1 Corinthians: Chapter 12 (verses 12

In the previous post of this series, we saw that in the first part of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul began to address the matter of spiritual gifts and their diversity. In 1 Corinthians 12:1–11, he listed some of these gifts and emphasized that they come from the Holy Spirit and are to be exercised for the benefit of all and to build unity (1 Corinthians 12:4–7).

In the second half of chapter 12, Paul continues to focus on the themes of unity and diversity:

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 one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12–13).

In his writings Paul referred on several occasions to the church as “the body of Christ” to illustrate the unity, diversity, and interdependence of believers.¹ He does so by pointing out how Christ’s body resembles the human body in that the human body is a single unit, even though it has many parts. He also explained how Christ’s body resembles the human body in its diversity, and to emphasize the diversity within the church, he mentioned racial and social diversity and how each of these contribute to the church. No matter what had previously separated these people (Jews, Greeks, slaves, and free people), they all had been joined together in Christ into one body by means of one Spirit.

In Paul’s mind there is some sense in which the divinely constructed union (1 Corinthians 12:13) of the many diverse parts—organically interrelated, interdependently, harmoniously and functionally one body—constitutes now through the Holy Spirit the reality of Christ’s visible presence and activity in the world.²

The church is called the body of Christ because Christ is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18), and each member is part of that body (Colossians 3:15). We are all called to do His work. We each have been given different gifts, and regardless of what they are, we are all important to the mission of bringing Christ to the lost and building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4–6, 11–13).

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? (1 Corinthians 12:14–17)

Paul moved on to use human body imagery to demonstrate the importance of proper regard for all parts of Christ’s body. First, he provided an imaginative picture of parts of the body thinking too lowly of themselves. A foot may say to itself that it does not belong to the body because it is not a hand. However, even if it thinks this way about itself, it does not cease to be a part of the body. The same would be true of an ear which felt it did not belong to the body because it was not an eye.

Paul was making the point that believers are not cut off from the body of Christ because they believe that they have less importance or a lesser place of service. Each part of the body contributes to the whole. The ability to hear would not exist if the whole body were an eye; the sense of smell would disappear if the whole body was an ear.

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body (1 Corinthians 12:18–20).

The absurdity of these imagined scenarios emphasizes the point that God has arranged the parts of the human body according to His divine wisdom. He designed them and their composition just as He intended to fulfill a purpose—and God’s wisdom in so doing should not be questioned. This divine coordination of diverse parts is so essential to the functioning of the body that Paul makes the point that if every part of the body were one part—all eyes, all ears, or all feet—“where would the body be?” Clearly, there would be no body.

To drive home these points, Paul repeated the theme of this section: Human beings have one body, but that body needs its many parts. Every part is important in its own right.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require (1 Corinthians 12:21–24a).

Paul presents scenarios in which parts of the body questioned whether other parts had value. He said it would be inconceivable for an eye to tell a hand, “I don’t need you,” or the head to speak that way to the feet. The opposite is true: the eyes need the hands, and the head needs the feet. Even the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are important and needed.

The parts of the body that people consider to be “less honorable” they treat “with special honor.” This expression likely refers to the clothing and ornaments placed on the fingers, feet, toes, and other “minor” parts of the body. In like manner, the church should give special honor to members who tend to be overlooked—who may be poor or unable to contribute to the same extent as others or lack in social standing.

But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:24b–26).

Paul makes the point that God has given greater honor to the members of the body that lack obvious honor. He did this to ensure that there would be no division in the church and to emphasize that all members should have equal concern for each other. If one member suffers from pain or disease, then every member suffers with it. When one member of Christ’s body is honored, then every other part of the body rejoices with it. Also, when one member is honored and treated with care, then all members should rejoice with them.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Paul used the analogy of the human body to describe the church as the body of Christ, starting with the declaration that the believers are the body of Christ. While Paul used this metaphor for the church in various letters, in this case, his focus was on unity, diversity, and honor of the various members of Christ’s body. Each one is a part of the body; without exception every person who has placed their trust in Christ has a place in the body of Christ.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:28).

After making the point that God has put the parts of the physical body in place according to His design, Paul goes on to list some of the “parts” of the body of Christ. It appears that Paul listed the first three appointments in the church based on their importance (apostles, prophets, teachers) and then went on to list the other five gifts in no particular order. He may have ordered these in this fashion because apostles, prophets, and teachers played an important role in building up the church, unlike the other gifts of miracles, healings, help, administration, and tongues.

Apostles were leaders with a special and unique role in the church, as witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection, who carried the message of Christ out from Jerusalem, and established new churches. Jesus called the original twelve apostles (Matthew 10:2–4), and Matthias later replaced Judas (Acts 1:23–26). Paul was subsequently added to the Twelve as the apostle for the Gentiles (1 Timothy 2:7). Other believers such as Barnabas (Acts 14:14) and James, the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19), were noted as apostles. Others were not specifically called apostles, such as Silas and Timothy (Acts 17:10–15), Andronicus, and Junia (Romans 16:7), but fulfilled the role of apostles in the formal sense of “one who is sent.”

Prophets in the New Testament had a different role from Old Testament prophets, who spoke and wrote words that had the divine authority of Scripture. In the New Testament, the inspired writing of Scripture was undertaken by the apostles and those who accompanied them in their ministry. The word “prophet” in the New Testament more often referred to ordinary Christians who utter inspired words that conveyed the message of God to the hearers.³ Examples of believers (besides the apostles) receiving prophecy to encourage, guide and strengthen the believers, include Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32), Philip the evangelist’s four daughters (Acts 21:9), and Agabus, who prophesied regarding Paul’s imprisonment in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10–11).

Teachers were also important. In the early church, teachers were like the Jewish rabbis. They studied Scripture and taught the church true doctrine. The cost of hand-copied books would have been high, and few believers would have personally owned a Bible, making the function of the teacher an important one.⁴ Paul also associated the office of teacher with that of pastor (Ephesian 4:11–13).

Paul then proceeds to speak of the gifts, rather than the people who exercised them, listing miracles, gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and speaking in tongues. The gifts of miracles, healing and speaking in tongues were mentioned earlier in the chapter (1 Corinthians 12:8–10), while the gifts of administrating and the gifts of helps are only mentioned briefly here, and no further elaboration is provided in the New Testament for these.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (1 Corinthians 12:29–30)

Paul listed a series of rhetorical questions regarding each of these offices and gifts, to which he expected negative responses. Paul is once again emphasizing the importance of diversity through these questions, as Bible commentator Leon Morris notes:

The series of rhetorical questions, quite in Paul’s argumentative style, hammers home the fact of diversity. Christians differ from one another in the gifts they have received from God. No gift can be despised on the grounds that all have it, for all differ.⁵

May we all embrace the concepts of unity, diversity, and interdependence of believers, “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:12–13 NIV).

Note
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

¹ See, for example, Romans 12:4–5; Ephesians 1:22–23, 3:6; Colossians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 12:27.

² Alan F. Johnson, 1 Corinthians, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (IVP Academic, 2004), 230.

³ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine (Zondervan, 1994), 1052–1055.

⁴ Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (InterVarsity Press, 1985), 157.

⁵ Morris, 1 Corinthians, 158.

1 Corinthians: Chapter 12 (verses 12–30)