I Corinthians 12:12-31

This brings me to the thought that I want to convey to you this morning. Every believer in this room has been gifted by God for service. And, in this passage, as it unfolds, we are going to see that, while we differ in our gifts, abilities and our position in the body of Christ, we are nonetheless vital and important in the body of Christ. Verse 12 makes it crystal clear that we are distinct in our functions, but we are still one body. The church, not the building, but the redeemed of God, is an organism made of up many millions and billions of parts, yet it is still a cohesive unit, functioning as one.

This morning, lets take a few minutes to look into this passage and see just what it is that the Lord wants to teach us about being the body of Christ.

As I do, I hope you will see that even though you are not like someone else, and even though you may not possess the gifts you want, you are still important to the proper functioning of Christ’s body in the world. Let’s find your place in the body of Christ.
Let’s look in verse 13 :
1. YOUR PLACEMENT IN THE BODY
“We are all.” This is something that takes place in the life of every believer. Every sinner who places is faith in Jesus Christ for salvation experiences this baptism of the Holy Ghost. This is the event that places you in the Body of Christ. The real concern is that every person be sure that he/she is truly saved. Have you in fact trusted Jesus as your personal Savior? Are you truly born again? That is a question that no one but you or God can answer!
I. Your Placement In The Body
II. YOUR POSITION IN THE BODY
(Since every believer is placed into the body of Christ, it is important for us to know how we fit into this body. In this section, Paul calls attention to our position in the body of Christ.)

A. V. 14 Every Believer Is Part Of A Unit – (Ill. The Human Body or an Automobile – Every part is essential to the proper function of the whole, yet the body or the car is thought of as one.) This is true of the body of Christ as well. His body is formed of believers from all walks of life, all cultures, all stratum of society, and all levels of wealth. His body is made up of people who have nothing else in common, except the fact that they have received Jesus as their Savior.
It would be safe to say that the Body of Christ is a unified diversity. When every believer fills his/her place, the place they were assigned by God, then the body functions as it should, God is glorified and the work of the Kingdom is carried out.
If you were to take a gas tank, a tire, a radiator hose and a steering wheel and lay them side by side, nothing would happen. They have absolutely nothing in common, except for the fact that they are part of a unit called a car. Yet, when that tank holds gas, that tire is mounted to a wheel and attached to the car, that hose carries water and that steering wheel is in it place, then the car can function as it should. The same is true of the body of Christ!
B. V. 15-20 Every Believer Is Placed By God – In these verses Paul uses some pretty comical reasoning. A foot, usually, doesn’t get the attention that a hand does, (i.e. handshakes and waving), neither does the ear get the attention afforded to the eye, (i.e. poems, songs, stares of love and longing, etc.). But, just because these parts of the body do not get the attention they think they deserve, they have no right to try and divorce themselves from the rest of the body. If every part were an eye, the body would be useless for anything but seeing. If it were all a foot, it would be good for nothing but a doorstop. What Paul is saying is that God has placed us in the body where He wants us to be. It may not be a high profile position, it may not be glamorous, it may bot even be what we want to do, but if it pleases the Lord, then it is the right place for us. Therefore, no matter where you are functioning within the body of Christ remember that you were placed in that exact office by the will of God. To me, there is no greater knowledge that to know you are walking in the will of God. If I fulfil my place in the body, then I am doing just that. What I am saying is that we need to surrender to our place in Jesus, even if we would like to be something else. You see, God knows us and He knows where we can best function. Therefore, when we submit to His will, He is glorified and His Kingdom is advanced in the world! That after all, should be a primary goal, 1 Cor. 10:31.
C. V. 21-24 Every Believer Plays An Important Role – Again, Paul tells us that every member is important to the proper function of the entire body. The eye cannot tell the hand that it doesn’t need it. If the eyes were disconnected from the hand, it would never be able to attain the object of its desire. The head cannot tell the feet to get lost, for without them, it has no method of locomotion. What Paul is saying is that every part of the body needs every other part to fully carry out the work of the body.
Your human body. Who ever thinks of their liver? Not many of us ever give it a second thought, but take it away from your body and you will know it. Do you ever think about your toes? No, but without them, you would not be able to balance the rest of your body. What about your thumbs? Thank God we have them, or else we would be hampered every minute of our lives. Just think of the many parts of our bodies we take for granted. Yet, if any one of them was removed, the whole body would feel the loss.
Your automobile. When you sit down in you seat to go somewhere, do you ever take time to think about the distributor? The radiator cap? The hood latch? The lug nuts? The oil pan bolts? Probably not! However, they are all essential to the proper operation of the car. If any were to fail or come up missing, you would know it.
The whole point of this section is to teach us that every member, not matter how insignificant their office or gift may appear, is essential to the proper operation of the entire body. No one should ever be guilty of believer that he/she is unimportant to the operation of the body. No one should think that they are not needed. No one should ever say to or about another believer, “We don’t need you.” Every member is vital, every member is important. There are no big “I’s” and little “You’s.” There is only us and we all need each other to function as a body.
Preachers are arguably the most visible people in any congregation. When things go bad we get the blame, when things go good we get the credit. When people talk about any given church, they always talk about the preacher, whether he or she is good or bad. Now, some people are envious of this. They are jealous when someone brags on the preacher and give him or her credit for the success of the church. However, we need to remember that while the glory goes to God for everything that is accomplished, from a human standpoint, no one accomplishes anything by themselves! When we consider the success of the church, it is the preacher that often gets the public recognition. But, for every preacher who got patted on the back for a job well done, there were dozens who were praying for the work and for the preacher and they are just as much a part of the success as the man or woman who gets the recognition. Therefore, whether you are a preacher, (the one being seen), or a knee, (the one praying that nobody see), always remember that you are vitally important to the Lord’s work. If it weren’t for those parts of the body no one sees, the parts we do see would never have any success. We are in this together and we must always remember that. Also remember that God keeps perfect records and He will balance the scales one day. There will be a lot of knees, ears, feet, etc, in the body of Christ that will receive many more rewards than many eyes, hands and so on.)
I. Your Placement In The Body
II. Your Position In The Body
III.  YOUR PURPOSE IN THE BODY
To Promote Unity – When every member does his/her part and submits to God in willingly doing what they are called to do, then the body of Christ will function in absolute peace and unity. In our day, there are too many feet who want to be hands and too many ears who want to be eyes. When this happens, the body if fractured and chaos results! God’s plan for His church is that we be united – 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27. When we are not in unity, the body of Christ suffers, 1 Cor. 1:10.
Imagine that one day you awakened to find that every part of you body had decided to try and be another part that day. You would be in a mess! It is only when each part functions in the place where God placed them that we can enjoy peace, unity and success in the work of the Lord!
I may not like my place, but I am called on to accept it and function in that place until Jesus comes for me. It is obvious from Scripture that we are not all alike, v. 28-30. Therefore, we should just try to be ourselves and grow where we are planted. Let us learn to function in the body in a manner that promotes unity and peace and success for the entire body.
Your body. You may never take the time to think of your fingers. But, just slam the car door on them and watch how the whole body gets involved in responding to their crisis. The nerves will carry the message to the brain. The brain in turn sends a message to the feet which begin to hop around, to the eyes which water, to the mouth which hangs open in surprise, to the other hand which tries to find the door handle, etc. When one of those less visible members gets into trouble, every thing else responds to the need. The appendix is another good example of a member that is not often thought about, but can get you whole body involved in its misery.
What I am saying is this, we are not just to respond to the needs of the high profile members. We are to practice mutual care that encompasses the entire body. What if the hands refused to give hygiene to the other members? The body would become diseased and have problems. So it is in church. Every member is called upon to look after the need of every other member, regardless of their place in the body of Christ.
This is what Paul means when he tells us to “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Rom. 12:15. We are not to seek a position that glorifies self, but we are to seek the good of the body of Christ and thereby glorify God, Phil.