Gayle Erwin in The Jesus Style says "it is appropriate that God chose the body as an analogy for his followers. It is organic, flexible, growing. It can only survive as it lives according to the nature of Jesus. Not one part of the natural body exists for itself. Every single part of the human body is designed and placed there to be a servant to the rest of the body. If a part of the natural body becomes self centered and begins to exist only for itself, it becomes what medical doctors call cancer" (Page153).

In Ephesians 4:11-16 we note the picture which the Apostle Paul draws for us--that of a human body, but small and undeveloped. He informs us that it is the divine will that all of the various members should grow to full development, full strength and power-- "the full stature of manhood" is the picture which represents the Church in its proper, complete condition. "…speaking the truth in love, we will grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." It makes plain the body of Christ only grows when working in harmony…that the body is necessary for the members’ proper development unto that perfect man.

To help us understand this we must recognize Christ is the Head of His body, an organism, which merely has organization.

We know also that spiritual gifts have been given to the brethren by Christ to serve and help build up the church. Builds itself up in love… what does that mean for us? So when one part of my body malfunctioned the whole body was tuned into the suffering part and when it got better, my whole body gave a huge sigh of relief and rejoiced. We truly need each and every member to contribute their gifts to the functioning of the whole. We can’t sit back and expect others to do the work and serve us. Iron sharpens iron… We need each other to keep a keen spiritual edge. It is a labour of love provided by Christ within his body. Spiritual gifts are given to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith. Unfortunately, too many of us try only one of the two extremes. Either we try to be lone ranger Christians ("I don't need the body"), or we demand that the body fix our lives and our relationship with God ("I am not responsible for myself"). Or we remain in the church but become distant, aloof and indifferent to others within the body.

But our responsibilities are towards the brethren that must be discharged in love. Our indebtedness to Christ is transferred to our brethren… Whenever you feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the sick …write a letter, make a phone call, show hospitality, lend an ear, you do so to Christ. We need to be forgiving of the idiosyncrasies, the foibles, and the weaknesses of other brethren who are trying to overcome as we are. You need not worry, Christ will eventually bring it to their attention. We must realize we are all in this together. We need to be rooting for and praying for the other guy. The apostle Paul gives us detailed instructions on our responsibilities within that body: "If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone" (Romans 12:8-10,13,15-18 Living).

Our English word, "fellowship" is the translation of the Greek word, "koinonia." This Greek word is derived from the root, "koinos," which was a prefix in ancient Greek. The root of the word, "fellowship," means "to hold something in common."

Koinonia is used nineteen times in the New Testament and in addition to being translated as "fellowship" it is also translated by the words, "contribution," "sharing," and "participation." A close study of the usage of this word shows that action is always included in its meaning. Fellowship is not just being together, it is doing together! Our gifts have been given us for the common good…"for the body is not one member, but many" (I Corinthians 12:14). We are no longer merely passengers together on the bus we call church, but we are desperately, eternally and intimately loyal to each other

We are to be a family and to learn all the basics of getting along and growing in love by putting these tools of love into action. We cannot learn these lessons outside of the family unit or body of Christ. It’s precisely where we learn to use the gifts of the spirit, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…"and most importantly forgiveness.

In our confusing world many Christians have drawn back… many staying home thinking the body does not need them or that they don’t need the body; that they can function independently. But as we can see, each system depends on the other to function properly as a whole. We wouldn’t cut off a limb or an ear if it wasn’t working properly. We would support that part of our body. And parts of our body don’t abandon us but, most of the time, serve us faithfully throughout our lives. And we mustn’t forget that our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body" (Living 1 Corinthians 12:18-20). God had set up the rules in such a way that the gathered people had to cooperate with each other, work corporately in order to discern God's will, appreciate the gifts of the other members of the church, and, especially, to practice love within the church—something so important to Jesus that he made intra-church love a "New Commandment" in John 13: 34, just before his trial and crucifixion. "That you love one another: as I have loved you… by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another."