The Power of Unity in the Church

^'In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen’ (1 Cor 12:22-23)

The Bible teaches us a lot of important lessons through animals and Bob Gass shares this lesson about the goose. He writes that, ‘If you've ever been to Pennsylvania in early winter, you'll have seen the skies literally darken as multitudes of Canadian geese gather for their annual flight to the sunny south. Geese fly united; they don't fly separately, in random style, because no goose alone can go that distance. They're designed to fly in their characteristic 'V' formation. When a bird flaps its wings the air movement created provides uplift, easing the workload of the bird behind it. Together, their flight range increases about 71 per cent. Even the youngest, weakest and oldest geese can make the trip. They accomplish together what they could never accomplish separately’. The church functions in the same way, one of the best ways to describe the church is, One Body with Many Parts.

In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul uses the human body to illustrate the way that the many and different parts of the body of Christ make up one unit. He emphasizes that, God has put each part just where he wants it, meaning each person should appreciate the gifts and capabilities God has given him and be faithful in the use of them. All people in the Church can never be the same, as Paul the Apostle puts it, ‘the body will be strange if it had only one part’. So he says, ‘the eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you’ (1 Cor 12:21). Everybody in the church is important and has been called by God for a purpose, no matter their strengths or weaknesses.

In Eph 4:16 he says, ‘every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part’. The New living translation clarifies it a little bit more, ‘He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love’. With that in mind, it is very important to see ourselves as one body or a unit, and take care of and build each other up through love. That is the focus of this lesson. Individual roles in the Church, that people usually regard as less honorable are the ones that are to be handled with the greatest care and appreciation. Also, we are to be careful to protect the spiritually week in the church through prayer and wise counsel or guidance.

Paul uses 1 Cor 12:22-23 to really illustrate this point. Parts of the human body like the eye can be seen as the weakest, yet they are the most important parts that should be protected by the stronger parts like the arms, when the body is been attacked. Also, less honorable parts of the human body are seen as personal or private, and are protected and clothed with the greatest care. The stronger and more honorable parts don’t need that much attention. The reason is ‘If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad’ (1 Cor 12:26). This principle is very crucial in view of the diversities of our gifts, our individual strengths and different temperaments. Being able to see ourselves as a unit and work together regardless of the differences in our gifts, maturity levels and opinions, is a major key to having a productive church.

In Gal 4:19 Paul says that he labor’s until Christ is formed in his spiritual children. Love is the key to functioning as a unit. May God grant members of the body of Christ love, to labor in each others’ lives. ‘Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone’ (Rom 12:18, NLT).