Romans 12:4

For - This word here denotes a further illustration or proof of what he had just before said. The duty to which he was exhorting the Romans was, not to be unduly exalted or elevated in their own estimation. In order to produce proper humility, he shows them that God has appointed certain orders or grades in the church; that all are useful in their proper place; that we should seek to discharge our duty in our appropriate sphere; and thus that due subordination and order would be observed. To show this, he introduces a beautiful comparison drawn from the human body. There are various members in the human frame; all useful and honorable in their proper place; and all designed to promote the order, and beauty, and harmony of the whole. So the church is one body, consisting of many members, and each is suited to be useful and comely in its proper place. The same comparison he uses with great beauty and force in 1Co. 12:4-31; also Eph 4:25; Eph 5:30. In that chapter the comparison is carried out to much greater length, and its influence shown with great force.

Many members - Limbs, or parts; feet, hands, eyes, ears, etc.; 1Co 12:14-15.

In one body - Constituting one body; or united in one, and making one person. Essential to the existence, beauty, and happiness of the one body or person.

The same office - The same use or design; not all appointed for the same thing; one is to see, another to hear, a third to walk with, etc.; 1Co 12:14-23.

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

Rom_12:4-5

For as we have many members in one body.

St. Pauls view of life

How comprehensively he surveys the whole range of human action and conduct! He starts from the consideration of men as constituting many members in one body, and he proceeds to direct them in their various offices. He passes in review the private and public duties to which they might be called--ministering, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, and obeying; he depicts the spirit of the Christian in business and in rest, in joy and in sorrow, in hope and in tribulation, towards friends and towards enemies, in peace and in wrath; and he lays down the Christian principles of civil government and obedience. It is a picture of life in its length and breadth, and even in all its lights and shadows, transfigured as the landscape by the sun, under the renovating influence of those spiritual rays of love which illuminated and warmed the apostles soul. (H. Wace, D.D.)

Many members: one body

1. The early Church, like the latter, seems to have been deformed by many dissensions. Those who had the least conspicuous endowments envied those who had the more, in place of using such gifts as they had. In order to show the unreasonableness and the evil of this state of things, St. Paul often drew his illustrations from the human body, the parts of which had different offices; but no part of which could be dispensed with without injury to all the rest. So the Church was composed of many members, some of which were, comparatively, without honour, but none were without use; each had functions essential to the general well-being.

2. Observe what close links there are between the several classes in the community, and how the breaking of any one would dislocate the whole social system. The king himself is served by the field. The throne is connected with the soil; and the proud occupant of the one is dependent on the tiller of the other. When you look on a community like our own, with its nobles, merchants, teachers, men of science, artificers, you may perhaps think little of the peasantry. But were the peasantry to cease from their labours, there would be an immediate arrest on the pursuits of the community, and, from the throne downward, society would be panic-stricken. There, can, therefore, be no more pitiable spectacle than that of a haughty individual, who looks superciliously on those who occupy stations inferior to his own. And it would be a just method of rebuking his arrogance to require him to trace the production and progress of all that wealth or rank which ministers to his pride, till he finds it originate in the bone and muscle of these objects of his scorn.

3. That the poor shall never cease out of the land, is one of those wise and benevolent arrangements of Providence which so eminently distinguish the moral government of this world. One of the most fatal and common tendencies of our nature is to selfishness--the forgetting others, and the caring only for ourselves. And who can fail to see that the having amongst us objects which continually appeal to our compassion is wonderfully adapted for counteracting that tendency. It may be perfectly true that the indigent cannot do without the benevolent; but it is equally true that the benevolent cannot do without the indigent; and whenever you give ear to a tale of distress, and you contribute according to your ability to the relief of the suppliant, you are receiving as well as conferring a benefit. The afflicted being whom you succour, keeps, by his appeal, the charities of your nature from growing stagnant, and thus may be said to requite the obligation.

4. Observe how applicable is the principle of our text to the several classes of society. Of what avail would be the skill and courage of the general who had no troops to obey his command? what the ingenuity of the mechanic if there were no labourers to make use of his invention? what the wisdom of the legislator if there were no functionaries to carry his measures into force? In these and a thousand instances, the hand and the foot would be but of little use unless they were directed by the eye and the head; and the eye and the head would themselves be of little use if they were not connected with the hand and the foot. So true is it that we are every one members, one of another.

5. Turn to the Church, a community knit together by spiritual ties. And here the interests of the various classes are so interwoven that it can only be through wilful ignorance that any suppose themselves independent of the others. It may be true that ministers may be likened, in the importance of their office, to the more important parts of body, to the eye or the head; but in prosecuting their honourable and difficult employment, they are dependent on the very lowest of their people. Recur to what we said about the humanising power of the appointed admixture of the poor with the rich. If the actual presence of suffering be the great antagonist to selfishness, then the poor of his flock must be the clergymans best auxiliaries, seeing that they help to keep the rest from that moral hardness which would make them impervious to his most earnest remonstrances. You are to add to this that there is a worth in the prayers of the very meanest of Christians impossible to overrate. A rich man may feel attachment to his minister; and he has a thousand ways in which he may give vent to his feelings. But the poor man has little to offer but prayer, and therefore will he throw all the vehemence of his gratefulness into unwearied petitions for blessings on his benefactor.

6. On this great principle we uphold the dignity of the poor man, and the beneficial influence which he exerts in the world. Poverty will never degrade a man--nothing but vice can do that; poverty will never disable a man from usefulness, seeing that it cannot change his office in the body, and there is no office but what is material to the general health and strength. Why, then, are not our honest and hardworking poor to lift up their heads in the midst of society, in all the consciousness of having an important part to perform, and in all the satisfaction of feeling that they perform it faithfully and effectually?

7. We are every one members, one of another; and forasmuch as no man ever hated his own flesh, let it be seen that we are all animated with the spirit of charity. It is with reference to this principle that we are to be tried at the last. If we are all members of one body, Christ is the Head of that body; and, consequently, He accounts as done to Himself what is done to the meanest of His members. (H. Melvill, B.D.)

The Church compared to the body

I. In its unity.

II. In the plurality of its members.

III. In the diversity of their functions.

IV. In their mutual relation and dependence.

V. In the possession of one spirit. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Christian unity and diversity

I. Diversity underlying unity.

1. We have many members in the one natural body; and just so we, being diverse Christian members of His redeemed flock, are one mystical body in Christ.

2. In the natural body every part is not so much a distinct unit in itself as a fraction of one great whole; and so in the Church (Joh_17:20-21), not the individuality of the member, but the oneness of the whole community, is to demonstrate the truth of Christs mission.

3. This unity can only be realised by having a governing Head. Only as we abide in real heart and life fellowship with Christ do we form a body that is at unity in itself. If not bound together in the unity of the Spirit, the body must decay and dissolve into a mass of lifeless, separate members.

II. Diversity consistent with unity.

1. That diversity is consistent with unity is shown by the analogy of our frame.

2. Diversity of vocation and function is consistent in Christians (1Co_12:1-31.). The Divine will is that each member should have a special function, but that all should work together for mutual help.

3. Diversity in unity is the foundation of all true beauty and usefulness (see laws of nature, waves of the sea, winds, clouds, human nature, etc.).

Learn in conclusion--

1. We all belong to one another. None may say, I have nothing to do with thee, nor plead, Am I my brothers keeper? Therefore every Christian should try--

(1) To help his neighbour, to heal differences, and to strengthen the life and work of all Christs people.

(2) To refrain from speaking or doing anything that may hurt or vex any member of the body, since the Head is thereby pained (Act_9:4) and the whole body shocked (1Co_12:26).

2. We are all necessary to each other--the rich to the poor and the poor to the rich; the sick to the hale as well as the hale to the sick. All can derive help from others, and all can give somewhat to others. All depend on each other in the wondrous compacting together by that which every joint supplieth. (Homilist.)

Every one has his place

A row of richly-gilded pipes, stately and massive, reaching to the ceiling, stares majestically down upon us as we gather in our place of worship. They seem to say all the melody and music of the instrument is gathered within us, and we are the musical genii of the place, and when the keys are swept by a skilled artist how rich and grand are the tones evolved! They seem to be fairly alive, and our souls are stirred to the depths by the harmony. Desiring to know their relations to the hidden modest reeds, that we could faintly discern in the darkened chamber behind, we asked our organist what relation did they bear to their unseen companions, and what was their relative power compared with the small pipes. His reply was: All front pipes speak with force and power, but they would be utterly valueless, so far as music was concerned, unless backed up and supported by the delicate reeds that are hidden within. How blessed the lesson taught the modest Christian workers in every Church! They look upon the few who occupy a prominent position as leaders, and in their timidity hide themselves, not allowing their own power to be felt, forgetful of the fact that all disciples are workers together with the Lord. In these days, when a few leading spirits are marvellously blessed by God, we must remember that their power is vastly increased by the sympathy and prayers of those whose names are only known to God. As the organ is incomplete if a single pipe is missing, and as it is thrown out of tune by a single reed not acting in harmony, so the Church is hindered from receiving a blessing, and its action impeded, if a single disciple is negligent of his or her duty. So let us in our quiet field toil on, pray on, knowing that he who is faithful unto death will receive the crown.

Individuality

The practical aim of each man should be to perfect his own variety, not ape anothers. A Luther could not be a Melanchthon. By no process could an Owen be made into a Milton. Individuality is indestructible. I am afraid that teachers and learners are often at fault in overlooking what is so very plain. You sometimes have ideal characters described and put before you for imitation, which never were and never will be realised, because they combine incompatibilities. Qualities are taken from men constitutionally different from each other, and you are told to be all that is represented in some unnatural amalgam. But God requires of you no such impossibility. Be yourself--that is the Divine will. Mature and perfect by His grace the gifts He has bestowed. Resist all easily besetting sins, and cultivate all possible good. Not excusing yourself for only doing what pleases you; for omitting acts of self-denial; for being one-sided, self-indulgent, and peculiar; strive to be as comprehensive in excellence as you can, without attempting to obliterate the stamp of your own individuality. Bunyan was a wise man, and therefore did not crush all imaginable good qualities into his Christian, but distributed them amongst a number of individuals; painting the picture of different pilgrims, and assigning to them varied offices of wisdom and love. (J. Stoughton, D.D.)

Mutual relations in life

Consider--

I. The relation which we bear to one another.

1. Our bond of union.

2. Our mutual dependence.

3. Our individual interest.

II. The duties arising out of this relation. Mutual--

1. Love.

2. Sympathy.

3. Help.

III. The manner in which these duties should be performed. With--

1. Care and diligence.

2. Patience and perseverance.

3. Love and cheerfulness. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Spiritual order

There arose a fierce contention in the human body; every member sought another place than the one it found itself in, and was fitted for. After much controversy it was agreed to refer the whole matter to one whose name was Solomon Wise-in-his-own-conceit. He was to arrange and adjust the whole business, and to place every bone in its proper position. He received the appointment gladly, and was filled with joy and confidence. He commenced with finding a place for himself. His proper post was the heel, but where do you think he found it? He must needs be the golden bowl in which the brains are deposited. The natural consequences followed. The coarse heel bone was not of the right quality nor of the suitable dimensions to contain the brains, nor could the vessel intended for that purpose form a useful or comely part of the foot. Disorder ensued in foot, head, face, legs, and arms. By the time Solomon Wise-in-his-own-conceit had reconstructed the body, it could neither walk, nor speak, nor hear, nor smell, nor see. The body was, moreover, filled with intolerable agony, and could find no rest, every bone crying for restoration to its own place--that is to say, every one but the heel bone; that was mightily pleased to be in the head, and to have custody of the brains. (Christmas Evans.)

Church fellowship: its privileges and duties

I. The oneness of the Church.

1. There is one source of activity and life in every human body, and so there is in the Church. There are various spheres in which we live and act. Those who possess natural and intellectual life can enjoy the beauties of nature, the endearments of friendship, the activities of business, the quiet of home, but all the while they may have no sympathy with that which is heavenly; but those who are possessed of spiritual life rise to a higher existence in which love prompts to unwearied activity in the service of God; and the source of this life is Christ. But our Lord came not only that we might have life, but that we might have it more abundantly; and, aware of the influence of association and sympathy, He gathers together His followers into a society in which they may help one another. But, just as with the individual, so with the Church. It is not the most scriptural doctrine, or the most apostolic discipline, or the most impassioned preaching, or the most crowded assemblies that can ensure the greatest prosperity, but the presence of Christ.

2. In this one body there must be harmony of character, or it would resemble the image of Nebuchadnezzar. There will be differences of gifts because there are differences of functions, but there must also be fitness for association, and to form a secure union all the members must be renewed by the Holy Spirit, be joined to Christ by a living faith, and exhibit the beauties of a consistent character.

3. In this oneness of the Church there is identity of interest. If one member of the body suffer, all the members suffer with it; and if one member is in health, all the members rejoice with it. Suppose a kingdom begins generally to decline, and there should be one profession which, for a time, continues prosperous, this cannot last long. And so in the Church. If discord springs up between those who ought to be bound together in the purest love, if error thrusts aside the doctrine of the Cross, if apathy spread over the people, if prayers are frozen and heartless, there may be members who will retain their spirituality for a time, but by and by they will yield to the general influence. But if peace binds Christians together--if the truth is maintained in its integrity, etc.

then each member will enjoy the benefit of the prosperity of the whole, and will find how blessed it is for them all to have one interest. And yet how frequently Church members seem to take but little interest in one another! They will see the declension of a brother and never warn him, the suffering of a brother and never sympathise with him, the want of employment of the gifts of a brother and never suggest to him that he should employ his gifts. And where there is this want of reciprocal benefit a Church rapidly declines.

4. The Church ought to have one aim. The body is created to show forth the glory of God. You see His glory in the works of nature around, in His word of truth, but chiefly in the grand work of redemption. But then, if a multitude of mankind never study this work of redemption, they cannot see its glory; and, for the most part, people will say, We judge of the value of that system of redemption by its fruits; and therefore ought we both by life and lip to recommend the gospel.

II. Each individual member has his appropriate duties to perform. It is by division of labour that so much can be done. One seems more fitted to advise, another to execute; one to warn and terrify, and another to cheer and comfort; and so all are called upon to employ their powers for some useful purpose.

1. All members must feel that they have joined the Church not only to receive good, but to do good.

2. Each member should strive to concentrate his efforts on the particular Church to which he belongs. Wherever there is diffusion there is a waste of power. Concentration is strength, and when God points out in His providence the particular Church to which we are to belong, He thereby points out the particular field in which we are to work.

3. The member who is doing nothing is worse than useless. When a limb is paralysed it only impedes the body. And let every person in Church fellowship remember that he cannot be simply neutral. If he is not doing good he is doing harm. His coldness benumbs, his example discourages others.

4. Every real member is essential to the completeness of the body. Every member of the human frame, however apparently insignificant, is essential. We are sometimes very poor judges of who is the best member. We are thankful for men of rank, wealth, influence, and talents, but we thank God also for the humblest spiritual Christian, whom, perhaps, God may see to be doing a greater work than those who seem great in the eye of the world.

5. All the members bear a close spiritual relationship to each other. Surely, then, there ought to be great sympathy and affection between them, because, when we have a common object and character, we generally feel sympathy and love.

6. If we are members one of another, there ought to be the absence of pride and of all assumption. God has ordained the different ranks in society, and He does not wish those ranks to be obliterated. The believing servant is not to show want of respect to the believing master, and the believing master is not to oppress the believing servant. But as members of the same Church all worldly distinctions disappear. We are all one in Christ.

7. As members one of another we ought always to aim at one anothers benefit. Bear ye one anothers burdens, etc. (J. C. Harrison.)

Communion of saints

What the circulation of the blood is to the human body, that the Holy Spirit is to the body of Christ which is the Church. Now, by virtue of the one life-blood, every limb of the body holds fellowship with every other, and as long as life lasts that fellowship is inevitable. If the hand be unwashed the eye cannot refuse communion with it on that account; if the finger be diseased the hand cannot, by binding a cord around it, prevent the life-current from flowing. Nothing but death can break up the fellowship; you must tear away the member, or it must of necessity commune with the rest of the body. It is even thus in the body of Christ; no laws can prevent one living member of Christ from fellowship with every other; the pulse of living fellowship sends a wave through the whole mystical frame; where there is but one life, fellowship is an inevitable consequence. Yet some talk of restricted communion, and imagine that they can practise it. If they be alive unto God they may in mistaken conscientiousness deny their fellow Christians the outward sign of communion, but communion itself falls not under any rule or regulation of theirs. Tie a red tape round your thumb, and let it decree that the whole body is out of fellowship with it; the thumbs decree is either ridiculously inoperative, or else it proves injurious to itself. God has made us one, one Spirit quickens us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus; to deny fellowship with any believer in Jesus is to refuse what you must of necessity give, and to deny in symbol what you must inevitably render in reality. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

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

Rom 12:4-8. For as we have many members — The apostle proceeds to illustrate his advice by a comparison taken from the members of the human body. All members have not the same office — But different members are appointed to different purposes. So we — Several believers, having different gifts and offices; are one body — All make up one body under Christ the head; and members one of another — Closely connected together, and nearly related to one another, and so bound to be helpful to one another. Having then gifts differing — In their nature, design, and use, although the ultimate tendency of all is the same; according to the grace that is given to us — Gifts are various, but grace is one; and grace, free grace, is the spring and origin of all the gifts which are given to men. It is grace that appoints the offices, calls and qualifies persons to fill them, and works in them both to will and to do. But by grace here the apostle seems chiefly to intend the favour which God manifested, in different respects and degrees, in bestowing gifts upon men. In the primitive church there were divers extraordinary gifts, as that of tongues, that of discerning of spirits, that of healing, with some others mentioned 1Co 12:4-10. But the apostle speaks here chiefly, if not only, of those that are ordinary. Whether prophecy — This, considered as an extraordinary gift, is that whereby things to come are foretold, or heavenly mysteries are declared to men. But it seems here to signify the ordinary gift of interpreting the Scriptures, and preaching the word of God, which is also the meaning of the expression, 1Co 14:1; 1Co 14:3. Let us prophesy according to the proportion, or analogy rather, of faith. Or, as Peter expresses it, 1Pe 4:11, as the oracles of God; according to the general tenor of them; according to that grand scheme of doctrine which is delivered therein, touching the original and fallen state of man, the person and offices, the deity and atonement of Christ, justification by faith, sanctification by the Holy Spirit, inward and outward holiness, the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, a general judgment, and an eternal state of happiness or misery. There is a wonderful analogy between all these doctrines, and a close and intimate connection between the chief heads of that faith which was once delivered to the saints. Every article, therefore, concerning which there is any question, should be determined by this rule: every doubtful scripture interpreted according to the grand truths which run through the whole. Macknight, however, thinks that “the extent and energy of inspiration which was bestowed on some of the believers, is rather intended here, called the measure of faith, Rom 12:3; and that the meaning of the apostle’s direction is, that such as enjoyed the prophetic inspiration were not to imagine, that because some things were revealed to them, they might speak of every thing; but that in prophesying, they were to confine themselves to what was revealed to them.” Or ministry — Although every office performed for the edification of the church was called διακονια, ministry, (see Eph 4:12,) and hence the word is applied to the apostleship itself, Act 1:17; Act 1:25; Act 6:4; and to the evangelist’s office, 2Ti 4:5; yet, as the ministry here spoken of is joined with teaching, exhorting, distributing, and showing mercy, which were all stated offices in the church, it is probable that it was also a stated office, and most probably that of deacons, appointed to superintend the temporal affairs of the Christian societies: concerning whom see note on Act 6:2-3. Let us wait on our ministering — Let a man employ himself actively and faithfully in his ministration; or he that teacheth — The ignorant, who is appointed to instruct the catechumens, and to fit them for the communion of the church; let him attend to his office of teaching with humility, tenderness, patience, and diligence; or he that exhorteth —

Whose peculiar business it was to urge Christians to perform their duty, or to comfort them in their trials, let him continue in his exhortation. He that giveth — Any thing to a charitable use; let him do it with simplicity — Namely, of intention, and unfeigned liberality: neither seeking the applause of men, nor having any other sinister end in view, which he could desire to conceal. Let him act with disinterestedness and impartiality. He that ruleth or presideth, (Greek, προισταμενος,) that hath the care of a flock, (see 1Ti 5:17,) or presideth in the distribution of charities, which sense the preceding and following clauses appear rather to favour: or, that is appointed to see that they do their duty in any department, (Rom 16:2,) with diligence — Let him perform his office faithfully. He that showeth mercy — In any instance, particularly in relieving the poor and afflicted; with cheerfulness — Rejoicing that he has such an opportunity of being useful to his fellow-creatures.

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

CRITICAL NOTES

Rom_12:5.—We are knit together in Christ, as the head in the organic life.

Rom_12:6.—Prophesying is both foretelling and forthtelling. Hence preaching and expounding make the prophet. We must expound according to the rule of faith. Pleasant doctrines must not have undue prominence. We must take the word of God as a whole, and thus avoid heresies.

Rom_12:9. Cleave to that which is good.—κόλλα, glue. Keeping yourselves glued to the good. Hold firmly to the true.

Rom_12:10.—Strive to anticipate each other. Set the example of honour. When a man knows that his neighbour is accustomed to salute him, let him be the first to give the salutation. φιλόστοργοι, tenderly loving, perhaps towards one’s kindred, in New Testament towards Christian brethren. Word only used in this verse.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Rom_12:4-10

Love cements unity.—The organisation of the human body should be an example to the believer to make him perceive the necessity of limiting himself to the function assigned him. Not only, indeed, is there a plurality of members in one body, but these members also possess special functions. So in the Church there is not only a multiplicity of members, but also a diversity of functions, every believer having a particular gift whereby he ought to become the auxiliary of all the rest, their member. Hence it follows that every one should remain in his function: on the one hand, that he may be able to render to the rest the help which he owes them; on the other, that he may not disturb those in the exercise of their gifts (Godet).

I. Love makes unity.—Life unites together the several members of the human body. There may be contact, but not true unity, where there is no life. There must be love sincere in the Church if there is to be unity. Some Churches seem to have outward coherence and no inward unity. Love does not unite the whole body. We cannot be one body in Christ without love. Faith and love make us members of the mystical body.

II. Discriminating love recognises diversity in unity.—The human body is one; its members are many. Nature is one; its parts are various. The Bible is one; its records stretch over the centuries: there are manifest proofs of different writers. The ocean is one; its separate waves constitute its unity. The Church is divided, and yet united: diversities of gifts and of modes of operation. Love may overlook seeming discrepancies and recognise the Church as a glorious unity.

III. Sincere love cements unity.—

1. It removes envy. The minister does not envy the prophet; the intellectual preacher does not spurn the emotional; while the emotional preacher does not envy the high gifts of the intellectual. He that is ruled does not treat with contempt the authority of the ruler.

2. It makes each man seek to fit into his place. Every man a place from God, and every man seeking to fill his place.

3. It imparts diligence and cheerfulness. Our teachers should be both diligent and cheerful. A cheerful voice is a blessed tonic. Amid the sad voices of a weary humanity we need the joyful voices of messengers from the land of blessedness. Songs of hope should be sung in a despairing world. Diligence and cheerfulness are specially needed in these days, when scepticism is so diligent, when the press is so diligent, when a pessimistic tone is pervading society. If one man cannot be both diligent and cheerful, let two men unite their forces. “He that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.” Pompous and hard-hearted beadles are not sent by St. Paul on errands of mercy. They are to be cheerful messengers, taking good cheer to sad hearts and homes. Giving is to be done with simplicity. Love, and not the stately banquet, not the eloquent speech, not the prospect of an advertisement, must elicit and give the subscription. The prophet and the humblest teacher, the ruler and the ruled, the giver of alms and the receiver, meet on the one blessed plane of brotherhood.

IV. Love beautifies unity.—

1. Love to the Church prompts to the gracious spirit of detesting that which is evil and cleaving to that which is good. What a beautiful aspect the Church would present if each member were glued to that which is good! Modern glue is poor stuff; it fastens to the good, but the fastening is weak. The prospect of gain or fame makes the glue wither and lose its hold. Is there any modern glue to stand the heat of persecution? Ah! there may be faithful ones in modern as in ancient times.

2. Love to the Church generates kind affections. “Be kindly affectioned one to another.” Sweetly smooth words for rough times. There may be a need for a modern enforcement. Be kindly affectioned. How about the modern cynic? How about the morose ecclesiastic? How about the dignified official? How about the purse-proud man who condescends to say, ’Ow do? These all need the lesson taught by St. Paul of being kindly affectioned one to another.

3. Love to the Church provokes holy emulation. “In honour preferring one another.” The emulation of love is to show the brightest example of kindness; the ambition of loving Christians is to excel each other in all acts of mutual kindness and respect. What a beautiful society! Will earth ever witness such a social paradise? Is this ecclesiastical ideal the utopia of a vain dreamer? Will earth ever thus taste the bliss of heaven? Let us not despair. Diligence and cheerfulness will accomplish much. Let each seek to do his or her duty in the allotted sphere; let us live in the love of Christ; let us love, and the grace will grow by gracious and consistent exercise.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom_12:4-10

Explanation of terms.—In the Epistle to Titus there occurs the expression προϊστάσθαι καλῶν ἔργων,” to be occupied with good works”; whence the term προστάσος, patroness, protectress, benefactress, used in our epistle to express what Phœbe had been to many believers, and to Paul himself. Think of the numerous works of private charity which believers then had to found and maintain! Pagan society had neither hospitals nor orphanages, free schools nor refuges, like those of our day. The Church, impelled by the instinct of Christian charity, had to introduce all these institutions into the world; hence, no doubt, in every community spontaneous gatherings of devout men and women who, like our present Christian committees, took up one or other of these needful objects, and had of course at their head directors charged with the responsibility of the work. Such are the persons certainly whom the apostle had in view in our passage. Thus is explained the position of this term between the preceding “he that giveth” and the following “he that showeth mercy.” The same explanation applies to the following regimen ἐν σπουδῇ, “with zeal.” This recommendation would hardly be suitable for one presiding over an assembly. How many presidents, on the contrary, would require to have the call addressed to them, “Only no zeal”! But the recommendation is perfectly suitable to one who is directing a Christian work, and who ought to engage in it with a sort of exclusiveness, to personify it after a manner in himself. The last term ὁ ἐλεῶν, “he that showeth mercy,” denotes the believer who feels called to devote himself to the visiting of the sick and afflicted. There is a gift of sympathy which particularly fits for this sort of work, and which is, as it were, the key to open the heart of the sufferer. The regimen ἐν ἱλαρότητι, literally, “with hilarity,” denotes the joyful eagerness, the amiable grace, the affability going the length of gaiety, which make the visitor, whether man or woman, a sunbeam penetrating into the sick-chamber and to the heart of the afflicted.—Godet.

Abhorrence of evil.—It is the peculiarity of the Christian religion that while its aim is to exclude all sin from the heart, it does not dismember the soul by severing from it any faculty that is natural to it. Religion is a revolution, but its effect is only to suppress and exclude evil and establish the sovereignty of God to the heart of man. Hatred is a faculty given to us by the Creator for good. It is difficult at first, perhaps, to see its place in religion, because we see in it so plainly the evidence of man’s fall Hatred in men ordinarily is hateful, because it is vile passion, impulse, or impatience of contradiction, and is directed mainly against me, and not evil principles, evil habits, and evil things. It is a faculty liable to abuse, and the Christian man requires great grace to use it well. It has its place, however, in the Christian system, and rightly used is a potent instrument in the suppression of evil. Let us consider the direction of the text.

I. What is evil?—Now and then “a case of conscience” may occur in which the casuist’s skill is indispensable to obtain relief from perplexity, but for the most part the knowledge of good and evil is found in every human breast. There is at work in society what may be termed an educational agency, that is teaching men in various ways what is evil and what is good. The preaching of the word and teaching of the Bible and prayer as it deprecates evil; the opposition to and exposure of evil by good men; an enlightened public opinion; the administration of the law in connection with crime; the godly training of children and conscience,—these and other influences are pervading human society, so that none can plead ignorance of the vital question before us. But for the sake of clearness let us now briefly define the term “evil.” Evil is twofold,—existing as a hidden power in the soul, like the poison in the berry, the deadly forked lightning hid in the thundercloud, the dagger in its sheath; and as it assumes a concrete form in the world of men and things—evil books, institutions, principles, habits, language, etc. In other words, evil appears in character and conduct, answering to the theological terms of guilt and pollution. The sinner has a corrupt heart and guilty life. Or again, evil may be regarded as vice and crime, and its essential characteristic is lawlessness in principle and passion. “The energetic use of faculties created for God alone.” Vice is personal; crime has reference to others, to society in its organised state.

“Of every malice that wins hate in heaven

Injury is the end; and all such end,

Either by force or fraud, afflicteth others.”

All men are vicious, few in proportion criminal; but vice is the root of crime, and all in whose hearts evil is to be found may become “guilty of deadly sin.” “Crimes sometimes shock us too much; vices almost always too little.” “God hath concluded all under sin,”—“there is none righteous, no, not one.” What an appalling fact!—evil has established itself in every soul; all are under its curse, and need deliverance.

II. What is to “abhor” evil?—Dislike, repugnance, abhorrence, hatred. To abhor evil is not only to cast it out of our own bosom, but also to strive against it until it is chased out of the world. To abhor is the opposite of to love. Love seeks, first of all, to possess the object loved, and then to perpetuate it; abhorrence, on the contrary, first separates, and then seeks to destroy. This, then, is the position we take up when we are “changed from nature to grace.”

“The thing my God doth hate, that I no more may do,

Thy creature, Lord, again create, and all my soul renew;

My soul shall then, like Thine, abhor the thing unclean,

And, sanctided by love divine, for ever cease from sin.”

III. The reasons why we should hate evil.—

1. This is the very “end” for which Christ died, that He might “destroy in us the works of the devil.”

2. It is implied in sanctification, separation to God, and therefore separation from evil in thought, affection, purpose, and practice.

3. Your personal safety lies along that line. “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”

4. God employs the hatred of good men to sin as an instrument for its suppression in others. You are called upon to speak against it, to frown upon it, to expose and condemn it, and thus help to drive it out of men’s hearts.

5. Again let us inquire if there is any alternative course that may be adopted.

(1) May we compromise evil? But this would be to confuse and confound all moral distinctions, and would constitute you the basest of all evil characters—a hypocrite.

(2) Can we utilise evil? In one sense we may, if we make it a stimulus to prayer and activity, if it stir us up to watchfulness and caution, if we strive to “overcome evil with good,” and so develop our spiritual strength as “not to be overcome with evil.” But it belongs to God alone to overrule evil for good in the world. The lightning that blinds and terrifies, the ethereal light, can be utilised by science; but a map may as well try to harness an untamed tiger out of the jungle, to silence the thunder, and stop the roar of the ocean, as try to control his evil passions or govern his impulses unassisted by divine grace. The sinner is ever the victim of evil against his will and conscience.

(3) Is it possible so to control evil in the soul as to be able to silence it at pleasure, to have it in abeyance? No; for evil thoughts spring up within us involuntarily, and often in spite of the strongest resolutions and the most sacred vows; malign spirits suggest evil in a mysterious manner to us; evil associations hold many in thrall; and it is impulse that leads to the commission of the most violent and shocking crimes.

(4) Shall we then yield to this power? Then you will be unhappy, impure, degraded, forsaken, and ruined for ever. A gentleman who had resided many years in Egypt once showed me a dagger of Syrian manufacture whose blade was of poisoned steel, and he assured me that it could deal a wound which never could be healed. It is evil that can destroy “both body and soul in hell,” “where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.” “Abhor that which is evil.”

IV. Difficulties and dangers.—This course is not easy when:

1. Evil is associated with fine qualities. Don Juan and Hebrew Lyrics bound together in the same volume. There are paintings in the first style of art which would be best seen at midnight and without a light. Burke once said, “Vice itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness.” But refined and cultivated evil is the same in principle with evil in its most revolting forms, and will end as wretchedly.

2. Spurious charity. Ignorance, weakness, may be used as a shield and pleaded as an excuse.

3. Social connections.

4. Self-interest.

5. Temperament is sometimes a difficulty. The violent and hasty put a plea of extenuation in the mouth of the guilty; the easy and indolent pass over a fault; the sympathetic and charitable are too ready to condone evil.

6. Timidity which shrinks from the consequences of active strife against sin.

7. Familiarity with evil.

8. We are secretly in love with evil, and nothing but the regenerating, sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God can remove the love of sin. There is salvation in Jesus. “His blood cleanseth from all sin.” “Our Father which art in heaven … deliver us from evil.”—William Bell.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 12

Rom_12:4. “Members one of another.”—That is a touching story which Dickens tells of two London ’busmen, who passed each other every day for years on the same road. They never spoke, and their only recognition was a slight elevation of their whips, when they met, by way of a salute. At length one of the coachmen disappeared, and the other, upon making inquiries, heard that he was dead. The survivor began to fret, and at last became so miserable that he actually pined to death. He could not live without the silent sympathy of his friend. Is not this an illustration of the enormous power which silent sympathy has in helping fellow-travellers over the dry, dusty, and commonplace stretches of life’s journey? Comforting, encouraging words in times of sorrow, need, sickness, and other kinds of distress, have perhaps a greater influence than those who speak them know; but sometimes greatest of all is the influence for good of little acts of sympathy of the silent sort, the hand-pressure, the look that shows you understand, the encouraging smile. This is to give the cup of cold water of which our Lord speaks; this is the little service which shall be rewarded.—Elsie Croydon.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

Romans

MANY AND ONE

Rom 12:4 - Rom 12:5.

To Paul there was the closest and most vital connection between the profoundest experiences of the Christian life and its plainest and most superficial duties. Here he lays one of his most mystical conceptions as the very foundation on which to rear the great structure of Christian conduct, and links on to one of his profoundest thoughts, the unity of all Christians in Christ, a comprehensive series of practical exhortations. We are accustomed to hear from many lips: ‘I have no use for these dogmas that Paul delights in. Give me his practical teaching. You may keep the Epistle to the Romans, I hold by the thirteenth of First Corinthians.’ But such an unnatural severance between the doctrine and the ethics of the Epistle cannot be effected without the destruction of both. The very principle of this Epistle to the Romans is that the difference between the law and the Gospel is, that the one preaches conduct without a basis for it, and that the other says, First believe in Christ, and in the strength of that belief, do the right and be like Him. Here, then, in the very laying of the foundation for conduct in these verses we have in concrete example the secret of the Christian way of making good men.

I. The first point to notice here is, the unity of the derived life.

Many are one, because they are each in Christ, and the individual relationship and derivation of life from Him makes them one whilst continuing to be many. That great metaphor, and nowadays much forgotten and neglected truth, is to Paul’s mind the fact which ought to mould the whole life and conduct of individual Christians and to be manifested therein. There are three most significant and instructive symbols by which the unity of believers in Christ Jesus is set forth in the New Testament. Our Lord Himself gives us the one of the vine and its branches, and that symbol suggests the silent, effortless process by which the life-giving sap rises and finds its way from the deep root to the furthest tendril and the far-extended growth. The same symbol loses indeed in one respect its value if we transfer it to growths more congenial to our northern climate, and instead of the vine with its rich clusters, think of some great elm, deeply rooted, and with its firm bole and massive branches, through all of which the mystery of a common life penetrates and makes every leaf in the cloud of foliage through which we look up participant of itself. But, profound and beautiful as our Lord’s metaphor is, the vegetative uniformity of parts and the absence of individual characteristics make it, if taken alone, insufficient. In the tree one leaf is like another; it ‘grows green and broad and takes no care.’ Hence, to express the whole truth of the union between Christ and us we must bring in other figures. Thus we find the Apostle adducing the marriage tie, the highest earthly example of union, founded on choice and affection. But even that sacred bond leaves a gap between those who are knit together by it; and so we have the conception of our text, the unity of the body as representing for us the unity of believers with Jesus. This is a unity of life. He is not only head as chief and sovereign, but He is soul or life, which has its seat, not in this or that organ as old physics teach, but pervades the whole and ‘filleth all in all.’ The mystery which concerns the union of soul and body, and enshrouds the nature of physical life, is part of the felicity of this symbol in its Christian application. That commonest of all things, the mysterious force which makes matter live and glow under spiritual emotion, and changes the vibrations of a nerve, or the undulations of the grey brain, into hope and love and faith, eludes the scalpel and the microscope. Of man in his complex nature it is true that ‘clouds and darkness are round about him,’ and we may expect an equally solemn mystery to rest upon that which makes out of separate individuals one living body, animated with the life and moved by the Spirit of the indwelling Christ. We can get no further back, and dig no deeper down, than His own words, ‘I am . . . the life.’

But, though this unity is mysterious, it is most real. Every Christian soul receives from Christ the life of Christ. There is a real implantation of a higher nature which has nothing to do with sin and is alien from death. There is a true regeneration which is supernatural, and which makes all who possess it one, in the measure of their possession, as truly as all the leaves on a tree are one because fed by the same sap, or all the members in the natural body are one, because nourished by the same blood. So the true bond of Christian unity lies in the common participation of the one Lord, and the real Christian unity is a unity of derived life.

The misery and sin of the Christian Church have been, and are, that it has sought to substitute other bonds of unity. The whole weary history of the divisions and alienations between Christians has surely sufficiently, and more than sufficiently, shown the failure of the attempts to base Christian oneness upon uniformity of opinion, or of ritual, or of purpose. The difference between the real unity, and these spurious attempts after it, is the difference between bundles of faggots, dead and held together by a cord, and a living tree lifting its multitudinous foliage towards the heavens. The bundle of faggots may be held together in some sort of imperfect union, but is no exhibition of unity. If visible churches must be based on some kind of agreement, they can never cover the same ground as that of ‘the body of Christ.’

That oneness is independent of our organisations, and even of our will, since it comes from the common possession of a common life. Its enemies are not divergent opinions or forms, but the evil tempers and dispositions which impede, or prevent, the flow into each Christian soul of the uniting ‘Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ which makes the many who may be gathered into separate folds one flock clustered around the one Shepherd. And if that unity be thus a fundamental fact in the Christian life and entirely apart from external organisation, the true way to increase it in each individual is, plainly, the drawing nearer to Him, and the opening of our spirits so as to receive fuller, deeper, and more continuous inflows from His own inexhaustible fullness. In the old Temple stood the seven-branched candlestick, an emblem of a formal unity; in the new the seven candlesticks are one, because Christ stands in the midst. He makes the body one; without Him it is a carcase.

II. The diversity.

‘We have many members in one body, but all members have not the same office.’ Life has different functions in different organs. It is light in the eye, force in the arm, music on the tongue, swiftness in the foot; so also is Christ. The higher a creature rises in the scale of life, the more are the parts differentiated. The lowest is a mere sac, which performs all the functions that the creature requires; the highest is a man with a multitude of organs, each of which is definitely limited to one office. In like manner the division of labour in society measures its advance; and in like manner in the Church there is to be the widest diversity. What the Apostle designates as ‘gifts’ are natural characteristics heightened by the Spirit of Christ; the effect of the common life in each ought to be the intensifying and manifestation of individuality of character. In the Christian ideal of humanity there is place for every variety of gifts. The flora of the Mountain of God yields an endless multiplicity of growths on its ascending slopes which pass through every climate. There ought to be a richer diversity in the Church than anywhere besides; that tree should ‘bear twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month for the healing of the nations.’ ‘All flesh is not the same flesh.’ ‘Star differeth from star in glory.’

The average Christian life of to-day sorely fails in two things: in being true to itself, and in tolerance of diversities. We are all so afraid of being ticketed as ‘eccentric,’ ‘odd,’ that we oftentimes stifle the genuine impulses of the Spirit of Christ leading us to the development of unfamiliar types of goodness, and the undertaking of unrecognised forms of service. If we trusted in Christ in ourselves more, and took our laws from His whispers, we should often reach heights of goodness which tower above us now, and discover in ourselves capacities which slumber undiscerned. There is a dreary monotony and uniformity amongst us which impoverishes us, and weakens the testimony that we bear to the quickening influence of the Spirit that is in Christ Jesus; and we all tend to look very suspiciously at any man who ‘puts all the others out’ by being himself, and letting the life that he draws from the Lord dictate its own manner of expression. It would breathe a new life into all our Christian communities if we allowed full scope to the diversities of operation, and realised that in them all there was the one Spirit. The world condemns originality: the Church should have learned to prize it. ‘One after this fashion, and one after that,’ is the only wholesome law of the development of the manifold graces of the Christian life.

III. The harmony.

‘We being many are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.’ That expression is remarkable, for we might have expected to read rather members of the body, than of each other; but the bringing in of such an idea suggests most emphatically that thought of the mutual relation of each part of the great whole, and that each has offices to discharge for the benefit of each. In the Christian community, as in an organised body, the active co-operation of all the parts is the condition of health. All the rays into which the spectrum breaks up the pure white light must be gathered together again in order to produce it; just as every instrument in the great orchestra contributes to the volume of sound. The Lancashire hand-bell ringers may illustrate this point for us. Each man picks up his own bell from the table and sounds his own note at the moment prescribed by the score, and so the whole of the composer’s idea is reproduced. To suppress diversities results in monotony; to combine them is the only sure way to secure harmony. Nor must we forget that the indwelling life of the Church can only be manifested by the full exhibition and freest possible play of all the forms which that life assumes in individual character. It needs all, and more than all, the types of mental characteristics that can be found in humanity to mirror the infinite beauty of the indwelling Lord. ‘There are diversities of operations,’ and all those diversities but partially represent that same Lord ‘who worketh all in all,’ and Himself is more than all, and, after all manifestation through human characters, remains hinted at rather than declared, suggested but not revealed.

Still further, only by the exercise of possible diversities is the one body nourished, for each member, drawing life directly and without the intervention of any other from Christ the Source, draws also from his fellow-Christian some form of the common life that to himself is unfamiliar, and needs human intervention in order to its reception. Such dependence upon one’s brethren is not inconsistent with a primal dependence on Christ alone, and is a safeguard against the cultivating of one’s own idiosyncrasies till they become diseased and disproportionate. The most slenderly endowed Christian soul has the double charge of giving to, and receiving from, its brethren. We have all something which we can contribute to the general stock. We have all need to supplement our own peculiar gifts by brotherly ministration. The prime condition of Christian vitality has been set forth for ever by the gracious invitation, which is also an imperative command, ‘Abide in Me and I in you’; but they who by such abiding are recipients of a communicated life are not thereby isolated, but united to all who like them have received ‘the manifestation of the Spirit to do good with.’

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:4-5 so it is with Christ’s body: The parallel between the human body and the church—the body of Christ—is also found in 1 Cor 12. This metaphor provides an effective picture of unity and diversity in the church (cp. Livy, History 2.32; Epictetus, Discourses 2.10.4–5).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rom_12:4-5 ff. Motive for compliance with the previous exhortation.

For the prevalence of the parallel between a human body and a corpus sociale (1 Corinthians 12.) also among the ancients, see Grotius and Wetstein.

τὰ δὲ μέλη πάντα κ.τ.λ.] i.e. but the members, all of them, have different activity; thus, e.g., the eyes another than the ears, the feet another than the mouth. Wrongly van Hengel takes the expression, as though οὐ πάντα were the reading, so that only somenamely, those we possess in pairswould be meant, not all.

οἱ πολλοί] the many, i.e. the multiplicity of Christians taken together, in opposition to the unity of the body which they compose. Comp. Rom_5:15.

ἐν Χριστῷ] The common element in which the union consists; out of Christ we should not be ἓν σῶμα, but this we are in Him, in the fellowship of faith and life with Christ. He is the Head (Eph_1:22-23; Eph_4:15; Col_1:18; Col_2:19),a relation which is understood of itself by the consciousness of faith, but is not denoted by ἐν Χριστῷ (as if this meant on Christ), as Koppe, Rosenmüller, and older interpreters hold.

τὸ δὲ καθʼ εἷς] but in what concerns the individual relation. In good Greek it would be τὸ δὲ καθʼ ἕνα (see on Mar_14:19, and Bernhardy, p. 329; Kühner, II. 1, p. 414); but καθʼ εἷς, in which κατά has quite lost its regimen, is a very frequent solecism in the later Greek writers (Mark, l.c.; Joh_8:9; 3Ma_5:34). See Lucian, Soloec. 9, and Graev. in loc.; Thom. Mag. p. 483; Wetstein on Mark, l.c.; Winer, p. 234 [E. T. 312]. Τὸ καθʼ εἷς is groundlessly condemned by Fritzsche as commentitia formula. If καθʼ εἷς and ὁ καθʼ εἷς were in use (and this was the case), it follows that τὸ καθʼ εἷς might be just as well said as τὸ καθʼ ἕνα (comp. τὸ καθʼ ἑαυτόν and the like, Matthiae, § 283; Kühner, II. 1, p. 272). See also Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 26 f.

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.

Rom 12:4 f. καθάπερ γὰρ : For language and figure cf. 1Co 12:12 . Also Eph 4:15 f., Col 1:18 . The comparison of the community to a body the social organism is very common in classical writers: see Wetstein and Jowett here. πρᾶξιν : Rom 8:13 . It is that at which the member works in modern language, its function. Every member has its gift, but it is limited by the fact that it is no more than a member: it is not the whole body. 1Co 12:17 . οἱ πολλοὶ ἓν σῶμά ἐσμεν ἐν Χριστῷ : many as we are, we are one body in Christ; it is the common relation to Him which unites us. In the later passages in which Paul uses this figure (Eph., Col.), Christ is spoken of as the Head of the body; but both here and in 1Co 12 it would agree better with our instinctive use of the figure to speak of Him as its soul. His own figure of the vine and the branches combines the advantages of both. τὸ δὲ καθʼ εἷς ἀλλήλων μέλη : this qualifies the unity asserted in ἓν σῶμά ἐσμεν . It if not a unity in which individuality is lost; on the contrary, the individuals retain their value, only not as independent wholes, but as members one of another. Each and all exist only in each other. 1Co 12:27 . For τὸ καθʼ εἷς see Winer, 312.

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

12:4.,

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

Vv. 4, 5. “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another.”

The organization of the human body should be an example to the believer to make him perceive the necessity of limiting himself to the function assigned him. Not only, indeed, is there a plurality of members in one body, but these members also possess special functions, varied capacities (Rom 12:4). So in the church, which is the organ of Christ’s life on the earth (His body), there is not only a multiplicity of members, but also a diversity of functions, every believer having a particular gift whereby he ought to become the auxiliary of all the rest, their member. Hence it follows that every one should remain in his function, on the one hand that he may be able to render to the rest the help which he owes them, on the other that he may not disturb these in the exercise of their gift. See the same figure more completely developed, 1 Corinthians 12

The form καθ᾿ εἷς, instead of καθ᾿ ἕνα, occurs only in the later Greek writers.

Instead of ὁ δέ (in the Byzs.), which is the pronoun in the nominative, the Alexs. and Greco-Latins read τὸ δέ, which may be taken as an adverbial phrase: relatively to, or better, as a pronoun, in the sense: “and that, as members of one another.

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.

Rom_12:4, Rom_12:5

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office; so we, etc. In these verses we have the same comparison that occurs more at length in 1 Corinthians 12, and for the same purpose. The object of the apostle is in both cases the same. He designs to show that the diversity of offices and gifts among Christians, so far from being inconsistent with their union as one body in Christ, is necessary to the perfection and usefulness of that body. It would be as unreasonable for all Christians to have the same gifts, as for all the members of the human frame to have the same office. This comparison is peculiarly beautiful and appropriate; because it not only clearly illustrates the particular point intended, but at the same time brings into view the important truth that the real union of Christians results from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as the union of the several members of the body is the result of their being all animated and actuated by one soul. Nothing can present in a clearer light the duty of Christian fellowship, or the sinfulness of divisions and envying among the members of Christs body, than the apostles comparison. Believers, though many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Οἱ πολλοὶ ἓν σῶμά ἐσμεν. We, the many, are one body. In one respect we are many, in another we are one. Just as the body is many as to its members, and one in their organic connection. Believers are one body, i.e. a living organic whole, not in virtue of any external organization, but in Christ, i.e. in virtue of their common union with him. And as this union with Christ is not merely external, or by profession, or by unity of opinion and sentiment only, but vital, arising from the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, so, the apostle adds, the union of believers one with another, is also a vital union. They are ὁ καθ ̓ εἷς ἀλλήλων μέλη, every one members one of another. The relation of believers to each other is far more intimate than that between the members of any external organization, whether civil or ecclesiastical. It is analogous to the mutual relation of the members of the same body, animated by one soul. ὁ καθ ̓ εἷς for ὁ καθ ̓ ἕνα, in the sense of εἷς ἕκαστος, is a solecism occurring only in the later Greek.

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

There is a double reason of the precept going afore: the one is because God hath not committed everything to be done of every man: and therefore, he doeth backwardly, and not only unprofitably, but also to the great disprofit of others, wearieth himself and others, which passeth the bounds of his vocation: the other is, for that this diversity and inequality of vocations and gifts, redoundeth to our commodity seeing that the same is therefore instituted and appointed, that we should be bound one to another. Whereupon it followeth that no man ought to be grieved thereat, seeing that the use of every private gift is common.

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

For as we have many members, &c.--The same diversity and yet unity obtains in the body of Christ, whereof all believers are the several members, as in the natural body.

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 4. For as we have many members] As the human body consists of many parts, each having its respective office, and all contributing to the perfection and support of the whole; each being indispensably necessary in the place which it occupies, and each equally useful though performing a different function;

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

4. For as in one body, etc. The very thing which he had previously said of limiting the wisdom of each according to the measure of faith, he now confirms by a reference to the vocation of the faithful; for we are called for this end, that we may unite together in one body, since Christ has ordained a fellowship and connection between the faithful similar to that which exists between the members of the human body; and as men could not of themselves come together into such an union, he himself becomes the bond of this connection. As then the case is with the human body, so it ought to be with the society of the faithful. By applying this similitude he proves how necessary it is for each to consider what is suitable to his own nature, capacity, and vocation. But though this similitude has various parts, it is yet to be chiefly thus applied to our present subject, — that as the members of the same body have distinct offices, and all of them are distinct, for no member possesses all powers, nor does it appropriate to itself the offices of others; so God has distributed various gifts to us, by which diversity he has determined the order which he would have to be observed among us, so that every one is to conduct himself according to the measure of his capacity, and not to thrust himself into what peculiarly belongs to others; nor is any one to seek to have all things himself, but to be content with his lot, and willingly to abstain from usurping the offices of others. When, however, he points out in express words the communion which is between us, he at the same time intimates, how much diligence there ought to be in all, so that they may contribute to the common good of the body according to the faculties they possess.

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.

(4) Members in one body.—This figure of the body and the members is worked out more fully in 1Co_12:12-27.

(4, 5) In the church there must be a graduation, a hierarchy, a division of labour, every one doing that for which he is best fitted, just as in the body one member has one office assigned to it, and another another. All Christians, viewed collectively, make up one body, the unity of which is supplied by their relation to Christ. Viewed individually, they stand to each other in the same sort of relation as the different limbs and organs of the natural body, as foot and hand, or hand and eye.

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

4. For as we have] Here first (and last) in this Epistle St Paul uses the simile of the Body and its Limbs, to illustrate the close mutual connexion of the saints. For parallels, see 1Co_10:17; 1Co_12:12-30; Eph_1:23; Eph_4:4-16; Eph_5:23-30; Col_1:18; Col_1:24; Col_2:19; Col_3:15. In some of these passages the Lord appears explicitly as the life-giving Head of the Body; in one as its loving Bridegroom; while in others (as here) He does not explicitly appear in the imagery; the leading thought being the connexion of His saints with each other, and the diversity of their functions meanwhile.—The phrase just below, “in Christ,” does not strictly belong to the simile, though expressing a truth elsewhere conveyed by the simile of the Head of the Body.

all members] Lit. the limbs all.

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.

For as we have many members in one body,.... The apostle illustrates what he said last concerning God's dealing to every man the measure of faith, by comparing the church of Christ to an human body, which is but one, and has many members in union with it, and one another; and which are placed in an exact symmetry and proportion, and in proper subserviency to each other, and for the good of the whole:

and all members have not the same office, or "action"; they do not exercise the same function, and perform the same operation, but each that which is peculiar to itself: the eye only sees, but does not hear, nor taste, nor smell; the ear only hears, but neither sees, or does any of the aforesaid things; the palate tastes, the nose smells, the hand handles, the foot walks, and the same may be observed of the other members of the body, which have not the same, but their particular offices, and all and each of them their usefulness.

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

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

Ver. 4. For as we have, &e.] See 1Co 12:12, which is a commentary on this text.

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.

These verses are a reason against arrogancy. All Christians are

members of one and the same body; therefore, they should not pride themselves in their gifts, but employ them for the common good. It is with the church, the mystical body of Christ, as with a natural body that hath many members, and all these

have not the same office, or the same action or operation (as the word signifieth); the eye hath one office, the ear another, the hand a third, &c. So the church of Christ, though one body in him who is the Head, hath many members; many in regard of their persons, and many in regard of their offices, which are various and diverse; and which is more, the members are every one members one of another; i.e. they are joint and fellow members; as they have a common relation to the same Head, so a mutual relation to one another. Therefore Christians, especially church officers. should not contemn one another, or intrude upon the office of each other; but all should use their gifts to the good and edification of others.

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

4. One body—The same effective image of the Church as a body is filly expanded into particulars in 1Co_12:12-31. The point illustrated here is the quiet and due performance of his appropriate duty by each and every member in his place.

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

Vers. 4, 5. For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office; so we, the many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. The illustration of the body with its members to set forth the mutual dependence on each other of the several members of the Church with their several gifts and functions, and the importance of all for the well-being of the whole, is further carried 1Co_12:12, seq. In Eph_1:22 and out in Eph_4:15, Eph_4:16, Christ is regarded, somewhat differently, as the exalted Head over the Church which is his body. Here and in 1Co 12, the head is not thus distinguished from the rest of the body; (see 1Co_12:21) the whole is "one body in Christ," who is the living Person who unites and animates it.

Vers. 4-8. Churchmanship.

Having seen what Christian individualism is meant to be in the preceding verses, we now enter upon the wider relation of Churchmanship. For the apostle is not here speaking of human nature in its social aspects, as we find it so powerfully expounded for us in Bishop Butler"s "Sermons upon Human Nature," but in its Church aspect, the relation of the individual to the one body which has its organic existence "in Christ." The apostle would have us to believe that we are united as closely to our fellow-believers as the members of one body are to one another. In fact, we are members one of another. A selfish individualism is out of the question; we are bound to the body of believers by vital and eternal ties. Hence we are to consider in this section the constitution of the body of Christ, that is the Church. And

I BELIEVERS ARE TO REGARD THEMSELVES AS ORGANICALLY UNITED, AND ARE CONSEQUENTLY TO COOPERATE FOR THE COMMON END. (Vers. 4, 5) We are not meant to be isolated units, but members in sympathy. We are "joint-heirs" with Jesus Christ; we are consequently partners with one another in the great Christian enterprise. Co-operation, rather than competition, should be the guiding star of Christian people. We are distinctly made for the Christian Church, and it is our duty to promote the happiness and welfare of all our fellow-believers. Organic connection implies co-operation and sympathy of the sincerest character.

II AS MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER, BELIEVERS WILL FIND THEMSELVES DISTRIBUTED A VARIETY OF POSITIONS, JUST AS THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY. (Vers. 6-8) While believers are members one of another, we are not reduced to a dead level of uniformity. Edification is doubtless to be in the body as every joint supplieth it, but the joints are not all alike; if they were, it would be a curious medley a conglomeration of mere atoms, which we should have in place of a body. In the body there is subordination of member to member, and part to part. The foot is not to usurp the place of the head, nor the hand that of the eye, else will the body be turned upside down, and become a monstrosity instead of a thing and form of beauty. Consequently, we find that in the apostolic Church there were a variety of offices, and the apostle here specifies the spirit in which they should be filled and their duties discharged. Let us briefly notice the offices as here described.

1. Prophecy. The apostle puts this in the very forefront. Parallel passages go to prove that it was most highly esteemed in the apostolic Church. Thus it is placed immediately after the working of miracles. (1Co_12:10) In another place it is spoken of as "the gift of prophecy," and is associated with the "understanding of all mysteries, and of all knowledge". (1Co_13:2) It is further represented as the necessary adjunct to speaking with tongues. (1Co_14:6, 1Co_14:22) And it was evidently regarded as the prime requisite in the edification of the public congregation; for St. Paul declares, "If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth". (1Co_14:24, 1Co_14:25) Now, the more this matter is looked into, the more clearly are we landed in the conclusion that we have the prophetical office continued in Christ"s Church in the ministry of the Word. Every minister who is called by Christ to the preaching of the gospel, and endowed by him for the work, is a prophet of the Highest just as really as Elijah or John the Baptist. If, then, to any of us this grace of prophecy has been committed, we must exercise it "according to the proportion of faith" (analogian thv pistewv). That is, "the prophet must be true and sincere, communicating only what God has given him." Moreover, and chiefly, must he show no disposition to exaggerations in the exposition of religion, but must give to each subject its due place and proportion.Hence Dr. Shedd, in his "Commentary" upon the passage, declares, "This injunction of St. Paul is the key to systematic theology. No alleged Christian tenet can be correct which conflicts with other Christian tenets. All Christian truth must be consistent with Christianity. For example, the Deity of Christ supposes the doctrine of the Trinity; monergistic regeneration involves the doctrine of election; and an infinite atonement for sin, by God incarnate, logically implies an infinite penalty for sin.

2. The diaconate. For it is evidently to this particular ministry (diakonian) the apostle is here referring. To the apostolic Church this set of officers was given to attend to the temporalities of the Church, especially the care of the poor, the sick, and such like. The idea, then, is that thoroughness should characterize the diaconate just as well as the prophetical office.

3. Teaching. Now, the office of teacher is distinguished from that of prophet in such passages as 1Co_12:28 Eph_4:11. It has been suggested that the prophetical office implies inspiration, while the teacher"s only the common knowledge of a devout and disciplined Christian mind (Shedd, in loc. ). There is evidently need of a teaching order in the Church as well as of a preaching or prophetical order. If any is called to teach, let him be thorough in his teaching.

4. Exhortation. This is a gift which can be exercised by men who do not aspire to either the prophetical or the teaching office. It deals with the heart and will. "Evangelists" are for the most part of this character: they go about to stir up the souls of men to decision and activity, while their teaching is of necessity of a very limited description.

5. Giving. This applies to the distribution by the deacon of the Church"s charity, and it may also apply to the private beneficence of the Church-member. In either case simplicity of motive and of aim is to characterize the giver. Charity should be exercised without parade and without any ulterior or selfish end.

6. Ruling. This undoubtedly refers to the function exercised by the officers of the Church, and it implies that nothing but diligence can succeed. Zeal (spoudh) for the Church"s purity and honour, and for the glory of the Church"s Head, should characterize all who have authority in the Church.

7. Showing mercy. This applies to the attention the deacons and private Christians show to the sick and the suffering. Well, it is to be exercised "with hilarity" (ilarothti). What a difference it often makes when we set cheerfully about our merciful ministrations, entering with alacrity into them, and not doing them "against the grain"? Our "pity," as it has been very properly said, should be impulsive, and not an effort; an inclination, and not a volition" (so Shedd, in loc. ). Now, if Churchmanship were entered into in this noble and sympathetic spirit, what a different tale would our different Churches have to tell! It would be a tale of tender and gracious ministration, a tale of real because spiritual success? May the merciful Master grant it! R.M.E.

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

Here the apostle lays before us a special reason why the officers of the church should exercise humility towards, and employ their gifts and talents for, the general good and benefit of the church. The argument is drawn from a comparison between the natural body and the mystical body.

"As in the natural body there are many members, and every member has its distinct office, the eye to see, the ear to hear, the hand to work, the foot to walk; in like manner, in the mystical body, the church of Christ, there are many members; but each member must keep his own place, and not invade the duty or usurp the office of another, but every one employ his own proper gift to the benefit and comfort of the whole, without disdaining or envying one another."

Learn hence, 1. That the church of Christ is one body.

2. That though the body of the church be one, and the Head one, yet the members are many, united to Christ their Head by faith, and to one another by love.

3. That all believers, which are members of this body, have every one his particular gift, his several function, his proper office, which they are duly to execute and perform, without encroaching upon others by proud curiosity, or busy meddling.

But as all the members of the body labour jointly together for the preservation of the whole, so ought all the officers and members of the church to keep their distinct stations, and employ and improve regularly their several talents for the mutual edification and benefit of each other, without encroachment or intruding upon the offices of each other. God is a God of order, and hates disorder in his church.

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

4. “For as we have many members in one body, and all have not the same office,

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For [also epexigetical. See verse 3] even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office :

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.

4. For as we have many members, etc. The church is likened to the human body in which the various organs each has its own office; so (verse 5) in the church,

we being many, are one body in Christ, and all related to each other as the organs of the body are related.

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.

For

Paul uses this word to show that he will now explain why some Christians should not think they are better than others.

we have many members in one body

Paul refers to all the believers in Christ as if they were different parts of the human body. He does this to illustrate that although believers may serve Christ in different ways, each person belongs to Christ and serves in an important way. (See: Metaphor)

members

These are such things as eyes, stomachs, and hands.

are individually members of each other

Paul speaks of the believers as if God had physically joined them together like the parts of the human body. You can translate this in an active form. AT: "God has joined each believer together with all other believers" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

translationWords

member

body

Christ

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

4. καθάπερ γὰρ.… Cf. 1Co 12:12-27. The reason for this exercise of sober thought in contrast to exaggerated thought of self, is the position of the Christian as a member of a body in Christ. In 1 Cor. l.c[241] the comparison is developed in far greater detail and is applied to elucidating the various functions which the several personal members perform in the body. Here stress is rather laid on the temper of mind in which the several gifts should be utilised, as illustrating the detailed exhibition of σωφροσύνη. In Ephesians 4 both lines of thought are combined. The difference of aim in the several passages accounts for certain differences of phraseology.

[241] l.c. locus citatus

ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι κ.τ.λ. A favourite analogy with S. Paul. It brings out (1) the dependence of all on the one life received from the union with Christ (cf. Rom 6:1 f.), (2) the mutual dependence of each on each and all for giving effect to that life in each, (3) the common share of each and all in the work to which that life is directed. While the idea of this diversely organic unity of life and aim in Christ underlies all S. Paul’s ethical teaching, it may be said to be the single subject of Eph. where it is fully and positively developed. S. H. rightly point out that the comparison of a social organism to the body was very common in ancient writers.

τὰ δὲ μέλη πάντα κ.τ.λ. But the members have not all the same business or mode of action.

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.

4.] γάρ, elucidating the fact, that God apportions variously to various persons: because the Christian community is like a body with many members having various duties. See the same idea further worked out, 1Co 12:12 ff.

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

Office [πραξιν] . Lit., mode of acting.

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