1 Corinthians 12:13-26

“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.”

“Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to 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 were to 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 the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 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 members, yet one body. 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 members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:13-26).

Comment:

I think the significance of this passage is contained in the sentence that immediately follows it: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Paul is writing from Ephesus to the church he had founded in Corinth. Corinth was a very ‘worldly’ city, and his followers there were a very disputatious group. They argued over everything, especially since their leader was no longer present. They especially argued about relative degrees of importance—which spiritual gifts were the most important and which were lesser. Paul is anxious to restore order and maintain peace in the congregation. His point is we are all one in that we are all expressions of the Christ; at the same time, each of us is a unique expression of the Christ. Since they are not well-versed in theology, he follows the example of Jesus by presenting a universal spiritual truth in simple human terms they could all understand. Just as all parts of our body are essential to our survival in this human realm, so are all expressions of the Christ essential as we move forward to manifest the new, elevated consciousness Jesus describes as ‘the kingdom of heaven.’ Comparing ourselves to each other is a waste of time and energy. Our focus needs to be on fully expressing our own Christ Self in whatever ways it is called to express.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed