God Has Set the Members

Paul describes to the Corinthian church how the church is the body. Each person is a member of the body and is necessary to the body because each serves a different part. Christ is the Head of the body, and without the Head, the church does not exist. Each member must be baptized into one body--buried with Christ in baptism, and then raised through faith. This baptism brings unity. It doesn’t matter who you were before baptism, now you are a part of Christ’s body. This is why the cure to racial discrimination is only possible by the Gospel. With this unity though there is diversity--diversity of gifts so that the body is useful to God. Paul encourages the church to not despair of your gift compared to another’s gift. Embrace the call of God on your life and be obedient to the role that God has shaped you to fulfill. Each member is necessary and dependent on the other parts of the body. God is the One who has set the members--it is not by human preference. The purpose of diversity of gifts is for the profit of all. Each member is to build up the whole body. No gift is for private advantage, but for the benefit of others. Paul also tells the church to not look down on others because their gifts are different than yours. Each gift is equal because each role is equally needed for the body to function, and is valued by God. There should be no division in the body--no separate interests. We should care for each other and provide for one another. Pray, encourage, exhort, and love one another. We are one body in Christ, so when one member suffers, all suffer. Realize the importance of your part in the body. This is God’s design, and it is just as He has pleased. Click here to listen: God Has Set the Members