“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”
Now you are the body of Christ,
The word “you” is emphatic in Greek. The Corinthians definitely belonged to the “body of Christ.” The church is one with Him.
and members individually.
Believers are both individually and collectively, members of the body of Christ. Each gift is a part and function in the whole aggregate of gifts collectively. Each Christian is a member of the body. Paul lists eight different kinds of members in the next verse.
PRINCIPLE:
None of us can claim to be the whole of the body of Christ; God excludes none of us from the body.
APPLICATION:
The exalted, magnificent Head designs gifts for the church. He places each gift in its proper place. God put the hand and the foot where they belong. God puts each gift where it belongs in His grand design. We may not like that we are toes, but God made us toes in His sovereign will. It is His prerogative where He places each gift. If God designed us to be what we are, then we are to value what He values. We need to value differences.
Ro 12:4, For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
Each member needs the other to complement symmetry in the body. We are not only members of the body of Christ, but we are members of every other Christian who is a member of the body of Christ. We all must cooperate to get along. We need both hands to function, for there are some things that we cannot do one-handed.
Ep 4:25, Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
