William Schultz once wrote about a time when his young daughter Laurie was about three. One night she requested his aid in getting undressed. He said he was downstairs and she was upstairs, and he said, “You know how to undress yourself”. “Yes,” she replied, “but sometimes people need people anyway, even if they do know how to do things by themselves.” His take was that ‘people need people’. 1 Corinthians 12.12-13 explains that as a truth. It is written to a church in Corinth. This body of believers had some issues and one of those was their treatment and value of each other. Isolation and divisive dissension had taken hold of them. In verses 12-13 Paul said— “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” Satan loves to attack our soft spots doesn’t he? One of our most vulnerable places is with those whom we are to love the most and best. Jesus said this truth in John 13.35— “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Paul is simply teaching off of Jesus’ command.
In reality the follower of Christ has two basic responsibilities, as it relates to this context: worship God; and work for His kingdom. The issue lies beneath the surface issues they were experiencing. It resides where it does in many churches today— within the Who and How. Where we serve is simple— church. Jesus commissioned His church to spread His good news to everyone who will listen. Those who trust Christ are to be followed-up with in discipleship. Where isn’t a problem; it’s Who we minister with. We all have our own unique talents, skills, and callings. All of this is in the context of 1 Corinthians 12. But let’s not forget that following this text Paul transitions right to How. We do so by love. Love is the greater and more principled thing. They will not know we are His disciples by our funds, buildings, or music. They will know we are His disciples by our love one for another. If it had to be commanded, then it must not be as simple or easy as it seems on face value. The one place where we are expected to give of ourselves is in our own local churches. This is not easy, and takes work. For me at least, I need to be reminded to use others and include folks. That does not come natural to me. It would be a lot easier to do it myself, but that isn’t the design of God.
Jesus placed you where you are in the church you are in, because you need those people, and they need you. In the same chapter verse 18 continues with— “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him”. You are selected to be with them, and they have been selected by God to be with you. You need each other (one another).
Isolation comes in many forms. It isn’t just solitude, but also detachment. I have witnessed people who come to every worship the church has, but they are not attached. They seem to be ok, and probably think they are, but they are isolating. Church attendance is definitely necessary according to Hebrews 10.25 says. But it isn’t the end-all. What is needed is love. A love that requires time-with. Spending time, deepening your fellowship, and engaging deeply with one another is the truth behind the text. You need them and they need you.
It’s popular to express churches today as ‘communities’. But church, as Jesus built it, is more than a community. It is an organism that thrives off of each other. It isn’t designed to be tactile, or check-listed. It was designed by Jesus to be an interdependent body, with differing members created by God, to function in communion with one another. That is only possible with time spent with each other and intercooperating, by submitting and serving one another. A unity that only God could pull off. This then is only possible as we deepen our fellowship with Jesus Himself as 1 John 1.3 states—
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ”.
I would concede that it takes a lot of work, even awkward work at times. But it’s worth it! Watching how God can bring such diversity unto such unity is a grace-filled miracle in itself. Don’t be an on-looker, a pew-sitter, or a spectator. We need to be engaging this thing Jesus calls “one another” with fervor. Our differing gifts, motivations, and personality traits are to be celebrated, because each person uniquely contributes to God’s purpose. God is doing this. His Spirit is superintending it all, all the time. If He sees it as beautiful, then I need to as well.
Later in the text 1 Corinthians 12.25 says— “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” The body works best when all members recognize that they need the others, and the others need them. Engage the process of being a functioning member of His body—it’s a privilege.