As we meditate on this portion of God’s Word to us, we want to focus on the unity of the church. The specific lesson which we would like to learn from this text is: we are one in Christ: Baptized by one Spirit, and part of one body.
Let us now listen to God’s Word as recorded in 1 Corinthians 12, reading selected verses:
We are one in Christ and in verse 13 Paul says we were baptized by one Spirit. At our baptism we were baptized in the name of the triune God. Were you baptized as an adult? Or were you still an infant? Have you ever wondered why it is we place such an emphasis on baptism? And why does Paul mention it here? I thought he was talking about Spiritual gifts and their use in the Public Worship service. Paul is reminding the Corinthians and us that everyone is equally sinful and equally in need of forgiveness. Children need that forgiveness as much as adults do. The Holy Spirit tells us through King David that we are all sinful. We were sinful even before we were born. Psalm 51 says, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me". We stress baptism and specifically infant baptism, because it is there that we receive forgiveness of sins. Through the water and the Word, the Holy Spirit washed us and made us Holy and Pure. In our baptism, we put on Christ. His righteousness became our own. Through baptism we were cleansed from ALL our sins. Since that time the Holy Spirit has been dwelling in our heart, continuing to strengthen us and making us more and more as God wants his children to be.
Regardless of whether we were baptized as children or as adults, we were all Baptized by One Spirit. St. Paul continues in verse 13, "whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." The word that Paul uses here, which is translated "to drink," carries with it the picture of irrigation. This word is also used in 1 Cor 3:6-8 where Apollos is spoken of as watering the congregation. What is it that Apollos watered the congregation in Corinth with? The Spirit of God in Word and Sacrament. If it had not been for God’s word in the waters of baptism, we would have withered and died like plants in the desert. Indeed we were dead. When we realize how important Baptism is for our Spiritual lives, we can understand why Paul would mention baptism here in a section about Spiritual gifts and Public Worship. Had we not been baptized we would have no need to speak of spiritual gifts or public worship. We were unified in our rebellion against God, but no longer. Now we are unified in our baptism.
God baptized us in One Spirit, and he arranged us as part of One Body. Here at St. John’s we have many beautiful stained glass windows. Look at one of them. Imagine the artist who made that window. As he sat carefully cutting and shaping each piece. He put each piece where it is for a reason. That’s a good illustration of what God has done with us. "God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." God has placed us in His Kingdom, in His Church. He did it through baptism. He placed us exactly where we should be and he gave us exactly the right gifts.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians "From him (that is from the Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (4:16). That’s the way things should be. From the way Paul writes in verses 15 to 17, we can see that the Corinthians weren’t living as God wanted. Paul wrote, "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. 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. 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?" Paul wrote this because they were starting to base their status on their gifts. Some became sinfully prideful, while others were tempted to covet gifts they had not been given.
As Christians who believe that we have been justified because of God’s grace and not because of our own deeds, one would think humility would come naturally. And indeed it often follows, but the devil is crafty. He tempts us to take pride in our humility. "How absurd!" you say, " to take pride in one’s humility?" But do we often do just that? Or if we’re not vulnerable there, the devil comes at us from a different angle. If he can’t get us to be prideful, he’ll try to get us to covet "better" gifts than those we’ve been given.
Perhaps this is too abstract. Let’s get closer to home. Have you done that this week? Did you sinfully covet the talents or abilities of one of your coworkers or classmates? Or did you have thoughts of disdain for them because they aren’t as talented as you are. Who are we to put ourselves in God’s place and presume to know what gifts we should have, and what gifts someone else shouldn’t. Imagine one of those pieces of stained glass telling the artisan that he got it wrong. "You put me in the wrong place! And I should be more rounded here. This corner just isn’t right." When we tell God that with our thoughts and actions we slap him in the face. Such sins are even more foolish in light of verse 18, "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."
These sins damn us to hell. And then God stepped in. He washed ours sins away in the waters of Baptism! Paul says in chapter 6 of this letter, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (6:11). You were sanctified and justified at your baptism, and you still are. Paul also wrote to Titus, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (3:4-7). Jesus has washed us clean from ALL our sins, and he has made us members of His Body. Verse 27 of our text says, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
What do members of the body of Christ do? Members of Christ’s body do everything that serves and glorifies Him. When we focus on serving Christ, everything else falls into place. Focusing on Christ we fulfill the roles assigned us. Focusing on Christ we can work together to serve Him. Not only will we be working as one to praise and glorify God, we will be presenting a unified front to unbelievers, proclaiming Christ. Like a beautiful stained glass window whose many parts attest to the one that made them, we will show them Christ, our Savior and our head. We are one in Christ: Baptized by one Spirit, and arranged as part of one Body.