Romans 12:5 – One Body In Christ

^“4For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12:4-5 NASB)

Paul introduces us to another illustration about how we are in Christ. We can picture a body. It has a head. It has all the parts of a body. It is a new creation—the Church.

Jesus is the head. “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.” (Ephesians 5:23 NASB) The head directs the functions of the body. The body is all the believers. We are one body.

^“But now there are many members, but one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:20 NASB) Now often it doesn’t seem like we are one body. We have different assembling places. It seems like we are in competition with one another. We have different theologies and interpretations of the Bible. We seem so different and disjointed. Yet there is only one head and one body.

We are all in Christ. We are all His body here on earth. We all have different functions as Christ directs. We only see the body as a bunch of individuals doing their thing. God sees us as one body. It’s a lot like hiking through trees in a forest. We just see the trees. God sees the whole forest. God sees the whole body and sees it functioning as He directs.

We are the body in Christ. It’s His body not ours. It’s His direction, not ours. We may not like what some members of the body are doing, but we are all one body in Christ regardless. We are individuals yet part of a whole. Together we can accomplish the purposes of our Head—Jesus.