Our theme for 2024 is We, Not Me. We have spent some time in the first part of this year looking more about how to think about each other over ourselves. But for the second half of 2024, Lord willing, we are going to lean and push into this theme even stronger than we have so far. Our upcoming series in 1 John and in James are looking at scriptures that will help us practice “we, not me” behavior. But one of the books in God’s word that was written was specifically written to Christians in a city where there were divisions. It was a church with a lot of problems. Listen to how Paul had to start his letter to the Christians in Corinth.
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. (1 Corinthians 1:10-11 ESV)
Throughout the whole first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul is dealing with the problems of division. Even when Paul is answering their questions, Paul has to show these Christians that the reason for their problems is because they are thinking about themselves and not about each other. From the problems of sexual immorality, marriage and divorce, idolatry, foods sacrificed to idols, the Lord’s Supper, the head covering, and miraculous spiritual gifts all boiled down to selfish thinking rather than care and love for each other. In particular, chapters 12-14 really point out the problems with the Corinthians’ thinking regarding God and their fellow brethren. Open your copies of God’s word to 1 Corinthians 12 and we are going to spend our time considering verses 12-26. The main point for this paragraph is found in 1 Corinthians 12:12.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV)
Notice that the apostle Paul proclaims that the way it is in Christ is the way it is with our physical bodies. Just as our physical bodies have many members and parts and all belong to the body, so there are many members and parts that all belong to the body of Christ. So as we look at this paragraph, we are going to see Paul make four points to show why our thinking and why our behavior must be “we, not me.”
Different, But One (1 Corinthians 12:13)
You will notice in verse 13 that the apostle Paul highlights the differences of these Christians. Some are Jews and some are Gentiles. Some are slaves and some are free. We are so different. Sometimes it is hard to remember how different we all are. Some grew up in the pews with a knowledge of God. Some grew up in the pews but received the wrong knowledge of God. Some did not grow up in the pews and have no knowledge or a distorted knowledge of God. Some grew up in this country and some were born or raised in another country with a different culture. Some are native Floridians. Some are from the South. Some are from the North. Some are from New York and New England. Some are from the west coast of the country. Even these differences mean that we come in with a different culture and a different way of thinking. Some have a lot of education and some do not have much education. Some have a lot of wealth and some are struggling to get by each week. We could go on and on about how different we all are. So why should we be concerned with each other? Why should we think about each other and care about each other when we all are so different? Look again at verse 13.
Paul says that we all in the one Spirit baptized into one body and all made to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Paul acknowledges how different we are. However, none of that matters because we have one thing in common. Even if we have nothing else in common, we have one thing in common and it is the most important thing to have in common. We were all baptized in one Spirit into one body and all drink of one Spirit. We have noted in many of our studies that one of the key concepts of the Spirit is life. When the Spirit comes, then life is happening. We have all been baptized into this new life of the Spirit and we are not filled with worldliness but drink/are filled with the new life that comes from the Spirit (cf. Ephesians 5:18-19). We have this shared experience. I cannot help but make the point that I cannot see any reasonable argument as to why people would ever proclaim that baptism is unnecessary. Paul points to our baptism as our unification moment. We have all been joined together into new life in him and came into this one body in Christ when we were baptized.
We became bound together when we came to Christ. This is an important point that is often missed. You did not just come to Christ and get your sins forgiven. Much more happened when you gave your life to Jesus and submitted to him in the waters of baptism. You were also baptized and joined into the body of Christ. When Paul says this he does not mean that you were baptized into this local church that meets in West Palm Beach. Baptism does not join you to a local church and you are not baptized to belong to a local church. But when you are baptized you are joined to the universal and global body of believers, past, present, and future. The writer of Hebrews makes this point as he tells those Christians what they have come to in Christ (cf. Hebrews 12:22-24). You have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. You have come to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. To say this another way, when you were baptized, you were added to something far bigger than yourself. Nothing else about our physical background matters anymore because we share Christ. We share life in the Spirit. We are in the body of Christ. This is the first reason we are to consider each other first and not ourselves.
One, But Different (1 Corinthians 12:14-18)
Now, after highlighting that we are coming from different places with different backgrounds and experiences but are one body, now Paul observes that we are different even though we are one. Notice in verses 14-17 that the apostle Paul starts noting how the different parts of the human body do different things. The physical body does not have one body part that tries to do everything. Rather, the physical body has all kinds of different body parts that all do different things. The foot is not lesser than the hand (1 Corinthians 12:15). The ear is not lesser than the eye (1 Corinthians 12:16). We would be doomed if we did not have distinct physical body parts that all do different things. Verse 17 points out that we are grateful for these distinctions. I need my hands to be different than my feet. I need my feet to walk and I need to hands to hold things. I need my ear to hear and my eye to see. I am glad that my physical body parts are different so that they can do what they are made for. To ask my ear to act like my eyes or to ask my hands to act like my feet would be silly. Now listen to what point Paul makes from this in verse 18:
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV)
God arranged the members in the body, each of them, as he decided. You have unique attributes that God has given to you that are different than others so that you can function as part of the body of Christ. You have been given talents and gifts from God so that you have your place in the body. I hope we can appreciate this teaching that Paul is giving to Christians. We are not supposed to look at others and consider ourselves unimportant or valueless because we have different talents and abilities. But let me emphasize what I think the key point Paul is making at this point is. You cannot do this alone. God did not make us to do this alone. Just as much as your physical body is not meant to work with only one body part, so the body of Christ is not meant to work with only one body part. You need other people. We need each other because we cannot do it alone. We are different in what we do with purpose. God purposefully made us different to fill out of the different needs of the body. People can get so upset because others are not doing what you are doing. But this is as foolish as the ear complaining that the eye is not doing the hearing like the ear. This is as silly as a hand complaining that the foot is not doing what the hand is doing. Stop looking at each other and being upset that someone else is not doing what you are doing. We are one body but we are different by God’s design. You do what you do and let others do what they do in the body.
I want to make another really important point here. It is something I hope to spend more time on in some upcoming studies. But this is the right place to make this important point. Equality is not about doing the same things. What makes us equal is not that we are doing the same things. What makes us equal is that we are all have been baptized into one body through the Spirit. Equality is not all being leaders. Equality is not all being teachers. Equality is not all being able to do the same things. Rather, we are equal because we are in Christ. Equality in your physical body is not that all body parts do the same thing. That does not make them equal. What makes them equal is that they are all attached to your body. You are attached to Christ and therefore you are an equal member of God’s family and Christ’s body. You are not equal by what you do but because of who you are in Christ.
Different, But Necessary (1 Corinthians 12:19-25)
This brings us to Paul’s third point about the “we” in the body. Sometimes what happens is we want to value certain roles and certain works in the body over others. We start thinking that other people and other roles are not as important as me and my role. You see this in verse 21 that the eye cannot say to the hand nor can the head say to the feet that they have no need of them. No one can say to another person that we have no need for them in the body of Christ. I want us to pay attention to a very important word Paul uses in verse 22. He says that even the body parts that we think are weaker are indispensable. There is no body part that you would say that you do not need it. I do not look at my little pinkie finger and think, because it is so small and seems to be an extra, that I have no need for it. I may not even know what my tonsils, spleen, or appendix do, but I will tell you that I do not sign up to get rid of them simply because I do not understand the work and role they are performing. The apostle Paul describes in verses 22-24 that each part of the body works with even what we might think are unpresentable and less honorable and treat them with greater honor and modesty.
Now listen to the point in verses 24-25. God made the body this way, giving greater honor to the lacking parts, so that there would be no divisions in the body. Rather than there being divisions, the members of the body are to show the same care for one another. Each part is necessary. So much so that if something in flying at your head, your hand moves up to block it, taking the injury to protect the face. The hand does not say, “I am sure glad it was not thrown at me.” When you fall, your hands and knees go out to protect the rest of the body. Each part has equal concern for each other because we recognize that they are indispensable. Each part of the body cares for another part of the body. Do you think we do not need you? Do you think that you do not need us? You are not too important and others are not more important than you.
Different, But Deeply Connected (1 Corinthians 12:26-31)
Finally, even though we are different, we are deeply connected. Look at verse 26. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. How true is that with your physical body? If one part is hurt, the whole body is tending to it. If one part is honored, then every part rejoices with it. The whole body enjoys the good that happens to one body part. This point really shows the need for “we, not me” thinking. The body is far more than showing up for an hour and leaving. None of what Paul is saying is possible if that is all we do. Our interconnection is so deep that we rejoice together and suffer together. This means there must be an openness that we must give to each other. If we do not open ourselves to each other, then it is impossible this kind of care and connection to occur. We must let each other into our lives so that we can be joined as God wants us to be joined. There has to be a sharing of our lives and a giving of ourselves to each other. This kind of connection and care will help prevent divisions (12:25).
Indispensable
Paul wants us to see that the body is a “we, not me” attitude. When we came to Christ, we became part of the body of Christ. Christ is the head and each of us are a part of the body. Having a “we, not me” attitude means that we are going to see that we are knit together as the body of Christ even though we come from different backgrounds, with different levels of spiritual knowledge and maturity, and with different spiritual abilities. Instead of being frustrated or angry with each other, we will acknowledge and accept that we all have different abilities which are necessary for the body to function properly. Paul is teaching us that we need each other. Do not think we do not need you. Do not think you do not need each of us. We are excited about what each person is able to do in the kingdom of God, not upset what each person cannot do for the Lord. No one can do it all. No one is supposed to do it all. Rather, we all work together for the Lord. I want to give you this challenge: be what others cannot be. Do what others cannot do.