I Corinthians 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14  For the body is not one member, but many.
15  If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16  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?
17  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Unity is important in a local church. In fact unity is important for all born again Christians. We know that true unity can only be built upon Christ. Compromise is never the way forward. In verse 12 we are reminded that the physical body is one, but there are many members that make up that one body. In the same manner the body of Christ is one. The local church needs to be united in Christ.
In verse 13 we are reminded that there is one Spirit. When we look at modern day Christianity, the Holy Spirit would have to be divided into many different parts. The way the New Evangelical/Emergent church movement can function is by ignoring Bible doctrine. To them, II Timothy 3:16 needs to be removed.
We are further reminded that all true saints have been baptized into one body. There are local churches situated in different parts of the world. There are different languages spoken in the different true churches. However, true churches are made up of members who are born again and baptized into one body. For the apostles that “baptism” happened in Acts 2. For all born again Christians since then, the “baptism” happens at the moment of salvation. The Charismatic camp, and their many followers, wrongly teach and believe that there needs to be special prayer to receive this “baptism”. The sad reality of their heretical teaching is that not everyone who prays according to this lie, receives that “baptism”. There is something very wrong with that picture. The excuse given is that the person praying lacked enough faith. I wonder where they find that in the Bible?
Romans 8:9 declares:

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

In Ephesians 5 we read:

Ephesians 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

The filling of the Spirit is not a matter of receiving more of the Holy Spirit. It is a matter of yielding more to the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. We do not get part of Him. A saved person is given the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit is not the mystical thing that does “spectacular” things for some, but skips over others. The Holy Spirit indwells every true saint, and the saved person needs to submit himself to other saints in the fear of God.
If that is true, there will not be the excesses that the Corinthians were guilty of, nor that which so many are guilty of today. Truth is not determined by experiences. Truth is declared by God.
In our text we are reminded that in heaven the local churches which are one body in Spirit now, will be brought together. On this earth, there is a separation by distance, but it should not be by theology. We are talking about true saints. There is much division among professing Christians today. That has been true for generations. Many people have grown accustomed to this. This was even true with the church in Corinth. There was a division with regard to many different things. God did not accept that and thus the apostle Paul was directed to rebuke them for these things.
It is important to note that ethnicity is not a dividing factor for true saints. We do not need a Jewish church that holds certain customs and a Gentile church that holds different customs. In Christ there is unity. We see as well that it does not matter whether there are servants or masters, all are united in one Spirit and all have been made to drink into one Spirit. It is through salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we are brought into the family of God.
The saints in a local church should not be divided. The key is to walk in the fear of God. True saints have all received the same Holy Spirit. They do not receive a part of Him. He indwells every true saint. He is not divided. Division happens when people are not willing to submit to God’s Word. As we have stated, there is no need to compromise. Those who are saved need to accept the fact that God’s Word is truth. The saints all have the same Holy Spirit indwelling them, and He is working to bring unity and growth into the individual’s life as well as the corporate body.
In verse 14 we are reminded that the body is many members. Members may have different responsibilities in the local church, but that is no cause for doctrinal difference.
In verses 15-17 Paul used the parts of the physical body to further enhance the point that God was making. His illustration was not something he made up. It came from God.
In the human body, the health of the body is dependent upon all parts functioning together. When a part does not function properly, it affects the entire body. When a person is having problems in his body, he will try to find a solution to the problem.
In a true local church, there needs to be a unity built upon the truth. It is not a matter of different people with different beliefs and churches splitting and new groups forming to cater to those divisions. That is the history of churches, but that is not God’s will. There is so much confusion in our world today. The compromised are content to live with the confusion, assuming that in heaven it will all come together, but on earth is does not matter.
It is true that there will be no divisions in heaven. There will be reward and lack of rewards, but there will be no divisions. There should also be a desire for true unity on this earth. As we have mentioned before, that unity cannot come through compromise. The apostle Paul was led by God. He had the truth. He did not compromise with the Corinthians. He showed them the need to repent and get right with God. True saints need humility. They also need to be reminded that God’s Word is truth. The indwelling Holy Spirit will guide the true saints into all truth.
In verse 18 we see that it is God that sets up the body. It is God Who created man in the first place. He knew exactly how to put that body together. Adam and Eve were complete. There was nothing lacking in their lives. The devil came along and deceived Eve into thinking she was missing something. She accepted his lies. She then told Adam what she determined to be ‘good news’. Adam foolishly listened to her and he chose to reject God in favour of listening to his deceived wife.
God had already given them the truth. God has also given local churches the truth. There is no excuse for the excesses that characterize so many groups. God’s Word is Truth. We need to submit to that and be blessed.
Pastor Bartel