Hien was a very gifted musician. She could play several instruments and she could play them well. Hien could almost be a one person symphony—but she can’t. Though she is gifted and can play several instruments she can’t play them all at once. Hien can’t be a one person show. If however, several other musicians are brought in they could form an orchestra and with a conductor they could make beautiful music together.

We may be very gifted and talented individuals. No matter how gifted and talented we are, though, we don’t have every gift and we can’t be a one person congregation or ministry. We need each other—not only for fellowship and support, but for ministry. Because of this the Holy Spirit distributes a multitude of gifts among many people. Like musicians who come together and become an orchestra, so we, as disciples of Jesus, come together and become the church—the body of Christ and one way God is present on earth.

1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.