A Whole New Idea

I Corinthians 12:14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

As we saw early in this letter, one of the biggest challenges Paul faced with them was their divisions - everyone wanted to be in the right group.  This made sense as in that culture guilds were very much a part of daily life; it was also aggravated by the previous division of Jew versus Gentile. But now things were different. Paul's picture of the body is a great way to understand relationships in the church. There is a unity that cannot be pictured so completely anywhere else, where there is One Head, Jesus Christ, who must rule and reign over the whole body working together, each one doing their part.  Are we?