32Interdependence, Not Independence (12:20-31)
But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. (12:20-31)
Paul continues the theme of oneness, stressing Christians’ mutual dependence on each other and on each other’s callings and gifts.
Rugged individualism has long been considered a hallmark of Americanism. The explorer who supposedly relied on no one for anything, the pioneers who grew their own food, made their own clothes, soap, and many of their own tools and implements—these have been our heroes. We still see ads that glorify the nonconformist who goes off into the woods and lives off nature, the man who crosses the ocean alone in a small boat or raft, or who singlehandedly accomplishes some other demanding feat of skill and perseverance.
Individualism is appealing because the natural man is inclined not only to do his own thing but to do it alone, or at least do it without depending on or obeying others. Since Cain first renounced his responsibility for his brother’s welfare (Gen. 4:9), man has disdained the thought of responsibility for others.
The philosophy that we are basically self-sufficient and do not need anyone else is Satan’s philosophy and the opposite of God’s plan and will for men. The well-known lines from Invictus—“I am the captain of my fate; I am the master of my soul”—express the heart of fallen man, his great desire to be his own god.
Even as Christians we sometimes fall prey to the notion that, because we are complete in Christ and because He is our sufficiency, we therefore do not really need anyone else to live a faithful Christian life. Yet the idea completely contradicts Scripture. God has made us and redeemed us not only for Himself but for each other. We would never have heard of God or of the gospel had it not been for someone leading us to Christ or providing material for us to read. We could not have grown in faith and obedience had it not been for Christian teachers and friends who helped us and guided us. We cannot possibly fulfill our own ministry, whatever it is, without being mutually dependent on others.
Some years ago I gave a series of messages at a seminary I had never visited before. I knew none of the faculty members personally and only a few of the students. But I had been indebted to that school and its ministry for many years because of the outstanding books and articles written by the faculty. My own life was richer and my own ministry was strengthened by a seminary I never attended and by people I had never met.
Our Lord Jesus Christ might have been a truly independent person, because He was the incarnate Son of God and had no need of other men in the ways that the rest of us need each other. Yet before His public ministry began when He was thirty years old, He lived with and helped support His family. The next three years of His life were spent in almost constant companionship with the twelve men that were His disciples. The apostle Paul, who stands out so visibly among the early church leaders, sometimes is characterized as having been independent and individualistic. Yet that image is far from the truth. He always traveled and worked in the company of other believers with whom he shared companionship and ministry. He traveled thousands of miles with Barnabas, Silas, Mark, Luke, and others.
It is true that Paul would not compromise the gospel for the sake of any person, not even another apostle. When Peter yielded to the Judaizers and started requiring Gentile converts to be circumcised, Paul publicly rebuked him (Gal. 2:14). In that sense he would stand alone if necessary. But he continually learned from and was encouraged by other believers. He was anxious to go to Rome not only to preach there but to be benefited there. “For I long to see you,” he wrote, “in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine’” (Rom. 1:11-12). Those are not the words of an independent individualist but of a person who clearly and humbly understood his need not only for God but for fellow Christians. With John Wesley he would have said, “There is no such thing as solitary Christianity.”
In this chapter Paul deals with the two primary reasons some Christians never become involved in ministry. Some feel they have no gifts or abilities that are worthwhile, and so sit back and let others do the work. Those are the believers described in 1 Corinthians 12:15-17. Others feel they are so highly qualified that they do not really need the help of others to perform their ministry. Those are the believers described in verse 21 and counseled in the following verses. But neither the individualism of supposed inferiority nor the individualism of proud independence is biblical or pleasing to God.
BELIEVERS’ PROPER RELATIONSHIPS
And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. (12:21-27)
Whereas the first kind of individualist says, “They don’t need me,” the second says, “I don’t need them.” That attitude is wrong enough in the world, because God has made all of His creation interrelated, especially mankind, whom He has made in His own image. The attitude is much worse in the church, whose members have a common Savior and Lord and a common spiritual body. No eye in the church has a right to say to a hand, “I have no need of you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” That attitude was common in the Corinthian assembly. A few prominent and gifted members acted as if they were self-sufficient, as if they could carry on their ministries and daily Christian living completely by themselves or with only a few select friends. They overestimated their own importance and underestimated that of other believers. Disobeying the principles of Matthew 18:10 and Romans 14:1—15:7, these people were disdaining those they saw as weak and less significant.
On the contrary, Paul continues, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. As important as some of the prominent members of the human body are it is possible to live without them. They are important but not absolutely necessary. You can lose an eye or ear, a hand or leg, and still live. But you cannot lose your heart or liver or brain and live. Those organs are more hidden than the others but also are more vital. You can notice the breathing of your lungs and the pulse of your heartbeat, but their work is not nearly as obvious as what we do with our hands or feet. Those less noticed parts (internal organs) seem to be weaker than much of the rest of the body (external limbs), but they also are more necessary. Consequently they are more guarded by the skeleton and the rest of the body. They are more vital and more vulnerable, and are therefore given more protection. You can live without legs, but not without lungs.
The most vital ministries in a church always include some that are not obvious. The faithful prayers and services of a few dedicated saints who hold no office frequently are the most reliable and productive channels of spiritual power in a congregation. The Corinthian church had failed to be considerate and appreciative of those who did not have the “out front” gifts such as prophecy, languages, or healing. Those with less noticeable ministries are sometimes vulnerable to misunderstanding, and often to neglect and lack of appreciation. They should be protected by fellow believers just as the body protects its vital organs.
Continuing the analogy, Paul reminds us that those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness.
Less honorable probably refers to the parts of our body that are not particularly attractive. It seems best to see this as referring to the torso in general—the part on which we hang clothes. It might include flabby thighs or a paunch, but is usually covered and considered less attractive. The use of the verb peritithēmi (bestow, literally “to put around”) suggests the idea of clothing the body in general. We spend more time and money clothing those parts of our body than the ones that are more presentable (such as face and hands), and by doing so, on these we bestow more abundant honor.
Unseemly (aschēmōn) means shameful, indecent, or unpresentable, and here refers to those parts of the body that are considered private and to be covered. In virtually all societies of history, with the exceptions of a few primitive tribes, those parts of the body have been treated with modesty. The fact that many people today are discarding this natural modesty and are exploiting the display of traditionally private parts indicates the extent of modern depravity.
When people treat these unseemly members with care and modesty they come to have more abundant seemliness. It is not those parts of the body themselves, but the display of them, that is unseemly and shameful. When they are properly treated they become more decent, just as the less honorable parts, when properly treated, become more attractive.
It is from a warped sense of values that a Christian, well known because of a prominent gift, looks down on other Christians who possess no obvious gift and seeks great honor for his own. That attitude is a direct contradiction of the principle of concern that characterizes a body. It is far more consistent with self-preservation that members of the body that have greater outward beauty and more functional abilities devote themselves to the well-being of those parts that are not so well equipped but are essential to life. Every sensible person is more concerned with his heart than his hair.
Those in positions of leadership and prominence not only should not look down on those whose gifts are less noticeable but should take special care to show them appreciation and to protect them when necessary. Specially gifted Christians are specially obligated to “encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, [and] be patient with all men” (1 Thess. 5:14).
Those who have the more noticeable and attractive gifts are the more seemly members [who] have no need of encouragement and protection. Honor comes to them almost as a matter of course, and that honor they should share with members whose gifts and temperaments are less attractive and more likely to be ignored. They should give more abundant honor to that member which lacked.
I believe that the most surprising experience Christians will have is that of seeing the Lord present His rewards at the bēma, the judgment seat of Christ, where every believer will “be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). If there is such a thing as shock in heaven, I believe that is what most of us will feel when the secrets are revealed (cf. 1 Cor. 4:3-5). Jesus said that those who seek to be first in this life will be last in the next (Matt. 19:30), and that spiritual greatness is determined by the spirit of servanthood not by high position or impressive achievements (Matt. 20:27). Jesus’ response to the request of the mother of James and John reveals that suffering is more related to reward than is success (Matt. 20:20-23).
It is clear from what Paul says in the present text that heavenly reward will be based not only on what we do with our own gifts and ministries but on our attitudes toward and support of the gifts and ministries of other believers.
Mutual support and encouragement is necessary to avoid both underconfidence and overconfidence. It is also necessary to avoid division in the body. In our eyes, as in God’s eyes, every believer should be of the highest importance and every ministry of the highest importance (cf. Phil. 2:1-4). In a mature and spiritual congregation, church members will have the same care for one another. We should care as much for the nursery teacher as for the pastor, as much for the janitor as for the Sunday school superintendent.
In the obedient and loving church that God has planned for His children, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Only that sort of mutual love and concern can prevent or heal division and preserve unity. The one who is hurt is consoled and the one who is blessed is rejoiced with. There is no disdain for one another, no rivalry or competition, no envy or malice, no inferiority or superiority, but only love—love that is patient, kind, and not jealous, boastful, or arrogant; love that does not act unbecomingly or seek its own and is not easily provoked; love that never rejoices in unrighteousness but always rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:4-6).
The only people that can love in that way and be unified in that way are Christians, who are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And only Christ’s love can produce such love.
Paul reminded the Corinthian believers that, individually and collectively, they were Christ’s very body, the church for whom He died. They were one in Him and so should be one in each other. They were “not lacking in any gift” (1:7) and were perfectly equipped to represent and serve the Lord. As a local congregation they were Christ’s body in miniature, a representation of Jesus Christ to all of Corinth. Every local church is fully equipped to serve the Lord, just as every believer is fully equipped to serve Him. Any lacking, any deficiency, is always in our recognition and use of what He has provided.
GOD’S PERFECT PROVISION
And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? (12:28-30)
Paul again reminds the Corinthians of God’s sovereign and perfect provision in equipping His church. It is unified and diversified. “One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (12:11). As in 12:8-10, the apostle does not here give an exhaustive list of gifts but simply illustrates them—repeating some, deleting some, and adding others—to show the variety of ways in which the Lord calls and equips His people to do His work harmoniously. He continues to stress the same three key points: sovereignty, unity, and diversity.
In verse 28 Paul first mentions certain gifted men and then certain spiritual gifts. The gifted men are appointed, just as members are placed, or appointed, in the church as God plans (v 18, where the same Greek verb, tithemi, is used). The term basically means to set or place, but is often used, as in these two verses, to indicate official appointment to an office (cf. John 15:16; Acts 20:28, “made”; 2 Tim. 1:11). God has sovereignly appointed first apostles, second prophets, third teachers. The other divinely appointed offices are those of evangelist and pastor, or pastor-teacher (Eph. 4:11).
The first two offices mentioned in verse 28, those of apostle and of prophet, had three basic responsibilities: (1) to lay the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20); (2) to receive and declare the revelation of God’s Word (Acts 11:28; 21:10-11; Eph. 3:5); and (3) to give confirmation of that Word through “signs and wonders and miracles” (2 Cor. 12:12; cf. Acts 8:6-7; Heb. 2:3-4).
The first of the gifted men in the New Testament church were the apostles, of whom Jesus Christ Himself is foremost (Heb. 3:1). The basic meaning of apostle (apostolos) is simply that of one sent on a mission. In its primary and most technical sense apostle is used in the New Testament only of the twelve, including Matthias, who replaced Judas (Acts 1:26), and of Paul, who was uniquely set apart as apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:15-17; cf. 1 Cor. 15:7-9; 2 Cor. 11:5). The qualifications for that apostleship were having been chosen directly by Christ and having witnessed the resurrected Christ (Mark 3:13; Acts 1:22-24). Paul was the last to meet those qualifications (Rom. 1:1; etc.). It is not possible therefore, as some claim, for there to be apostles in the church today. Some have observed that the apostles were like delegates to a constitutional convention. When the convention is over, the position ceases. When the New Testament was completed, the office of apostle ceased.
The term apostle is used in a more general sense of other men in the early church, such as Barnabas (Acts 14:4), Silas and Timothy (1 Thess. 2:6), and a few other outstanding leaders (Rom. 16:7; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25). The false apostles spoken of in 2 Cor. 11:13 no doubt counterfeited this class of apostleship, since the others were limited to thirteen and were well known. The true apostles in the second group were called “messengers (apostoloi) of the churches” (2 Cor. 8:23), whereas the thirteen were apostles of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; etc).
Apostles in both groups were authenticated “by signs and wonders and miracles” (2 Cor. 12:12), but neither group was self-perpetuating. In neither sense is the term apostle used in the book of Acts after 16:4. Nor is there any New Testament record of an apostle in either group being replaced when he died.
The text here affirms that prophets were also appointed by God as specially gifted men, and differ from those believers who have the gift of prophecy (12:10). Not all such believers could be called prophets. It seems that the office of prophet was exclusively for work within a local congregation, whereas that of apostleship was a much broader ministry, not confined to any area, as implied in the word apostolos (“one who is sent on a mission”). Paul, for example, is referred to as a prophet when he ministered locally in the Antioch church (Acts 13:1), but elsewhere is always called an apostle.
The prophets sometime spoke revelation from God (Acts 11:21-28) and sometimes simply expounded revelation already given (as implied in Acts 13:1, where they are connected with teachers). They always spoke for God but did not always give a newly revealed message from God. The prophets were second to the apostles, and their message was to be judged by that of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:37). Another distinction between the two offices may have been that the apostolic message was more general and doctrinal, whereas that of the prophets was more personal and practical.
Like the apostles, however, their, office ceased with the completion of the New Testament, just as the Old Testament prophets disappeared when that testament was completed, some 400 years before Christ. The church was established “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone” (Eph. 2:20). Once the foundation was laid, the work of the apostles and prophets was finished. The work of interpreting and proclaiming the now-written Word was taken over by evangelists, pastor-teachers, and teachers. The purpose of apostles and prophets was to equip the church with right doctrine; the purpose of evangelists, pastor-teachers, and teachers is to equip the church for effective ministry. The offices are listed here in 1 Corinthians without chronological distinctiveness or reference to duration, because at that time they were all operative.
The third office is that of teacher, which may be the same as that of pastor-teacher (see Eph. 4:11; Acts 13:1). I am inclined, however, to consider them as being separate. The teacher not only has the gift of teaching but God’s calling to teach. He is called and gifted for the ministry of studying and interpreting the Word of God to the church. All who have the office of teaching also have the gift of teaching, but not everyone with the gift has the office.
The second half of verse 28 lists several representative spiritual gifts, both temporary and permanent. The temporary sign gifts of miracles and healings are discussed under 12:9-10. Various kinds of tongues will be discussed in following chapters. The other two are permanent serving gifts.
The gift of helps is a gift for service in the broadest sense of helping and supporting others in day-by-day, often unnoticed, ways. It is the same gift as that of serving (Rom. 12:7), though another Greek word is used in that text. Helps (antilēmpsis) is an especially beautiful word, meaning to take the burden off someone else and place it on oneself. That gift doubtlessly is one of the most widely distributed of any, and is a gift that is immeasurably important in supporting those who minister other gifts. Paul used the same term in his final words to the Ephesian elders, as he met with them at Miletus on his way to certain arrest in Jerusalem: “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).
To the Philippians Paul speaks of Epaphroditus as my “fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need,… risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me” (Phil. 2:25, 30). Whatever other gifts he may have had, Epaphroditus clearly had the gift of helps and ministered it faithfully.
The gift of helps is not glamorous or showy and, as in the Corinthian church, often is not highly prized or appreciated. But it is God’s gift, and its faithful ministry is highly prized by Him and by any leader who knows the value of supporting people behind the scenes.
The gift of administrations is the gift of leadership. The term comes from kubernēsis, literally meaning “to steer or pilot” a ship, and is so used in Acts 27:11. It refers to one who keeps a ship, or a church, on course toward its proper destination. In the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament) the term is used several times, in each case in relation to wisdom. In Proverbs 12:5 it is translated “counsels,” and in Ezekiel, wise men are compared to “pilots” (27:8).
The gift of the “word of wisdom” (1 Cor. 12:8) has to do with understanding and practically applying the truths of God’s Word. The wisdom of those with the gift of administrations lies in the ability to make wise decisions and to mobilize, motivate, and direct others toward an objective. A pastor most often has the gift of administrations, a necessary ability if he is to lead the church well (cf. 1 Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7, 17, 24). Like the pilot of a ship, he is not owner but steward. The church belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ; the one gifted with administrations is His steward. There is nothing to indicate that the gift is limited to pastors. It is found in many others to whom the Lord has given the ministry of leading in various ways.
Because it was “not lacking in any gift,” we know that the Corinthian church had gifted leaders. And because the leaders apparently were not doing their work “properly and in an orderly manner” (14:40; cf. v. 33), we also know that they were not exercising their gifts, or else the people refused to follow their leadership.
Paul’s primary point in listing the offices and gifts of 12:28 was to emphasize again the “varieties of ministries” (v. 5) God gives to His church. Mentioning the offices and most of the gifts again, he asks rhetorically about each: all are not that type of minister are they? or all do not have that gift do they? God does not intend for everyone to have the same gift, and He does not intend for everyone to have gifts that are out front and noticed. He distributes the offices and the gifts according to His sovereign purpose, “just as He wills” (12:11). The responsibility of believers is to accept the ministries they are given with gratitude and to use them with faithfulness.
It is interesting that the two gifts mentioned in verse 28 that are not mentioned in verses 29-30 are helps and administrations, probably the ones least prized by the Corinthians, but clearly the ones for which they had the greatest need.
BELIEVERS’ PROPER RESPONSE
But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. (12:31)
In light of the entire chapter up to this point, in which Paul stresses God’s sovereignty in distributing the gifts and believers’ responsibility to be content with them, it seems impossible to interpret verse 31, as some do, as an appeal to seek the showier gifts such as tongues. Paul’s repeated point has been that we do not choose or seek the gifts. He has also made plain that the value and importance of gifts does not lie in their prominence or in their appeal to human nature.
Because zēloō (earnestly desire) usually has the negative connotation of coveting jealously or enviously (but contrast 2 Cor. 11:2), and because the Greek indicative and imperative forms are identical, the first half of the verse could be translated, “But you earnestly desire the greater gifts.” That rendering seems much more appropriate to the context, both of what precedes and of what follows. It certainly is consistent with the tone of the letter and the sin of the Corinthians. Because they clearly prized the showier gifts, the seemingly greater gifts, it would seem foolish of Paul to command them to do what they already were eagerly doing.
The Corinthians were to stop seeking gifts, because to do so is both presumptuous and purposeless. Every believer already is perfectly gifted in the way that God planned and which best suits their ministry for Him. What they needed to seek was a still more excellent way, the way of contentment and harmony that he has been exhorting in chapter 12 and the way of love that he is about to show them in chapter 13. These things they did not have but desperately needed. (Note: Further insight into the subjects contained in these chapters can be obtained by reading the author’s book The Charismatics [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978] and noting the sources in the bibliography.)