Answer: In Christ, we who are many members form one
body, and each member belongs to all the others. (verse
5).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Supporting
Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 6:15a: "Do you not
know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself?"
1 Corinthians 10:16-17: "Is not the
cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the
blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation
in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many,
are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."
1 Corinthians 12:12-27: "The body
is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its
parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For
we were all baptized by One Spirit into one body--whether Jews
or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the One Spirit
to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of
many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand,
I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason
cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say,
'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,'
it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If
the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If
the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell
be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every
one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all
one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many
parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I
don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet,
'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts
of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts
that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And
the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has
combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the
parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the
body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each
other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if
one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are
the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of
it."
Ephesians 2:13-22: "But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near
through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, Who
has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing
wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself
one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body
to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put
to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you
who were far away and peace to those who were near. For
through Him we both have access to the Father by One Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow
citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building
is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit."
Ephesians 4:1-6: "As a prisoner for
the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you
have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,
bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep
the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is
one body and One Spirit--just as you were called to one hope
when you were called--One Lord, one faith, one baptism; One
God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in
all."
Ephesians 4:20-25: "You, however,
did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of Him
and were taught in Him in accordance with the Truth that is in
Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of
life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its
deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put
off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all
members of one body."
Ephesians 5:25-30: "Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for
her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water
through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and
blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their
wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves
himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he
feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--for we
are members of His body."
Colossians 3:15: "Let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were
called to peace. And be thankful."
Some
comments on verses 4 and 5 taken from
The Book of Romans by Jim McGuiggan (who uses the
KJV):
No healthy human body has only one member. (Can you
imagine a 150-pound eye rolling into class to teach the
students?) No one thinks that surprising. Something
different would be grotesque. But how quickly we set aside
Paul's point once we have paid it lip-service.
Christians are not all intended to major in the same areas.
If this is true (and this passage clearly teaches that), why
don't we accept it and practice it?
Since we're on the "body" concept, let me
spend a few more minutes with you discussing the "body at
work." A body is at work when one (or some) of its
members is functioning so as to further the aims and goals of that
body. If the hand functions to fulfill some goal or aim of
the body, that is the body at work! Now, it
isn't the whole of the body (all of the members) at work at
that moment, but it is the body at work. Seeing is a
bodily function which is accomplished through the eyes. It
makes no sense to speak of seeing as "only the eye at
work." A healthy body functions through its various
members. A body hears through its ears; it speaks through its
mouth, it walks through its legs and feet and lifts through the
hands. "If the eye should say I am not the hand
therefore I am not the body." Would it be
correct? Paul said it would be incorrect. It is a
groundless fear to be afraid of the body as a body
functioning through individual members. A body as a
body always functions through its individual members.
So it is with a football team, a military company, or a local
assembly of saints. When a member on a football team acts in
conformity with the purposes and aims for which that team is on the
field, his activity is attributable to the team. If he takes
the ball from one end of the field to a touchdown and does it
single-handedly, it is still attributable to the team. If
after the game he hits another player with a bottle and injures
him, his activity is not attributable to the team, for his action
was not in keeping with the purposes for which the team
exists. It would be right to say: "Dallas beats
Houston" even if the only points were scored single-handedly
by one Dallas team-member. It wouldn't be right to say:
"Dallas hits Houston player with a bottle!" if a Dallas
player (after the game) did that. (If the Dallas team
endorsed the action, they would be blameworthy.) The
truthfulness of all this hardly needs argued.
The responsibilities of a local church are the sum total
of all the responsibilities of all of the members of that
church. The local assembly (let's say) is made up
of husbands, fathers, wives, parents, doctors, employers,
employees, and so on. The local church takes care of its
wives through its husbands. The church takes care of its
children through its parents. The local church feeds itself
through the pastors [elders] and teachers, etc.
When teachers teach, the body is at work. When elders
rule, the body is at work. When deacons minister, the body is
at work. Yes, but how does the body as a body work? The
only way a body CAN work, through its members! When we speak
of the Church "as such," we're talking about the
Church "as the church;" the congregation "as a
congregation." How does a congregation (body)
work? Through its members! The body is not only one
member! The member which will not function in its
place is in conflict with the body. Something must be done
about that. If a member of your physical body becomes
gangrenous, you cut it off. Quite right! But as long as
feet carry, the body is working; as long as the ears hear, the body
is working; as long as eyes see and mouth speaks, the body as a
body is at work. And when members of a local assembly of
saints go reaching for the lost, feeding the poor, visiting the
sick, caring for the children, loving the wives and submitting to
the husbands in loving service--as long as that is going on,
the Body is at work!
