1 Corinthians 12:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

NIV: If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

NASB: And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.

CSB: So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

NLT: If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

KJV: And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

NKJV: And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Body parts don't literally have individual emotional experiences. And, as Paul suggests in this verse, it's not entirely possible for one body part to be "happy" when some other part is deeply suffering. People don't really notice their hands are feeling fine when their feet are in agony. Bodies are single organisms. If one part of the body suffers, the rest of the body suffers along with it. The hand will do whatever it can to relieve the pain in the foot and vice versa.

Once again, Paul's analogy demonstrates a deep level of sophistication. A common mantra in workplace safety is "lift with your legs, not with your back." The point is that if the body part designed for a task—the legs—does not fulfill that role, some other part—the back—must try. By definition, that other part is not as well-suited for the task. That leads to over-exertion, stress, and injury. One way to keep the back from being strained is for the legs to fulfill their role. When each body part cooperates to meet the needs of their unique design, the body acts with maximum comfort and efficiency.

The church never functions more correctly, according to God's design, than when Christians do the same thing for each other. When we are willing to be moved by the experiences of our brothers and sisters in Christ, to feel pain and joy at the pain and joy of others, to take on the roles we have been given by God, we move closer and closer to being that single Christ-like organism. It is who God intends for us to be.

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.