II Corinthians 12:21-26 Status Update: Grace Causes us to Care for Every Church Member

Proposition: Just as the human body naturally cares for all its parts, grace causes Christ's body to have equal care for its members.

In chapter 12 Paul was attempting to clear up confusion regarding spiritual gifts.  As a reminder, this chapter is about the Holy Spirit and His gifts…not us. Every member of Christ's body is designed to uniquely manifest the Spirit like no one else can and all the parts are designed to function as a team.  There are many people who feel they are 'useless' and many who feel they are sufficient making others not as needed.  However, this text teaches us that there are no unnecessary parts! We are all needed (the body would be incomplete if parts were missing) and we were all wanted (the parts are chosen and placed by God Himself). 

“21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22 No, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.“

Those who believe they don’t need others and venture out independently are working against God’s plan.  God created and placed the parts in an organized manner to best fulfill His eternal, secret, master plans.  It’s simply not true to believe someone else isn’t as needed as you.  We must resist the lie that we are better without other (presumably less gifted) members. Grace shows us we are all incomplete.  If you were good on your own, you wouldn't need grace. We never shake our need for Jesus AND His body; working together causes the church to get things done more excellently/efficiently while God gets more of the glory!

 “24 For our comely parts have no need: but God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked. 25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

Our old nature causes us to make wrong value judgments of things but God's grace helps us value things the way God does.  The Corinthians had division amongst themselves and caused others to feel alienated because of their seemingly less important gifts.  This they were doing while having the Lord’s Supper…a complete irony since the Lord’s Support is about unity in Christ and His body.  We all have blind spots though, don’t we?!?!         

While it may seem unrealistic, God wants His body to function in such unity that when one suffers we all suffer, when one rejoices we all rejoice.  This may go against the natural inclinations of a human but it is possible because of the Spirit who lives within us. 

CHALLENGE

Do you see any gifts of the body as less important?  How can you show others they are needed, appreciated and just as important as you are?

Songs With This Sermon

Holy Is The Lord
Give Us Clean Hands
How Great Is Our God
Emmanuel, Emmanuel