1 Corinthians 12:27

I. Here the apostle sums up the argument, and applies this similitude to the church of Christ, concerning which observe,

1. The relation wherein Christians stand to Christ and one another. The church, or whole collective body of Christians, in all ages, is his body. Every Christian is a member of his body, and every other Christian stands related to him as a fellow-member (Co1 12:27): Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular, or particular members. Each is a member of the body, not the whole body; each stands related to the body as a part of it, and all have a common relation to one another, dependence upon one another, and should have a mutual care and concern. Thus are the members of the natural body, thus should the members of the mystical body be, disposed. Note, Mutual indifference, and much more contempt, and hatred, and envy, and strife, are very unnatural in Christians. It is like the members of the same body being destitute of all concern for one another, or quarrelling with each other. This is the apostle's scope in this argument. He endeavours in it to suppress the proud, vaunting, and contentious spirit, that had prevailed among the Corinthians, by reason of their spiritual gifts.

2. The variety of offices instituted by Christ, and gifts or favours dispensed by him (Co1 12:28): God hath set some in the church; first, apostles, the chief ministers entrusted with all the powers necessary to found a church, and make an entire revelation of God's will. Secondarily, prophets, or persons enabled by inspiration, as the evangelists did. Thirdly, teachers, those who labour in word and doctrine, whether with pastoral charge or without it. After that, miracles, or miracle-workers. The gifts of healing, or those who had power to heal diseases; helps, or such as had compassion on the sick and weak, and ministered to them; governments, or such as had the disposal of the charitable contributions of the church, and dealt them out to the poor; diversities of tongues, or such as could speak divers languages. Concerning all these observe, (1.) The plenteous variety of these gifts and offices. What a multitude are they! A good God was free in his communications to the primitive church; he was no niggard of his benefits and favours. No, he provided richly for them. They had no want, but a store - all that was necessary, and even more; what was convenient for them too. (2.) Observe the order of these offices and gifts. They are here placed in their proper ranks. Those of most value have the first place. Apostles, prophets, and teachers, were all intended to instruct the people, to inform them well in the things of God, and promote their spiritual edification: without them, neither evangelical knowledge nor holiness could have been promoted. But the rest, however fitted to answer the great intentions of Christianity, had no such immediate regard to religion, strictly so called. Note, God does, and we should, value things according to their real worth: and the use of things is the best criterion of their real worth. Those are most valuable that best answer the highest purposes. Such were apostolical powers, compared with theirs who had only the gift of healing and miracles. What holds the last and lowest rank in this enumeration is diversity of tongues. It is by itself the most useless and insignificant of all these gifts. Healing diseases, relieving the poor, helping the sick, have their use: but how vain a thing is it to speak languages, if a man does it merely to amuse or boast himself! This may indeed raise the admiration, but cannot promote the edification, of the hearers, nor do them any good. And yet it is manifest from ch. 14 that the Corinthians valued themselves exceedingly on this gift. Note, How proper a method it is to beat down pride to let persons know the true value of what they pride themselves in! It is but too common a thing for men to value themselves most on what is least worth: and it is of great use to bring them to a sober mind by letting them know how much they are mistaken. (3.) The various distribution of these gifts, not all to one, nor to every one alike. All members and officers had not the same rank in the church, nor the same endowments (Co1 12:29, Co1 12:30): Are all apostles? Are all prophets? This were to make the church a monster: all one as if the body were all ear or all eye. Some are fit for one office and employment, and some for another; and the Spirit distributes to every one as he will. We must be content with our own rank and share, if they be lower and less than those of others. We must not be conceited of ourselves, and despise others, if we are in the higher rank and have greater gifts. Every member of the body is to preserve its own rank, and do its own office; and all are to minister to one another, and promote the good of the body in general, without envying, or despising, or neglecting, or ill-using, any one particular member. How blessed a constitution were the Christian church, if all the members did their duty!

II. He closes this chapter with an advice (as the generality read it) and a hint. 1. An advice to covet the best gifts, charismata ta kreittona - dona potiora, praestantiora, either the most valuable in themselves or the most serviceable to others; and these are, in truth, most valuable in themselves, though men may be apt to esteem those most that will raise their fame and esteem highest. Those are truly best by which God will be most honoured and his church edified. Such gifts should be most earnestly coveted. Note, We should desire that most which is best, and most worth. Grace is therefore to be preferred before gifts; and, of gifts, those are to be preferred which are of greatest use. But some read this passage, not as an advice, but a charge: zēloute, You are envious at each other's gifts. In Co1 13:4, the same word is thus translated. You quarrel and contend about them. This they certainly did. And this behaviour the apostle here reprehends, and labours to rectify. Only of pride cometh contention. These contests in the church of Corinth sprang from this original. It was a quarrel about precedency (as most quarrels among Christians are, with whatever pretences they are gilded over); and it is no wonder that a quarrel about precedence should extinguish charity. When all would stand in the first rank, no wonder if they jostle, or throw down, or thrust back, their brethren. Gifts may be valued for their use, but they are mischievous when made the fuel of pride and contention. This therefore the apostle endeavours to prevent. 2. By giving them the hint of a more excellent way, namely, of charity, of mutual love and good-will. This was the only right way to quiet and cement them, and make their gifts turn to the advantage and edification of the church. This would render them kind to each other, and concerned for each other, and therefore calm their spirits, and put an end to their little piques and contests, their disputes about precedency. Those would appear to be in the foremost rank, according to the apostle, who had most of true Christian love. Note, True charity is greatly to be preferred to the most glorious gifts. To have the heart glow with mutual love is vastly better than to glare with the most pompous titles, offices, or powers.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Co_12:27

Niw ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

The body of Christ

I. True Christians, as the body of Christ, manifest His personal presence among men. In Christ incarnate God was manifest in the flesh. Just as really is Christ manifest in His Church.

II. The body of Christ reveals the mind of Christ. So closely do body and mind correspond, that the mind sometimes fashions the body to its own character. Essential characteristics, if not every thought and feeling, are revealed in gesture, gait, and countenance. The human body of Christ served the same purpose in expressing His mind. Now He has another manifestation. He is formed in us and thus expresses Himself as truly as once through flesh and blood. These living epistles are known and read of all men, written over with Christs thoughts, as those thoughts were once written on His own face. We are Christians only so far as we embody and reveal Christ to men.

III. These members of Christs body are the instruments for the execution of His will. The body is the servant of the soul. Such was Christs body on earth. It is now laid aside for other organs, even His Church, who are members of His body, of His flesh and His bones. Here is the radical idea of Christian service. We are not independent to follow our own purposes, but the will of Christ. While the hands and feet are involuntary instruments moved by the soul, the organs of Christs body act freely, although God worketh in them to will and to do of His good pleasure. Though not losing identity or individuality, they are so assimilated to each other and to Christ that they freely act together with the harmony of the most nicely adjusted machine. Again, Christ now is not limited to any spot at once, but is everywhere, in every Christian heart. Were He to get complete possession of all the members of His body and of all the agencies which they command, what rapid and sweeping successes would He achieve! When the Church is sanctified, when no member is paralysed or dormant or reluctant, but the whole are clear as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners, how soon will the world be redeemed! (H. Mead, D.D.)

The body of Christ

The chemist mixes his various elements together in the battery, and when they are brought together, and the conditions are fulfilled, electricity is there. He does not summon electricity from some remote distance; but already dormant in these elements was the electric power, and when they are combined, instantly the electric power springs into existence. So Christ says, In each one of you Christians there is a dormant power. I am in you, but there is more of Me in all of you together than there is in any one of yon separate and individually; and when you have combined around My banner and My name to do My will, there springs into existence, not merely the strength that comes from union, but the Diviner help that comes from this, that I am in the midst of that organisation, the spirit that inspires the body. It becomes at once more than human--it becomes Divine--the body of Christ. (Lyman Abbott.)

The body of Christ

God has chosen the most familiar objects to be the emblems of Christ and His Church--tree, rock, house, wheat, bread, and here the human body. In the body.

I. All life is is the head. If you separate the smallest particle of the body from it, that moment it dies. And so the Church is in such union with Christ that if you wilfully break the union by sin or unbelief, you are, spiritually, as dead as an amputated limb!

II. All feeling and all springs of power and action lie in the head. When any spot in the body is injured, a nerve communicates the fact to the brain, and there is the suffering. And then, from the brain, a nerve communicates back to the injured place what is to be done under the circumstances. And so whatever touches any living member of the Church, either for weal or woe, it goes up at once to Christ; and from Him again there flows down to you the never-failing cords of His sympathy, guidance, and power.

III. The different parts of our body are all held together by their meeting in the one head. So there is no real unity of Christians, except as they all meet and unite in the one Christ. Christ is, and must be, the centre piece of the arch of unity. If that centre piece is not there, the arch will fall!

IV. No one part of the body can communicate with another except through the head. My right hand cannot touch my left but through the head. Just so it is in the Church. All true service and charity must be through Christ. If I have been kind to any one it is the Head has done it, from first to last.

V. Some members are counted more honourable and some less, but all belong to the same head, and so share in the same dignity. So it is with the Church. The poorest, meanest man that walks this earth, if he be a child of God, is in the Head. You meet him there; he is equal with you there. Conclusion:

1. Away with all selfishness, pride, isolation! We are all one body.

2. This principle reaches beyond this world. In heaven itself there is the Body of Christ. And there is nothing greater than that. The saints in glory are my fellow-members in it. (J. Vaughan, M.A.)

The body of Christ and its members

I. The Church is the body of Christ (cf. Eph_1:22-23; Eph_4:12; Col_1:24)

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1. Note the resemblances.

(1) As the body reveals the soul, so the Church reveals Christ. What we love is in our friends, not the body. That is but the casket. But we know nothing of their souls except through the body. They are revealed to us by the glance of the eye, the tone of the voice, the deeds of love. So Christ is never seen directly. The salvation of men depends on the Churchs revelation of Christ.

(2) As the soul acts by the body, so Christ acts through the Church. The soul is the seat of the affections and motives, but the body must carry out its purposes. The soul of the parent goes out after the children who are scattered over the world. The body must write with pen and ink the messages of love. A neighbour longs to help some sick one. The body must be robbed of sleep that the neighbour may be helped. So Christ, the soul of the Church, loves and desires to save all men. But wherever men are saved, it is usually by the action of His body, the Church.

(3) As the soul speaks through the body, so Christ speaks by the Church (1Co_6:1-5; Mat_18:17-18).

2. If all this be true--

(1) How great is the honour which Christ has put upon us!

(2) How great is our responsibility!

(3) How important that we should see to it that we do not become a body without a soul--a Church without Christ!

II. Individual Christians are members in particular, i.e., each in his appointed place. The teaching of the previous verses is--

1. That we are all members or parts of the body of Christ. We may have nothing that brings us into prominence, and yet we are component parts of the body. Without us it would be incomplete.

2. That we all have a part in the work of the body. No part of a living body is without a function which it alone can perform. So in the body of Christ our office may be a humble one, but it is one to which we are Divinely appointed.

3. That the meanest offices are often most important. How the disorder of one small obscure part of the body hinders the whole;--pleurisy or tic! So in the body of Christ. If the Church is hindered we need to make it a personal matter. Lord, is it I? Again, the less prominent offices in the Church are just now more necessary. We have had much preaching; we want religion lived in little things. (J. Ogle.)

The body of Christ and its members

There are several analogies between our bodies and the Church as the body of Christ, viz.

I. These are our bodies because our spirits possess and animate them. So Christs spirit vitalises the Church.

II. Our physical and psychical natures are so closely joined that they constitute a virtual unity. So Christ says of His Church, As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us.

III. Our spirits are in most sensitive sympathy with all parts of our bodies. If any part is cut or bruised, to that at once goes the mind in painful consciousness. So Christ bears all our sorrows, and carries our grief in His sympathetic spirit.

IV. Our spirits are alert that they may defend and otherwise help the bodily members. If a missile comes near, it is the soul that, looking through the eyes, sees it and warns the nerve to spring the muscle that moves the proper part of the body to avoid it. Such is Christs watchfulness for His people.

V. Our spirits frequently, in their deeper wisdom, order the body to receive pain--e.g., to present a hand to the surgeons knife, to endure fatigue, etc. So Christ ordains suffering for the discipline of His people.

VI. Our spirits impart the strength of their courage to our bodies, that they may endure pain without flinching, the resolute will holding the shrinking nerve; moral courage the source of truest physical heroism. So Christs grace is sufficient for us,

VII. Our spirits are constantly training our bodies to easy, almost unvolitional obedience, e.g., we learn to do, as if instinctively, many things that at first are performed only with difficulty--to strike the notes on a piano, to read without definite thought of the letters, all that we mean by second nature. So Christ is training our souls to obey His precepts with liberty, without constant pressure of the sense of duty. Perfect sainthood will be as natural as the processes of physical motion.

VIII. Our spirits are constantly modifying the aspect of our bodies, stamping character upon the countenance, and expressing disposition by manner and mien. So Christ, by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, sanctifies us.

IX. Our spirits keep our bodies alive so long as they are associated. There can be no death until the soul is withdrawn; then only does the tabernacle of the flesh fall. So Christ is the life of all the members of His body. And as His promise is, Lo, I am with you alway, we can never die. Because I live ye shall live also. (J. M. Ludlow, D.D.)

Union of Christians with Christ, and with each other

I. The union of Christ with His Church. This is sometimes illustrated by images borrowed from the relations of domestic life: those of master and servants, parent and children, husband and wife; sometimes by images derived from works of art, or from natural history: He Himself represents it by the union of the vine with its branches. The Scripture idea of Christ represents Him as identified with the Church, which is called the fulness or complement of Christ: so that Christ would want something essential to Him, without the Church. In the text believers are styled His body, which implies--

1. The participation of a common nature. In the former part of this chapter the apostle had spoken of the union of Christians, and those who participate of one Spirit. Christ makes them all His own, by the communication of His own Spirit; just as the natural members are united with the head. They receive, out of His fulness, grace for grace. Notwithstanding the difference of nature and of office between Him and them, yet the graces of Christians are of the same origin, and nature, with His. Every real Christian is animated by the same views, desires, tempers, principles of conduct, with his Divine Master. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. The difference between Christians and men of the world is not a difference in degree; it is a difference in nature.

2. The direction which Christ has over His Church. He is the supreme authority who prescribes all our duties. All religion emanates from Him as Lord of all. It is the work of the Spirit to establish His authority in the heart: a sceptre by which He gently, yet effectually, subdues His people.

3. The affectionate union which subsists between both. The Church is loved by Christ as His body, endeared to Him by the most tender ties. In love to it He descended from His throne to the Cross. Such love as the Father has to Him He has to the Church. And, by analogy, we ought to have the same love to Him, manifested by walking in His steps, consecrating ourselves to Him who so loved us. Like loves like; and if Christ is the pattern and friend of His people, how entire, intense, and constant, ought to be our devotedness to Him!

II. The union of Christians with each other. We are members in particular.

1. Every member of the natural body, however mean, feeble, and obscure, is a member; so should no Christian be overlooked, however humble, since he stands in a sacred relation to Jesus Christ. To despise the image of God in the natural man implies a profane disregard of that God who made man in His own image; but to despise this image in the spiritual man is a higher species of impiety.

2. There exists an affection and sympathy between all the members. In the system of animal life, which is probably a modification of the spirit that animates the whole, the functions of all the rest are affected by one. Thus Christians are to feel for each other, bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ; they are not to say, as Cain, Am I my brothers keeper?

3. There is no schism in the body, so long as it is in a natural and healthful state; otherwise it tends to decay. Thus, for one member of Christ to envy others, is as unnatural and destructive as a division in the animal system.

4. There are different offices in the body; some parts are organic, as the eye, the ear; these are instruments of sense, and peculiarly important. Thus, in the Church, some are apostles, some evangelists; but all are not such, yet each has his own place and use; each may contribute his portion to the general good. (R. Hall, M.A.)

Members of Christ and their service

A member of Christ. Now, what member will you be? If you are a member of Christ, you must do the members part. If you say, I will be like the hand, what will you do? You must work usefully with your hand, you must work for God, you must give to God. Or, with your feet, you must run with messages. Be very useful. Think, Perhaps I shall be a missionary, with my feet beautiful on the mountains, to the heathen. I will do it for Christs sake. Or, I will always listen to good things. Be the ear. Or, with the eye, look at the beautiful things from heaven. Or, like the tongue, speak of God, of goodness, and of happiness. Then you are a useful member of Christ. Remember, if you have got Christ in your heart, then you are a member indeed. (J. Vaughan, M.A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 12:27. Now ye — Believers at Corinth; are the body of Christ — A part of it, not the whole body; and members in particular — That is, each believer is a particular member thereof, and ought to behave himself accordingly. This is the application of the foregoing allegory, which the apostle is thought by some to have formed on our Lord’s words, Mat 25:35-45. As if he had said, Ye believers are formed into one church or body, of which Christ is the head, soul, and ruler. And in the application he signifies, that “what he had said concerning the order, the situation, and the offices of the members of the human body, the union which subsists among them, and the care which they have of each other, and concerning the perniciousness of dissensions among its members, was all applicable to the members of the church of Christ. They were therefore to attend to the things he had written, that there might be no envy among them, nor discontent, nor arrogant preferring of themselves before others, but that in peace and love they might all promote each other’s happiness.” — Macknight.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

c. Of this figurative body, the Church is the literal counterpart, 1Co_12:27-31.

27. Now ye, the Corinthian Church, are the literal of this body, being as ye are the body of Christ.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 12:27. Ἐχ μέρους, in part [in particular]) He adds this, because the Corinthians were not the sole constituents of the body of Christ and His members, ch. 1Co 14:36. Even Rome should hold it enough, if she be a part [in particular].

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_12:27. Application of all that is said of the human body (1Co_12:14-26) to his readers: now ye are (in order now to apply to you what has been hitherto said, you then are) the body of Christ and members proportionately. In each Christian church the (ideal) body of Christ presents itself, as in each is presented the (ideal) temple of God; but each church is not a separate body of Christ; hence, just as with the idea of the temple (see on 1Co_3:16), we must keep entirely away from us the conception of a plurality, as if the churches were σώματα Χριστοῦ, and understand σῶμα Χριστοῦ not as a body,[2006] but as body of Christ, the expression without the article being qualitative.

Now if the church, as a whole, is Christs body, then the individuals in it are Christs members (comp 1Co_6:15), but this not without distinction, as if every one could be any member; but ἐκ μέρους, according to parts, according as each one respectively has his own definite part in the body of Christ, consequently his especial place and function which have fallen to him pro parte in the collective organism of the church. Ἐκ betokens the accompanying circumstance of the fact, Bernhardy, p. 230; the expression, however, does not stand here as in 1Co_13:9-10; 1Co_13:12, in contrast to that which is perfect (Hofmann), but, as the context shows, in contrast to the united whole, the κοινόν; comp ἙΚΆΣΤΟΥ ΜΈΡΟΥς, Eph_4:16. Luther puts it well, as regards the essential meaning: each one according to his part. Comp Calvin. Other interpreters understand, with Grotius (who explains it like ΟἹ ΚΑΤᾺ ΜΈΡΟΥς): si ex partibus fit aestimatio, considered as individuals. So Billroth, Rückert, Ewald, Maier. But what would be the object of this superfluous definition? That μέλη refers to individuals, is surely self-evident. Chrysostom held that the Corinthian church was thereby designated as part of the church universal. So also Theodoret, Theophylact, Beza, Wolf, Bengel, and others. But a glance at other churches was entirely alien from the apostles purpose here.

[2006] Baur, too, founds upon the absence of the article, and takes it to mean, a body which has the objective ground of its existence in Christ, so that the genitive would be objecti. But in every place where the body of Christ is spoken of the genitive is subjecti; Paul would in that case have written σῶμα ἐν Χριστῷ (comp. Rom_12:4).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 12:27 . The figure of the body , developed from 1Co 12:14-26 with deliberation and completeness, is now applied in detail to the Church, where the same solidarity of manifold parts and powers obtains (1Co 12:4 ff.): “Now you are ( ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε ) a body of (in relation to) Christ, and members severally” scarcely “ the body of Christ” specifically (El [1935] ), as if P. might have written τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ (as in Eph 4:12 , etc.); this has not yet become the recognised title of the Church (see note on 1Co 12:12 above); nor is the anarthrous σῶμα to be read distributively, as though the Cor [1936] Church were thought of as one amongst many σῶματα . P. is interpreting his parable: the Cor [1937] are, in their relation to Christ, what the body is to the man. Χριστοῦ is anarthrous by correlation ( cf. note on Θεοῦ σοφίαν , 1Co 2:7 ). ἐκ μέρους signifies the partial by contrast, not as in 1Co 13:9 with the perfect , but with the whole (body) particulatim (Bz [1938] ): ἐκ of the point of view “ from (and so according to) the part (allotted to each)”; see 1Co 12:11 ; cf. also μερίζομαι in 1Co 7:17 , etc.; similarly, ἐκ μέτρου in Joh 3:34 , ἐξ ἰσότητος in 2Co 8:13 .

[1935] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians .

[1936] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[1937] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[1938] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_12:27

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

That is, collectively ye are the body of Christ; individually or severally, ye are members. This is the application of the preceding analogy to the case of the Corinthians. What had been said of the body, of its unity; of the diversity of its members; of their mutual dependence; of the greater importance of the weaker than of the stronger members; of the community of feeling and interest that pervades the whole; is all true in its application to the church. The body of Christ is really one, pervaded by one and the same spirit; it consists of many members of different gifts and functions, each according to the will of the Spirit; these members are mutually dependent; the humble and obscure are more necessary to the being and welfare of the church than those distinguished by attractive gifts; and the law of sympathy pervades the whole, so that if one Christian suffers all his fellow Christians suffer with him, and if one believer is honored, all believers rejoice with him. It is to be observed that Paul is not speaking of what ought to be, but of what is. He does not say that it is the duty of one member of the human body to care for another member, but that it does thus care. Such is the law of our nature. The want of this sympathy in any part with all the rest, would prove that it was a there excrescence which did not partake of the common life. The same is true with regard to the body of Christ. It is not merely the duty of one Christian to have sympathy with another, to suffer when he suffers, and to rejoice when he is honored; but such is the nature of their relation that it must be so. The want of this sympathy with our fellow Christians, no matter by what name they may be called, is proof that we do not belong to the body of Christ. In this, as in all other respects, Christians are imperfect. The time has not yet come when every believer shall have the same care for another that he has for himself, and rejoice in his joy and grieve in his sorrow as though they were his own. The ideal is here set before us, and blessed are those who approach nearest to the standard.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For all churches wheresoever they are dispersed through the whole world, are divers members of one body.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

members in particular--that is, severally members of it. Each church is in miniature what the whole aggregate of churches is collectively, "the body of Christ" (compare Co1 3:16): and its individual components are members, every one in his assigned place.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 27. Now ye are the body of Christ] The apostle, having finished his apologue, comes to his application.

As the members in the human body, so the different members of the mystical body of Christ. All are intended by him to have the same relation to each other; to be mutually subservient to each other; to mourn for and rejoice with each other. He has also made each necessary to the beauty, proportion, strength, and perfection of the whole. Not one is useless; not one unnecessary. Paul, Apollos, Kephas, &c., with all their variety of gifts and graces, are for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Eph 4:12. Hence no teacher should be exalted above or opposed to an other. As the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee, so luminous Apollos cannot say to laborious Paul, I can build up and preserve the Church without thee. The foot planted on the ground to support the whole fabric, and the hands that swing at liberty, and the eye that is continually taking in near and distant prospects, are all equally serviceable to the whole, and mutually helpful to and dependent on each other. So also are the different ministers and members of the Church of Christ.

From a general acquaintance with various ministers of Christ, and a knowledge of their different talents and endowments manifested either by their preaching or writings, and with the aid of a little fancy, we could here make out a sort of correspondency between their services and the uses of the different members of the human body. We could call one eye, because of his acute observation of men and things, and penetration into cases of conscience and Divine mysteries. Another hand, from his laborious exertions in the Church. Another foot, from his industrious travels to spread abroad the knowledge of Christ crucified: and so of others. But this does not appear to be any part of the apostle's plan.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. But ye are the body of Christ Hence what has been said respecting the nature and condition of the human body must be applied to us; for we are not a mere civil society, but, being ingrafted into Christ’s body, are truly members one of another. Whatever, therefore, any one of us has, let him know that it has been given him for the edification of his brethren in common; and let him, accordingly, bring it forward, and not keep it back — buried, as it were, within himself, or make use of it as his own. Let not the man, who is endowed with superior gifts, be puffed up with pride, and despise others; but let him consider that there is nothing so diminutive as to be of no use — as, in truth, even the least among the pious brings forth fruit, according to his slender capacity, so that there is no useless member in the Church. Let not those who are not endowed with so much honor, envy those above them, or refuse to do their duty to them, but let them maintain the station in which they have been placed. Let there be mutual affection, mutual fellow-feeling, (συμπάθεια,) mutual concern. Let us have a regard to the common advantage, in order that we may not destroy the Church by malignity, or envy, or pride, or any disagreement; but may, on the contrary, every one of us, strive to the utmost of his power to preserve it. Here is a large subject, and a magnificent one; but I content myself with having pointed out the way in which the above similitude must be applied to the Church.

Members severally. Chrysostom is of opinion, that this clause is added, because the Corinthians were not the universal Church; but this appears to me rather forced. I have sometimes thought that it was expressive of impropriety, as the Latins say Quodammodo, (in a manner.) When, however, I view the whole matter more narrowly, I am rather disposed to refer it to that division of members of which he had made mention. They are then members severally, according as each one has had his portion and definite work assigned him. The context itself leads us to this meaning. In this way severally, and as a whole, will be opposite terms.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(27) Now.—We have here in general terms the application of the foregoing illustration, the detailed application of which follows in 1Co_12:28. The Apostles were those selected by our Lord Himself, or afterwards elected by them to join that body. (On prophets and teachers, see 1Co_12:10.) The teachers were probably a junior order of instructors. (See Act_13:1; Eph_4:11.) The enumeration of the gifts here corresponds with that previously given in 1Co_12:9-10, with the exception of the mention here of “helps” and “governments,” and the omission of “interpretation of tongues” and “discernment of spirit.” Possibly, therefore, the words inserted here are only another designation of the same thing. The “helps” being the aid required for those who heard tongues in order to the understanding them, and the “governments” being the due regulation of the acceptance of certain spiritual powers and rejection of others.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular] We here return to the proposition of 1Co_12:12-13, rendered more definite and intelligible by what has since been said. The Apostle now says (1) that collectively, Christians are the body of Christ, individually they are His members; (2) that of these members each has its several office (1Co_12:28); and (3) that none of these offices is common to the whole Christian body, but each belongs only to those to whom it has been assigned (1Co_12:29-30).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now ye are the body of Christ,.... Not his natural body, which his Father prepared for him, in which he bore our sins on the tree, and which was offered up once for all; nor his sacramental body, or the bread in the supper, which is a representation of his body; but his body mystical, the church; not that the Corinthians were the whole of the body, only a part of it, as every single congregational church is of the church universal. This is an accommodation of the simile the apostle had to so much advantage enlarged upon:

and members in particular; or in part: meaning either that they as single members were part of the general body: or that only a part of them were so, there being some among them, as in all particular and visible churches, who had not the true grace of God; and so are neither members of Christ, nor of the general assembly and church of the firstborn: or the sense is, that they were not only members of Christ, and of his body, but were particularly members one of another, in strict union and close communion, and of mutual use and service to each other.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Ver. 27. Now ye are, &c.] St Cyprian’s sympathy is remarkable, Cum singulis pectus meum copulo, moeroris et funeris pondera luctuosa participo; Cum plangentibus plango, cum deflentibus defleo. Hereby he showed himself a living member.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now ye - Ye Christians of Corinth, as a part of the whole church that has been redeemed.

Are the body of Christ - The allusion to the human body is here kept up. As all the members of the human body compose one body, having a common head, so it is with all the members and parts of the Christian church. The specific idea is, that Christ is the Head of the whole church; that he presides over all; and that all its members sustain to each other the relation of fellow-members in the same body, and are subject to the same head; compare the note at 1Co 11:3. The church is often called the body of Christ; Eph 1:23; Col 1:18, Col 1:24.

And members in particular - You are, as individuals, members of the body of Christ; or each individual is a member of that body.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Members of members.[2] The sense seems to be, you are members of the particular Church of Corinth, which is only a part or member of the whole boy of the Christian Catholic Church. This is agreeable to the common reading in the Greek, where it s said, you are members of a part. See St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxxii. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Et membra de membro. Some Greek copies, Greek: kai mele ek melous, but in most Greek manuscripts, Greek: kai mele ke merous. St. John Chrysostom, Greek: om. kb. p. 448. Greek: e ekklesia e par emin, meros esti tes pantachou keimenes ekklesias.

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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Considering you in the whole as a church, so ye are the body of Christ: considering you particularly as individual believers, so ye are

members of Christ. Some think εκ μερους signifies in part, intending that true believers amongst them were members of Christ, but not others. The apostle, in these words, beginneth to apply to them what he had before discoursed concerning the body natural, and the parts thereof; you are the mystical body of Christ, which hath a great analogy with that natural body which you carry about with you.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. Each Church is a sort of microcosm of the whole Church. St. Paul does not mean that the Corinthian Church is a member in the body of all the Churches, but that each Corinthian Christian is a member of the Church.

Body and members.

At Corinth there was much of the spirit of self assertion: "I," said one, "am for Paul!" "I," said another, "for Apollos!" "I," said a third, "for Cephas!" This was a selfish partisanship; and with it was conjoined a disposition on the part of many to magnify their own gifts and powers and to depreciate those of their neighbours and fellow members. To all this the apostle furnishes the true corrective. Let Christians but regard themselves in the true light, as Christ"s body collectively, and as individually living members of that body, and then inconsiderateness, selfishness, envy, and jealousy will flee away.

I COLLECTIVELY, CHRISTIANS FORM THE BODY OF CHRIST. Not, of course, the body of flesh and blood which he assumed and wore; not the bread and wine of the Eucharist, which he called his body and blood; but the human representation of his presence which he has left on earth.

1. This assertion cannot be made of any one outward, visible, organic society. All these, because composed of human beings and consequently of imperfect and faulty characters, and because doubtless including within their boundaries unspiritual persons and hypocrites, are themselves far from reaching the Divine ideal. If one "visible" Church cannot claim to be the body of Christ, neither, for the same reason, can any association of such communities. They may be admirable, and their existence may be most important for the conservation of the gospel and the evangelization of the world, but they are not to be confounded with the body of Christ.

2. But it is true of the Church as it exists in the view of the omniscient Lord. The spiritual Church, sometimes called invisible, because its boundaries cannot be traced by human eyes, is penetrated by Christ"s Spirit, is a living witness to his mind and doctrine, and is ever offering a service of obedience to his will. In these respects it is the Body, of which Christ himself is the living, inspiring, directing Soul.

II INDIVIDUALLY, CHRISTIANS ARE MEMBERS OF CHRIST.

1. This comes to pass through individual spiritual union with him. Though each Christian is indebted beyond measure to the teaching, influence, and spirit of the consecrated society in which he has been trained, still a spiritual process must, through the reception of the means of grace, take place in his conscious nature.

2. Each Christian has his several functions to discharge in the Church and for the Lord. There are diversities of gifts and consequent diversities of ministries; and this diversity is itself a witness to the individual, the personal nature of the membership of every one in him who is the Source of all true blessing and power.

3. All cooperate for the same end. That this is so is evident; and how can it be so, except as a result of such common subjection to the one Head as secures the mutual harmony and coordination of all the members? Each is selected for his own part and qualified for his own position. T.

The Church Christ"s body.

(Comp. vers. 12, 13.) Recall our Lord"s own figure of the vine. The branches are the body through which the vine life finds its expression. Compare the human body which our Lord took upon him in his incarnation, which was the means of showing the Son of God to men, and setting him in relation with men, with the Church body which our Lord took when he ascended from this world, and became a living and spiritual Christ, which is the means of showing Christ to men now, and maintaining his relations with them. Illustrate the two following points by the comparison of the human body with the Church body of Christ:

I EVERY PART OF CHRIST"S BODY SHOULD MAKE ITS OWN IMPRESSION. Dealing with the human Christ, we show how every part, every feature and phase of his earthly manifestation, had its own power and influence. We are obliged to separate part from part for consideration. Sometimes we dwell on his moral character, or on his habits, or on his speech, or on his actions, or on his endurances. Taking his life piece by piece, we find meaning, mission, use, everywhere. And so with the Church, as Christ"s body or earthly manifestation now each part, each person, has characteristic place and influence. Each must make its or his own impression. From this impress the demand which Christ makes for loyal service from each part of his Church body; every member must be a faithful member.

II THE CHURCH BODY, AS A WHOLE, MUST MAKE ITS IMPRESSION. Besides any precise impression produced by dwelling on any phase of the human life of Christ, there is a special impression which the whole figure of Christ makes upon us. Illustrate by the feeling of Christian people on seeing Dore"s full-sized picture of "Christ leaving the praetorium." So the Church can get its proper impression on men only as it becomes a full unity, the one catholic and apostolic Church. For the securing of the Church wholeness, and its presentation to the world as Christ"s complete body on earth, all earnest hearts will ever strive and pray. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now ye - Corinthians. Are the body and members of Christ - part of them, I mean, not the whole body.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The spiritual meaning of the comparison:

v. 27. Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.

v. 28. And God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

v. 29. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?

v. 30. Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

v. 31. But covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.

Beginning with v. 12, Paul had given a detailed account of the interrelation of the members and organs in the human mechanism, indicating, however, even in v. 13, that he wanted the application made in the case of the Church. And here he states that the entire passage is to be applied to the Christian congregation: You are the body of Christ, and members severally; toward Christ you have the relation of a body, toward one another you have the relation of members. Therefore the lessons of the discontent of the less noble members, of the pride of the more seemly members, and of the mutual care and solicitude of the members in general should be heeded in the Church. And Paul openly states that there is indeed a diversity of talents, of ministries, of effects in the Church. It was God that made this distinction; He it was that chose and set up certain officers in the Church, they held office by His will, Act 20:28. There were, first, apostles, the teachers of the entire Church till the end of time, originally by the spoken word, afterward by their doctrine transmitted in the form of writing. There were, secondly, prophets, men that had the gift of prophecy, vv. 8-10. There were, thirdly, teachers, men that were able to teach the transmitted doctrine, to apply it to the individual cases. These three represented the teaching orders. And in the congregation in general, and without distinction due to office, there were found miraculous powers, gifts of healings, vv. 9-10; helpings, the work which was performed principally by the deacons; governings, the work which was done by executive officers in the organization of the congregation; and finally, species of tongues, v. 10. Note: The apostle is here evidently referring to the visible church organization, to which He has entrusted the administration of the means of grace. If a person calling himself a Christian shows the spirit of independentism, maintaining that he can ignore the work of the ministry, he is not in conformity with this passage of Scriptures.

God has given the offices and distributed the gifts, but He Himself has made the distinction, choosing the vehicles of His grace as He thought best. Discontent with the position assigned to anyone in the Church is rebellion against His government: Are all apostles? all prophets? all teachers? all powers? Have all gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? In the Church of Christ all Christians cannot be everything, they cannot hold all offices, they cannot all have the same gifts; the Lord has distributed the gifts, and to Him they all are responsible, whether the talent entrusted to them be large or small in its appearance before men. Let apostle, prophet, teacher, healer, interpreter, deacon, each do his work in his appointed place without jealousy, and without being discontented with his lot. All these positions are necessary and are mutually interdependent; they all are to serve for the glory of the Lord and for the welfare of His people. Self-aggrandizement and jealousy are the death of true church-work.

Instead of fostering pride and conceit, the Christians of all times should rather expend their efforts in another way: But be zealous for the best gifts, strive after those gifts of the Spirit which are of the greatest benefit to the work of the Lord in the Church. If the Christians are really anxious to be of service in the work of the Lord, with altogether unselfish labor, then the Lord will reward this prayerful zeal; such people will be given the opportunity of placing their talents at the disposal of the King of Grace. And to this end Paul does not only want to exhort his readers, but he also wants to show them an excellent way, a way without equal, by which they may attain to the fulfillment of their wish and be placed in a position where they may serve the Church in all its members, to the glory of God.

Summary.The apostle discusses the diversity of the Spirit’s gifts as contributing to the life of the Church, all being necessary and all honorable in their proper use, as he shows by a detailed Comparison of the members of the human organism and their functions, but none to be sought in a spirit of emulation.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Our apostle having thus finished his elegant and excellent comparison between the members of the natural, and those of the mystical body; he comes now to make a particular and close application of it to the believing Corinthians, whom he acknowledges to be a part of the mystical body of Christ; and that it is their duty to carry themselves towards their fellow-members as the members of the body natural do towards each other, who are evermore solicitous for the good of one another.

Now, says he, Ye are the members of Christ; as if he had said, Thus must it be with you who are the several members of Christ’s church, which is his body.

From the whole of this comparison, with the apostle’s application of it, we learn,

1. That as there can be no natural body without divers members, so no mystical body without diversity of gifts and offices.

2. That as the more inferior members of the natural body are as truly members of the natural body are as truly members as the most noble; and as necessary and servicable to the body as the other; so are inferior Christians as much the members of Christ’s body, and in their place as useful and necessary, as other members of Christ’s body, and in their place as useful and necessary, as other members of the church which are more excellent in spiritual gifts.

Learn, 3. That as all the members of the natural body are placed and disposed according to the wisdom and pleasure of Almighty God; in like manner the members of Christ’s mystical body are, by the unerring wisdom of God, placed in the station and condition in the church in which he has set them, and accordingly they ought to be satisfied with it, and endeavour to be useful in it.

Learn, 4. That as there is no division in the members of the natural body, but all the members of the natural body, but all the members take care of, and are employed for, the good of the whole; so ought matters to be managed in the body mystical, that there be no divisions nor separate interests in it, but they should mutually regard the common interests of one another, sympathizing, sorrowing, and rejoicing together.

O happy day! when the interests of all parties, and private concernments, shall give place to public interests.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof . [The hands and face have no need of adornment, but the rest of the body, being less comely, is made beautiful with clothing, so that a state of equilibrium is established, and the whole body is acceptable to the indwelling Spirit as its home. If any part of the body lacks in beauty, the attention of the whole body is drawn to it, and employed to better its condition. Moreover, the parts suffer or rejoice as a whole. Now, God intends that the church shall look upon itself as such an organic whole, and shall feel this lively concern for each of those who lack, feeling that the lack of one is the lack of all. "When a thorn," says Chrysostom, "enters the heel, the whole body feels and is concerned: the back bends, the fore part of the body contracts itself, the hands come forward and draw out the thorn, the head stoops, the eyes regard the affected member with intense gaze, When the head is crowned, the whole man feels honored, the mouth expresses and the eyes look gladness."]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27–31. Now, ye are the body of Christ, etc. All were “baptized into one body” (verse 13), and hence are severally members or parts of the one body, with offices to discharge like those of the members of the human body.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

27. ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ. We here return to the proposition of 1Co 12:12-13, rendered more definite and intelligible by what has since been said. The Apostle now says (1) that collectively, Christians are the body of Christ, individually they are His members; (2) that of these members each has its several office (1Co 12:28); and (3) that none of these offices is common to the whole Christian body, but each belongs only to those to whom it has been assigned (1Co 12:29-30). ‘Est universa ecclesia nihil aliud nisi organum et instrumentum Dei Spiritus, uti corpus animae suae; quam ecclesiam cogit in unum, vivificat et perficit Spiritus, ut in ea suas vires exerceat.’ Colet.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27.] Application of all that has been said of the physical body, to the Corinthians as the mystical body of Christ: and to individuals among them, as members in particular, i.e. each according to his allotted part in the body. Each church is said to be the body of Christ, as each is said to be the temple of God (see ch. 3:16, note): not that there are many bodies or many temples; but that each church is an image of the whole aggregate,—a microcosm, having the same characteristics. Chrys. would understand ἐκ μέρους—ὅτι ἡ ἐκκλησία ἡ παρʼ ὑμῖν μέρος ἐστὶ τῆς πανταχοῦ κειμένης ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ διὰ πασῶν συνισταμένον τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν (Hom. xxxii. p. 285): but this, though true, does not appear to have been here before the Apostle,—only the whole Corinthian church as the body of Christ, and its individual components as members, each in his appointed place.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. ὑμεῖς δί ἐστε σῶμα χριστοῦ. ‘Now ye are Body of Christ’: no article. ‘Body of Christ’ is the quality of the whole which each of them individually helps to constitute. Comp. ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστι (1Jn 1:5), ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν (1Jn 4:8), πνεῦμα ὁ Θεὸς (Joh 4:24), Θεός ἦν ὁ λόγος (Joh 1:1); 1Co 3:9, 1Co 3:16. It does not mean, “Ye are the Body of Christ,’ although that translation is admissible, and indicates the truth that each Christian community is the Universal Church in miniature; nor, ‘Ye are Christ’s Body,’ which makes ‘Christ’s’ emphatic, whereas the emphasis is on σῶμα as the antithesis of μέλη. Least of all does it mean, ‘Ye are a Body of Christ,’ as if St Paul were insisting that the Corinthians were only a Church and not the Church, a meaning which is quite remote from the passage. Nowwhere in the Pauline Epistles is there the idea that the one Ecclesia is made of many Ecclesiae. “The members which make up the One Ecclesia are not communities but individual men. The One Ecclesia includes all members of partial Ecclesiae; but its relations to them all are direct, not mediate. … There is no indication that St Paul regarded the conditions of membership in the universal ecclesia as differing from the conditions of membership in the partial local Ecclesiae” (Hort, The Chr. Eccl. pp. 168-9). He means here that the nature of the whole of which the Corinthians are parts is that it is Body of Christ, not any other kind of whole. Consequently, whatever gift each one of them receives is not to be hidden away, or selfishly enjoyed, or exhibited for show, but to be used for the good of the whole community. The δέ marks a return to what was laid down in v. 12.

μέλη ἐκ μέρους. membra de membro (Vulg.); membra ex parte (Calv.); membra particulatim (Beza). The meaning is uncertain, but probably, ‘members each in his assigned part,’ ‘apportioned members of it.’ Chrysostom and Bengel explain that the Corinthians were not the whole Church, but ‘members of a part’ of the Universalis Ecclesia. This seems to Calvin to be sensus coactior, and he prefers the other interpretation. Still less satisfactory is the explanation ‘partial members of it,’ i.e. imperfect members, which does not suit the context at all. Cf. Eph 4:16.

The Vulgate, with d e f Arm., supports D* in reading μέλη ἐκ μέλους. Origen and Eusebius commonly have μέρους, but once each has μέλους: Theodoret the same. Chrysostom always μέρους.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In particular [εκ μερους] . Rev., better, severally. Each according to his own place and function. See on part, Rom 11:25.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 27. “Now ye are a body of Christ, and members in particular.”

This verse gives the reason why the parable of the human body may be applied to the readers. They are a body of Christ, not the body of Christ; the apostle takes care not to put the article exactly as in 1Co 3:16 : “Ye are a temple of God.”

The body of Christ is the whole Church; but for that very reason every particular Church shares in that dignity. Christ, dwelling in it, governs it by His Spirit, and gives it the organic forms fitted to manifest its action.

In virtue of this character belonging to the Church of Corinth, each Corinthian is to it what each member is to the body. The term μέλη, members, should not be applied to the particular Churches in their relation to the Church as a whole, as has been thought by several commentators ancient and modern. For this we should have to understand ὑμεῖς, ye, of Christians in general, which is not natural; and would not this idea be out of place in the context? The word μέλη, members, applies to all the individuals composing the Church of Corinth. The term expresses their plurality, and the restrictive word ἐκ μέρους, in particular, their qualitative diversity. Each has only a part in the life of the whole, that which accrues to him in virtue of his individual gifts; comp. the ἐκ μέρους, in part, 1Co 13:9-10; 1Co 13:12. No member, consequently, may call himself the whole, and claim to absorb for his own advantage the fulness of ecclesiastical activity, as Paul proceeds to point out in the following enumeration, 1Co 12:28-30. Each one, therefore, has need of his brethren. Side by side with his gift, there should be room for the exercise of the gifts of all the rest. The reading of D Vulg. ἐκ μέλους, members taken from the member, seems to allude to Christ’s being Himself, as the head, one of the members (1Co 12:21); but it is evident that in 1Co 12:21 the word head is taken in another sense.

In the three following verses we find two successive enumerations of those gifts and offices which form the counterpart of the organs and members of the body. The aim of the first, 1Co 12:28, is to affirm the dignity of all those gifts and offices as being willed and given by God Himself independently of the sort of hierarchy which He has thought good to establish among them. All have their part to play, and no one ought to be excluded, if the whole is to prosper. This idea corresponds to that of the passage 18-26, where Paul had shown that all the members of the body, even those apparently most inferior, are entitled and bound to discharge their function for the good of the whole. The second enumeration, 1Co 12:29-30, has a wholly different bearing. The idea which inspires it is this: The gifts and offices have been Divinely distributed; no member unites them all in himself. Every brother then, even should he possess the most exalted function, needs the gifts and offices of all his brethren; no one consequently should presume to hinder the exercise of those gifts which he does not himself possess. This second idea exactly corresponds to that of the passage 15-17, regarding the need which the most highly endowed members of the body have of the services of all the rest. 1Co 12:28-30 are therefore the application of the whole passage 1Co 12:14-26, where the apostle develops the necessity of the diversity of the members in the unity of the human body; only in the application the order of the two ideas developed in the parable is reversed: the necessity of the part and the honour to be given to the inferior gifts and offices, developed in the second place in the parable (1Co 12:18-26), takes the first in application (1Co 12:28); and the need which all, even the most eminent gifts, have of all the rest, expounded in the first place in regard to the members of the body (1Co 12:14-17), takes the second place in the application (1Co 12:29-30).

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.