The body of Christ (the church which is made up of all the believers) is likened to a human body where each believer of the church is a different body part. The idea is that while we are all a different body part, we each have a special function (or role) to contribute to the entire body so that the entire body functions properly. Example: a nose gives the body the ability to smell. A foot helps the body stand and walk. A toe helps the body balance. That idea being, that if any of these body parts were to stop functioning, eventually the entire body’s ability to function properly would shut down and be ineffective. This is what Paul was speaking about in 1 Corinthians 12.
Another example that we can use today that wasn’t possible back in Paul’s day would be a car engine: all the parts of the engine are 100% crucial for the proper functioning of the engine. If even the smallest part, say a screw, were to fall out, then the entire engine would break down eventually and be useless. Someone in the body of Christ is that screw, and no matter how small their role may seem, if they weren’t a part of the engine, the whole system would break down.
The church “body”/“engine”/“system” function is to:
- Get others saved.
- Raise up and instruct the brethren in all the ways of God, transforming them into perfect men/women of God.
- Help the needy.
Whenever someone gets saved and receives the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit gives them different “gifts” and a “role” to play in the body by God’s grace. These gifts make up the part/function/role we play in the “body”/“engine”/“system” of the church to make it function properly like a well oiled machine in order to: (1) Get others saved, (2) Raise up and instruct the brethren in all the ways of God into perfect men/women of God, and (3) Help the needy.
The gifts are:
- Godly wisdom.
- Godly knowledge.
- Faith.
- The ability to heal others.
- The ability to work miracles.
- Prophesying.
- Being able to discern different spirits.
- Being able to speak heavenly languages.
- Being able to interpret the heavenly languages.
The roles are:
- Apostles (messengers of the wisdom of God).
- Prophets (bringing new knowledge into the body of Christ).
- Evangelists (spreading the gospel, leading others to salvation).
- Teachers (instructing the brethren with all the wisdom of God).
- Miracles.
- Healings.
- Helping the needy.
- Church administrations.
- Speaking in tongues (heavenly languages).
Some believers may receive more than one gift and role, playing a large part, while others may only receive one gift and role, playing a “seemingly” smaller part.
No one is more important than the other. The larger parts need even the smallest parts to perform its larger duty. God wrote all of our stories and intertwined them with each other so that we would all help each other with the end goal of getting others saved, instructing the brethren, and helping the needy. An example might be: There’s a mighty, big piece of the engine, and then there’s a most small piece of the engine. The mightiest, biggest piece’s role in the body of Christ is to write an entire epistle to get millions saved and help them understand the ways of Christ. However, that most small piece’s entire sole purpose in it’s entire life (it’s function within the engine) is to, one time, simply share someone else’s wisdom that that other person received from the Lord, that the mighty piece would eventually stumble upon one day and be able to use as a most critical piece of wisdom for their epistle, that would eventually become wisdom and life to all who read the epistle. Had that most small piece never have done something so simple as pressing the “share” button, that mighty piece would have never had seen the wisdom that was shared, and a most massive chunk of wisdom would be missing from that person’s epistle, negatively impacting millions of others down the road. Such is with this epistle you’re now reading.
We all play different roles. Yes, some believers will play the same role (as there’s not hundreds of millions of different roles), but another grouping of believers will play a different role. And all of our roles function together to ultimately bring about: (1) Getting others saved, (2) Raising up and instructing the brethren in all the ways of God into perfect men/women of God, and (3) Helping the needy.
Humility:And at the end of the day, it is ultimately God who does these works in and through us, so we don’t get to claim any glory for ourselves: Philippians 2:13 — “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” All the wisdom given to us to share – that’s God’s wisdom, not ours. All the wealth we were given – that’s wealth from God to give to the poor. It is God who raised us up and gave us our roles and gifts, we didn’t choose ourselves or our gifts. It is God who entrusts us with His message and sends us to deliver His message – it is not our message, and we did not send ourselves. We are all just fellow servants of one another, where ultimately it is God serving in and through us. God, through Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:24 tells us that He even gives greater honor to the smaller parts, that we all may equal out (“I don’t get as much honor, but I got a big role in that I’m on the front-line in helping many, so I’m fine with that.” “I didn’t get chosen for a big role, but I receive much honor, as those who received the big role could do nothing without me, so I’m fine with that.”). See Paul, what a mighty man of God who brought us over half of the New Testament and most of the New Testament knowledge and wisdom. Yet, it is God who (1) is the One who died on the cross for us – not Paul, (2) it was God who chose Paul – he didn’t step forward on his own accord, (3) it is God’s wisdom Paul presents – not his own, (4) it is God who sent Paul to the lost of the world – he didn’t send himself. So, Paul doesn’t get any of the credit, it all traces back to God, and all glory and thanks should be rendered to God and not to Paul.