In 1 Corinthians 12:14-22 Paul speaks of the indispensability of each member of the Body. Then in 12:23-27 he goes on to speak of the tempering of the members. In verse 27 he says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Every believer in Christ is a member of the Body. Hence, no believer should have the concept that he is not of the Body. In the Body every member is indispensable, for the Body exists in the functioning of all the members.
The believers practice the Body life by functioning with different gifts. The many members of the one Body have different functions. “As in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another” (Rom. 12:4-5). If we realize this, we shall not think too highly of ourselves (v. 3) but shall respect others.
In Romans 12:6a Paul says, “And having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them accordingly.” Grace is God in Christ as our life and enjoyment. This means that grace is the divine element coming into our being to be our life for our enjoyment. Grace, therefore, is the element of the divine life which is wrought into our being and which gives us some skill or ability. When this grace, the divine element, which is the divine life, comes into our being, it brings with it certain skills and abilities, and these are the gifts. The gifts, the spiritual abilities, come from the divine element which we have enjoyed. As we enjoy the processed Triune God, receiving and assimilating His element into us, out of this element proceeds some skill, gift, or ability. These gifts differ according to the divine element which we have enjoyed and which we have assimilated into us. As members of the Body, we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, that is, according to the grace we have enjoyed and assimilated.
The fact that the gifts in Romans 12 are according to grace means that these gifts are granted according to the measure of life. If we have enjoyed the life of God to a high degree, we shall receive a higher gift. However, if our enjoyment of the life of God is limited, our gift also will be limited, for the measure of our gift is limited by the extent to which we have enjoyed the divine life as grace within us.
First Corinthians 12:13 says, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.” As the Spirit is the sphere and element of our spiritual baptism and in such a Spirit we were all baptized into one organic entity, the Body of Christ, so we should all, regardless of our races, nationalities, and social ranks, be this one Body. Christ is the life and constituent of this Body, and the Spirit is the reality of Christ. It is in this one Spirit that we were all baptized into this one living Body to express Christ.
The believers of Christ are baptized through water and in the Spirit into Christ, the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3), the name-the person-of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and the Body of Christ. Baptism ushers the believers into an organic union with Christ and the Triune God, making them living members of the Body of Christ.
The baptism of the Spirit is not for individuals; it is for the Body. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 Paul says clearly, “In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” This Body is an organic entity. We know from Matthew 28:19 and Galatians 3:27 that we have been baptized into the Triune God and into Christ. The Triune God and Christ are organic and living. From Romans 6:3 we know that we have been baptized not only into Christ but also into His death. Positively, we have been baptized into the Triune God and into Christ; negatively, we have been baptized into the death of Christ. This negative aspect of baptism clears away such negative things as sin, the flesh, the self, and the old creation. The ultimate issue of baptism is that we are put into the Body. We have been baptized into the Triune God, into Christ, into the death of Christ, and into the Body of Christ. However, the destination of such a baptism is not the Triune God, Christ, or the death of Christ; the destination is the Body of Christ.
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