All gifts are exercised in the same body

All gifts are exercised in the same body is the second unifying factor. This is a brilliant illustration that Paul uses and it is very helpful. What he is saying is that the unity of the body depends on its diversity. Diversity is not a threat to unity; it is a necessity for unity. The body, he says in 1 Corinthians 12:14, does not consist of one member, but of many. If all you had was a gigantic head or an enormous knee, that would be one member. You would not have a body; you would have a grotesque, horrible, useless monstrosity. That is what a congregation of one hundred ministers would be like. It would be a grotesque, horrible, useless monstrosity. The body does not consist of one member, but of many. If there were not many members, it would not function, speak, breathe, think, walk, touch, or digest—it could not exist. There would not be a body.

This is wonderful. Diversity is not a threat; it is a bond. Our diversity does not separate us from each other; it brings us closer together. Paul so helpfully teaches here that this diversity removes two of the barriers to unity. I have mentioned them in one of the previous articles, but I want to come back to them again, because they are so important. The barrier of self contempt. It is when a person in the church says to them self, I am no good. This church does not need me. Look at all these clever people. Look at all these educated, gifted, and talented people. What do I know? What can I do? I am no good!

Paul says, The foot should not say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. Here is the poor old foot and he looks at the hand. He is so jealous as he looks at this clever hand. It can play the piano; the foot says, I cannot play the piano. It can write, the foot says, I cannot write. There is the hand out every day; everybody sees the hand. The foot is just shoved into an old sock, put into the shoe, and it just plods along and walks on the ground. The hand can do hundreds of things, and the foot says, I can only stand on the ground and walk about. I am no good. In 1 Corinthians 12:16 Paul says, the ear cannot say: Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body. The ear has an inferiority complex as it looks at the eye. All these beautiful eyes—blue, brown and green—and the eyelashes. People are always saying to girls, You have got very beautiful eyes. They do not often say, You have got very beautiful ears. The ear says, I am just sort of a lump of flesh. The ear apparently keeps growing as long as you live, which I find very depressing. I really do not like to think of that anatomical fact. The eye can do all these clever things, and the ear says, I am so useless compared to the eye. The foot feels inferior to the hand, and the ear feels inferior to the eye.

Paul says, that is wrong; you are needed. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? The body is not complete without the foot, without the ear. The body is not complete without every single one of you. When the church meets together and you are not there, the body is incomplete and there is something missing. You are part of the body. You are a member of the body and when you are not at church, there is something missing. When your church meets for the evening service and you are not there, there is something missing. The body is incomplete. No member of the body should say, I am no good. I am not needed. Paul says you are part of the body. You are needed.¹

Edward Donnelly