Theological Commentary: Click Here
It should be
no surprise that when we move to the next chapter that Paul continues to talk
about the unified body of Christ. What
can we learn from this? Paul was deeply
concerned with the level of division within the Corinthians. He was worried
that the level of division would be a major detriment to the congregation. He continues to teach about unity from many
different angles because a lack of unity is a tremendous threat to a community.
Paul tries
to speak to unity with respect to the spiritual gifts. Yes, people are individuals. We all have different gifts and God equips us
to play different roles in His kingdom.
We shouldn’t be trying to make carbon copies of one another because God
has made us unique. At the same time,
our uniqueness should not divide the church!
Our gifts should add to the community, not split it! Our interaction within the community should
cause it to grow together, not give it reason to fracture.
In fact,
with the analogy to the body to which Paul moves, he brings the discussion into
greater focus. Paul is blatantly honest
when he says that the individual is not more important than the body. The hand is not more important than the
body. Neither is the eye or the foot or
even the heart. After all, what would a
single member of the body be if it didn’t have a body to which it belongs? How useful is a hand without an arm, much
less an entire body? The desires of the
one should never outweigh the needs of the many.
Furthermore,
Paul goes a step further to make sure that we don’t undervalue certain parts of
the community. We all know that there
are flashy people who command attention easily.
Just like it is easy to notice a person’s hair or their eyes, it is easy
to give some people more attention than the rest. However, the reality is that there are parts
of the body that are easily overlooked but highly important. How long will a regular person live without
their liver or spleen, yet how often do we notice it or even remember its
function? Our sinuses provide an
integral function to the working of our body, but how often do we notice them
until they are stuffed, plugged, or draining?
We need to learn to value the whole community, especially those who are
easy to overlook.
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