Here in verse 12 another theme is added. The distribution of gifts is for the whole body in which the members are mutually dependent one upon the other, and this applies to us today.
The chapter began with, ‘You were led away to dumb idols’, the dumb idols of possessions, and houses, and clothing, and all the things that could never speak or explain life or living, or give you heaven or eternity. But now you have come to Christ, and the word speaks to you day by day. It is salvation, it is life, it is peace; it explains why we are here. It teaches us of God; it gives us the doctrines; it gives us the ethics for the Christian life, the standards. It gives us direction and comfort and guidance; it gives us inspiration as we see Christ.
You may be a believer and you love the Lord, and you have found him and you walk with him and he proves himself to you, but you are not part of a local church. Maybe you worship with the people of God, but you don't participate with them in anything. You are not a member; you never joined a spiritual family; you don't throw in your energies and your lot; you don't play your part; you may be on the fringe even though you are a seasoned believer and you love God and he has dealt with you. Listen to the impossibility of this: ‘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.’ Didn’t you know you were meant to be part of the body? You are an arm, or a leg, or an eye, or an ear, and you are missing from the body, from its service. You have exempted yourself, excused yourself. You may be shy constitutionally, or there may be some other reason. You may be too much of an individualist. That can be a gift very often – such a person is blessed with a lot of private personal initiative – but that gift has got the better of you, and you are actually an isolated individualist. You don't make friends very easily; you don't share very easily; you don't do teamwork; you are not in the church. Your gift has become spoiled because it has gone to your head, and it determines your whole policy of life.