1 Corinthians 12:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

NASB: If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

CSB: If the foot should say, "Because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body," it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.

NLT: If the foot says, 'I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,' that does not make it any less a part of the body.

KJV: If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

NKJV: If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?

Perhaps the question the Corinthians had asked Paul about spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1) had to do with why some received more prestigious gifts while others received less desirable ones. After correcting their understanding of how and why the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to Christians, Paul began building an illustration to help believers understand more fully the point of these gifts. The church is like a body. It is one thing with many different parts—different "members"—which serve many different functions. No matter how diverse it is, however, it is still just one organism, and the health of every part is affected by the health of any individual part.

Paul now makes use of his illustration to demonstrate how ridiculous it is for Christians to complain about which spiritual gifts they have been given. Or to claim they are not a functional member. Or for them to opt out of the church because they don't like the function they serve. It would be absurd for a foot to claim it's not really part of the body because it's not a hand!

This analogy speaks to the concept of design: it's not up to the foot to make that decision, and the foot has a purpose, one that the hand is not able to correctly fulfill.

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.