A Unity of Unlikes
Eucharistic Meditation
One of the most frequent metaphors for the church in Scripture is that of a “body.” Christ is our head, and together we make up His corporate body in heaven and on earth (Eph. 1:22–23). The image of a body indicates an inseparable unity – we are truly one. But it is also an image that points to diversity. There are many members of one body, and they are not all the same. An eye is not an ear, and a foot is not a hand.
Often, when we think of the church, we think simply in terms of interchangeable units – just a number of individual Christians, all alike, brought together. And while this is partially true, the Apostle Paul does not hesitate to note that we really are a unity of unlikes.1 The build, function, and role of an eye are very different than the build, function, and role of a foot – and that is actually very good. Bodies need this God-given diversity of members in order to live and thrive.
Each person in this church has been made unique by God, granted different gifts and abilities, and we all come together to function as one body united to and under Christ. Therefore, we must not despise one another because of our differences, but instead learn to rejoice in the ways in which God has distributed His gifts, knowing that it is all for our good (1 Cor. 12).
And we now come to this Table together, remembering our communion with Christ and one another. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16–17).
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.
This communion meditation was given on February 1, AD 2026 at King’s Cross Church in Moscow, Idaho.
“The idea of membership in Paul is almost the antithesis of what moderns consider to be membership. We tend to think in terms of interchangeable units; Paul thinks of a unity of unlikes.” Douglas Wilson. Notes for Elders on the Way (p. 49). Kindle Edition.