1 Corinthians 12:21-26

RPM , Volume 14, Number 14, April 1 to April 7, 2012 1 Corinthians 12:21-26 A Sermon By Rev. Scott Lindsay If you have a Bible, let me invite you to turn with me to Paul€™s First Letter to the Corinthians. If you have been with us for any time at all recently then you will know that we are in the second main division of this letter which starts at chapter 7, and goes to the end, and which is composed of Paul€™s responses to a number of different questions the Corinthians believers have asked him. The current question, or set of questions, that Paul has been addressing since about the second verse of chapter 11 have to do with their public meetings and what sorts of things should and should not be taking place when they are gathered together. We have previously dealt with two (2) matters related to all this in chapter 11, and in chapter 12 we started looking at a third (3rd) matter - spiritual gifts and their use and abuse - especially the gifts of tongues and prophecy. In our first look at this subject - 12:1-11 - we saw two foundational things: Firstly, we saw that amazing experiences do not, in themselves, prove anything. The content and context of an experience is more important than the fact of having had an experience, no matter how amazing. Secondly, we saw that God€™s plan for the church was that it would be an expression of both unity and diversity. Following that, in last week€™s study we went a little further, focusing on verses 12-20, and saw how Paul addressed the Corinthians who felt - or were being made to feel - that their gifts were not very worthwhile to the Body of Christ. This week, we turn to the other side of that issue - people who felt that their gifts were superior or at least felt that their gifts rendered them self-sufficient and so they had little need or respect for those who had different or, as they saw it, lesser gifts. In other words, in 12:21-26, Paul turns his attention to the arrogant Corinthian believers who were creating the discouraged Corinthian believers he addressed in verses 12-20! That will be the focus of our attention this morning and, with that as a brief introduction, let€™s pray, and we€™ll read the passage together.... Great Heavenly Father, Giver of all good gifts, we turn to you now, at the beginning of our study, to ask for your kind superintendence on this time of teaching. Help us to see what is true and help us to see what difference the truth makes. May we be encouraged to a greater trust and dependence on you, and fuller confidence in the provision you have made for us in your Son. In Jesus€™ name we ask it, Amen. (Read 1 Corinthians 12:21-26) As we have already seen - after writing some things to address those who were perhaps discouraged about their gifts and role within the Body of Christ - Paul wants to say something to those whose sinful sense of superiority was causing such trouble in the first place. And, just as with the previous passage, Paul uses the analogy of the human body to make his point. He envisions, once again, an absurd scenario - an eye saying to a hand - €œI have no need of you€ or a head saying to its feet - €œI have no need of you€. Now, in terms of the human body, all such thinking is clearly ridiculous. How often does the eye need the hand to help it out - to get something out of the way or shield it or protect it? A great deal, as you know. How often does the head need the feet to take it places it wants to go or simply get out of harm€™s way? Well it goes without saying, doesn€™t it? And yet, these sorts of statements, which are clearly foolish in terms of how the different parts of the human body might relate to one another are, nevertheless, the very sorts of statements and attitudes some parts of Christ€™s body are holding toward other parts of Christ€™s body in Corinth. But, just as with the analogy Paul uses, for some members of the Corinthian congregation to do this and to feel that, for example, the gift of tongues made them superior and self-sufficient such that they didn€™t need anyone else - well, that makes about as much sense as the eye saying to the hand - €œI don€™t need you€ or the head saying to the feet - €œI can get along fine without you€. And so among the Corinthians there are two related issues here: 1) a false sense of superiority and, with that a 2) foolish sense of independence or self-sufficiency.... Well, having made the problem fairly clear in vs21, Paul goes on in vs22ff to further explain why these sorts of attitudes and actions must not continue amongst them. Carrying on with the analogy of the human body, Paul makes some further €œanatomical€ observations, you might say, that undermine and challenge the unhelpful attitudes that some of the believers were maintaining. Now in examining Paul€™s use of these next analogies, two things ought to be said. Firstly, it is not crystal clear what every reference in the next 3 verses is all about. We can be fairly confident about most of it, but there are some elements of what he says that we cannot be absolutely certain about. Still, even allowing for some uncertainty, the overall point, I believe, is clear. Secondly, one of the reasons Paul uses their analogy of the body is because such analogies had been made and used by Greek philosophers for some time. However, whereas among Greek writers this analogy was typically used to enforce a hierarchical view of society and a fairly rigid class system - Paul uses it for the opposite purpose - to bring an end to such thinking in the church - which makes his use of this analogy all the more pointed, amongst his original hearers. So, what is Paul saying in vs22-24a? Well, at least two things come through pretty clearly. For starters, look at verse 22. Most scholars agree that Paul€™s reference to €œparts of the body that seem weaker€ is most likely a reference to a person€™s internal organs - heart, lungs, liver, etc. €" all those internal bits and pieces that - because of their vulnerability - are protected by layers of skin and muscle and even bone, in some cases. These organs, in spite of their need to be so protected - unlike a hand or a foot that can take quite a beating - but these organs are nevertheless absolutely vital. Think about the spinal cord for a moment. Here is a part of our body that is, in itself, pretty fragile. The slightest accidental nick with a scalpel can have lasting, tragic ramifications. By God€™s design it is completely encased in bone - protected by the spinal vertebrae. And yet, in spite of its constitutional weakness, it is extremely important to the human body, isn€™t it? This is the sort of thing that Paul is talking about. Some of the Corinthian believers are looking upon some of their brothers and sisters and thinking that they are not very gifted, or not as spiritual perhaps, or not very strong - however you want to put it. But you get the idea - they don€™t think much of them. They do not see how they fit into the Body of Christ - they do not value them or their contribution. They think that the church does not really need them - they can get along fine without them. They are regarded as dispensable, disposable, and un-necessary. But Paul says to those with this mentality - you€™re wrong. The parts that seem weaker to you, the parts you think you can do with out - those parts are indispensable. That is the attitude he wants the Corinthians to have. That is the perspective he wants them to maintain. They simply do not have the right to dismiss one another as they have been doing. That€™s one thing that seems to be fairly clear. The other thing that seems to come through pretty clearly is found in vs23-24a (re-read). Now it may be that Paul is trying to communicate one main idea here in two different ways, or he may be making a couple slightly different points - one in the first half of v23 and another in the second half of 23 and first part of verse 24. I don€™t know for sure. This is what I was referring to earlier when I indicated that we couldn€™t be certain about every single detail of these verses. Still, at least part of what he says here seems pretty obvious. As we think about the parts of our bodies that €œseem less honorable€ or are €œless presentable€, to use Paul€™s words, it is not difficult to see that he is referring here to the parts of our bodies that we keep clothed, or covered up - or which we ought to keep covered up - I should perhaps say, in this age of rapidly evaporating clothing. Think, for example, about our sexual or reproductive organs. On the one hand, we feel a need to cover these up and protect ourselves from exposure. And, indeed, we would feel shame or embarrassment if we were uncovered. At the same time, we value the function and role that these parts play - both in terms of their capacity for the God-given enjoyment of sex in its proper context AND in terms of their role in procreation - having children and raising families, etc. We place great honor and value on both of these things. And so, in applying this analogy, Paul seems to be saying something like this: that even on those parts of ourselves that we do feel differently about - that look different, and have a different sort of role - we do not ignore them, or denigrate them, or think we can do without them. On the contrary, we go out of our way, expending extra effort, time, resources, including money to cover, clothe, adorn and protect them from exposure and so prevent shame and dishonor from descending upon the whole body. This is quite a contrast to some of the Corinthians whose response to those parts of the €œChristian€ body - i.e., the church - that they see as dishonorable or less presentable is not at all like this - their response has been not to adorn them, or protect them or value them or bestow honor upon them in any way. Their response has been just the opposite: to simply dismiss them, write them off. Their response has been to say, €œWho needs them?€ Well, as Paul has tried to make clear - they need them - even if they do not see it, even if they do not fully understand how or why. That is how God has designed things. That is how he has designed the human body - giving greater honor to the part that lacked it - and that is how God has designed his church. And to what purpose has God done these things? Verse 25 tells us - that there may be no division in the body, but that members may have the same care for one another. Paul wants them to have a unity that is both deep and wide. He wants them to be so united in fact that, as verse 26 puts it - one member€™s suffering - is painful and grievous for all the members, and one member€™s rejoicing brings gladness and joy to everyone else. Sadly, that€™s not where the Corinthians are - but it€™s where Paul wants them to be. Now, there€™s more that could be said - but the little bit we have seen thus far is, I think enough for us to think about. For starters, one of the clearest implications of these verses is what they say about our need to value one another in the body. And even though Paul most likely has in view the particular problem in Corinth: which is tongues-speaking people not valuing non-tongues speaking people - nevertheless, the reality is that this sort of problem is not isolated to that particular example. The fact is that this sort of elitism can come from Christians of every stripe, and on a number of different fronts. For example, people who are deeply involved in mercy ministries, which is a great thing, will sometimes bemoan the lack of involvement of others and the blindness of Christians when it comes to addressing these sorts of issues. Now sometimes people in these situations are simply expressing their sadness over this state of affairs, which is, I think, appropriate. However, I have noticed how, sometimes, people in such situations can feel somehow that they are superior or more spiritual than others who clearly do no €œget€ the gospel as well as they do. And so, at least in their minds, they will dismiss these believers as being of very little use for the kingdom. And a wall begins to form which, if not addressed over time, will see such persons isolating themselves from the rest of the church or writing it off as ineffective and useless. Or, to use another example, people who are given to understanding things in a deep theological way can easily become quite proud of that fact and often express little patience or kindness toward those that they feel are €œshallow€ or poorly taught. This too can create divisions and a dismissive attitude toward others in the body. Paul€™s response to the Corinthians who were doing these things was to say that they had no right to do this. And this is God€™s word for his people today. We have no right to dismiss, or write off, or marginalize, or ignore those members of the body who are differently gifted or whose role is not the same as ours, or who do not seem to be pulling their weight. Now, to be sure, the reality is that we are a church full of fallen, sinful people. And that means sometimes you see people and you conclude that they are not very useful to the church because, in fact, they aren€™t very useful to the church - at least not at the moment. And there are a lot of reasons for these things - sometimes people have something huge and overwhelming going on - in their family, with their children, with their health, in their marriage - and its all they can do to keep their head above water at the moment. Sometimes that is what is going on and yet you don€™t know any of these things so, from where you€™re standing, there is not much that commends these people to you. And sometimes the problem is other things - their own sin, their own poor choices, their own messed-up priorities, their pursuit of some idolatry. There are all sorts of reasons why people are the way they are, and they appear the way they appear. But even so, Paul€™s words here spur us on in another direction from the one we might have otherwise taken. Rather than writing these other members of the body off, rather than dismissing them, or de-valuing them, or regarding them as dispensable or disposable - our desire ought to be to see them brought in, built up, strengthened, nurtured, encouraged, and changed. The signal that we need to send to each other is not, €œI don€™t need you€ but just the opposite, €œI need you€ or better yet, €œWe need you. This body needs you.€ We simply do not have the right to just dismiss people - not even those who are disobedient or distracted. Yes, we might need to challenge them. We might even need to rebuke one another from time to time on these issues. But we cannot dismiss one another. We cannot write each other off. We cannot give up on one another. Secondly, we need to acknowledge that there are differences between the various members of this €œbody€ that is the church. If you look at the language Paul uses here, he talks about heads and feet and eyes and hands - those are all different parts and have different functions. Even further, he talks about some parts €œseeming€ weaker than others. He talks about some parts being €œunpresentable€ and thus requiring more care and attention, and he talks about other parts that are €œmore presentable€. All of this language speaks loudly and clearly of variations in our gifts, and our placement and our roles. Even further it speak of a variation in the distribution and degrees of the gifts. And that€™s okay. We need to acknowledge that. But in the same breath we need to acknowledge that a variation in one€™s gifting or role does not equate to a variation in one€™s worth. The picture painted in these verses is of a body in which all the parts play a valuable and worthwhile role - nothing is dispensable. Indeed there is a concern, as vs24 shows, to make sure that those parts which might have been accorded less honor, receive greater honor. In other words, there is a concern to €œeven out the honor€ - if I can put it that way. In practical terms this means the conscientious effort of some members of the body to go out of the way to build up, encourage, and strengthen other members. For example, there is a preacher in London named Dick Lucas who is, as I think I have told you before, one of the most effective preachers I have ever heard. And I have had the privilege of taking part in a couple different preaching workshops with him in the past ten years. And one of the things that characterizes his workshops is how encouraging he is. I mean, here we all are, none of whom could hold a candle to this guy in terms of our ability or experience, and yet he always managed to find something genuine, sincere, and encouraging to say about each one of us as we stumbled through our sermons. And he was a great model of this sort of thing - one member of the body working hard to build up another part. He could have chided us, belittled us, dismissed us as hopeless preachers. But he did nothing of the sort. He used his gifts to encourage and build up others who were decidedly less gifted. Thirdly, Paul€™s summary principle in vs26, is a great challenge for us as a church. €œIf one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.€ Now one of the significances of that is to say that, in the church, you cannot diminish another person, without diminishing yourself and, indeed, the church as a whole. The Corinthians who were writing off those members that they saw as weak and dispensable were only hurting themselves and the church as a whole. The same thing is true for us. When we fail to value or care for one another in the same way - we diminish ourselves as a church. But the opposite is true as well: when we honor another member, we bring honor and rejoicing upon the whole body. It is a victory for all, a celebration for all. And so, to the degree that we are building up another believer, to that same degree we personally, and the whole body, benefit by these things. The other thing not to miss in all this is that in order for the suffering of one member to affect the rest of the body, and the honoring of one member to bring rejoicing to the rest of the body - in order for these things to happen there must be a certain amount of involvement with one another and communication with one another. In other words, Paul€™s words are assuming a community in which people are involved in one another€™s lives, where relationships are being built, and bonds being formed, where joys and sorrows are being expressed and prayed about. The kind of thing that Paul is NOT envisioning is a sort of €œDrive-by Christianity€ or a church which, in reality is a kind of voluntary organization with a number of very loosely connected individuals whose paths cross for a couple hours, 3 out of 4 Sundays a month. That's not what Paul has in mind. Paul is talking here about a body whose members are connected and are in touch with what is going on with each other. Now, all of these things are good and true and right - and we need to give ourselves to taking these things to heart, and acting on those things where, by God€™s Spirit, we are rightly convicted. However, the reality is that in spite of our best intentions, and in spite of what Paul says here, we find ourselves still struggling with these things. Like the Corinthians, we often have a false sense of superiority - for various reasons - and we look down our spiritual noses upon one another - and we entertain these crazy ideas that we can get along without other believers or at least, without certain believers. But the more we look at the cross, the more these things will and ought to disappear. Remembering that there was nothing in ourselves that deserved or merited Christ€™s death ought to deliver us from any illusions about our superiority or any sort of alleged self-sufficiency. Understanding how needy and broken we really are ought to make us glad that we belong to a body composed of different members with different gifts - and all of those members and gifts are meant for us - for all of us - for the building up of the body - indeed, for the building up of this body. And so even as we pursue these things and strive for changed attitudes and changed behaviors - which is all fine and needs to be done - the most fundamental change that has to happen if we are ever to have the sort of community and valuing of one another that Paul is envisioning here - is that we need to be humbled before the cross of Christ - seeing our brokenness - so that there is nothing in us that we would dare hold up as a point of pride or superiority. And yet, along with that, we need to see more and more deeply his great grace and provision so that, while there is less and less in ourselves that might become a point of boasting there is more and more of Christ and what he is doing in and through us which we can hold up as that which we prize above all else. And you see, it is when we all value the same thing - that is when we will function as the body we were meant to be. When the thing that we treasure most is Christ himself - when we all want that and want to see him exalted and receive his proper glory - then we will see the body function as it is meant to function, without division, with members caring for one another with the same care - because the pride and competition are gone, members suffering together, rejoicing together - and all to the glory of God.