Do you have a part of your body that you don’t like? Some people don’t like feet. Another famously disdained part of the body is the nose. I suspect that nearly all humans have a part of their body they don’t like. That fact is what Paul talks about in 1st Corinthians 12:12.
First, Paul points out that the body is a unit. It is one body, but it has so many different parts to it. Inside and out. The amazing thing is how these parts work together.
When we think about our body, do we think of our bodies as a unit? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We might want to change that part of our body we don’t like. While I am aware of all those different parts, I identify myself as one person. As Paul said, a unit. This is the word for the number ONE. The body is one. We don’t see ourselves as divided up into two or three. We generally see ourselves as one. Count how often in this passage Paul uses the number “one”. In just a moment, he will explain what that observation about the oneness of the body is so vital for Christians.
But, next, within that one body, there is a great amount of diversity, which we clearly see both on the outside, “head and shoulders knees and toes” and on the inside: heart, brain, muscles, bones, etc. Our bodies are comprised of so many unique parts.
Put these two concepts together and we see that the body is unity in diversity. Paul is using common human anatomy to describe the church. In verse 13, he explains how the human body is like the church.
- We were baptized by one Spirit, into one body.
- Jews, Greeks, slave, free, are the main social categories present in their society. He could have added rich and poor as well. But despite that diversity…
- All were given one Spirit to drink.
Interesting the mention of liquid. Baptism and drink, both in connection with the Spirit. Baptism here refers not to water baptism, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that moment when the Spirit fills us, when we accept Christ.
Here in 1st Corinthians 12:13, Paul wants to remind the Corinthians of the Spirit who is the unifying presence among them. They might look very different in terms of their ethnicity or position in society, which are the world’s categories, but in God’s eyes they are one, the body of Christ.
As we continue in verses 14-20, Paul illustrates this further. What happens if the parts of the body start thinking that they are less important? Are they actually less important? Not a chance. But they can seem to be.
A foot may start thinking, “Geez…the hands always get to hold stuff. Look how cool that is. The hands are constantly shaking other hands, meeting new people, interacting with the world. We feet rarely meet new people, and we suck at picking stuff up. And we stink! Feet get sweaty and smelly. The hands are constantly getting cleaned, but we get washed maybe once a day. I even hear people say they hate feet! No one says that about hands. Maybe that’s why they cover us up so much with socks and shoes!!!! I hate being a foot. I do not belong to this body.”
Paul’s point is that no matter how disconnected it feels, it still belongs, and the foot is important.
Paul humorously depicts the eyes talking too, and why? He wants to show how the individual parts can feel less important, but actually each part has a super important role! Just lose your feet in an accident, and all of a sudden you’ll find out how drastically your life will change.
Many parts, he says in verse 20, make up one body. All are important. But he goes on in verse 21. It could be very easy for one part to start getting all high and mighty thinking that it doesn’t need the other parts. We’ll talk about that in the next post.
Photo by Mariia Horobets on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 