How do the many parts of the human body function as one body?
The many parts of the human body—hands, feet, eyes, and ears—function as one unit because they operate from a central nervous system and a central place of thinking. Though the body has many members, all those members belong to and operate as one body, illustrating the body of Christ.
Les explains that Paul, in verse 12, uses the human body as an illustration. The body is one and functions as one unit, yet it has many members. Hands, feet, eyes, ears, and everything that makes up our being operate from a central nervous system and a central place of thinking, so they operate as one. Paul then says, “so also is Christ,” alluding to the body of Christ. The many different people—rich and poor, black and white, from all around the world, with their own cultures—are one in Christ if they have been saved by the same power and the same gospel. Les illustrates this by saying that believers from the Philippines or any other part of the world would feel right at home because we are one in Christ.