One Body, Many Parts

Imagine one leg wey vex and dey sulk. I no be hand, e talk, so I no belong to dis body. Or one eye wey look down on one hand and talk, I no need you. E sound like foolishness. Na exactly why Paul talk am.

Corinth na one proud, busy port city for Greece, full of traders, sailors, craftsmen and people wey dey try climb up for life. Di church wey Paul start there full of gifts and full of energy, but e also full of quarrel. Some talk, I dey follow Paul. Others talk, I dey follow Apollos, or Peter. Di richer members dey look down on di poor ones. And some people wey get gifts wey dey show for outside, like to speak in tongues, think say dem dey more spiritual pass everybody. Di news of all dis reach Paul for Ephesus, across di sea. So e write dem one letter. And for di middle of am, e paint one picture.

Body na one thing, Paul talk, but e get many parts. And all dat parts, as dem plenty reach, na one body dem make. Na so e be with Christ. By one Spirit, dem baptise all of us enter one body, whether we be Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and dem give all of us di one Spirit to drink. Di body no be only one part, but many. So if di leg talk, Because I no be hand, I no belong to di body, dat one no make am less part of di body. If di ear talk, Because I no be eye, I no belong, e still belong. If di whole body na eye, how e go take hear? If di whole body na ear, how e go take smell?

Picture am. One big eyeball wey dey waka. E go see everything, but e no go hear even one word. Or one big ear, wey no get nose and no get legs. E go be something wey dey make person laugh. But God, Paul talk, don arrange di parts of di body, every one of dem, exactly as e want. If all of dem na one part, where di body go dey? So di parts many, but di body na one. And then Paul turn di picture round for di proud ones. Di eye no fit tell di hand, I no need you; and di head no fit tell di legs, I no need una. Di ones wey think say dem important no fit do without di others.

In fact, Paul talk, di parts of di body wey be like say dem weak na di ones wey we no fit do without. Di parts wey we think say dem no get much honour, na dem we dey take special care of. God don join di body together so dat more honour go reach di parts wey no get am before. Why? So dat division no go dey for di body, and so dat every part go care for every other part. If one part dey suffer, all di parts dey suffer with am; if dem honour one part, all di parts dey rejoice with am. When your toe hit stone, your whole body go know. And then Paul talk am straight. Now una be di body of Christ, and each one of una na part of am. Una, all of una together, and each one of una.

To compare community to body na idea wey people know well for di old world. Di Roman historian Livy tell one famous old story of one senator wey im name na Menenius Agrippa, wey calm one revolt of di poor people as e tell dem one fable: one time di parts of di body refuse to feed di stomach, and di whole body come weak. For dat story, di point na say di lower classes suppose accept dem place. Paul use di same picture to talk di opposite: di weaker parts na di ones wey dey get di most honour.

One body, many parts. You go find am for First Corinthians chapter twelve, verse twelve to twenty-seven. One church wey divide, one big eyeball wey dey waka, and di truth say every single person for di body of Christ belong and matter. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Who for your church or group fit dey feel say e no belong, and how you fit show am say e belong?