The Church as One Body With Many Members (1 Corinthians 12:12–26)

1 Cor. 12:12. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Saint John Chrysostom says: “Having comforted the Corinthians with the fact that every gift is a gift of grace, that all is given by the same Spirit and for common benefit, that the Spirit reveals itself even in lesser gifts, and having sealed their mouths with the conviction that they must submit to the power of the Spirit, the Apostle now comforts (and instructs) them with another well-known comparison—the comparison with the body. By this comparison he seeks to prove that none of the Christians is humiliated before the others (even though he received an unequal gift). Nothing so comforts and disposes a faint-hearted man who has received less than others to abandon his grief as the conviction that he is not humiliated before the others. Therefore the Apostle proves this: ‘For just as,’ he says, ‘the body is one and has many members.’ Do you see the depth of his wisdom? He proves that one and many are the same. Elaborating further on this subject, he adds: ‘all the members of the body, though many, are one body.’ He does not say: many members belong to one body, but: the very one body is many, and many members of it are one. If then many is one and one is many, then where is distinction, where is superiority, where is humiliation? ‘All,’ he says, ‘are one,’ not simply one, but when properly considered in relation to the body’s composition, all are one; but when they are considered separately, then there is distinction, and indeed distinction in all of them. Not one of them can by itself constitute a body, and each is equally insufficient to constitute a body. Rather, their union is necessary, for when many become one, then one body is constituted. Expressing this, he says: ‘all the members of the body, though many, are one body.’ He does not say: higher and lower, but ‘though many,’ which applies to all generally. How can they be one?—When, setting aside their distinction as members, you consider them in relation to the body. For what the eye is, so is the foot, in the respect that they are members and constitute a body; in this there is no distinction between them. You cannot say that one member constitutes the body by itself while another does not; in this respect they are all equal, and all are one body.” (Saint John Chrysostom)

“Having stated and clearly proved this by the common sense of all, the Apostle adds: ‘so it is with Christ.’ It would have been fitting to say: so it is with the Church, for this followed from what preceded; but he did not say so, and instead of the Church he named Christ, using an expression more exalted and more reproving to the listener. The meaning of his words is as follows: so is the body of Christ, which is the Church. As the body and head constitute one person, so the Church and Christ, he says, are one; therefore he names Christ instead of the Church, understanding His body here. As our body is something one, though it consists of many members, so in the Church all of us constitute something one, for although it consists of many members, these many are one body.” (Saint John Chrysostom)

“Thus, having comforted and encouraged by a well-known example one who considered himself humiliated, the Apostle leaves ordinary matters and passes to another—a spiritual matter—which could provide even greater comfort and clearly show the equality of honor (among the members of the Church). What then is it?” (Saint John Chrysostom)

1 Cor. 12:13. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

“The meaning of his words is as follows: one Spirit constituted us one body and regenerated us, for one was not baptized by one Spirit and another by another. And not only is the Spirit who baptized us one, but also that into which He baptized us, that is, for what purpose He baptized us, is one; for we were not baptized to constitute different bodies, but so that all of us exactly constitute one body, that is, we were baptized so that all of us would be one body. Thus both He who constituted us is one, and that into which He constituted us is one. And the Apostle did not say: that we might belong to one body, but that we might be one body: ‘we were all baptized into one body.’ It is also well said: we all, including himself. I, the Apostle says, do not have any advantage before you in this respect; you are a body as I am, and I as you are, and all of us have one and the same Head and were born by the same birth, and therefore constitute one and the same body.—‘Whether Jews.’ But why do I point to Jews? Even Gentiles, who were so far from us, God brought into the composition of one body. ‘Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free.’ If we, who were previously so far from each other, have been united and become one, then all the more after union should we not grieve and despond, for there is no longer room for distinction. If He has honored both Gentiles and Jews, both slaves and free with the same honor, then having honored us, will He divide us, when the very communication of gifts serves for the most perfect unity?” (Saint John Chrysostom)

“And we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” This drinking is different from the regeneration in baptism. There a spiritual being is obtained; here the spiritual being is given drink of the Spirit. When does this happen?—In the sacrament of chrismation, by the laying on of hands among the Apostles. In this sacrament the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given, which is drinking of the Spirit. Oecumenius writes: “Through the one Spirit we have the grace of spiritual gifts.” Theophylact at first said that this drinking is accomplished in communion, but then added: “But more truly here we should understand the descent of the Holy Spirit upon us, which we receive after baptism and before communion of the Holy Mysteries.” Clearly he understands the holy chrismation. Such is the thought of Saint John Chrysostom, from whom both of them borrowed their interpretation. He, having first mentioned the Holy Mysteries, then adds: “But it seems to me that here he speaks of that descent of the Spirit which is accomplished over us in baptism (after baptism) before the sacrament of communion. He said ‘drink,’ because this figurative expression is very fitting for the present subject, as if he were speaking of plants and a garden, that all trees are watered by one and the same source, by one and the same water. So also we, he says, are watered by one and the same Spirit, are given the same grace. Thus, if the one Spirit constituted us and into one body, united all of us together, for this is what the words mean: ‘we were all baptized into one body,’ if then he gave one and the same watering to all of us, for this is what the words mean: ‘we were all given the one Spirit to drink,’ and he united those so far from each other together, and if many only constitute a body when they become one, then about what distinction do you speak? If you say that members are many and they are different, know that this very thing is remarkable and constitutes the peculiarity of the body—that in it the many and different constitute one; but if there were not many, it would not be so remarkable and wonderful that the body is one, or rather, then there would not be a body at all.”

1 Cor. 12:14. For the body is not one member but many.

“The body is not something simple, but complex, made up of many parts” (Theodoret). Therefore diversity is necessary here. But with all this diversity there must be unity, otherwise a body will not be formed; unity in that every member does everything only for the whole body, forgetting about itself, and for this receives everything from the whole body. The conditions of the body’s life are many; different members fulfill them, and because they fulfill them, the body lives, and the living body gives them life. That is why the body does not have one member but many!

1 Cor. 12:15–16. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.

The Apostle’s thought is that once the body is formed, each member, willy-nilly, is what it is. Therefore it is his duty not to tear himself out of the body because he is a lesser member, but to keep his place and his significance. Saint John Chrysostom says: “If the fact that one is smaller and another larger prevented entering the body’s composition, then there would be no whole body at all. Therefore do not say: I am not of the body, because I am less than others; the foot occupies the lowest place, but it too is in the body’s composition. Being or not being part of the body’s composition depends not on the position in one place or another—this produces only a distinction in place—but on connection or disconnection; being or not being of the body depends on connection with it or disconnection. And note Paul’s wisdom, with which he represents our members as uttering these words. As above he said: ‘I have applied all this to myself and Apollos’ (1 Cor. 4:6), so here too, in order to make his speech more gentle and readily received, he represents the members themselves as speaking, so that the readers, hearing an answer from nature itself, being refuted by their own experience and common sense, can no longer contradict. Even if you yourselves, he says, said the same thing and however much you might object, you cannot be outside the body, for both as a law of nature and even more by the power of grace everything is preserved and maintained. And see how he avoids excess: he does not speak of all members, but only of two, and moreover the extreme ones, the highest—the eye, and the lowest—the feet. Furthermore, he represents the foot speaking not with the eye, but with the hand, which is a little above it, and the ear with the eye. As we ordinarily envy not those who far exceed us, but those who are but little above us, so he constructs his comparison.” Theodoret points out in addition: “The Apostle again persuades those who have received lesser gifts not to grieve, but to love what has been given to them. For if you perform not the function of the hand but of the foot, and fulfill not the ministry of the eye but of hearing, you should know that this too is necessary to the body.”

1 Cor. 12:17. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

This desire to aspire to higher members leads to the abolition of lower ones, and this results in the disorder of the body and common ruin. If such a desire were to be satisfied, all would have to be made (for example) into eyes or ears, the noblest members; and the whole body would become an eye or an ear. And what would that be like? “If the whole body were to become one member only, even if it were the most adequate, then without doubt it would be useless, deprived of the other members” (Theodoret). “Since he pointed to the distinction of members, mentioned feet, hands, eyes, and ears, and thereby suggested the thought of lower and higher dignity, observe how again he comforts and shows that this is useful, that the body is a body precisely because its members are many and different. If they were all one, then they would not constitute a body, therefore he says below: ‘If all were one member, where would the body be?’ And here he expresses something far greater still, namely, that in such a case not only would there be no body, but neither would there be the other members” (Saint John Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 12:18. But as it is, God has arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

This is what would result from your desire not to be what you are, but something higher! But God judged differently: He ordained that there be many members, and to each member He assigned its own place; from this both the body lives and each member thrives. So then, “let each love what has been given; for if God has distributed operative powers to parts of the body, then the one who does not remain within the appointed limits openly goes against the One who appointed these limits” (Theodoret). And this is not quite safe.

“If God so willed it, then do not ask why so and why not otherwise. Although we might present thousands of reasons, we cannot prove with as much force that this is good as with the words: as the highest Craftsman willed, so it was done, for He wills as is beneficial. If we ought not to be too curious about the members in our body, then all the more so in the Church. It is well said by the Apostle: ‘each one of them’ expressing the benefit of all of them. You cannot say that the Lord fashioned one member and not another, but each is placed so by His will; and it is beneficial for the foot to be in exactly that place, not only for the head (to be in its own); and if some member, changing position, left its place and moved to another, then although apparently it would occupy a better place, it would destroy and disorder everything; it would lose its own place and not attain another’s” (Saint John Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 12:19–20. If all were one member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body.

“From that which they concluded to the inequality of honor, that is, that there was a great distinction among you, from the very same thing he proves that they have equal honor. The meaning of these words is as follows: if there were no great distinction among you, then you would not be a body; not being a body, you would not be one; and not being one, you would not have equal honor. Conversely: if you all had equal honor (apart from relation to the body), then you would not be a body; not being a body, you would not be one; and not being one, how would you have equal honor? Now, since you have not just one gift, you constitute a body; and being a body, you all constitute one and do not differ from each other in the respect that you constitute a body. Consequently, this very distinction produces equality of honor. Let us too, understanding this, abandon all envy; let us neither envy those who have more gifts nor despise those who have fewer. So it pleased God; let us not murmur then. If you are still troubled, consider that another is often not capable of doing your work, and therefore, although you are smaller than him, you surpass him in this respect; and he, though greater than you, is smaller in this respect, and thus you are equal. And in the body, members apparently insignificant perform not insignificant actions, but often cause ruin even to important ones if they are separated from them. Remove one finger, and you will see that the others will be less active and will not perform their function so well” (Saint John Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 12:21. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don’t need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don’t need you!

“Having convicted the envy of the lesser and removed their sorrow, which they could have from the fact that others were granted greater gifts, the Apostle now humbles the pride of those who received more. He did this before as well, when speaking with the first, namely when he taught that a gift is a gift, not a merit; but now he does the same with greater force, continuing the same comparison. From the body and its unity he comes to a comparison between the members themselves, which was especially necessary for the Corinthians to know, for it could comfort them not so much that all of them constitute one body as the conviction that even with the gifts they have received, they are in no way humiliated. And the lesser gift is also necessary. As without the great there would be a great deficiency, so without the small the fullness of the Church would be violated. He does not say: it cannot speak, but: ‘cannot say,’ that is, even if it wished to, even if it said so, this is impossible by the very nature of things. He takes two extreme members and focuses his discourse on them, bringing as examples, first, the hand and the eye, and second, the head and the foot. What is more insignificant than the foot, or what is more honored and necessary than the head? The head properly constitutes the human being. Yet it too by itself is insufficient and cannot accomplish everything alone, otherwise we would have no need of feet” (Saint John Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 12:22–24. On the contrary, those members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with the greater honor, and our unpresentable members are treated with greater modesty, whereas our more presentable members do not need this.

“Some think that Paul calls here the weaker and more necessary members, the less noble and those receiving greater care, the eyes and feet, namely under the first—the eyes, for though they are weaker in strength, they are superior in use, and under the second—the feet, about which much care is taken. It is well said: ‘seem to be’ and ‘we think,’ expressing that such a position is based not on the nature of things but on human opinion. We have nothing dishonorable in us, because all is God’s work. God ordained it so that some members by nature have no need of anything, while we must provide to others what was not given them by nature; yet they are not thereby dishonorable, just as animals by nature have mostly no need of anything, neither clothing, nor shoes, nor shelter, yet our body is not dishonorable compared to their body because it has need of all these things. Truly, if we examine carefully, we will see that these members (seeming not so beautiful) are by nature itself honorable and necessary, which the Apostle himself hints at, rendering his judgment on them not on the basis of our attention and greater care, but on the basis of the nature of things itself; for calling them weak and less noble, he says ‘seem to be,’ but calling them necessary, he does not add ‘seem,’ but renders his own judgment and says they ‘are indispensable.’ Further, lest there be exaggeration on the other side, he says: ‘our more presentable members do not need this.’ Lest someone say: how, surely we should neglect the noble members and care for the less noble?—he says: we do this not out of neglect for them, but because they have no need of it” (Saint John Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 12:24–25. But God has composed the body, giving greater honor to the inferior member, so that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

“Composed”—as wine is mixed with water. Attention is paid to apparent deficiency and care. What is lacking in apparent quality is made up by greater care, and where more quality seems present, care is correspondingly diminished. And all came out equal. Saint John Chrysostom says: “If God has composed the body, He did not leave room to distinguish the less noble in it, for what is composed becomes one, so that it is no longer seen what it was before; otherwise one could not say it is composed. And see how he everywhere only slightly mentions the defects, saying: ‘inferior,’ (lacking something in comparison to another). He did not say: dishonorable or shameful, but ‘inferior’ (lacking something in comparison to another). ‘To the inferior,’ he says, ‘he gave greater honor,’ showing that God both gave less wisely and honored more. ‘So that there may be no discord in the body.’ Indeed, there would be great inequality if some members both by nature and from us enjoyed greater care, while others had neither from one side nor the other; then they would fall apart, not having the possibility to preserve union among themselves, and if some fell away, the others too would suffer harm. Do you see how he proved that the less perfect members necessarily had to be given more honor (that is, care). If it were not so, all would perish. But perhaps someone will say: one can indeed say of the body that the less perfect members received more honor, but how can this be seen among people?—Among people this can be seen even more. Thus, those who came at the eleventh hour received their reward first; for the lost sheep the shepherd left ninety-nine others, went after it, and when he found it, carried it, not drove it; the prodigal received greater care than one who conducted himself honorably; the thief was crowned and glorified before the Apostles. Therefore, knowing this, you who are higher do not oppress those who are lower, lest you yourselves suffer harm before them, for if they separate, the whole body will be destroyed. The Apostle requires not only that we not separate from one another, but that we be joined together in the tightest manner. For having said: ‘so that there may be no discord in the body,’ he was not satisfied with this, but added: ‘that the members may have the same care for one another.’ God ordained it not only so that members would not separate from each other, but also so that there would be great love and harmony among them. For if each must care for the salvation of his neighbor, do not speak to me of higher and lower; there is no higher and lower here. Do not say that such-and-such a member is unimportant, but remember that he is a member of the same body that contains all. Therefore the Apostle requires equal care for all” (Saint John Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 12:26. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

“For this reason, he says, God established mutual care for one another, ordaining unity in such diversity, so that everything that happens is common to all. If the salvation of all depends on caring for one’s neighbor, then necessarily both glory and sorrow become common to all. Thus the Apostle proposes here three commandments: not to separate, but to be in tight unity; to have equal care for one another; to consider everything that happens as common. In all that happens, whether pleasant or unpleasant, the members mutually sympathize with one another. When, for example, a thorn is driven into the foot, the whole body feels pain and is troubled; the back bends, the belly and thighs contract, the hands, like weapons-bearers and servants, stretch forward and extract the splinter, the head bends and the eyes watch with great care. Again: when the eyes hurt, then all members suffer, all fall into inaction, feet do not walk, hands do not act, the belly does not accept its usual food, though the illness is in the eyes. Remembering this, let all of us imitate the mutual love of bodily members and not act contrary to it. When the head is crowned, the whole person is glorified. So it is in the Church: when some are distinguished, then all society acquires good renown. Is someone distinguished by the gift of eloquence, then even enemies praise not him alone, but the whole Church. They do not say: such-and-such a one is worthy of admiration, but what?—Christians have a teacher worthy of admiration, and they make this treasure common. So the pagans unite, and you divide, wage war against your own body and rise up against your own members? Do you not know that through this all collapses? ‘A kingdom’ the Lord says, ‘divided against itself… will not stand’ (Matt. 12:25)” (Saint John Chrysostom).