Equalities and Inequalities
1Co 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
It is at the table of the Lord where there is no Jew or Greek, no rich or poor, no bond or free, no male and female. It’s not that these realities cease to exist at the table of the Lord. It is NOT that your social status, your biological differences, or your ethnic history are without significance. It is simply that these realities have no significance at the table of the Lord. The Lord’s table is not the place where we come to serve, but to be served, and we all come in the same essential condition. We come with an essential equality, and that equality lies in our need of salvation. The rich have the same need of Christ as have the poor. The Jew has the same need of Christ as has the Greek. The free-man has the same need of Christ as has the slave. The man has the same need for Christ as has the woman. We are all here to receive the same spiritual food which Christ died to obtain. And we all receive it the same way: by faith.
Gal 3:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
None of us come to the table to find a place of service. It was the Lord who girded Himself as a servant and served His disciples on that night before His death. None of us is capable of adding to what Christ has done on our behalf. We come to the table to be served and we all come on equal footing. At the Table of the Lord, we are all equally the children of God.
But when we leave the Lord’s table, we got to serve, and it is there that differences emerge. It is in our service to the Lord that our places in the world differ. In our service, it does matter whether you are male or female, and whether you are a free-man or a slave. God has called some to lead and others to follow. God has called some in their youth and some in their age. God has His ambassadors in prisons as well as in seminaries. There is a structure and a plan, there are offices and responsibilities, there are inequalities that are not bugs, but features of the body of Christ. It is this variation that makes the body healthy, strong, vibrant, and effective. It is our differences that allow us to be effective for Christ.
1Co 12:4-6 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
So it is good that we regularly come together to remember that even though each of us is different when it comes to the our place in the plan, we are all the same when we sit at His Table. We all eat the same bread and drink the same cup of God’s salvation. We all serve in different ways, but we all have to be served in the same way. God uses us differently, but He loves us with the same love. Let us rejoice in that together.
Nathan Writes 