Unity And Diversity In One Body In Christ

Unity and Diversity in one body in Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 – For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body; being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by the Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink unto one Spirit for in fact the body is not one member but many.

The power and strength of that scripture is powerful. How you ask can something so simple can be so powerful? Well it also can be quite overwhelming, even confusing. I know it took me reading and re-reading it before I understood the way I believe it should be understood. Actually I should re-word it to my understanding of the scripture is what the Lord has revealed to me.

We as Christians are one body, a very well oiled machine, but not just a machine. We have the breath of life given unto us by God the Father himself which we can find in genesis. That thought alone is quite the thought. Our importance is greater than any machine. We were created to rule with the Father through His Son, Christ. When we were put together to be part of such a powerful body we see that things just don’t happen by themselves. It is not supposed to. As Christians we need to come together as one voice with Christ as our head, we will be able to take care of anything.

As one body we could also be described as a very strong chain. And each one of us is a link. With the help of Christ we are impenetrable. Again we also need to look at the fact we are also only as strong as the link on either side of us. That is where accountability comes to affect. By this I mean we need to keep our eyes on the head (which is Jesus) and focused. Paul writes to the Ephesians that we are in a constant spiritual battle against the principalities and evil spirits of the dark one. When we are not accountable for ourselves how can we work together to overcome the Devils evil ways?

For by the Spirit we are all baptized into one body… God himself gave us life to live but we were not up for the task and screwed up and allowed sin to overtake us for many, many years. When He sent his Son down to earth he gave us a chance to retake our rightful lives that we were destined to take. That could only be done by the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. This is because of how much we messed up on our own. Yes that is what I said, “We messed up on our own” and now we are bailed out by Jesus. He put is right with God the Father. When Jesus died on that cross and was risen to the right hand of the Father he sent us the Holy Spirit to bind us together to be one body. They use the term Baptized but I also like to use the term bind us. No it is not something that happened at one time. It is a constant thing and still is happening. Not just for the new members of Christ but to us who have fallen and then returned. We choose to leave but Jesus allowed us to come back. We need to make the commitment and take the steps needed to be accountable in the Spirit.

…whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free… Listen to what that says. There is no prejudice in that statement. How powerful is that? It is very powerful if you ask me. We need to not turn a nose up to anyone. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. That small statement alone says so much in so few words it is amazing. To me it states that no matter who you are or where you are from you are a child of God. I ask you why we still look differently upon different people. The Word of God says otherwise. I am putting my money on what that Word says. That is why it is so important to let the whole world know about God’s might, love and generosity that he has bestowed for us with the sacrifice of his son.

…have all been made to drink unto one Spirit for in fact the body is not one member but many… You know that statement is powerful but also we need to think of it. We were not forced to drink anything. We have the power of free will. But when we choose to become a Christian that is where the term ‘made to drink’ comes into play. With accepting comes great responsibility comes great rewards too. Our job isn’t done when we accept Christ. It is actually just beginning. It is not an easy task but the best part is we don’t have to do it alone. In reality we cannot do it by ourselves. We need each other and that is where accountability to our brothers and sisters comes into effect. But we ultimately have to answer to the Head of the body. We all know who that is.