We are one body

In Romans 12:4-5 in the Message Bible we find the Verse of the Day for August 26, 2016:

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

A previous blog entry focusing on these same verses pointed out the correspondence between a natural body and a spiritual body:

1 Corinthians 15:44 (AMP):

⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body

Ephesians chapters 2 and 3 also speak of the “mystery of the one body—the Church—the Body of Christ.” In discussing this concept of the one body, we mentioned that “Everybody is somebody in the Body.” We also shared a well-known selection that is related to the topic: “The Parable of 4 People—The Parable of Responsibility.” This selection by an unknown author is a condensed version of Charles Osgood’s “A Poem about Responsibility”:

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody were members of a “Church.”

There was an important job to do, and Everybody was asked to do it.

Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody would have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry because it was Everybody’s job.

Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Anybody wouldn’t do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody, when Nobody did, what Anybody could have done.

In closing out our discussion of the “one body,” I thought of the lyrics to the Children’s Ministry song:

“We are all members of the Body of Christ”

Sons of God by birthright.

We are chosen gems, polished by God and His Word.

We are beautiful in God’s sight.

Ephesians 4:16 (NLT) also speaks of the Church as the Body of Christ:

¹⁶ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Kevin Conner in his book The Church in the New Testament brings out these points:

• Every member of the church is part of God’s family.

• Members are a building with Christ being the chief cornerstone.

• Each member is described as the body, all having special parts and functions.

• God has given each Christian a special gift. This means each person has talents and abilities that can be used to help other believers and advance the Kingdom of God.

Conner closes out the discussion by pointing out the significance of Romans 12:4-5, as revealed in the New Living Translation:

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,

so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Another song also tells us:

Remember we are all members of the Body;

Each one has a special place.

We try to build up everybody

For we are members of one another,

saved by grace.

To summarize our discussion, Tom Inglis offers a lively rendition of “We are One Body”