1 Corinthians 12:18-26 NKJV

“18..God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, 24whereas our presentable parts have no such need.

“But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

The Body of Christ

The Body of Christ is the church, the only church. Now there is the church in the USA and the church in Africa or Asia or Europe or South America, etc., but we are all still one church, one body of Christ, just in different locations. And the church is not to be divided by denominations or by preference for one specific leader or preacher, for we are all one body, with Christ Jesus as our only head. And the church is not these institutions partnered with the world and incorporated under the state, but we, the body of Christ only.

All of us are to be those who, by biblical faith in Jesus Christ, have denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands. All of us should be committed to following our Lord wherever he leads us in doing whatever he requires of us as his followers. And we should be gathering together with one another daily for mutual encouragement in our walks of faith in Christ.

Now, “the church” has largely come to be recognized as these institutions which are incorporated under the state in partnership with the world and with the government, which God forbids. And so many of their gatherings are geared toward marketing “the church” to the people of the world. Thus, many of them have altered the gospel to make it less offensive to the ungodly, which God also forbids. These are not true representations of the church which is of God, which is the body of Christ of believers in Christ.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

Our Body Parts

With regard to the church, the body of Christ, our body parts have nothing to do with our physical bodies, but they have to do with our individual and specific roles within the body, as a whole, to which God has called each of us individually. All of us who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in walks of surrender to his will, in obedience to his commands, have specific callings of God, our body parts, which we are to function in as members of the body of Christ. For we are all needed to function rightly. And we are all necessary.

Sadly, at least in my nation, so much of what is called “the church” are these institutions of human origin which are operating as businesses of man being marketed to the people of the world, and so they are not truly operating as the biblical body of Christ, as God designed for his church to operate. So many of their gatherings are too large in numbers for the members of the body to be able to do their parts, and so the gatherings become more like stage productions, and the body is left to be largely spectators only.

So none of us are to treat the other members, who are true followers of Christ, as though they are not necessary to the proper working of the body. Nor should any of us convince ourselves that we are not necessary to the proper working of the body. None of us should content ourselves with going once a week to a building called “church” where we largely sit as spectators and then we go home and resume life as normal until the next week. We should all be active parts of the body on a daily basis, wherever we are.

How To Operate

We, as the body of Christ, are instructed in the Scriptures that we need to care about one another, but not just on a physical level, but on a spiritual level. We need to care about whether or not our fellow Christians are walking with Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands and in surrender to his will. We need to be concerned about those who are or who might be dabbling in sinful practices while putting on an outward appearance of righteousness. And we need to speak the truth in love to one another.

We need to tell them the truth of what the Scriptures teach because so many of them are being led astray by the lies of other humans who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who, by craftiness and deceitful schemes, are leading them to follow after what is false, and what is of the devil, and what is not of God. We need to be teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, exhorting one another every day so that none of us might be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, for this is the will of God for our lives.

And if we see a brother or a sister in Christ being led astray by the lies of the “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” we need to expose the lies for what they are, and we need to share with them how they can be restored to a right relationship with Jesus Christ, and work with them, too, if they will let us, and if they will cooperate in being restored. And we are to be those who are stirring up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another to walk faithfully to our God.

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

To Be Like Him

Based off Scripture
An Original Work / March 16, 2014
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.

The Members of The Body
An Original Work / June 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love