A New Community: One Body, Many Members
Pastor Eric Chan
“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. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.”
One biblical truth that is often neglected in our day is that we are born again into the Christian community – that is, into the church as the body of Christ. Our modern culture prizes the autonomy and self-actualisation of the individual. Marketing professionals sell products and services by promising that they will improve our lifestyles or help us to become a better version of ourselves.
This is not necessarily bad or immoral (though at times it certainly can be) but we should be concerned about importing excessive individualism into our practice of the Christian faith.
We see this in some instances. For example, we may think that we can grow in our faith apart from the body of Christ or that we have nothing to learn or receive from our brothers and sisters in Christ, maybe because they are newer in the faith or seem unimpressive in the world’s eyes. Others may chase prophetic ministers for one word of “personal destiny” after another, without taking the time to serve others in their local church and thereby growing in the gifts that God may have promised them.
God’s Redemption Plan: For Whom?
We must realise that God’s Big Story – His plan of salvation and redemption in the Bible – is meant for a collective group and not merely for individuals. I will explore this briefly using the four themes of creation, fall, redemption and consummation.
In the creation account of Genesis 1, God created man in His own image and said, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). God started with one man, but His plan was for the earth to be filled with His people.
When Adam and Eve fell into sin in Genesis 3, the consequence of sin did not affect them alone. Their sin affected their descendants – all humanity that followed would be born with a sinful nature. Some theologians call this the concept of “federal headship”: Adam, as the representative head of humanity, sinned and he implicated all whom he represented. This is unpalatable to our modern, individualistic sensibilities but those who come from more collectivistic cultures – perhaps among Asians of earlier generations – would understand how a person’s behaviour can bring great honour, shame or other consequences upon his or her family and descendants.
The good news for us is that Christ’s redemption also works similarly. Paul tells us that sin, condemnation and death entered the world through one man, but grace, righteousness and justification “to all men” came through one Man, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17-18).
Although humanity was tainted through Adam’s sin, Christians are a part of a new, redeemed humanity through Christ. The consummation of all things – our future in Christ – is when God will dwell among all His redeemed humanity for eternity (Rev. 21:3-4).
To put it another way, God’s redemption plan has always been about bringing a group of people – what the New Testament calls the “church” – to Himself, and not merely about our individual salvation.
We see this reflected in 1 Corinthians 3:16, where Paul wrote: “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” Although not indicated in most English translations (but clear if you observe the context), all three “you”s are in the plural form in the original language (effectively, “you all”) and the “temple” is in the singular. In other words, God’s people collectively form the one New Testament temple where His Spirit is pleased to dwell. We are not isolated, individual temples. No one is to be a lone ranger, spiritually speaking.
So when God saves us, He also commands us to join the new community that He is forming. While it is important that each of us make a personal decision for Christ, we must not think that our faith is supposed to be merely private or personal.
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God’s redemption plan has always been about bringing a group of people – what the New Testament calls the “church” – to Himself, and not merely about our individual salvation.
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Interdependence: One Body, Many Members
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 tells us that there is one body of Christ – that is the church – but many members. The Apostle Paul goes on in the passage to describe two absurd scenarios: the first is that of one body part rejecting itself and declaring, “I don’t belong, because I’m not a hand, or I’m not an eye” (1 Cor. 12:14–19). The second scenario is that of body parts denying a place to the others because they are different (1 Cor. 12:21–26). It would be ridiculous to have a body that is entirely made of ears. It would also be absurd to think that a foot does not belong to the body simply because it does not function like an eye.
The main idea here is that there is diversity and complexity in the body of Christ, and that each part serves a needed function. Even though Christ commands us to be a part of a community, it does not mean that we lose our uniqueness – that we must all look or talk the same way – or that we must function or serve in the same manner.
Paul’s analogy of the body tells us that unity and interdependence are needed in the Christian community. The entire body is affected when one member hurts (1 Cor. 12:26). God has given each person a gift with which to serve others (1 Pet. 4:10). Each part needs others to function in roles that differ from them.
To a certain extent, this reflects the relationship between the members of the Trinity. There is One God, consisting of Three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The members of the Trinity are not three separate gods, but One (Deut. 6:4). All three Persons are equal in their divinity, but they have different functions or roles. As unique members of the one body of Christ, we reflect this Trinitarian mystery to a degree.
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Paul’s analogy of the body tells us that unity and interdependence are needed in the Christian community.
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Implications for Today
What does this mean for us in 21st-century Singapore? Here are some reflections:
1. Resist the cultural pull toward a privatised, individualistic faith
We are saved into the new community – the body of Christ – that God is forming. There are personal aspects of our faith that we need to take seriously, but we must not neglect or minimise the corporate dimension of our faith.
2. Reject the tendency to value ourselves and others based on worldly standards
In developed societies, people are usually measured by their economic contributions and professional standing. Paul tells us that this is not to be the case within the church.
Different members have different gifts and functions that contribute to the well-being of the larger body. Even the newest believer or those who may struggle with certain deficiencies belong to the body and have something to serve others with. Don’t buy into the cultural lie that you have nothing meaningful to contribute because you are not eloquent, strong, beautiful, successful or intelligent enough.
In fact, Paul counsels us to honour each other, especially the members whom some might consider weaker or less honourable (1 Cor. 12:22-24). We should realise that we are hurting the body of Christ when we dishonour or devalue one another.
3. Recognise that we need the ministry of one another
Remember that you need others to minister to you and that others need you to do the same to them. Those who think they are wise or strong and do not need others should realise that they are already deceived.
I have spoken to some who have been hurt deeply by others in their community or even by their close kin. In such instances, there is often the tendency to withdraw from others. However, we need to recognise that God’s love and healing are most often mediated through others in this present age. In other words, it will be the love and ministry of others in community (although not necessarily the person(s) who hurt us) that will heal those hurts. In receiving from others, perhaps one day we will be those who bring healing to others too.
May God help us to live out our calling as members of Christ’s body.