Different callings, one church
The apostle Peter, early on in the book
of Acts, says, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order
to wait on tables.”1 What does he mean by that? Is he setting
himself and his ministry apart from all the others, saying, in effect, “My ministry is more important than yours” —
that the ministry of the word, and its servants, are too exalted to
get their hands dirty with the trivial, unimportant work of waiting on tables?
No.
What he is saying is that the
ministry of the word is every bit as important as serving food, and it requires
every bit as much time, care and attention on the part of those called to it.
In our passage for today, Paul is
saying essentially the same thing, though in a somewhat different context,
vastly extended in scope and implication. Both Peter and Paul are talking about
the different kinds of work that serve to maintain and prosper the church, the
body of Christ. Both of them — one implicitly, one explicitly — are saying that
the primary work of the church is not to exercise one set of gifts at the
expense of others, but to exercise all gifts in the service of one calling.
The body
In his discussion of spiritual
gifts, Paul likens the church to a human body. The body, he says, is composed
of the head, along with many parts, all working together. So it is with the church.
Christ is its head, and the church is the body — the body of Christ. We, the
church, are all parts of the body of Christ — Christ’s hands
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