A Prescription For A Healthy Body

Richard C. Church

In 1 Corinthians 12:14-27, the Apostle Paul warns us of some of the attitudes which can cause division in the body of Christ. Just like the physical body, Christ's body requires a great deal of attention and care for it to remain healthy. Too often the body is divided, not because of doctrinal issues, but because of pride, hurt feelings and personality conflicts. In this passage, Paul gives us the prescription for keeping the body healthy and free of "schisms." We would do well to heed his advice.

1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1Co 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

Self-Deprecation Has No Place in the Body

In these verses, the Apostle Paul describes a way of thinking that is all too common within the body of Christ. As various members evaluate their position within the body, they begin to compare themselves among themselves, a practice which the Bible tells us is unwise (2 Cor 10:12).

The foot and the ear in this passage are involved in what is called self-deprecation. They are belittling themselves to the extent of even denying their membership in the body. At first glance, you might think that this is due to a low self image, but further examination reveals that this is not truly the case. The humility exhibited here is a false humility.

There are two ways that this kind of self-deprecating, falsely humble thinking can be harmful to the body.

1. Envy
Some members with this kind of thinking are upset because they feel they deserve a higher position than what they have been dealt. They are not satisfied with what they are because of a selfish sense of entitlement that tells them they are deserving of so much more. They envy one another's position, not recognizing how important every member is to the body.

Try to put yourself in the place of the foot in this passage and you will see that there is a pattern of thinking in these verses to which we can all probably relate. Perhaps the foot's train of thought ran something like this:

"I am a foot. That's all I've ever been, and that's all I'll ever be. There was a time when I enjoyed being a foot. I mean, what could be more important than a foot. When my body wants to walk or run, it's dependent on me. A day doesn't go by but what I am called on to perform some indispensable task. How would my body get anywhere without me?
"It used to give me a great deal of satisfaction to know that I was so important to my body. It's never been easy being a foot. We take a great deal of abuse. But there was a certain contentedness in knowing how much I was needed.
"But one day, after a particularly long walk, one of the hands came down and was giving me a good rub. We got to talking and I started to realize just how unfair my life was. I noticed how happy and excited the hand seemed. He wasn't tired at all. Then I started to notice other things, like the carefully trimmed fingernails. I looked around at my own thick, unevenly cut nails and began to wonder what made the hand warrant such special attention.
"And then, to top it off, I saw that one of the hand's fingers was wearing a big gold ring. Now I'd heard of toe rings before, but I'd never known a foot who had one. The more research I did, I found that nearly half of all hands get some kind of jewelry. Now how is that fair? We feet do all the work and the hands get all the glory!
"Sure, a hand can do some things a foot can't, like write a letter or button a shirt, but what good will that do you if you can't walk? I mean, those hands think they're so special with their long slender fingers, but there's not a single thing that a hand can do that I couldn't do if my toes were just a little longer.
"The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the rest of the body completely idolized the hands. The hands would scratch the other members when they itched, rub them when they were sore, clean them, take care of them. I would have done all those things if I could, but I'm just a foot. All the body cared about was the hands and they never thought about me and the important work that I was doing.
"I don't think it's unreasonable for me to be upset. I perform one of the most important functions in the body and what do I get for it? I have to step on toys that haven't been put away. My toes get stubbed on furniture in the middle of the night. Heavy items are dropped on me. And most of this is because the eyes and the hands aren't doing their jobs. And then after all of that, the nose has the audacity to insult me! Me!
"Well, I've made up my mind. I'm no longer a part of this body. They'll just have to get along without me. We'll see how far they get without my intelligence and expertise. Maybe I can get the other foot to come with me and then we'll really show them who's who."

What the foot in this story doesn't realize is that, though he is important to the body, the body is infinitely more important to him. Although his absence would be an inconvenience to the body, he can not even survive without the life that the body brings to him. His attempt to punish the body by leaving is actually more detrimental to himself.

This is equally true of the believer in the local church. Many are dissatisfied with the position that they have been given in the church. Although they may be best suited for a less visible position, they desire a task that is more noticeable. Their envy causes them to be critical of those in the leadership positions, as they are convinced that they could do so much better if just given the chance.

2. Wrong Spiritual Self-Image
There is another way in which this self-deprecating thinking is harmful to the body. We all know the danger of thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. But there is also a danger to thinking less highly than we ought. One of the actions of our sin nature is to tell us that we are good for nothing and unable to serve God. A well-known hymn says, "I'm only a sinner, saved by grace." Those words are true when taken in the right context, but it is more accurate to say, "I was a sinner, but now I'm saved by grace." When we cut ourselves short by failing to recognize the perfected position that we have in Christ, we fail to serve God to the fullest in the specific position that He has given us.

In fact, Paul reminded the Corinthians of this earlier in the book of 1 Corinthians:

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Some take this as a passage that teaches works salvation, but nothing is farther from the truth. Notice the list of sins that Paul gives. Notice that the Corinthians were still doing many of these things. Yet Paul refers to them throughout the epistle as "saints" and "brethren." Even though they were doing these things, these things no longer defined who they were. "Such were some of you." But what are they now? They are washed, sanctified and justified. Even though their actions didn't change automatically when they got saved, their identity did. This is why the Bible never refers to a saint as a "sinner." They still sin, but their identity has changed.

When we fail to recognize this change of identity and focus rather on our personal and moral failings, we stop living by grace and put ourselves back under law. Since it is grace that makes ministry abound in our lives (1 Cor 15:10), when we remove ourselves from grace we remove ourselves from the ability to serve God.

For instance, a certain believer may have talents that make him uniquely suited for a position of leadership in the church. However, because he doesn't fully understand his position in Christ, he does not feel adequate to serve God in leadership. This same thinking actually causes him to be a slave to sin in his life, since he is constantly telling himself that he is nothing but a lousy, worthless sinner. The result is that his bad attitude about who he is in Christ coupled with the free rein of sin in his life disqualifies him from the service for which he is best suited. It robs him of the joy of salvation and robs Christ and His church of needed ministry.

Worse yet, some believers will subconsciously (or even consciously) avoid any responsibility in the church by intentionally yielding to sin in their lives. They then feel they are excused from serving God because it would make them hypocrites. While that is true, what they don't realize is that they are hypocrites already. God has already freed them from that sin and they have no excuse to continue in it (Rom 6:1-7).

God Is Pleased With a Diverse Body

1Co 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
1Co 12:19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

God has a purpose in placing different members in the body. Just like in the physical body, one member can't do everything. Or at least, one member can't do everything well. The members of the body are specialized; they have one area of activity to perform and they focus on that. It's true that a member can help in an area for which it was not designed, but it will never do as well in that position as the original member. Often church members are forced by necessity to function in many roles, especially in smaller churches. But ideally, each member would identify one or two areas where they can be the most effective and focus on them.

I often hear believers say things like, "I wish I could sing like so-and-so," or "I wish I could preach like so-and-so." This is exactly what Paul is warning against in this passage. If you are busy trying to do things like "so-and-so", then you will never realize your full potential in the position that God has given you. Verse 18 says that God set the members in the body as it pleased Him. If He wanted someone like "so-and-so" he would have put them in your position. But God put you there because it pleased Him to have YOU in that position. You can reach people that "so-and-so" could never reach.

The Need of the Members for One Another

1Co 12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
1Co 12:21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
1Co 12:22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
1Co 12:23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
1Co 12:24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

Paul has already dealt with the problem of thinking less highly than one ought and the barriers that it creates to effective ministry. He now turns to the problem of those who think more highly than they ought.

Some believers just don't understand the principle of many diverse members in one unified body. They think that every other member should be doing exactly the same things that they themselves are. And if they don't, then there must be something wrong with them. Although they feel that they are trying to encourage other members, they wind up alienating and belittling them. When others are resistant to their efforts to "encourage" (translated "coerce") them to do more, they wind up with an attitude that says, "Fine! Do whatever you want. I don't need you in MY body."

Notice that the attitude is exactly the same as with the foot in the previous story. But the foot was a lower member upset with the higher members. Here it is the opposite: the higher members are upset with the lower members. The problem is pride in both cases, but the pride is manifested differently when you are on the top than on the bottom. The lower member's pride caused him to want to defect from the body. Here the higher member's pride causes him to want to eject the lower member from the body.

Feeble, Less Honorable and Uncomely Members

First the feeble members are mentioned. In the physical body, many of the most necessary members are also the weakest members. When we think of strength in the physical body, we probably think of the arms or legs. But you can live without arms or legs. By comparison, many of the internal organs are very weak, but you cannot live without them. And others you could live without, but wouldn't want to. Imagine what life would be like without a bladder or a small intestine.

Notice in the verse that these members only "seem to be more feeble." It's not that they are actually "weaker brethren," but often that they are involved in areas of service that are not as visible. They may not be very vocal in group settings and many might assume that they are "babes in Christ." But in reality they may be active behind the scenes in ways that are deemed "necessary" by God.

To drive these saints away by requiring them to be "more involved" in church programs is a serious error that will actually stunt the growth of a church. In any organization, including the church, there is a well known rule called the 80-20 rule. It states that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people and 20% of the work is done by 80% of the people. It is unreasonable to expect that 100% of people in the church will be involved in every activity of the church.

Next to be mentioned are those that are "thought to be less honorable." Notice again that these are not necessarily less honorable in reality, but are simply thought to be so. I have never seen a human heart, nor do I wish to do so. A muscular arm may evoke feelings of awe and honor, but I doubt anyone would feel that way about a lung or a kidney. But I thank God that he has shown our hearts, and lungs, and kidneys more abundant honor by giving them a protected position within the ribcage.

The equivalents in the body of Christ are those who may seem unable to serve God in any meaningful way, such as children or the physically or mentally handicapped. These don't often seem worthy of honor. But just as we honor the seemingly less honorable members of the physical body, we are instructed here to give great honor to the seemingly less honorable members of the body of Christ.

The last to be mentioned are the uncomely parts. These are different in that they don't "seem to be" uncomely and aren't just "thought to be" uncomely, but the Scripture says they actually are uncomely. The word "comely" means "decent, suitable or proper." The Greek word used means "well formed." The Greek word for "uncomely" means "formless or shapeless." These are the members that have not yet found their place in the body.

One of the most fascinating recent discoveries about the human body was the discovery of stem cells. The human body has many different kinds of cells: brain cells, skin cells, blood cells, etc. Once a cell forms into a specific type, it can not turn into any other. But stem cells are special cells that can change into any kind of cell in the body. Although embryonic stem cell research has provided the world an argument for increased abortions, most of the advances have been in the area of adult stem cells, where a patient's own stem cells are used to treat their illness.

In the body of Christ, the uncomely members are new or immature believers who are not yet actively involved in serving the Lord, either because of a lack of understanding or a lack of will. They are not yet mature enough to serve the Lord effectively. This was true of many of the Corinthians to whom Paul was writing. It was also true of the Galatians, of whom Paul said:

Gal 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

It may also apply to those who are attempting various avenues of ministry but have not yet found their niche.

Each of these three types of members are to have their slack taken up by those who are more mature. The stronger members of the church provide the things that are lacking from the other members. They provide strength to the feeble, honor to the less honorable and comeliness to the uncomely.

The word "tempered" in verse 24 means "to mix together." Sometimes it seems like it would be easier if we were all the same. But God has mixed together the body of Christ like a master chef preparing a gourmet recipe. He carefully chose each of the ingredients, added them in the right time and in the right place to produce the mixture that is most pleasing to Him. As in a recipe, flavors that may be distasteful separately, mix together to form something that is pleasing. The combination of ingredients forms something that none of the ingredients could be on their own. The result of this "tempering" is not that the honorable parts are made dishonorable, but rather that the parts which lacked are blessed with "more abundant honor." The whole is more than the sum of the parts.

The Proper Functioning of the Body

1Co 12:25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
1Co 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

When all of this is working properly, the result is that there are no "schisms" or divisions in the body. A schism in the body of Christ is a very serious thing. It is like an amputation in the physical body. While amputations are sometimes necessary to protect the life of the rest of the body, it is a procedure to be used only as a last resort. Rather than schisms, what God desires from the body is for each member to have the "same care" for each other. They will be looking out for the good of each and every other member, seeking to build them up; to provide them strength when they are weak; to give them honor when they are less honorable; to display their comeliness when they are uncomely.

When one member is suffering, it becomes a part of the recipe. Every member is affected by it. When another member is rejoicing, it also becomes a part of the recipe and all of the members rejoice as well. At any one moment, there are many members suffering and rejoicing. Because of our selfish natures, we want everyone else to obey these verses without obeying them ourselves. When we are suffering, we want everyone to suffer with us. When we are rejoicing, we don't want anyone to rain on our parade. But we forget that if I'm suffering and my brother is rejoicing, I am to rejoice with him and he to suffer with me at the same time. My suffering helps to keep his feet on the ground and his rejoicing helps me to despair in my own situation.

Conclusion

It is dangerous when we forget that we are "members in particular" of a body. We risk alienating those around us by expecting them to be like us. We risk being lifted up with pride by thinking we are better than others. And we risk cutting ourselves off from the body, frustrated that we can't be like someone else. Remember that God set you in the body where it pleased Him, not necessarily where it will please you.

Serve God to the fullest where you are, and you will find that where you are is where you'll want to be!