1 Corinthians 12

An analogy from the body

12 Now just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, though being many, are one body, so also is the Christ. 13 For we also were all baptized into one body by one Spirit*It is the Holy Spirit who places us into the Body of Christ.—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and were all given to drink into one Spirit.*The imagery here seems awkward; but if you drink something, it is then inside you, and once regenerate we have the Holy Spirit inside us. But He is much, much bigger than we are, so we wind up inside Him (perhaps a little like swallowing water while swimming). 14 For in fact the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," it would not therefore cease to be of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," it would not therefore cease to be of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? 18 But God has really placed the members in the body, each one of them, just as He pleased.*This is true of our physical bodies, but it is also true of any congregation. 19 (If the whole were just one member, where would the body be? 20 But in fact the parts are many but the body one.)*To the ‘Western’ mind this may seem redundant, but recall that Paul was a Jew. Can you imagine a body that is nothing more than a huge, monstrous tongue?

21 Further, the eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you." 22 Much to the contrary, those members of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And the parts of the body that we consider to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentables have special modesty, 24 while our presentables do not need it. Yes, God has blended the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacks it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another; 26 and if one member suffers, all the members should suffer along, or if one member is honored, all the members should rejoice along.*Since both the Textus Receptus and the eclectic Greek text currently in vogue have ‘suffer’ and ‘rejoice’ in the Indicative (following 60% of the Greek manuscripts), most versions do too. But the 40% includes the best line of transmission and has the verbs in the Subjunctive. Since Paul is applying the figure of a body to people, it is obvious that although we should share, we are not obliged to do so, and often do not.

Functions in the Church

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.