Hebrews 12:1-2 (CEB)
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As we continue our exploration of what the church is, we come to a prolific metaphor that the Apostle Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians, a letter written to the emerging church in the city of Corinth. Paul instructs the Christians there to consider themselves a body, and to value all of the body's parts. This week, we commit to 'seeing all the people,' which this metaphor invites us to do. May we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. So then, with endurance, let's also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Let's throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith's pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of him, and sat down at the right side of God's throne. |
1 Corinthians 12:12-26 (CEB)
Christ is just like the human body -- a body is a unit that has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even when there are many. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. Certainly the body isn't one part but many. If the foot says, "I'm not part of the body because I'm not a hand," does that mean it's not part of the body? If the ear says, "I'm not part of the body because I'm not an eye," does that mean it's not part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like he wanted. If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? But as it is, there are many parts but one body. So they eye can't say to the hand, "I don't need you," or in turn, the head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you." Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we honor the most. The private parts of our body that aren't presentable are the ones that are given the most dignity. The parts of our body that are presentable don't need this. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor so that there won't be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it.
