In 1st Corinthians 12:14 we see that all Christians belong to His body, regardless of their gifting; that is why he just spoke on the baptism “with” the Spirit into the body of Christ. Look out at the landscape of the Church today, and you will see the same two problems as not all in the body are functioning as they ought to. Some don’t function because of insecurity; others don’t function because of superiority—and either way, it is a tragedy when God’s people:
•Gifted by the Spirit
•Placed to serve by Jesus
•Results empowered by the Father
Sit and do nothing! When this problem manifests itself within Christ’s Church, often we respond with cold organization and mobilization, hoping to produce the “work of the Spirit in the energy of the flesh.” Trace Church history, and you will discover what Dr. Vance Havner described concerning the Church: “First there is a man, then a movement, then a machine, and finally a monument!” Those ministries that began as a protest against the dead orthodoxy in time became dead themselves. Why does this happen?
•Unity without diversity produces uniformity, and uniformity produces death, not life!
•Diversity without unity produces anarchy, and anarchy produces death, not life!
It is only when unity with diversity in the body of Christ is maintained that life is produced. The problem has always been trying to balance unity and diversity, as they are opposites. That is where the 13th chapter comes in, as “love” is what balances unity with diversity. Without love, the Church of Christ will always be doing the wrong thing:
•Dividing when they should unite
•Uniform when they should be diverse
The interesting thing is that it is “uniformity” that divides, and it is our “diverseness” that unites!