by Hugh DeLong<\/p>\n
Paul begins this letter by noting divisions within the church at Corinth. He addresses each issue in turn. In chapter 12, he gives the underlying reason such division is a problem: there is only one body, made up of many members.<\/p>\n
When we read ‘members’, we are apt to see this from our 21st-century perspective and think of being a ‘member of a club’ or a ‘member of a baseball team’. While such a perspective can give us many good thoughts about unity and fellowship, Paul was speaking of a much more significant unity. Hence, he speaks of the church as a body<\/strong>, a living body. Hence, the members are likened to ‘eyes, foot, and hand’. While being a member of a club can have a take-it-or-leave-it quality, losing a body part in the 1st century would have had major consequences for the body’s life.<\/p>\n The first application of this concerns being a divisive member! If you are <\/strong>such a member of the body, it is like mutilating your own physical body. It is easy to cause division: it requires no character or knowledge. And after you have caused it, what do you have? Thus, we are to strive <\/strong>to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We are to love one another with a pure heart, fervently.<\/p>\nSecondly, this awareness should motivate us to be a living part of that body. It is a ‘one another’ relationship. Paul uses this ‘one another’ phrase five times in this letter (I Corinthians\u00a0 6:7; 7:5; 11:33; 12:25; 16:20). A broader search of the New Testament shows it is used over 100 times! If you have never studied this, I would suggest you write out each and every one of these ‘one another’ duties and then set out to practice them. All of them. by Hugh DeLong Paul begins this letter by noting divisions within the church at Corinth. He addresses each issue in turn. In chapter 12, he gives the underlying reason such division is a problem: there is only one body, made up of many members. When we read ‘members’, we are apt to see this from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[544],"class_list":["post-97849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-membership"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61616,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/working-behind-the-scenes\/","url_meta":{"origin":97849,"position":0},"title":"Working Behind the Scenes","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Fairchild, Jr. \"I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience \u2026\" (Revelation 2:2). It is said of the early Christians that each determined to do his part in Acts 11:29-30 \"\u2026which also they did.\" I was engaged in a gospel meeting and had arrived at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27182,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-the-church-both-the-body-of-christ-and-the-bride-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":97849,"position":1},"title":"Why is the church both the body of Christ and the bride of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please, why is the church called the body of Christ and at the same time called the bride of Christ? Thanks. Answer: People are known by a variety of names and titles because one name doesn't completely describe a person or his relationship with other people. I'm known as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33450,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-church-have-time-in-worship-for-members-to-pray-quietly\/","url_meta":{"origin":97849,"position":2},"title":"Should a church have time in worship for members to pray quietly?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the Church of Christ in a local congregation. Of late, when we pray in the church, we do allow individual members some time to say their prayers adding that we should not speak loud. I am perplexed now. Answer: I don't blame you for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37831,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-membership-in-a-local-church-essential\/","url_meta":{"origin":97849,"position":3},"title":"Is membership in a local church essential?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As always,\u00a0love\u00a0your dedication to the Lord and the time you take to answer so many questions.\u00a0 I come to your site\u00a0often. It is one of my favorite resources! In regards to the recent post:\u00a0Should a divisive non-member be told not to come to worship?\u00a0One point that has been on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37334,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/metaphors-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":97849,"position":4},"title":"Metaphors of the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis C. Abernathy via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0- January 3, 1980 In our age when the church is thought of as some unimportant, outdated, or take-it-or-leave-it institution, it becomes very important for us to investigate what the Scriptures have to say pertaining to it. It is so important that we stress the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30891,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-we-know-if-we-have-gods-approval\/","url_meta":{"origin":97849,"position":5},"title":"How do we know if we have God’s approval?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We should seek the approval of God and not man. I absolutely agree with this. My question, however, is how do we know if we have God's approval? Since I became a Christian, I have developed a fear of dying. 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\nWe are added together (Acts 2:26), we join ourselves to the saints (Acts 9:26), and ‘going in and out among them (Acts 9:28). We become a living, active member of a living, active body.
\nIf you severed yourself from the body you ‘belong to’, would they miss you?\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"