1 Corinthians 12:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

NIV: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

NASB: Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

CSB: Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.

NLT: All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

KJV: Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

NKJV: Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Now Paul makes his illustration—human body as the body of Christ—very personal for the church in Corinth. He speaks to them directly and with purpose. They are both the body of Christ together as a group, and they are individual members of the body of Christ.

In prior verses, Paul has noted that the diverse members of the body must work together, according to their designed roles, in order for the body to function. This is not only good for the body, it's good for each individual member.

Everything Paul has written in the chapter applies to the Corinthian believers and their experience of spiritual gifts. This means if they are willing to set aside their discontent about the role God has given to them in the church, and their arrogance about not needing other members of the body of Christ, they have the opportunity to thrive together to become what God intends for the church to be.

The same application is meant to be taken on by all believers, in all churches, even today.

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.

Accessed 5/5/2024 1:11:29 PM