If we read 1 Corinthians 12 carefully, we will see that to blend the Body is to uplift the inferior ones, to belittle the superior ones, to encourage the weaker ones, and to adorn the uncomely members with more abundant comeliness. Moreover, to blend the Body is to practice mutual care for one another. In the churches we need to uplift the inferior ones and somewhat limit the superior ones. We need to strengthen and encourage the weak ones and adorn the uncomely ones. In addition, if we practice mutual care, we will have the Body in reality.
God blends the Body together and gives more abundant honor to a member that lacks so that “there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same care for one another” (v. 25). In the Body life, all the different members should receive the same care. Differences in care cause division. Therefore, in the Body we need to have mutual care for one another.
Romans 12:5 says, “We who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” The phrase in Christ implies that we are one with Christ organically and that we have a life union with Him. We were born in Adam, but we have been transferred into Christ. Because we have been organically united with Christ, we have been organically transferred into the Body of Christ. In Christ we have an organic union with the Body of Christ; we are organic components in the Body of Christ.
The organic union with Christ is realized in the divine life. This life not only links us to Christ but also to all the members of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is altogether a matter of life; this life keeps us in organic union with Christ. When we remain in this organic union, we are in the Body. However, when we do not remain in the organic union, we are outside the Body. The reality of the Body is in the organic union with Christ. If we want to live in the Body, we need to remain in an organic union with Christ. The more we remain in an organic union with Christ, the more we live in the Body of Christ in reality.
The Body life is a corporate life. This can be seen by looking at our physical body. Our physical body is a corporate entity composed of many members. All the members have their life and function in the body. If any member becomes separate or detached from the body, that member loses its life and function. No member of the body can be independent of the body or become individualistic. The same principle applies to the Body of Christ. As members of the Body, none of us is a complete entity; every one of us is a member of Christ. Therefore, in order to live and fulfill our function, we need to remain in the Body.
Romans 12 reveals the importance of practicing the Body life. In particular, verse 5 reveals that in the Body we are individually members one of another. We who are many are one Body, one entity. In the Body we are able to function and express Christ corporately. We are many members, not many separate units. As members, we need to coordinate with one another so that we may be a living and functioning Body. We are “individually members one of another.” The word individually here does not imply separation but distinction. It indicates that in the Body there are different kinds of members. Consequently, we are individually members one of another.
The believers live in the Body of Christ through presenting their bodies as a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1 says, “I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.” To have the Body life, we need to present our bodies to the Lord and to His Body. We need to present our bodies to the Lord for His Body. In His salvation, the Lord released our bodies from the usurping hand of the enemy Satan; now in our organic union with Christ, we need to present our released bodies to the Lord for the Body life.
To present our bodies to God is the practical aspect of our consecration. We need to present our bodies because our existence is in our bodies. In this way, our whole being is given to God practically. Genuine consecration is to present our bodies. This is not merely to wish or to have an obedience in words; rather, it is to present ourselves to God wholly and practically.
In 12:1 Paul exhorts us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Earlier in chapter 6 he speaks of warfare and service, encouraging us to present the members of our bodies as weapons for fighting and as slaves for serving (vv. 13, 19). In the church life, presenting our bodies is a matter of sacrifice, of offering ourselves to God for His satisfaction. The Body life as a whole is an offering for the satisfaction of God. Although many bodies are presented, the sacrifice is one. The many members are one Body, and the many believers are one church. Hence, the many bodies presented to the Lord for His Body are one sacrifice.
Paul spoke of a living sacrifice. This is in contrast to the sacrifices of the Old Testament. The sacrifices offered in the Old Testament were all slain, but the church is not a slain offering; the church is a living offering, full of Christ as life. In Romans 8 the believers are filled with Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Then in chapter 12 the believers are encouraged to present themselves to God as a sacrifice, a living sacrifice filled with the Spirit of life. Furthermore, the sacrifice is holy, meaning that it is separate from common things and that it possesses God’s nature. Our God is holy. He is absolutely different and separate from all other things. His holy nature has been wrought into the members of the Body. Hence, the Body is holy and unique. Nothing common can be brought into it.