Romans 12.4-Paul Compares The Christian Community To The Human Body To Emphasize The Importance Of Humility
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 6, 2009
Romans: Romans 12:4-Paul Compares The Christian Community To The Human Body To Emphasize The Importance Of Humility
Lesson # 404
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 12:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Romans chapter twelve.
By way of review:
In Romans 12:1, the apostle Paul appealed to his Christian readers in Rome on the basis of the merciful acts of the Father on their behalf to offer their bodies as a sacrifice-alive, holy, extremely pleasing to the Father, which is their reasonable service to the Father.
Then, in Romans 12:2, Paul prohibited his Christian readers in Rome from being conformed to the standards of the cosmic system of Satan.
He then issued a command on the heels of this prohibition to be transformed in their character into the image of Christ by the renewing of their minds.
He teaches that this transformation of the believer’s character into the image of Christ by renovating their mind accomplishes what the Father intended in that it provides the believer the capacity to discern what the will of God is with regards to any situation.
In Romans 12:3, Paul forbid his readers from thinking more highly of themselves than they were obligated to think.
In contrast to this he commanded that they think properly about themselves, which is accomplished by obeying the command in Romans 12:2 to renovate one’s mind.
Thinking properly about themselves would be consistent with the objective standard that the Father distributed to each believer by which they can accurately and objectively form an opinion of themselves, namely justifying faith.
This evening we will begin a study of Romans 12:4-5, which teaches that the reason why it is essential that the believer maintain a humble attitude toward self is that like the human body has many members with differing functions so they are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.
This evening we will note Romans 12:4, in which Paul compares the Christian community to the human body to emphasize the importance of humility.
Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
Romans 12:4-5, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
In Romans 12:4-5, the apostle Paul employs the body of Christ metaphor to teach that there is unity as well as diversity in the Christian community.
Constable writes, “The body of Christ is a unified organism, and its members are diverse personally and in their functions…All the members belong to one another; there is mutuality in the church. As members of one another, we cannot work independently effectively. Each member profits from the contribution of every other member too. This realization should help us avoid becoming proud.” (Constable, Thomas L.; Romans 2006 Edition; page 130; Published by Sonic Light)
Ray Stedman writes, “God gives us gifts, but we do not all have the same gifts. We need one another. We are members one with another, not just of this church, but of other churches, other denominations, other groups as well.” (Stedman, Ray; Romans: Simple Christianity; page 140; Discovery Publishing, a ministry of Peninsula Bible Church; 1995)
This comparison of a social group to the human body was very common among ancient writers.
Of course, Paul picked up the metaphor and gave it a theological or spiritual application.
Paul uses this illustration in 1 Corinthians 12 and it is further developed in Ephesians and Colossians.
He uses the metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 to deal with arrogance in the Christian community.
In 1 Corinthians 12, he uses it to rebuke those in the Corinthian church who prided themselves on possessing certain spiritual gifts, which they erroneously and arrogantly deemed as making them more important than other believers.
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the body of Christ metaphor to stop arrogance that was already taking place among believers whereas in Romans 12:4-5, he uses the body of Christ metaphor to prevent it from taking place (See Romans 15:14-15).
In both instances, Paul discusses the subject of love immediately after discussing spiritual gifts since spiritual gifts can only function when the believer is operating according to the love of God.
Just as a car runs on gas so the believer’s spiritual gift runs on God’s love.
In Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul uses the body of Christ metaphor to teach the importance of the four great communications gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 in relation to the Christian community’s spiritual growth.
He uses the metaphor in Ephesians 4:25 when exhorting the Ephesians to conduct that is consistent with their election to privilege.
Paul employs the metaphor in Ephesians 5:23 and 30 to teach that Christian wives should be subject to their husbands and Christian men are to love their wives.
Paul uses the body of Christ metaphor in Colossians 1:18 to teach the supremacy and sovereignty of Christ over the Christian community.
Paul uses the metaphor in relation to his undeserved suffering in relation to his service to the body of Christ (Colossians 1:24).
In Colossians 2:19, Paul employs the metaphor to teach the Colossian believers the importance of remaining in fellowship with Christ through adhering to the teaching of the communicators of the Word of God in the Christian community in order to protect themselves from the legalism of the Judaizers.
The apostle Paul uses the body of Christ metaphor in Colossians 3:15 to teach the importance of maintaining unity in the Christian community by believers operating in love towards one another.
Romans 12:4-5, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
Romans 12:4-5 is a comparative clause that presents the reason why the Roman believers should obey his command in Romans 12:3 to think so that they think properly about themselves by renovating their minds.
The comparative clause in Romans 12:4-5 teaches that the Roman believers should obey his command in Romans 12:3 because just as the human body has many members with diverse functions so the Christian community is one body in union and identified with Christ and thus individually members of one another.
The implication is that Paul’s reader need to maintain a humble attitude about themselves and avoid being arrogant because they need each other to function effectively as a group since they have different functions which benefit the entire group just as the human body has different parts with different functions.
Therefore, the implication of this is that maintaining a humble attitude is essential in order to serve the body of Christ.
The protasis appears in Romans 12:4: “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function.”
The apodasis appears in Romans 12:5: “So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
This comparative clause in Romans 12:4-5 is comparing the different parts of the human body that have various functions that benefit the body as a whole with the individuals who compose the Christian community that also have various functions that benefit the community as a whole.
“We have many members in one body” emphasizes that the human body is a unity of individual diverse parts that sustain the function of the body as a whole.
Romans 12:4, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function.”
“And all the members do not have the same function” emphasizes that there is diversity of function in the human body in contrast to the fact that there is unity in the body.
There is a diversity of function among the various members of the human body, which stands in contrast to the unity of the members of the human body in that they are all a part of one living organism.
Now, tomorrow we will note Romans 12:5, in which Paul compares the Christian community throughout the world with the human body.
In this passage, he teaches that the Christian community is a corporate unit in union with Christ and thus members individually belonging to one another.