1 Corinthians 12:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Apostle did not say, "that we might belong to one body," but "we all into one body." He always strives to use the most precise expressions. He also said well, "we all," including himself.

'I, the Apostle, have no advantage over you in this respect,' he says. 'You are the body as I am, and I as you are. We all have one and the same Head and were born by the same birth. Therefore we constitute one and the same body.'

But why, he says, do I point to Jews? God also brought the Gentiles, who were so far from us, into the composition of one body. Therefore, after saying "we all," he does not stop there, but adds: "whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free."

If we, who were formerly so far from one another, have been united and become one, then much more, after union, ought we not to grieve or be despondent, since there is no longer room for difference.

If He has counted Gentiles and Jews, slaves and free, worthy of one and the same thing, will He divide us after having made us worthy? The very communication of gifts serves toward the most perfect union.

"And all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Cor 12:13-14). That is, we all approach one and the same mystery and partake of one and the same table.

Why, then, did he not say, "we are nourished by one and the same body and drink one and the same blood"? Because by naming the Spirit, he indicated both, the blood and the flesh. Through both we are made to drink of one Spirit.

Nevertheless, it seems to me that he is speaking here of that descent of the Spirit which is accomplished over us at baptism, even before the mystery of communion.

He said, "were made to drink," because this figurative expression is highly fitting to the present subject. It is as though he were speaking of plants and a garden, where all trees are watered by one and the same spring, with one and the same water.

In precisely this way, he says, we are all made to drink of one and the same Spirit and are counted worthy of one and the same grace.

Therefore, if the one Spirit formed us and joined us all into one body, and this is what the words "were baptized into one body" mean, and if He bestowed one table and communicated one and the same watering to all. And this is what the words "were made to drink of one Spirit" mean, and if He joined together those so far apart from one another, and the many constitute a body only when they become one, then what difference are you insisting on?

If you say that the members are many and different, know that precisely this is wonderful and is the special property of the body: in it the many and different constitute one. If there were no multitude, it would not be so marvelous and wondrous that the body is one. Or rather, there would then be no body at all.

"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you'" (1 Cor 12:21). On the contrary, the members of the body that seem weaker, such as the tongue, the heart, and others, are much more necessary (1 Cor 12:22). Those that seem to us less honorable in the body, such as the stomach, the feet, and others, receive greater care from us (1 Cor 12:23). Therefore, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it (1 Cor 12:26). "And you," the Apostle concludes, "are the Body of Christ, and individually members" (1 Cor 12:27).

It especially serves those members that for some reason seem insufficiently protected or seem to disturb the dignity of the body as a whole. So also in the Church, those bearers of gifts of grace who have them in lesser measure may receive care from other bearers of higher gifts. Thus, as in a healthy body no member can grumble at its place or condition, but all hasten to serve one another and the whole body, so there must be common contentment and mutual help among the members of the Church generally. This must also exist especially among the bearers of different spiritual gifts of grace. Finally, the members of the body cannot leave their own condition, perform functions not proper to them, or occupy another place. Each member performs its functions not by accidental position, but according to the foreseen plan of our wise Creator. So also each member of the Church must necessarily do the work suited to his gift, through faith in the all-acting and all-sustaining Wisdom and goodness of God the Provider, our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the accomplishing Spirit, the one Cause of all gifts. As if summing up the Apostle's thought, blessed Theodoret says: "Therefore let everyone love what has been given. For if God has distributed active powers to the parts of the body, then the one who does not remain within the appointed bounds goes directly against Him Who set those bounds." Saint John Chrysostom says: "As the supreme Craftsman willed, so it came to be, for He wills what is profitable. If we must not be inquisitive about the members in our body, much less should we be so in the Church."