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NASB | 1 Corinthians 12:12 ¶ For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 12:12 ¶ For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ. |
Bible Question:
It happens sometimes that believers are 'left alone' and have to become 'lone rangers'. The Bible actually mentions that most servants of God were 'lone rangers', at least for a period in their lives: - Noah was left alone (with his family). Genesis 6 - Lot and his family escaped alone. Genesis 19 - Jacob was left alone to wrestle with God. Genesis 32:24 - Joseph (alone) was even sold by his brothers. Genesis 37 - Elijah complained about feeling alone several times (though God confirmed later that he wasn't) 1Kings 18:22, 1Kings 19:10,14 There are many more examples in the OT... Also in the NT, we see: - John the Baptist was alone the voice of crying in the wilderness. Mt 3:3 - Jesus Himself felt alone and forsaken by His disciples. Jn 16:32. On the cross He even felt forsaken by His Father. Mk 15:34 - Paul and the apostles also had to be alone at times. eg. Acts 28 In my opinion, being a 'lone ranger' is not the same thing as rejecting universal church teachings... Would you consider non-denominational believers 'lone rangers', for example? I actually believe it is important for a person's spiritual development that God seperates him from solid earthly support for a while; only this way can his faith be tested and strenghtened. See for example 2Chronicles 32:31: "God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart." Of course the Bible emphasizes the need for co-operation within the church, eg. Eph 4:1-16, but I believe it also urges each person to find out and work individually the will of God. ("You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!" 2Cor 11:19) 'Individuality' does not mean 'in complete separation from the church'-all eyes must remember that they belong to a body-, but I believe God does not want a blind eye to follow a blind ear. Some churches do teach doctrines that I find unacceptable, for example. Shall I submit just because they claim to be 'THE Church of Christ', or shall I rather withdraw and seek God elsewhere? I believe each person in the universal church of Christ should feel a personal responsiblity for discerning what in the teachings of a particular church comes from God and what doesn't. I study the Bible and pray for discernment from the Spirit if I hear or read any 'Christian' teaching that I find difficult to accept. As Christians, shouldn't our purpose be to find and follow the Truth, rather than either to blindly follow earthly leaders who might as well be blind guides, or to bigotedly hold on to our personal beliefs which are clearly proven wrong? Being a 'lone ranger' is wrong if it means teaching false doctrines to people, claiming to be Christian - that is being a blind guide. But in my opinion, it is not wrong to separate ourselves to God and rely solely on the Scriptures and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, when we are in a learning period and seeking Truth. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." Psalm 118:8 The future 'rangers' must go out alone for a while and see for themselves what the battlefield is like; the battle we are to fight is not an easy one! We can only succeed if we are backed up by the Almighty God Himself. If we do not have His support in a certain mission we feel called to, we will certainly fail anyway. We could put it this way: the eye must find the way to see by himself. He is designed for seeing, that is the only thing he has the support of the Spirit for. He might attempt to hear, but will surely fail. The ears cannot teach the eye how to see, even though they function very well in other ways: only the Spirit, who dwells in the body and holds it together, that can teach the individual parts their jobs. In the discernment period, the task of the church, I believe, is exactly to send out the believers into the hard part of the service: trying to protect them from the fight would prevent them from knowing their own abilities and limitations. Let the eye find out for himself if he can hear; he will soon realize that it is not what he is called to do. He does not need 'recipes' from any other part of the body for how to hear (there is a sad tendency that people want recipes for everything: 'How do I receive the Holy Spirit?' is a FAQ); he cannot, and will not, because he is not gifted to do that. As he turns to his Creator, he will eventually find the purpose for his existence, and be able to please God and be satisfied. It is only when we know our calling for sure and have tested our faith for ourselves (in Paul's words, know the 'fullness of Christ') that we can fully join the work in the body of Christ and function to its advantage. But then we must do so... Do you agree? Blessings, Zsuzsi |
Bible Answer: It is hard to keep from praising you for this piece, my brother. It is well thought out and it deserves a thoughtful response. I am not sure I can do it that justice, but I have a thought. The phenomenon of the lone ranger has long intrigued me, because it seems to be not of God. God does not delight in lone rangers, it seems to me from Scripture, because the spotlight is to be on him. The life of the lone ranger is lonely, and it has always been true that it is not good for a man to be alone. So, it is not good for the individual, and it is not good for the Lord. The analogy of the body seems quite apt. The eye, as important as it is, is of no use by itself. In Matthew 6:22 Jesus says, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light”. The purpose of the eye is to bring light into the body, and the purpose of the body is to function for the glory of its creator. The same may be said for every other member of the body. Also, no man lives to himself (Romans 14:). Then why does a member of the body find itself alone? I offer to you that it is a symptom, and something is wrong with the body. When the body is functioning properly, then the members work together (Ephesians 4:16). When there is competition and envying and fighting, then the body is not functioning properly. That said, it seems that the body has always operated at a less than optimum level, and that may be because of sin. They physical body is subject to sickness, and soreness, and weakness here and there, and it has always impressed me how the common cold can sideline a powerful athlete. The best tennis player will retire because of soreness in the little toe. You do not realize the importance of the little toe in the foot opposite the serving hand until you try to serve with a sore toe. It will have to be, in a sense, isolated, and nursed back to health before the body can accomplish the required task. Someone will surely say that an athlete must learn to play with pain. Yes. And the world goes on. And the church rolls on. But the individual members hurt and things are not right in the world, and the man in the crowd feels alone. And the believer in the church feels alone. I do not advise a person to leave a church. It is true, in some sense, that we cannot leave the church, for if you are a believer then you are the church. And eye plucked from the body will die, as will any other part. In the church it cannot happen. If we try to do it we cause pain and suffering. The life strings are stretched, but never severed and restoration is the only remedy indicated. What if the eye sees things that are wrong or dangerous? Have you noticed that in the body its only job is to relay that message to the brain? The brain must send the necessary message to the other parts of the body. But then again it is the brain that directs the eye in the first place and interprets the message that the eye sends. In a similar way it is only God who directs us, even if we are sensory organs, and it is only he who knows what the stimuli really are. It may well be that we are carrying the analogy too far and getting too far away from Scripture. But I confess it is 1 Corinthians 12 that is in mind as I write. I think that it presents the ideal of the body working as each part functions interactive with the others. In practice, however, the church often says to a believer, “We have no need of you”, and a believer often withdraws from fellowship with the church. In either case, the individual suffers and the church suffers. Part of the problem seems to lie in the fact that the body which is suffering does not feel the pain. We have not learned that “whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). We feel free to ignore, and exclude, and hurt each other, without realizing that we are hurting ourselves, the church, and the Lord. So I would offer that there have been and there will be lone rangers, but it is not good. The chief lesson that we learn in isolation is that we have to work together. What we learn alone we have to share, if not in full (2 Cor 12), then in some fashion. There should not even be factions in the church, but it seems the bigger parts don’t feel the pain. The finer you cut it the more pain, and when it comes down to the individual member, it really hurts. We should probably be wise to bind up the wounds and put the pieces back together, but the ears are apparently not working well, ‘cause the message is not getting through. Spiritual discernment is like hearing, is it not? |