I Corinthians 12:12-25 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 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. And 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. If 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?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body.The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don’t need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don’t need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

I Corinthians 12:12-25 describes the church as one body with many members. Each Christian has their own place in the body of believers. One part of the body cannot function alone without the rest of the body. In the same way, a Christian cannot live like he or she should without the rest of the members of the body of believers. The body cannot function properly without every member and the church cannot function properly without every member. Each member of the church has special gifts, talents, and characteristics that they can use for the bettering of the church.

The church is made up of members who all came in by salvation and who are all equal in God’s eyes. Ephesians 2:19-20 says, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." The church is not a building but a body of believers.

Each believer has a different function in the church just as each part of a body has a different function. Everyone is not a preacher. If they were, who would lead the music or keep the nursery. A preacher cannot say, "I do not need anyone who leads music or watches children. Services would be constantly interrupted by crying babies and talking toddlers. God has a purpose for each Christian and no two are exactly the same. The church needs each person with their special gift and talents. I Corinthians 12:4-6 says, "there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."

Just as the church needs each believer, each believer needs the church. Where would a church be if it was made of only preachers? Where would it be if it had only singers? We need each other so that we can work together to accomplish God’s purpose.

We also need fellowship with other believers so that we can live a Christ-like life. Hebrews 10:25 says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—all the more as you see the Day approaching." We need encouragement from and fellowship with other believers so that we do not become discouraged in our Christian walk.

Attending church is not a requirement for salvation, but it is essential to each individual’s Christian growth and the proper functioning of the church as a whole. The church needs you and you need the church.

Written By: Leslie Robinson
Email her at: [email protected]