Unity in Diversity

"For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ." I Cor 12:12

As with everything else in the church, the Corinthians were divided over the issue of gifts, as to their use, operations and source.

Because there was division in the Corinthian church, Paul began with an emphasis on the oneness of the church. He pointed out four wonderful bonds of spiritual unity -
• We confess the same Lord...verses 1-3
• We depend on the same God...verses 4-6
• We minister to the same body...verses 7-11
• We have experienced the same baptism...verses 12-13

Paul wanted the Corinthians to recognize their spiritual oneness within the body of Christ. To do so, he showed a similarity between the human body and the true church. The human body has many parts or members, but it is still one body. This truth was stated in two ways: One body has many members and many members make one body. The analogy is clear, "so also is Christ."

The equation of Christ with His mystical body, the church - can be seen here.

Christ said to Saul who had devastated the church, "...why are you persecuting Me?" Acts 9:4. There is one church, not many churches, and all believers, regardless of their race, sex, social status, or denominational affillication, belong to that one church.

There are many Christian organizations, denominations, agencies, clubs, and groups of every sort. But there is only one church, of which every true believer in Christ is a member. Paul is so intent on driving home the point of oneness in the church, that he refers to Christ as the church, so also is Christ.

Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

A severed branch not only is an unproductive branch, but a lifeless branch. It is for that reason that the New Testament speaks of our being in Christ and of Christ's being in us. He is more than simply with His church, He is in His church and His church is in Him. They are totally identified. The church is an organic whole, the living manifestation of Jesus Christ that pulses with the eternal life of God.