Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 2

Remember last post when we talked about going to the Godhead to see how things work? Here's one scripture that extends the understanding of that reality.

1 Cor. 12:4-6 (NIV)

"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."

In other words, while there is an extraordinary variety of ways to express and reveal Christ through His people, it's the same God doing it all.

Remember the context of all of this was the Corinthians were scattered all over the place, separating into cliques and basically divided amongst themselves because they didn't understand that variety and oneness weren't in conflict with each other in the Godhead, rather they complimented one another.

Individuals who saw the Lord in certain ways weren't to separate because others saw another aspect of the Lord. It was the sharing of the Lord with one another that made them a body, a people. The problem with the Corinthians is they would separate over everything that came along, including those that brought a message to them.

Paul said it perfectly in verse 12 of I Cor. 12, saying it this way:

"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.

In verse 14 Paul continues saying, "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many," and in verse 19 he asks the rhetorical question: "If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body." v27 - "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you a part of it."

The point of all of this is if you feel the tension and inner conflict concerning being one and many, remember that Paul explains to us the two compliment one another, and exist in time together. You can't have one without the other. You can't have corporate without individuality.

If you attempt to make something corporate without the body parts functioning in their role, you end up with something called a glob; a monstrosity. On the other hand if you have an individual unconnected to the body, they serve no purpose and have no impact on showing forth the many-sided wisdom that Christ is.

Only the body can truly show forth Christ, and that's done through each part properly functioning. To function properly they need to be in union with the Lord.

When this is lived out properly and healthily, the individual parts of the body show forth Christ far greater than could ever be seen, and at the same time the body than gives something back to individual parts which makes them grow in Christ in a way they couldn't on their own. This is how the two compliment one another. When this is lived out, the tension between the two disappears and flow together in a fantastic way.

One thing to keep in mind here, when taking into account the word individual, I'm not referring to what many in the Western world would call "independent." What I'm saying is the people of God can only truly show forth Christ in His fulness by offering up what each one of them have individually. The result is to see Christ in a way that can't be seen individually, no matter how far advanced a person is.

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4