For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12 

1 Corinthians 12:12 speaks of the body of Christ; those who have heard the word of truth, have the mind of Christ and are set apart from the world. We belong to the body of Christ because of His unconditional love for us and our love and acceptance of Him – because of His forgiveness through His shed blood on the cross.

The Oxford English Dictionary describes one use of the word ‘body’ as ‘an organised group of people with a common function’ - does that make you think of the Church?

Church is not a pile of bricks or stones; we are one body. Plato said that the body consists of many parts but there is in it an essential unity, pointing out that we do not say, “My finger has a pain,” we say, “I have a pain”.  What the ‘I’ is to the body; Christ is to the Church.

Being Jesus' hands and feet 

Paul goes further, saying ‘you are the body of Christ.’ (1 Cor 12:27). Christ is no longer physically in the world, so He commands us, God’s children, to be His physical presence... literally we have to be the body of Christ. These poetic words express it beautifully:

He has no hands but our hands to do His work today; He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way; He has no voice but our voice to tell men how He died; He has no help but our help to lead them to His side.” This is the Christian - part of the body on earth.¹

The body of Christ must be healthy if it’s to fulfil its proper function – therefore we need each other, we cannot be isolated. There is no job or person better than the other. We try to maintain our physical bodies with a good diet and exercise, so how much more should we care for the body of Christ so the world may encounter Jesus and his saving grace of freedom and eternal life?

As individuals it is our responsibility, with God’s help, to make sure that nothing distracts us from upholding the body of Christ for the sake of our Master’s Kingdom.

Sometimes it feels a tall order – Charles Spurgeon said this, “As soon as you are washed in Christ’s blood and clothed in His righteousness, you must begin to hew your way through a line of enemies, right up to the eternal throne. Every foot of the way will be disrupted; not an inch will Satan yield to you.”

Reflect and pray

Use the questions and prayer below to reflect on the verses from 1 Corinthians 12:

• How does the world see us?
• Are we healthy?
• Do we reach out to the ‘sick’ as Jesus commands? 

Heavenly Father, help us to remain healthy parts of the body of Christ, grounded by your word, so the world will see you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Help us to reach the lost and continue being your hands, feet and voice, through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

¹ 'The World's Bible' (v1) Annie Johnson Flint