Many Parts
READ
The early church fathers had a saying that sounds almost harsh to modern ears: "One Christian is no Christian." They weren't questioning anyone's salvation or suggesting that individual faith doesn't matter. They were making a more profound point—it's impossible to live the Christian life in isolation. You cannot be the body of Christ alone.
Let’s take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27:
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
REFLECT
Paul's image in 1 Corinthians 12 is both beautiful and challenging. We are one body with many parts, each necessary, each connected, each dependent on the others. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head cannot dismiss the feet. Every single part belongs and contributes something essential.
But here's where it gets uncomfortable: if we're one body, then your spiritual health affects mine. Your gifts are meant for my growth. My struggles impact you. We're not just individuals who happen to attend the same church—we're organically connected, like cells in a living organism.
This contradicts everything our culture teaches us. We're told that autonomy is the highest good, that needing others is weakness, that we should be self-sufficient and independent. We've bought into the myth of the "self-made" person, and we've applied it to our faith. We think we can download sermon podcasts, read Christian books, pray alone, and call it a complete spiritual life.
But Paul's vision is radically different. He describes a community where "the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty" and "the parts that are less honorable we treat with special honor." This isn't a meritocracy where the most talented or spiritual get the spotlight. It's a family where the weak are protected, the broken are valued, and everyone belongs.
What does this look like practically? It means your growth happens in relationship. When you're wrestling with doubt, you need someone who's walked that road to sit with you. When you're celebrating a breakthrough, you need others to rejoice with you so joy multiplies. When you discover a gift, you need a community that creates space for you to use it.
It also means you can't pick and choose which parts of the body you'll engage with. The body isn't a buffet where you select only the people who are easy or similar to you. It includes the person whose politics makes you uncomfortable, the teenager whose music is too loud, the widow who talks too much, and the young family whose kids are chaos incarnate.
Here's the stunning truth: God doesn't just tolerate this messy diversity—He designed it. He distributes gifts precisely so we'll need each other. He places us in community so our rough edges get smoothed out through friction with one another. He uses the body to shape us into the image of Christ.
The question isn't whether you need community—you do. The question is whether you'll embrace it. Will you show up consistently, even when it's inconvenient? Will you be honest about your struggles instead of maintaining a polished image? Will you use your gifts to serve others, and humbly receive what others offer you?
This is the invitation: to stop trying to be a complete Christian on your own, and instead to embrace your place in the body. You are needed. You are gifted. You are incomplete without the others. And they are incomplete without you.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
In what ways have you tried to live the Christian life as a private experience? What has been the result—both the benefits and the costs?
How has community challenged or shaped your faith in ways you couldn't have experienced alone? Can you identify specific people who have been "necessary parts" in your spiritual journey?
Is there an area of your life where you've been isolated—a struggle you're hiding, a question you're afraid to ask, or a joy you haven't shared? Who might you invite into that space?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Lord Jesus, You chose to live in community with Your disciples, sharing everything—the miracles and the misunderstandings, the mountaintops and the betrayals. Forgive us for thinking we can follow You alone. Open our eyes to see the beauty and necessity of Your body. Give us courage to both give and receive, to be honest and gracious. Make us one, as You and the Father are one. Amen.