Unity Seed – Embrace Diversity: Baptized Into One Body

Key Verse

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NIV)

Short Reflection

Through the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ that is composed of believers is baptized into one regardless of the origin or social status of the individual members. Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit places all the believers into the body of Christ which is the church that is not just a group of people gathering once in a week to worship, but a body of people sharing the same life and united by the spirit through baptism. As God’s representatives on earth, Paul teaches believers to use their own distinguished gifts to uniquely impact the ministry and body of Christ with use of every manifestation of the Spirit for the common good of all Christians. Although different members of the body receive varied spiritual gifts, all should complement each other, just like many parts that form one body.

Therefore, as members of the body of Christ, you are encouraged to equally partake of the same Spirit of God, share the same heavenly inheritance and live as one body that is equally loved by the same Lord Jesus Christ while serving each other with your various distinct gifts, irrespective of your Earthly or physical differences.

Lord, let this reader and I be “All for One” and celebrate that we have been baptized into the same body, the body of Jesus!

This is the fourth in the “Embrace Diversity” series of blog posts and is written by Alemi Todoko, PEER Servants volunteer originally from Koboko, Uganda but now residing in Juba, South Sudan.