All for one and one for all
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV)
‘All for one and one for all!’ was of course the rallying cry of Athos, Porthos and Aramis, the three musketeers made famous in the swashbuckling adventure novel of the same name, written by the French author Alexandre Dumas. But Dumas was far from being the first to coin that phrase. Some 300 years earlier, William Shakespeare included those very same words in one of his famous narrative poems.1
Readers familiar with the works of Shakespeare will not be surprised to hear that the Bard constantly alluded to, directly quoted, and also drew inspiration from another great work – the Bible. It is probably not a work of fiction to suggest that the phrase Dumas borrowed from Shakespeare was itself inspired by the verse quoted above from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. Arguably Paul also rises above Shakespeare and Dumas to take the moral high ground, writing as he does not about swordsmen or Roman soldiers but the very body of Christ.
What does this landmark passage of scripture tell us? Not just that all Christians have gifts they need to share with the wider church, or that no Christian should look down on another, or even the importance of diversity. But also that all members in the body are equally deserving of honour; our sorrows and successes should be shared; everybody belongs, and all the parts of the body need to work together.
At the very heart of it all is the abiding principle of unity: ‘…in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.’ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Earlier in Matthew 12:25, Jesus himself said, ‘…“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand…” ’. But in sending his Spirit of Truth to all believers, Jesus provided us with the perfect antidote to division: ‘There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism…’ (Ephesians 4:4-5).
In the body of Christ, it is not every man or woman for him or herself. Like Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we stand together, united. All for one and one for all.
Prayer
Almighty Father, thank you for the perfect picture of unity provided for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Help us as brothers and sisters in Christ to continue to ‘encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact [we] are doing.2’ Amen.
1 The Rape of Lucrece by Wiiliam Shakespeare
2 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)
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Study by: Peter Mill About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion International Central Glasgow
Garnethill Room
Conference Suite
St Andrews West
260 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4JP
Meeting time:
Sunday 11:15 am
Local congregational contact:
Peter Mill
Email: edinburgh@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church