Spiritual Gifts That Unite

I Corinthians 12:21–26
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“We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately.” - Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 1776 More

Unity

No body part can say to another “I have no need of you” (v. 21). When a part of the human body becomes independent, you have a serious problem that often leads to sickness and even death. An amputated finger only has about 12 hours to be reattached before it is too late. Even if it is reattached in time, it is likely to have only about 50% of it’s previous feeling and mobility. We must treat one another with love and respect lest we carelessly push away our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Also, we should be very cautious about leaving the body of Christ because of hurts or disagreements. Our faith is meant to be lived out in the context of the church.

Some parts of the body seem to receive more attention and exposure than others, while there are other parts of the body that are never noticed at all (vv. 22-23). We usually don’t miss something until it’s gone. In a healthy human body, the various members cooperate and even help each other when a crisis occurs. Diversity leads to unity when the members care for each other; but diversity leads to disunity when members compete with one another. If one member suffers, it affects every member. If one member is healthy, it helps the others to be strong. In other words, unless gifts are used in a spirit of love, they are of little value. Divisions and alienation of feelings should never happen in the body of Christ (vv. 24-26). Just as a Holy Spirit personally chooses which spiritual gifts you will receive (v. 11) for the common good of all (v. 7), so to that Father has intentionally united the body of Christ together so that it may show the love and honor within the body and to the watching world (vv. 24-25).

Application

Am I intentionally or unintentionally pushing one of my fellow brother or sisters in Christ out of the body? How can I show love and honor to my fellow “body parts” today?

I Corinthians 12:21-26 (English Standard Version)

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