THE TOE AND THE EAR
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul is teaching about spiritual gifts. He has not wandered off that topic as he explains how we function together as a body, because spiritual gifts are to function through the various parts of the body to the body. He next illustrates this point further: “If the foot shall say, ‘Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body’; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, ‘Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body’; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?” (1 Corinthians 12:15-17).
Unity is getting the toe to agree with the ear, not converting everyone over to being toes or ears. Each part of the body has a legitimate gift and a legitimate purpose. The hard part in the church is getting independent minded people to recognize our need of each other in the body. Here at New Hope, we’re likely never going to be as good at winning traditional people over as some other churches, because we have decided to target young adults in everything we do, and they hate tradition. So, we value other churches and the members of the body that serve there.
The toe has a specific purpose in the body: to help stabilize balance when we walk. The ear has a distinctly different purpose in the body: to channel auditory senses to our brain. There is no connection between the two different parts, but we need both and wouldn’t be the same is we lost either. They are both valued parts of the body. So it is with the different types of people doing different kinds of ministry in the local church. And we must value each part, no matter how lowly they may appear.
Notice Paul’s approach here is not to exclude others from the body, but when one excludes him/herself from the body because they are not quite like the others. Do you judge yourself less than your brothers and sisters? Could it be Satan has deceived you into thinking you don’t have anything to offer the body of Christ? Don’t be deceived and miss your invitation. Like the toe, you have a vital role to play in God’s economy.
Tags: church, spiritual gifts, unity
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