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“UNITY IN DIVERSITY”
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(1 Corinthians 12:12-27) 
Can you imagine a world of UNIFORMITY? All white, all round, all small, allstraight, everything the same in essence and form! It would be very dull and boring.We thank God that creation is full of diversity. We can see diversity all around us. Look at the flowers, plants and trees; they have different shapes, colors, textures andvarieties and yet we appreciate their beauty. Consider the variety of animals; weappreciate their differences. All around the world people have different faces, languagesand backgrounds but we appreciate each other’s beauty and uniqueness. Even identicaltwins may differ in a lot of things. God’s creation is indeed beautiful because of itsdiversity.Rich diversity is also found in our churches. People with different personalitiesfrom various cultures and backgrounds meet together to fellowship with one anotherand with God. But in the Church, can we attain genuine unity in diversity? To answerthis question, let us turn to our text in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27.When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, the church is facing problemsof divisions, factions, immorality, disorderliness and worldliness. These problems arosebecause people were from diverse background: Roman citizens from Italy, nativeGreeks and Jews of the diaspora(the scattered Jews). The majority of the churchmembers were ‘not wise by human standards, not influential, and not of noble birth.’ (1Cor.1:26). Some were rich and affluent and many converts to Christianity were of pagan background. To address the chaotic situation in the Corinthian church, Paul used
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as an analogy the human body – a body which is made up of many and diversemembers.In attaining UNITY IN DIVERSITY, there are three implications that we can learnfrom Paul’s analogy of the Church as a human body:
 First 
,
UNITY IS BASED IN CHRIST
(v.12, v.27):
A. Because Christ is the head of the Church.
In Christ, we are one bodythough it is made up of many parts. Christ is the basis of our unity and he is the onlyuniting factor. Our unity is not due to external organization but to common and vitalunion in Christ. Just as the human body is dependent on the head so the church isdependent on Christ. We overcome divisions in the church once when we begin tohumble ourselves in the presence of Christ who is the head of the body. Divisions anddisintegrations in the church happen when we fail to acknowledge Christ’s Lordship inour midst. Factions and quarrels abound in our fellowship when loyalty to Christ isreplaced with other loyalties. It is interesting to note how Paul begins this passage withv.12 stating that in Christ we are one body and ends with v.27 affirming again the factthat we are members of the body of Christ. By doing this, Paul emphasized that unity indiversity in the church is only attainable in Christ. It is in Christ that “all the diverseparts find its unity.” 
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Any other human attempt to unite the church other than in Christis bound to fail.
B. Christ himself prayed for the Unity of his Church.
At the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world
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 Barclay’s Daily Study Bible Commentary in
 
The Bible Library v.4 CD-Rom.
 
 
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know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:23,NIV). More than anybody else, the Lord desires for the Unity of the Church in the midstof diversity. Our complete unity, as desired by our Lord, becomes our witness to theworld of God’s love for us in Jesus. Part of the fulfillment of Christ’s prayer is the unionof five denominations in 1948 which became the United Church of Christ in thePhilippines. Though our denomination is still far from being completely united, it bearswitness to the possibility of attaining UNITY IN DIVERSITY in the name of Christ.
Second 
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UNITY IS NOT UNIFORMITY
(vv.13-20):
A. We must learn to recognize that the body is made up of many and different parts: 
eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc. In recognizing this diversity, oneimportant thing that we should remember is that our social status, nationality, andeducational attainment are not the basis of becoming part of the body of Christ. Webelong to the body of Christ because we were baptized with one Spirit (v.13). Ourmembership to the body of Christ is solely by the grace of God. With this in mind, wecan begin to recognize, respect and accept the rich diversity in the church. Unless weadmit that the church is composed of people with diverse gifts, interests, inclinationsand attitudes we fail to see God’s purpose and design for the church. No one candisqualify us from the body of Christ despite our differences. Our diversity is part of God’s plan and design.
B.
 
Each part of the body has a different function
. The eyes is for seeing,the nose for smelling, the ears for listening, the feet for walking, the hands forgrasping, and so on. God has designed these parts to function according to God’s
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