Love God Greatly - Made for CommunitySample

In this passage, Paul uses the metaphor of a human body to describe the unity and harmony that the body of Christ was designed to exhibit. At the time of his writing this letter, the Corinthian church had become preoccupied with the spiritual gifts that the members had been blessed with by God. They began to esteem some spiritual gifts higher than others which led to the incorrect assigning of a higher spiritual level to those who possessed those esteemed gifts. Paul patiently explains in 1 Corinthians 12 God’s purpose and desire for the use of spiritual gifts in an effort to prevent division, jealousy, and confusion in the Corinthian church.

Every true believer within Christ’s body, the Church, has been gifted with the divine indwelling of the Holy Spirit at their time of salvation. God freely gives each believer at least one spiritual gift, some more. These gifts are given to each believer for the benefit of God’s Church. Therefore, each believer plays a vital and necessary role in the body of Christ. When we don’t function in the church or exercise our spiritual gifts, this hurts the entire body.

Paul writes to those who are tempted with discouragement to underestimate their value to the body of Christ by using the illustration of the foot and the ear. He writes: if the foot and the ear were to decide that they aren’t as important as the hand or the eye, they would be sadly mistaken. Verse 18 tells us that God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. God made each of us knowing what we would be. He willed us before He made us. We are His thumbprint here on earth. So our presence and our service are absolutely necessary to the body of Christ. God willed you before He made you, and He made you knowing what you would be. He sought diversity, variety, and distinction amongst His people working together in unified purpose for the glorification of God.

Paul writes to those who are tempted by pride to overestimate their value to the body of Christ by using the illustration of the eye and the head. He writes: if the eye and the head were to tell the hand and the feet that they are not needed, they would be sadly mistaken. He goes on to tell us that because a member’s service is not one that gets a lot of attention doesn’t mean that they are not important. In fact, he states that it is those unseen functions that are often the most important, and God will give glory and honor to those in unseen service.

God’s desire is for His people to act and serve in unity and harmony with one another. He desires for us to accept and revere the spiritual gift that we have been given and to pour that gift out in service to the church and to others around us. Our spiritual gifts are not to edify and build up ourselves. They are to be used to glorify God through the expansion of the body of Christ. The body of Christ, the Church, is to be a reflection of Him. In Jesus Christ, we see no confusion, no division, no envy, no fear, no arrogance, no laziness, or apathy. We see One who came humbly, obediently, and faithfully to serve His Father, even to the death. He was not distracted by enemies who questioned who He was or what He was capable of. He was not deterred by those who sought His blessings yet still ignored His message. He loved and united His disciples despite abandonment and betrayal. He did not succumb to the temptation to glorify Himself above God who sent Him. Love was always His guiding principle. Jesus was all about His Father’s business. Are we able to say the same? When Jesus returns, will He find His Church faithful?

Where is God calling you to serve Him? What objections, fears, struggles, or excuses keep you from serving God lovingly and wholeheartedly? Is it fear of imperfection, fear of inadequacy, fear of failure? Are you dealing with complacency, apathy, or laziness? Does service to God feel inconvenient or uncomfortable? Take heart. God knows you perfectly. He knows your weaknesses, your flaws, your failings. Yet, He chooses you anyway. In service to God, we are called to be faithful, not to be perfect. We are called to be available, not to be faultless. We are called to be part of the body…the part we were specifically designed to be. When we faithfully show up, God will do the rest. God is infinitely greater than any task that He assigns, and He remains faithful to us when we trust and obey.


PRAYER: Father God, You are our Immanent God. You are totally self-sufficient, yet You choose Your imperfect children to carry out Your perfect plans. Lord, give us the boldness to take our rightful place in the body of Christ. Help us to unite and work together with understanding and compassion in our hearts. Remove any spirit of division, opposition, and chaos in Your Church. May we decrease individually so that You are magnified and glorified through us collectively. In Jesus’ name. Amen.