Whoever we are, it is the same Spirit that places us in the one body of Christ.
We continue to consider the masterly way in which Paul dealt with this faction-ridden, proud and independent church. These two verses sum up the significant part of Paul’s doctrine of the church.
The unity of the church is a unity with diversity, as the analogy of the human body illustrates. The physical frame is composed of many parts, all with necessary functions, but we speak of a body as a single entity. So it is with the church, which is made up of many individuals, all with varying temperaments, personality and gifts, and yet in a very real sense they are not many but “one body in Christ” (Romans 12:4-5). Diversity of gifts (12:4ff.; Romans 12:6) does not destroy the oneness of the church; rather it transforms a drab entity into a living organism which pulsates with life: the common life in the body of Christ.
The regenerative work of the Holy Spirit in conviction of sin and the imparting of new life, leading to the saving confession of 12:3, includes the forming of this one body which is one in another sense. The Christian church, by definition of its nature and calling as the body of the Lord, can tolerate no divisions caused by accidents of race and social position (12:13). Which passages does this verse call to mind (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11)? The gospel sacraments are a perpetual witness to this breaking down of barriers which divided the ancient world: baptism is into the one name (1 Corinthians 1:13ff.) and at the Lord’s table all drink from one cup which is shared.
The most striking thought lies embedded in this most important section. “He calls the church Christ,” commented Calvin, and so agrees here with ancient tradition which asserts such a closeness of bond between Christ and his people that they form “as it were one mystical person” (Aquinas), the “whole Christ,” which is a corporate title embracing Jesus as the head and his ransomed people as necessary members. As a shepherd requires a flock, so the Messiah must have a messianic community, and it was this thought which arrested Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:4-5: “Why do you persecute me?,” [not: “… my people”]) and this conviction of Christ-in-his-church never left him (1 Corinthians 8:12).
