JULY 18, 2023
“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” (Romans 12:4-5)
Paul uses an analogy he has used previously (as in I Corinthians 12:12-31), and that is of a human body. Bodies are a unified whole containing one person. But that unified body comprises many parts that serve wildly different functions from head to toe. In our human bodies, for example, we all have a heart that pumps blood throughout our bodies, but we also have feet, and without feet walking would be impossible. All parts of the body have not the same office. In other words, most members of our body serve different purposes. The same is true of the Church, the body of Christ; it is one body made up of many members. As with the human body and its many members with different functions, everyone working in Christ does not serve the same purpose in furthering the kingdom of God.
Paul describes how Christians whom God has shown mercy – all saved believers – should live now. What kind of life makes sense for us? Verse 4 describes the human body. It is just one person but has many different parts that serve various functions.
Now Paul says that we, as the collective group of Christians, are also a kind of body. We are Christ’s body on earth, often referred to as “the church.” We are countless parts in many different places with vastly different jobs. Still, together we are, by analogy, one unified “being,” a single entity with a united purpose of serving the Lord.
The end of verse 5 is worded in a confusing way where he writes, “…and every one members one of another.” Paul is saying that none of us exist outside of the body. No Christian is an unattached Christian. We are all members of each other, connected to each other with the purpose of serving each other. God intends to do this with us on this side of eternity.
The parable of the talents is one of the parables of Jesus, found in Matthew 25:14-30. In the story, a wealthy landowner prepares to visit a distant country. Before leaving, he gathers his servants together and distributes to them various amounts of talents (a single talent was equal to about 20 years of labor). To one servant, he leaves five talents; to another, he leaves two; and to the last servant, he leaves one. The three men go out after their master leaves, and while the first two do trade and invest, doubling their sums, the man given only one buries his talent in the earth. The master returns after his trip, praising the two who grew theirs and reprimanding the other. One of the main purposes of this parable is to show that the master, who represents God, will give all His servants different amounts of talents or differing gifts and abilities.
We are not all called to preach or teach the Word; all “have not the same office.” But, as with the servant who was scolded for not using his talent, we are expected to use the varying gifts we have been given to further His kingdom.
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