1 Corinthians 12:14-31
In this passage, Paul compares the church to a human body with its many parts–and he draws some startling conclusions from this analogy. In the previous passage he argued that everyone who is committed to Jesus’ lordship possesses the Holy Spirit–not just those who display unusual spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues or performing healing miracles. Paul widens the understanding of spiritual gifts to include all the ways in which believers assist the church and others. His point is to affirm the spiritual oneness and equality of all believers.
Now, in this passage, he takes that equality a step further. Not only are all believers spiritually equal (in the sense that we all possess and belong to the same Holy Spirit), but we all have equal value and dignity in the church. This is not at all what the Corinthian church members have been assuming and practicing. The church in Corinth is quite diverse–including Jews and Greeks, men and women, rich and poor, slaves and free; and some members have been looking down on other members, considering them as an embarrassment. So far in Paul’s letter we have seen that some in the church are putting down others for their naive and unsophisticated theology and beliefs, and some who are rich and who have social advantages are ignoring and marginalizing the poor and the slaves within the church. But Paul says everyone is needed for the proper functioning of the church. The head may seem more important than the feet, or eyes may seem more important than elbows, but the head and eyes are quite limited in what they can do without the other parts.
Paul is most startling when he points out that those parts of the body which we consider the most embarrassing (e.g. the genitals) are precisely the parts of the body that we clothe with the most attention, dignity and beauty. So it is in the church: those whom we consider the most humble or embarrassing are the ones for whom we should be giving the most attention and dignity. Paul says that God has arranged the body (and the church) this way so that there is a balancing out of importance, so “the members may have the same care for one another.” Members of the church should be so interdependent, and have such equal importance and dignity, that when one suffers–no matter who it is–all share in that suffering; and when one is rejoicing, all share in that rejoicing.
But Paul is not saying that everyone’s function is the same. Indeed, some members of the church have a more public role and exercise more leadership and responsibility. Paul points out that some are apostles (missionaries starting new churches), and some are prophets (speaking God’s message for us now), and some are teachers, etc. There are various forms of leadership, and various forms of ministry. Not everyone does everything. Spiritual equality, and equality of dignity and respect, does not mean everyone has equal leadership and responsibility. This is where some churches today, seeking to follow Paul’s radical model of “everyone is a minister,” misunderstand and misapply Paul. Martin Luther, during the Reformation, espoused the idea of “the priesthood of all believers.” In other words, all believers are priests with spiritual access to God. But the priesthood of all believers does not mean “the leadership of all believers.” Although Quakers have fairly successfully practiced a kind of leadership by all believers, most churches have found that the church functions best when some are called to leadership and are given authority to carry out various leadership functions. Nonetheless, as democratic ideas have progressed in our society, it is quite appropriate that the most fundamental decisions (such as who will be our leaders) ought to be made with the discernment of all members.
But regardless of how individual congregations practice leadership, Paul’s main point is that everyone in the church has equal dignity and importance, and everyone who says “Jesus is Lord” belongs to the same Holy Spirit. Together we are the “body of Christ” in this world.
Paul wants the members in Corinth to strive for gifts that will benefit the church the most. But all gifts, no matter how important they are, must be practiced with a certain attitude or they are pointless. That will be Paul’s focus in the next passage.
