Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually (1 Cor. 12:27).
Just as a thumb or an ear is a member of your physical body, so you (if you are a Christian) are a member of the spiritual body of Christ. This fact has several outgrowths. As members of His body, we:
Do the will of the Head: Jesus is “head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:22, 23). His authority is absolute. Just as your arms and legs move as your head directs them, so we are to be completely subject to the will of our Head, Jesus Christ. When the members of your physical body do not obey the orders of your head, you consult a physician to determine what is wrong. Even so, when Christians do not do the will of their Head, something is drastically wrong.
Act as one: “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body” (1 Cor. 12:20). Within the spiritual body of Christ there is to be “no schism” (i.e. no division, 1 Cor. 12:25). If you were moving a chair, how practical would it be to lift it up with one hand while pushing down with the other? How much progress would you make by moving west with your left foot and east with your right? Though a body has many members, it acts as a unit. Each member cooperates with every other member. As Christ’s body, we are to work together in harmony.
Care for each other: “The members should have the same care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:25). In a physical body, a smashed thumb will find protection in the opposite hand, comfort in the mouth (where it will be placed by a cooperative bending elbow), and tears of sympathy from the eyes. Members of Christ’s body exercise similar care. “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). There is no competition, rivalry, or jealousy among members of a physical body; there ought not to be any in the church.
Have access to the blood: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Life-sustaining, healing, cleansing, nourishing blood is available only to the members attached to your body. Even so, only members of Christ’s body enjoy the continuous cleansing from sin afforded by His blood. Therefore, the idea that one may be saved without being a member of His body (church) is erroneous.
We are members of His body. What a privilege! What a responsibility!
— Joe Slater
