Ecclesiastes 7-9
2 Corinthians 13
“From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:16
In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul gave an instruction manual on “how to do church.” He addressed problems specific to the Corinthian church and then laid out more general principles and practices on how to have a healthy church in general. Paul wrote, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). Did we notice the pairing of “different and same” in that passage? What point was Paul trying to make? His emphasis was not on the gifts, but on the one Giver. 1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.” Paul’s theme of the church is not unity through uniformity but unity with diversity.
With this mindset, Paul continued by using a creative image—the human body—to describe the nature and function of a healthy church. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
Paul’s point was that there is one body—one Church—with many different members. This is actually not a new teaching that Paul introduced; it is the same idea that Jesus taught in John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
But even before John 15, unity with diversity was the way God wanted Israel to live. This way of living was captured in the concept of shalom. Many of us have heard the word shalom translated as “peace” but the actual meaning of shalom in Hebrew is “wholeness.” We can have peace because we have shalom. In other words, peace is the result of wholeness. A wholeness in all of our relationships—upward with God, outward with the people around us and inward with ourselves—leads to peace. When everyone is where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to be doing, the community has shalom—the community is whole.
As members of the body of Christ, how is the Spirit moving us to bring shalom?
Father God, what a beauty in the unity with diversity that You desire for Your people. Help me live in a way that truly captures the concept of shalom—wholeness. Thank You, Lord.
2 Corinthians 13
“From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:16
In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul gave an instruction manual on “how to do church.” He addressed problems specific to the Corinthian church and then laid out more general principles and practices on how to have a healthy church in general. Paul wrote, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). Did we notice the pairing of “different and same” in that passage? What point was Paul trying to make? His emphasis was not on the gifts, but on the one Giver. 1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.” Paul’s theme of the church is not unity through uniformity but unity with diversity.
With this mindset, Paul continued by using a creative image—the human body—to describe the nature and function of a healthy church. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
Paul’s point was that there is one body—one Church—with many different members. This is actually not a new teaching that Paul introduced; it is the same idea that Jesus taught in John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
But even before John 15, unity with diversity was the way God wanted Israel to live. This way of living was captured in the concept of shalom. Many of us have heard the word shalom translated as “peace” but the actual meaning of shalom in Hebrew is “wholeness.” We can have peace because we have shalom. In other words, peace is the result of wholeness. A wholeness in all of our relationships—upward with God, outward with the people around us and inward with ourselves—leads to peace. When everyone is where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to be doing, the community has shalom—the community is whole.
As members of the body of Christ, how is the Spirit moving us to bring shalom?
Father God, what a beauty in the unity with diversity that You desire for Your people. Help me live in a way that truly captures the concept of shalom—wholeness. Thank You, Lord.
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