The human body is an amazing masterpiece of God’s workmanship, encompassing so great an array of intricate details that the psalmist exclaims, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14). It is a wonderful example of diversity in unity, for it embraces members totally diverse in character and operation, yet all function together in marvelous unison. Some of these functions are involuntary, for God has so designed the body. Others are the result of conscious thought, directed by the thoughts of the mind.

All of this is intended by God to impress us with the preciousness of the unity He has established today in the body of Christ, the Church of God. It is a unity that involves every present-day child of God. There are not many bodies, as some have supposed, but only one. Each individual believer has his place in that one body; he or she is a member of that body. This is the only membership that God has given. Therefore, too, each of us is given the ability to do just the work that is suited to the place we have in the body. A hand cannot take the place of an eye, nor a foot the place of a hand. Perhaps I am only a small, hidden member. This makes no difference, for the unseen members are just as important as the visible ones. Our desire should certainly be for the good of all the body, and whatever abilities we have should be devoted to this.

All nourishment, refreshment, and direction must also come from the head of our body. Just so, we depend entirely on our blessed Head in heaven, the Lord Jesus, to minister to all of us that which will enable us to fulfill the work for which He has fitted us. Submitting to Him, we will be glad to work for others and in unity with them.