1 Corinthians 12:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Apostle explains this later, but now he turns to the members themselves and says: "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,' is it therefore not of the body?" (1 Cor 12:15-16). If the fact that one is lesser and another greater prevented them from entering into the body's composition, then the whole body would not exist. Therefore do not say, "I am not a body because I am less than others." The foot occupies the lower place, yet it too is part of the body. Whether one is or is not part of the body does not depend on being placed here or there. That makes only a difference of place. It depends on union or division.

He presents the members of the body as speaking and complaining that they have been made lesser than the other members. By proving the senselessness of the members' complaint, he exposes those in the Church who complain that some are greater than they. He sets forth two extreme members, the foot and the ear. He presents the foot as speaking not to the eye, but to the hand, which is slightly superior to it. He presents the ear as speaking to the eye. For we usually envy not those who greatly surpass us, but those who are only a little above us. Therefore, he says, if the foot says, "I am not a part of the body, because I do not occupy the middle place like the hand, but am lower than all," does it for this reason, because it is not a hand, not belong to the body? For whether it is or is not a member of the body depends not on place, but on whether it is joined or not joined to the body.

Who found salvation with God? Those who worked miracles, or those who did not? The Apostle Peter raised the dead (cf. Acts 9:40). Simon Magus also did many things (cf. Acts 8:10). There were also certain Christians who could not perform miracles, neither what Peter performed nor what Simon performed. Yet why did they rejoice? Because their names were written in heaven. For this is what our Lord Jesus Christ said to the disciples when they returned, concerning the faith of the Gentiles. Filled with joy, the disciples said: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name" (Lk 10:17). Although they made an excellent confession by ascribing glory to the name of Christ, what did He answer them?

These words mean that one whose weakness is evident among the brethren cannot deny his connection with the body merely because he is not strong enough by himself.

The Apostle again instructs those who have received the lesser gifts not to be grieved by this, but to love what has been given. If you fulfill the office not of a hand but of a foot, and perform the ministry not of an eye but of hearing, you must know that this too is necessary to the body.

What the members are in the body, Christians are among themselves. Bodily members compose the body. So also Christians compose a spiritual body. The members in the body are joined and are one body. So also Christians are spiritually joined and are one spiritual body. The members in the body are joined and bound together by sinews. So also Christians are joined and bound together by faith, spirit, and love. The members in the body do not harm one another. So also Christians must not offend one another or harm one another. The members in the body are at peace and in agreement with one another. So also among Christians there must be peace and concord. The members in the body help one another and defend one another. So also Christians must help one another and defend one another.

To explain the actions and mutual relations of the members of the Church, the Apostle points to the actions and relations of the members of the human body. Through this comparison, he clarifies the need for mutual care, cooperation, and even dependence among the members of the Church.

Having spoken of the unity of the source of the gifts of grace, and wishing to bring the Corinthians into concord and unity. Since they envied one another over the unequal miraculous gifts of grace they had received, the Apostle Paul explains to them the necessity of a firm union among the members of the Church in the one Christ Jesus. He does so by the likeness of the bodily organism, whose common good is secured only by the unity of all the body's members and by our common care for them, despite their diversity and the differing degrees of their relative dignity. "For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ" (1 Cor 12:12). That is, so also is the Body of Christ, which is the Church (Saint Chrysostom).

Most directly, his comparison of the Church with the body expresses this thought: as the members of the body, though many, make up one body, so the bearers of gifts of grace, as members of the Church of Christ, must through love make up one whole. Each serves the common life of the Church with his own gift. A second essential thought flowing from this comparison is the teaching that all gifts are equally necessary and equal in worth for the fullness of the Church's life. This remains true despite their apparently sharp difference, corresponding to the difference among bodily members. Each member performs its own particular function and has the common purpose of serving the benefit of the whole body.

The Apostle's thought is this: once the body has been formed, each member, whether it wishes or not, is what it is. Therefore its task is not to tear itself out of the body because it is a lesser member, but to keep its own place and significance. Saint Chrysostom says: "If the fact that one is lesser and another greater prevented them from entering into the composition of the body, then the whole body would not exist. Therefore do not say, 'I am not of the body because I am less than others.' The foot occupies the lower place, yet it too is part of the body. Whether one is or is not part of the body does not depend on being placed here or there. That makes only a difference of place. It depends on union or lack of union.