“Member”ship

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole
body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God
arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. "

Are you a member of the Body of Christ? I’ve been thinking lately about how our understanding of this is affected by our present cultural definition of the term “member”.

We are called members if we join a club. It might be a social club, a philanthropic club, or even a country club. To some degree, we share an identity with the other members, because we have some common goals and / or values. But, we continue to carry our own separate and distinct identity. Our “member”ship will only last as long as that separate and distinct identity continues to be compatible with that of the group. In other words, for as long as the club serves and reinforces that separate and distinct identity. Is this what the God means when He calls us members of the Body?

We can also be members of a team. This is a little less of a separate and distinct function. The team can be far more successful if all of its members work together and contribute to the team. When one member is hurting, other members can step up and compensate. Again, though, we have a separate and distinct identity. When the team no longer meets our needs, we will find a new team.

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I think we are all aware that the Biblical concept is very different. It is presented in comparison to the human body. The term used by the Apostle Paul in this passage is the Greek word “melos”. It literally means: “limb; a member of the human body.” Jesus used this same word when He talked about a part of our body perishing to save the whole from hell (Matthew 5:29). Paul used it in his letter to the Romans in regard to not presenting the members of our body to sin (Romans 6:13) as well as our being members in one body (Romans 12:4,5). In Ephesians, he says we are members of one another (Ephesians 4:25).

It is also used by Paul to tell the Colossians to consider the members of their earthly body as dead to immorality (Colossians 3:5). James uses it to describe the tongue as a small part of the body that is among our members (James 3:5,6). Again, he uses it in his conclusion on quarrels and conflicts to say that the source is their “pleasures that wage war in your members”.

So, what happens when part of our physical body (a member) is really hurting? Sure, other parts may step up and compensate for it, but they also feel and share the pain right along with the hurting part.

"The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet; I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."

There is a very strong interconnectedness among our
body parts. Look at your hand for a moment. Can you tell the exact spot where your finger stops and your hand begins; how about where your hand stops and your arm begins? Don’t they kind of meld together as if they were one? The members of our body also have a strong commitment to each other. The finger doesn’t just decide one day that its needs are not being met by this body and go attach itself to another body. It takes some pretty serious conditions for part of the body to be removed. And, it is usually
not a decision made by the body-part to be removed.

Our physical body does not have All-Stars and role players quite like a team. Sure, there are some parts that are critical to sustain life, but even they cannot function without other parts. What good is my heart without arteries and veins? If my lungs are healthy, but my liver shuts down – what good are the healthy lungs? To be fully healthy and functional, all of the parts must serve their unique role and work together for the good of the body.

So, clearly the Biblical concept of “member”ship is one of being an interconnected part of a body.

Maybe we should start to hold body part classes instead of membership classes in church!