The Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:14-19
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If 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. 16And 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. 17If 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? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be?
Explanation:
What you see in the pictures are a world being held together by the hands of Christ. The passage of scripture I am working with is 1 Corinthians 12:14-19. This passage inspires me in many ways. Every time I read this passage I can clearly see what Paul is trying to get across. Paul does a great job of communicating to believers that even though we live in a very diverse world and God works in different ways Christ is sovereign still and is the same God working in us all. 1 Corinthians 12:14-19 speaks on unity. Although the body of Christ has different parts it is only effective if working together. This passage strong addresses differences in others and is very clear that those differences are of value in the body and not looked down upon.
On the globe I made you will see pictures of children from different countries. These pictures represent our differences throughout the world. In 1 Corinthians 12:14-19 you will read that Paul uses body parts to describe our differences in the body. For example in verse 15, (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.) Paul is using the comparison between the foot and the hand. It is important to realize that in our world today, the differences in these two body parts can represent the different races that make up our world. The foot can represent one race and the hand could represent another race. Both races are very different but this does not change our effectiveness in the body of Christ. Our differences are not to be viewed as a division or separation in the body, but rather as a way to keep the body in motion. As the body of Christ, the only way it will function and advance is if all the ligaments are working together. We live in a world that allows differences to separate people but it is Christ’s original intent for us to be unified as one and it is him alone who holds us together.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things and in him all things hold together.
