Many Parts, One Body
1 Corinthians 12:14-27
Excerpt
in first-century pagan society the body image was used to quell political factions (Mitchell 1991:556–76; D. Martin 1995:39): as each person or group performed the hierarchically assigned roles given by nature (often class determined), then and only then would the whole body politic be preserved from chaos. This is not Paul’s use of the metaphor in this section. Instead he reverses the standard use and argues that there is no hierarchy of important or elite versus unimportant persons in the body that is Christ’s. All are important and necessary to the realization and functioning of the one body that God has put together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it (v. 24). More
Johnson, Alan F. 1 Corinthians. Vol. 7. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004. Print. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series.
Comments