MANY MEMBERS, ONE BODY

1 Corinthians 12:20

But now are they many members, yet but one body.

Mark 12:30-31

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

It is not a strange thing that the end of the commandment is love for the sons of God. In fact, it is the law of Christ; love your brother as yourself and love God with all your might. Love is the blood that flows through the Body of Christ. When there is love, there is true fellowship with one another and the Lord.

1 John 1:3-5

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Iniquity is as a blockage in the veins of Christ. It stops the flow of love. It is most interesting that when a part of the natural body lacks sufficient blood supply, it becomes gangrenous and dies. Whenever we withhold our love from one another it will have a negative impact on the Body. This will leave us in a spiritual sickly state; because the blood is not given free course through the body. It is a curious thing that love would be described as the blood of the Body; because though there are many individuals in the Body of Christ, yet are we one body.

1 Corinthians 12:12

12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

The members of your natural body together comprise one body. The flesh is made from the clay of the earth. It was fashioned by God in the beginning. He formed each part and unified them in one and called the completed work, man. Each part whether it is the eyes, ears, teeth, stomach, nerves, hair, etc., alone they are not a body. But the body is made of many members. It is easy for many saints to understand the oneness of a son with God. However, it is not as simple for them to see the oneness with each other. When the scripture says we are all one body, it is not speaking of a group or gathering, it is saying that through Christ Jesus we are one flesh. Consider your own flesh and body. Truly, they are many members and parts. However, we see them as one because they are physically attached. We can look upon a man and see each part joined in one. However, they that are of the Body of Christ are spiritually attached. This is why it is imperative that we see no man after the flesh. Walking in the Spirit gives us the ability to discern the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:13-14

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

14 For the body is not one member, but many

Here is where the rubber meets the road. We are one because we have all been baptized into the same Spirit, and that same Spirit is in each and every one of our flesh. The true understanding of our oneness comes when we perceive it from the perspective of the Spirit. Place yourself in the shoes of the Holy Ghost, and look through the flesh of each believer. You would come to understand that there is a connection with each member. The Body of Christ is therefore, the flesh and blood given to Jesus Christ to express Himself on earth today.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

On the day of Pentecost, there was a dividing of the Holy Spirit. When I say divide, I refer to the giving of a measure, calling or gift to each member. Christ has an eternal purpose in the earth and each person given a role (measure) that Christ had determined before the foundations of the earth. Therefore, Christ will not operate outside of the measure that He has ordained. This simply means that though the fullness of Christ is in each of us, He will only operate according to that measure He had foreordained. The life He chooses to live through you is your measure. Despite each of us having souls distinct from one another, we are yet in the same Spirit and the same Spirit is in each of us. Even as the fingerprints differ on each finger, they still make up one hand. Even so, we are the body of Christ. It is also important for us to see this through the fact that we died at salvation. We have no life as it pertains to the flesh; our life is in the Spirit. However, Christ is alive and living through our flesh. So though there are many members, seeing that He is one Spirit, He is given one body to live through, and that is the Body of Christ, which is filled with many members.

DISCERNING THE BODY

Romans 12:5

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

This is where the Word should penetrate our hearts. We are not individuals in the sight of God, but we are each seen as literal members of the Body of Christ. Seeing that we are members of His flesh, we are members of one another. The same Holy Spirit that is within me is within everyone else in the faith. I am joined in oneness with all the sons.

Hebrews 4:15

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Consider this passage of script. Yes, Jesus is mindful of our trials and tribulations; however, listen to its true interpretation. Our infirmity is our flesh, and its corruption. It can get sick, feel pain, and it constantly decays. But Christ chose to take on our infirmity when He saved us. He took on that same flesh that we once identified with. The same flesh has been purified by His blood and is now holy by the presence of His Spirit within. However, Jesus did not enter our flesh alone; He carried our souls with Him by our baptism into His Spirit. He asks us to partake of the suffering He will endure in our flesh. He is touched with our feelings. He has led us into every trial and suffering, however, He will never sin. As He carries our souls, He simply asks for our agreement.

This scripture also speaks to the fact that even as Christ feels the infirmity of the flesh, He is able to also feel the emotions of the soul, because the soul is within Him. He is able to feel the resistance, hesitation, or disagreement of our souls. He is touched with the emotion it produces in our flesh. This explains the burden on our hearts for fellowship when we are weak or weary. That burden you feel is the burden of Christ, to encourage you through prayer and fellowship. He will not relent with this burden until you have come into agreement with the Spirit, or until you have rejected Him long enough.

This is an awesome truth, but there is something that we must consider, seeing we are in the Body of Christ. Christ is indeed able to feel the emotion of sin or discouragement. However, the same Christ who is within that weak one is also within us. This means the same burden of repentance or fellowship that He gives that person should be felt by the others in the Body concerning him/her.

Philippians 2:4

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

It is our selfishness that would keep us caught up with only those things that concern us. By looking on the situations, circumstances and relationships (things) of others, it would sometimes force us to abandon our lives. This abandoning would therefore leave us to place our things entirely in the hands of God. Well saints, this is what He requires of us anyway. It is not typical of the saints to expect to feel the emotions and burdens of one another, even though they are within the same Spirit. Often we see each other every day, and people may smile and hug us, but we cannot feel that they have been depressed for months, feeling alone and secluded. However, Christ feels their emotion. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit, we should therefore feel that same burden that Christ feels for such a one, even if they never speak of their struggle.

To discern the Body of Christ is to identify that our bodies belong to the Lord, and are members of one another. This ensures that love flows in the body, because if a member hurts, all the body should feel it. We should be able to think about a particular person and feel where they stand in the faith. It should then be our hearts to do all that is within our power to restore such a one to holiness. God is not the author of strife, and division. He does not expect us to stay divided by sin.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17

16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

Communion is not a noun to describe the event of partaking in the Lord’s Supper, it is a verb describing our oneness in Spirit and flesh. We are of the same body and Spirit. We do harm to ourselves if in our coming together we fail to discern the sin in one another, and also fail to restore such a one. We must seek to preserve the Body of Christ in love. Watch for one another. Love them even as yourself. In the same manner you pray for yourself, pray for the saints. In the same carefulness you watch for your soul, watch for the saints. For we all are one in Christ Jesus our Savior. Love is truly the answer to all things. It is through love that we will feel one another’s burden.

There is no one whom we should love more than another. There is no one we should love less than ourselves. We are all one body and the expression of Christ. Allow yourself to be caught up with love. Think upon people, and allow the emotions of Christ to fill your heart. In doing so, we will find that loving people is not as hard as we make it.