Paul clearly describes in 1 Corinthians 12 the core elements of a theology of unity and diversity withing the Body of Christ. God grants a diversity of ministry functions to the church, but because of Spirit baptism, people of diverse backgrounds and abilities are unified into one body. His whole purpose in this discussion is… Continue Reading
Last week, I made the point from Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians 12 that all members of the church, because of their diversity, make up the unity of the body of Christ. And Paul specifically defends that notion beginning inverse 17 by considering, what would the results be if every member of the body had exactly the… Continue Reading
There is a lot of discussion about diversity and identity today, both in the wider culture and among Christians. Unfortunately, such discussions often are not informed by Scripture, even among Christians. Secularist theories and ideologies plague discourse about these subject in ways many Christians don’t even recognize. Any discussion of diversity and identity, however, must… Continue Reading
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul notes the beautiful of the church’s diversity, as the Spirit of God gifts each individual believers with particular functions within the greater church. But then with that as his foundation he moves on in verse 12 to his primary concern in the chapter: “For just as the body is one… Continue Reading
Despite the God-ordained diversity of giftedness within the body of Christ, and even the providential diversity of gender, ethnicity, educational level, and socio-economic status, we are all members of one, unified body. Now, is this natural? It is not natural for there to be unity right alongside diversity. I mean, it would be difficult enough… Continue Reading
Despite the functional diversity of individual believers within the church, the church has unnatural unity. How does this happen? How are people of diverse giftedness and ability and background and status unified together in one body? Verse 13 of 1 Corinthians 12 tells us: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”… Continue Reading
Unity in the Body of Christ comes due to the fact that Christ baptizes each believer with the Holy Spirit into his spiritual body. This is true for all Christians from the moment of their salvation and forevermore. And if this is difficult for us to wrap our minds around, Paul gives us one more… Continue Reading
In his first letter to the Corinthian Christians, the apostle Paul emphasizes the functional diversity and spiritual unity of the Body of Christ. But Paul knows that based on how things naturally work, diversity of function within the body might lead to some people within body thinking that because their giftedness is different than others, then… Continue Reading