The Body of Christ: God places the members
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (1 Corinthians 12:18, see verses 18-20)
In the Old Testament book of Exodus, Aaron the High Priest had a breastplate which he wore when he went into the presence of God. On it were twelve precious stones, arranged in rows. Jewellers have remarked that these stones were perfectly arranged not just to reflect the beauty of each stone, but to give out the combined radiance resulting from the way the stones were placed together. We are specially prepared by God to fill a unique role in His church, a place no one else can fill. We should not challenge the wisdom of God, but fulfil the ministry He has given us to do. 1 Corinthians 12:18 says, “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” My father-in-law used to tell me, “Gordon, God has not put people in the church to please you, but to please Himself!” This helped me see the value God has placed on my brothers and sisters in Christ, and it encouraged me to value them more.
If we were all alike, the church would not be a body but a uniform mass. Sadly, soon after the church was formed, Christians began dividing into groups. Paul addresses such divisions in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. Christians have repeated this behaviour down the ages thinking uniformity is unity. They have divided into groups to meet solely with Christians who think in exactly the same way. Artificial barriers have been created based on interpretation of the scriptures. Rules have been invented, and the dynamic experience of Christian fellowship lost. The benefit of each other’s gifts and each other’s presence is diluted. And the constant and necessary challenge to be Christ-like to maintain the unity of the Spirit, is sacrificed. How many Christians have left a fellowship just because they did not get on with other believers? Many use the highest principles to justify their position. But the church is robbed of fulfilling Christ’s great desire as He went to the cross, “That they … may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). It was a desire that our unity would make us witnesses to the love of God revealed in the Son of God.
Some Christian friends of mine who belong to a well-known Christian organisation once told me that they had the greatest experience of the body of Christ when they went away for a weekend with other members of the same organisation. Although they were from different backgrounds and fellowships, they could express unity. I had to say that, that although I was sure it was a happy experience, it was not what Christ had in mind. It is relatively easy to express fellowship with Christians we hardly know over a brief weekend together. It is far harder, and much more important, to witness to the body of Christ week in, week out with Christians you know very well and with whom you have to live and work. When, in those circumstances, we express the unity of Christ’s church, it benefits the body and it leads people to Christ. When it does not happen, the people of God suffer, and people in the world are confused and sometimes driven away from Christ. Let us see Christ in one another and value and encourage the fellowship and gifts of fellow believers. And, through our fellowship, witness to the wonder of being in the body of Christ.
