I Corinthians 12:12

First Corinthians 12:12

First Corinthians 12:12-27 says, "For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

This part of First Corinthians chapter 12 has the very great and very important teaching about the body of Christ. Some people never teach about the body of Christ. They keep silent about it, because such a teaching does not help them accomplish their personal goals. Some organizations emphasize separation from those with whom they disagree, and if they are not careful the way that they emphasize separation becomes a detriment to the teaching of the unity of the body of Christ. Every person in the world who is a true believer in Jesus, is a part of the body of Christ. You may not be a Pentecostal, but if someone who is a Pentecostal believes in Jesus with saving faith, then they are just as much a part of the body of Christ as you are. You may not be a Baptist, but if someone who is a Baptist believes in Jesus with saving faith, then they are just as much a part of the body of Christ as you are.

Notice that spiritual baptism is the means of becoming a part of the body. There is a water baptism, and there is a spiritual baptism. You may have never had the water baptism, because the church where you go may not understand the true meaning and method of water baptism. But if you have been born-again, then you have been given the spiritual baptism no matter what kind of water baptism that you have had, and the spiritual baptism has baptized you into the body of Christ. It is the Spirit of God who brings souls to Jesus for their salvation, and it is the Spirit of God at the moment of salvation who baptizes a believer into the body of Christ.

One of the many good benefits of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the degree to which the equality of the human race is emphasized. That is the significance of the phrase that says, "whether we be Jews or Gentiles, and whether we be bond or free." You may not have a position of influence or power in your local church, but as far as God is concerned you are just as important as anyone else because we have all been made to drink into one spirit. Being prejudiced against someone of another race is impossible if you understand the significance of this teaching. If they are a believer in Jesus, someone of another race is just as much a part of the body of Christ as you are.

First Corinthians 12:14-26 says, "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not of the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, because I am not of the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling? But now has God set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacks: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it."

By comparing the body of Christ to the human body, and showing how each member is important for the overall functioning of the body: an equality is emphasized between the members, and so is the need for teamwork. The members of the body of Christ should never compete with each other, and should never be jealous of each other. It is only through teamwork that we will be able to accomplish everything that God wants us to do. Can the eye say to ear, "I have no need of you?" Of course not. We all need each other, and the better that we learn to work together, the more that will be done for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. God made us different for a reason. God did not make a bunch of robots. He made people like snowflakes. Each one of us is unique, and each one is a beautiful work of God’s creation. God does not make mistakes. He made you for a reason, and one of the reasons is so that you will be a part of the body of Christ on the earth, marching on with the rest of the Christians scattered throughout the world, helping to accomplish the work of God.

The emphasis of this passage of scripture is the unity of the body of Christ. Doing the work of God is a team effort. You cannot spread the gospel to all the world by yourself, and it is not God’s will for you to do so anyway. But you can do a little bit in your part of the world, and someone else can do a little bit in their part. You cannot tell everyone about the love of Christ, but you can tell a few people at least, or you can do something else to encourage or assist those who do. You have the gifts that God has chosen to give you, and God does not make mistakes. Your part and your position in the body of Christ is just as important as that of anyone else.

In the first part of First Corinthians chapter 12 Paul listed nine gifts of the Spirit. Now Paul is about to list responsibilities in the church along with some of the gifts of the Spirit that were mentioned earlier. The Bible says in First Corinthians 12:28-30, "And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?" In the work of God there is a need for many different kinds of people who have many different gifts and many different positions or responsibilities. Many times the baseball team or the basketball team that wins a championship is not necessarily the one with the greatest individual athletes, but is usually the one that has the best team: that is, the one where the individuals work together the best as a team. When you have a group of people working together to accomplish a common goal, there are few things that are more important than teamwork and cooperation.

Everyone must know their job and everyone must be dedicated to their job. There is no position that is more important than any other. A chain is no stronger than the weakest link. Each job is important for the performance of the team. But just in case the believers in Corinth did not understand or accept the fact that every gift and every position is just as important as all the others, and just in case there were those who thought that being a teacher was more important than other things one might do for God; Paul will dedicate First Corinthians chapter 13 to describing the one thing that is more important than all of the gifts and all of the responsibilities that Paul had described in First Corinthians chapter 12. What could be more important than being an Apostle? What could be more important than publicly proclaiming the Word of God? Paul wrote in First Corinthians 12:31, "But covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet show I unto you a more excellent way."

What is the more excellent way? The more excellent way is love. In First Corinthians chapter 13 in the King James version, each time you see the word charity, you can use the word love because this is actually the Greek word “agapao” that refers to the highest and greatest kind of love. It is the same word that Jesus used when Jesus spoke to Peter after the resurrection and said to him, "Peter, do you love me?" It is the same word that is used in John 3:16 that speaks of the love of God for the world and says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son."

The Bible says in First Corinthians 13:1-13, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up. Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails: but whether there be prophesies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

This is the essence of the true meaning of Christianity: love. If someone has a reputation for a great teacher or if someone has much knowledge about the doctrines of the Bible; and yet if they do not have love, they have accomplished nothing. God is love, and this detailed description of love is a description of the heart of God; and will forever be the high and noble goal to which we aspire. True love is the difference between real Christianity and all the other religions of the world. In the course of your life, you will find that the people who will touch you the most will be the ones who have the most love for you. If you have been touched by God, then it was the love of God that touched you and not the wrath of God. People have always run from the wrath of God, even when there was no place to hide; but they will always run with open arms to the love of God.

There is nothing in this world that is stronger than love. That is why it says in verse 7 that love endures all things, and in verse 8 that love never fails. You may be enticed and held by the cords of sin and by the powers of the attractions of this world, but if you come into contact with the love of God, the scales will fall from your eyes and the chains that bind you will melt away; because the love of Christ is stronger than the evil of this world. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Why - because love endures all things, and God is love.

When God created the world, He created it because of love. God created the world with much anticipation, and after the creation, God looked at all the things that He created and He said, "It is good," because verse 7 says that love believes all things and hopes all things. When human beings sinned and corrupted the world, God developed a plan to save the souls of mankind in spite of the corruption. Why? Because verse 4 says, "Love suffers long and is kind." When Jesus left the glory of heaven and came into this world and submitted Himself to the cruelties of a Roman cross, why did He do it? Because verse 4 says that love vaunts not itself and seeks not her own, and verse 7 says that love bears all things. If you want to learn to be a better person and to be a better Christian, then by all means learn about Bible doctrines and learn about life and learn about God; but if you have not learned to love, then you have learned nothing.

One of the great verses of the Bible is First Corinthians 13:13 that says, "And now abides faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of these is love." We all know how important faith is. Without faith, you cannot be saved from your sins. Without faith you cannot please God. "The just shall live by faith." Many of the things that Jesus taught and that He said were for the purpose of building up the faith of those that He taught. But there is one thing that will always be more important even than faith according to First Corinthians chapter 13, and that is love, because First Corinthians 13:2 says, "and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing."

First Corinthians 13:13 says, "And now abides faith, hope, love, these three." Hope has to do with expectations concerning the future. It is important for a human to be able to believe that good things can and will happen. Once a person has lost hope, they will not be good for much of anything and they will not be pleasant to be around either. Without a vision the people perish. Biblical hope concerning the future is not a maybe: it is a positive and a definite assurance. If you have hope you will not lose your motivation to keep pursuing your dreams, and if you have hope, you will not be disheartened by the current circumstances even if they temporarily appear to be against you. How could anyone serve God without hope? One cannot, just as one cannot serve Him without faith. But as important as faith and hope are, there will always be one thing more important: love. "And now abides faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of these is love."

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