Romans 12:4-5 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Paul uses the image of the human body to explain the church and how believers relate to one another. Paul writes about the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 2 and Ephesians 2. This image is easy for us to understand. The body has many parts to it but all function in unity to do as the mind desires. Obviously Paul and the ancient world did not understand all the detailed science and medicine we have today. Paul will focus in this passage especially upon the idea of “function”: what do the parts of the body do and how do they relate to one another? The key to this whole image is being “in Christ.” When each person is in this relationship with Christ, then the whole body functions better. To be “in Christ” means one has experienced what Paul wrote about in chs. 6-8: to be fully committed through dying to the old way of life and rising to the new life guided by the Holy Spirit. It is only in this situation that church can be united into one body. The church constantly helps people grow and be transformed through discipleship. The maturity of the church will depend on the maturity of those within the church.
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