Even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. – 1 Corinthians 12:12
As believers and followers of Jesus Christ our Lord, our spiritual well-being depends on our connection with Christ through His body. In 1 Corinthians 12, the word body appears 18 times. Paul’s conclusion in this chapter is that we must be connected to each other in order to be what God wants us to be.
In the New Testament, the human body became the primary picture of the church body. At the end of verse 12 Paul wrote, “So also is Christ.” What the human body is to us, so also is Christ’s body. There are many different parts doing many different things, but one unit. The reason our physical body is one is that all the parts are connected. If we cut off a finger, the finger dies. If we want it to function, we must get it reconnected quickly. Connection is absolutely necessary for life.
Christ’s body, the church, is not an organization, but an organism. We can create a robot and have organization. The parts connect to each other so that it works. But the problem with the robot is that it has no life. It is organizationally connected, but it’s not a living being. A human body, in contrast, has organization that makes it function, but it also is an organism. It’s a living, breathing life. Connection in the body is necessary for function and for life, and it is essential if we are to leave a lasting impact and impression on our society and in our world.