1 Corinthians 12:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

NIV: so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

NASB: so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.

CSB: so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.

NLT: This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.

KJV: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

NKJV: that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

This verse uses a word mentioned before in this letter. This seems to be a particular problem in the church in Corinth: division. Paul has held the believers in Corinth accountable for dividing themselves over everything like which spiritual leader has their loyalty (1 Corinthians 1:10–12) to how much money they have (1 Corinthians 11:18–21). Division is ugly and runs against the very idea of the church of God.

Paul brings up the word "division" here to show how little sense it makes for a body to be divided. A human body is made up of diverse parts that all serve different functions. A "divided" human body ceases to function properly. If all the parts are not working together toward the same ends, the body doesn't work as it was intended, if at all.

One way to avoid that, Paul writes here, is for each part of the body to honor the other parts of the body. Those with visible, up-front gifts and roles must honor those who serve the body behind the scenes. The teachers must honor the helpers. The exhorters must honor the encouragers. And those behind the scenes must honor and support those who serve on the front lines.

All believers must care for and uplift one another. Then there will be no division.

First Corinthians 12:12–31 continues Paul's teaching on the spiritual gifts as they cooperate to empower God's will for the church. The Christian church is like a human body. It is one individual organism made up of many different parts that serve a wide variety of functions. All those functions matter. Nobody should decide they don't like their gift or their role in the church and try to quit. The body needs each member to do its part in order to work properly. We must respect and value each other for the vital roles we serve in the church.

Apparently in response to further questions from Corinth, Paul describes what spiritual gifts are, who receives them, and what they are for. His emphasis is that particular spiritual gifts do not make believers spiritual. Every believer is spiritual because every Christian has God's Spirit with him or her. In addition, the Spirit gives one or more spiritual gifts to each believer to be used to serve the church. The church is like a body, in which every part is needed, and all the parts exist to serve one another. Every believer must discover how they are gifted by the Spirit and value the function they serve in Christ's body.

After tackling the issues of head coverings for women and the Lord's Supper in the previous chapter, Paul moves to the issue of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul insists that the display of spiritual gifts does not make one believer more spiritual or important than another. Every believer in Jesus has the Spirit, and the Spirit gives to every believer one or more spiritual gifts. The gifts are given for the common good, and the church is like a human body. Each gifted function in the church represents a body part, and all the parts are essential. This sets up a description of love, as defined from a Christian viewpoint, and famously recorded in chapter 13.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.