1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Illus: For as long as I can remember I have been in and a part of a church. When I was twelve years of age I was baptized by sprinkling to become a member of the Methodist church. When we moved outside of the city of Atlanta I was baptized by immersion to become a member of a Baptist church. Not until I was sixteen did I trust Christ as my Savior and I was scripturally baptized again to profess my faith in Jesus Christ.
Now as the undershepherd of a church I’m constantly reminding people that the church should be important in their lives and church membership really does matter.
Paul uses the illustration of a body to emphasize how the church has diversity, yet maintains its unity. That is the primary emphasis of the 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 passage. However, there are additional things that can be deduced from his discussion of the church as a body that are equally important when speaking about the importance of local church membership.
For instance:
1. Formality is implied in the idea of membership in His body.
The word “member” or “members” is used thirteen times in sixteen verses. You see this same emphasis about being members of His body in Romans 12:4-5 and Ephesians 4:25; 5:30.
To be a member of Christ’s body implies formality or official status in the “body.” The church is not made up of loosely associated people that happen to function together on occasion when the need arises. That type of understanding defies the very meaning of what it means to be a “member” of the body of Christ. Rather, the body of Christ is a tightly knit, multi-member organism operating according to the direction of the Head.
Listen to the wording of Ephesians 4:11-16: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
This type of formal structure, where every member matters, shows careful placement of each member to complement and build up the rest of the body. And, it is not only applicable to the universal body of Christ, but it is equally necessary in a local body of believers (as opposed to a loosely associated/informal group of disciples gathering occasionally to worship).
Some of the early church’s local, “formal structure” is found in the following facts.
- They kept a count of conversions/baptisms.
Acts 1:15 -- 120
Acts 2:41 – added 3,000
Acts 4:4 – 5,000
- They kept rolls to recognize widows that needed care.
Certain widows of the congregation were put on a special care list. (cf.1 Timothy 5:9)
- Deacons were chosen by the congregation and from the congregation.
The apostles instructed the believers in Jerusalem to “seek out from among you” seven men to serve the people. (Acts 6:2-5)
“From among you” implies a formal group from whom the choices could be made. They apparently had some kind of list meaning there was a formal way in which they identified themselves as a body.
- Church discipline was practiced with sinning members.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
Again, the local congregation at Corinth knew who was part of their church.
- Worship was corporate, not just private.
1 Corinthians 14:23 “...if the whole church comes together in one place...”
- Pastors/shepherds will give account for their flock, whom they must know.
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
- Missionaries were sent out by the church as a whole.
It was the church as a whole that sent (13:3) the missionaries and it was the church that heard the report of the missionaries upon their return (14:26-27).
- A structure existed to resolve doctrinal conflicts.
Acts 15:1-3, 22-23 – the apostles and elders met to resolve a doctrinal controversy, which was then communicated to the whole church who then was involved in selecting men to carry the message as their representatives.
- Financial accountability was required by the church.
I Cor. 16:3; II Cor. 8:19,23 – those who handled the church’s finances were approved by a congregation that was apparently recognizable as a congregation.
- Most of Paul’s epistles were written to local churches or those functioning within local churches.
- God defined certain gifts for the edifying of the body (Ephesians 4:11), which requires a formal, local body to function.
It’s clear that the disciples of the first century weren’t just loosely associated with one another, but existed in some type of formal structure that defined them as local churches.
Every team has to have a roster. Every school has to have an enrollment. Every business has to have a payroll. Every army has to have an enlistment. Even our country has to have a census. You have to know who belongs and who doesn’t for the sake of functioning effectively and efficiently.
Local church membership is also important because...
2. Instrumentality is necessary for the body to be healthy.
The dictionary defines “instrumentality” as: “the fact or function of serving some purpose.” It’s clear from 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 that God places each of us in His body where He wants us to function for His purposes (12:18). No part of the body is unimportant and every part of the body contributes to the health of the body as a whole (12:15-18).
A physical body with members that do not function or have impaired function, affect the rest of the body as a whole. Sometimes the “members” don’t receive commands from the “head” (Christ) and other times they rebel against those commands. Either way, the body is disadvantaged when any of the members don’t function in the manner in which they were intended.
God has placed each of us in His body to be His instruments for the healthy functioning of His body in this world. And, all of this instrumentality is not just for the universal body of Christ, but for the local manifestation of His body, as well.
Some recent statistics given to our staff indicated that at one time Christians were attending church an average of 48 Sundays each year. The average today is 31 Sundays a year.
Add to this challenge the number of people that are in church on Sundays, but have little or no functioning through the church. Now you can see why God’s church is not as healthy or effective as He desires it to be.
It’s also important to recognize that the church is not primarily a building, but the people themselves. All of our instrumentality doesn’t have to be invested “on the property,” but in the marketplace and neighborhoods where we work and live. Unfortunately, though, too many believers rarely look for opportunities to be God’s instruments in ways that match how He has gifted and placed them in His body.
Our 21st century narcissistic individualism causes a lot of Christians to neglect their roles (instrumentality) within the body, which affects the overall health of the body.
It also affects each member of the body individually. As members of His body we are also members of each other within the body. (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26)
“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Romans 12:4-5)
“Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:25)
Your functioning, or lack thereof, affects every other member’s effective service within the body of Christ. It matters where and how you serve Christ through His church.
We need all the parts of the body to be functioning together for the health of the local body.
This is one of the ways you see the distinction between membership in an organization and membership in an organism. Membership in an organization is about paying dues so that someone else will serve you (consumerism). Membership in an organism is about what you do in service for others for the betterment of the body (commitment).
3. Vitality results when the body (church) is functioning properly within the context of mutual care for one another.
“...but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
There’s healthy growth and there’s unhealthy growth (cancer, obesity, deformity) in the body of Christ. As a living organism grows because of the vitality of all its members supporting and helping the body, so the body of Christ grows in a similar fashion.
Nothing can prevail against a local church when it is healthy and functioning properly. But, a church where people attend informally, with little or no thought to functioning within the body, results in an unhealthy, inefficient and/or incapacitated body.
There’s another analogy that describes what can happen when the body of Christ comes together. It was given by a well-known preacher of the 20th century, Dr. Vance Havner:
“Christians, like snowflakes, are frail, but when they stick together they can stop traffic.” - Vance Havner
The church is an invincible force when we function within the structure (His body) that God has placed us. But, if you can’t identify who are members, you can’t assist them in getting on mission and/or into ministry.
- Now is the time for you to join the universal body of Christ by believing on Jesus today for eternal life.
- Then you need to get committed to a local manifestation of His body and start functioning according to your divinely given gifts and abilities.
