Lessons #435 and 436

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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +

+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +

+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +

+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +

+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +

+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +

+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +

+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +

+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +

+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +

+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +

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Treatment of parts of the body (1 Cor 12:20-26)

²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Let me refresh your mind with the overall message of the section of 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 which is Unity and diversity are essential in the body of Christ, that is, the church of Christ. This message, we stated, places some responsibilities on you as a believer in Christ. We have considered the first two responsibilities you have regarding this message. The first responsibility as given in the subsection of 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 which is that You should recognize the unity and diversity in the church of Christ. The second based on the subsection of 1 Corinthians 12:14-19 is that You should focus on facts stated about members of the church of Christ. This second responsibility led us to consider five facts that you should know. A quick review of these facts is in order. The first is that the church of Christ consists of several members. The second is that no believer can be separated from the body of Christ. The third is that each member is necessary for the functioning of the local church of Christ or the universal church of Christ. The fourth is that it is God who places each member of the church in the church to function as He wants. The fifth is that there would have been no church of Christ as we know it if it consists of only one member. This brings us to the third responsibility you have as given in the subsection of 1 Corinthians 12:20-26.

The third responsibility you have regarding the overall message of 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 is Unity and diversity are essential in the body of Christ, that is, the church of Christ is that You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ, that is, the church of Christ. We will present this responsibility by linking it to reasons or positions that are necessary to bear in mind to help each believer carry out this third responsibility.

The apostle prior to stating the first reason we should carry out the third responsibility, conveys that the thing he states in verse 20 is in a sense a summary statement of the reality of the unity and diversity in the church of Christ instead of the unreal situation he referenced in the preceding verse, that is, 1 Corinthians 12:19. We said that the apostle in a sense makes a summary statement in verse 20 because what he states in verse 20 is identical with how the apostle began his discourse on the necessity of unity and diversity in the church of Christ as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:12:

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

We indicated the apostle is concerned with that which is a reality in contrast to that which is unreal he mentioned in verse 19, because the apostle begins verse 20 in the Greek with two Greek particles. The first particle is a Greek word (nyn) that is used in two general ways. It is used as a marker of time with focus on the moment as such so means “now.” Another usage is as a marker of time with focus not so much on the present time as the situation pertaining at a given moment hence means “now, as it is.” A second is a Greek word (de) that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences the marker may be left untranslated. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, but it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. It can also be used to indicate transition to something new or to resume a discourse after an interruption. When the two Greek particles are used to form a phrase that could be translated literally “but now” the resultant Greek phrase may be translated in different ways. Examination of the Greek phrase that is used fifty times in the Greek NT and nine of these by Apostle Paul reveals the phrase has been translated in four different ways. It is translated “but now” in the sense of at the present in contrast to another time as the word is used to convey what Abraham said to the rich man who was being tormented in hell as in the last clause of Luke 16:25:

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

The Greek phrase is translated only with the word “now” to emphasize temporal aspect of the phrase as we read about what has come to the Gentiles who are now the beneficiaries of God’s mercy as we read in Romans 11:30:

Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,

Another translation of the Greek phrase is “as it is” where the emphasis is on the situation in a given moment as it is used in Jesus’ statement to the Jews regarding their intention to kill Him as we read in John 8:40:

As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.

Still another translation of the Greek phrase is “but as it is” to recognize not only a present situation but also something that is contrasting to something previously stated. It is in this way that the Greek phrase is used to describe the situation of children in a mixed marriage where they have been set apart by their exposure to the truth of God’s word that would ordinarily not be available to children whose parents are both unbelievers as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:14:

For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:20, it is translated “as it is” in the NIV to recognize that what is about to be stated is that which is real in contrast to what is unreal of the body consisting only of a body part as in the conditional clause of 1 Corinthian 12:19 If they were all one part. Unity in diversity in the body of Christ is a reality. Once the apostle gets our attention regarding the reality of unity in diversity, he proceeded to provide us the first reason we need to consider, to help us in carrying out the third responsibility that we have stated.

A first reason You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ is because of the importance of unity and diversity in the church of Christ. It is this reason that is given in 1 Corinthians 12:20 there are many parts, but one body. This sentence is an emphatic summary of the concept of unity in diversity in the church of Christ. The reason for this assertion is that the concept of diversity is again introduced in this sentence, and it is the last time in this discourse that is concerned with body and its many parts that the idea of unity in diversity is referenced. The idea of diversity in the body of Christ is given in the phrase many parts. The many parts are those of the human body but because the apostle is dealing with analogy the phrase is a reference to the many members of the church of Christ or the body of Christ. The concept of unity in the body of Christ is given in the phrase one body. We will say more about this phrase shortly but for now we simply wanted to point out that it is the phrase that conveys the concept of the unity in the body of Christ. Anyway, it is our contention that because of the two phrases we considered that 1 Corinthians 12:20 is an emphatic summary to the concept of the unity in diversity in the body of Christ. This is because, as we said, this is the last time the two phrases or their equivalents are used together by the apostle in the section of 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 that is concerned with the concept of body and its parts. The idea of many parts and one body is mentioned in a passage we cited previously, that is, 1 Corinthians 12:12:

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

The same concept of many parts and one body is implied in 1 Corinthians 12:14:

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.

However, after verse 20 the apostle no longer mentioned together the concept of many parts and one body in the same sentence. Hence, we are correct in saying that verse 20 is an emphatic summary since it is not only a repeat of what is implied in the previous verses but also the last time, we encounter the concept of many parts and one body.

We should recognize that the phrase one body refers not merely to human body but that which is unique in that it is used to imply the body of Christ. There is nothing in heaven and on earth that is like this unique body of Christ that we call the church. It is true that the word “one” in the phrase one body in 1 Corinthians 12:20 is translated from a Greek word (hen) that in our verse has the sense of “single unit,” in contrast to more than one but the body as a reference to the church of Christ is unique in that it is composed of two different groups of people as the Bible recognized. In spite of how people try to classify themselves at the present time, the Scripture recognizes the world of humanity as consisting of two groups: Jews and Gentiles, that is, those who were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the rest of humankind. This one body that is the church of Christ is composed of the two groups that form a third group that is described as new humanity as the Holy Spirit conveys through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:15:

by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,

The phrase the two refers to Jews and Gentiles that form the new humanity, that is, the one new man where the division of people into two different groups has been abolished, so to say. Anyway, the point is that in Christ there is no division of people into groups. This does not change the fact that there are physical differences between the various members of the body of Christ but that such differences are not important in the body of Christ and should not be a concern for those in the body of Christ. The fact remains that the apostle in the analogy of the body wants to convey the unity in the church but not uniformity as that will imply lack of diversity.

Diversity of any kind is from God, for there is evidence that when God first created humans, they looked alike but sometime later He brought about diversity in how people looked. The Scripture does not go into this detail since it is not important, but the pseudepigraphal book of Enoch referenced this fact when it is reported that the Father of Noah was shocked when he was born because he had a different complexion than himself and others so that he was the first with a skin color different from others as implied in the narrative of Book of Enoch 106:10–12:

¹⁰ And now, my father, hear me: unto Lamech my son there hath been born a son, the like of whom there is none, and his nature is not like man’s nature, and the colour of his body is whiter than snow and redder than the bloom of a rose, and the hair of his head is whiter than white wool, and his eyes are like the rays of the sun, and he opened his eyes and thereupon lighted up the whole house. ¹¹ And he arose in the hands of the midwife, and opened his mouth and blessed the Lord of heaven. ¹² And his father Lamech became afraid and fled to me, and did not believe that he was sprung from him, but that he was in the likeness of the angels of heaven; and behold I have come to thee that thou mayest make known to me the truth.’¹

The book goes on to explain that Noah was a special child that he and his three sons would be spared when the Lord cleanses the earth because of the sins of angels in having sexual relationships with humans that led to birth of those who are half human and half angel. Based on this information, it would seem that it is through Noah that God introduced what we call today “ethnic diversity.” It is implied that because Noah was an exception being an albino and was different in his color from that of his wife that that explains why the three sons of Noah have different hues as ancient tradition indicates. Ham was the darkest hence the father of all dark people and some slightly dark people, Shem was brown and so the father of all brown people and Japheth was the fairest of the three sons of Noah and so is the father of “Caucasian people.” What we have explained makes good sense as it is clear that if a fair skinned person is married to a dark skinned individual their children range from dark to being very fair in complexion. In fact, it is this explanation that makes it easy to believe what the Bible says about humans on the earth today as coming from a common ancestor Noah as we read in Genesis 9:19:

These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth.

(By the way, I am about to add more information to our study of the subject of race or skin color in Genesis. If you want the detail of this study, go to the website of Berean Bible church, Bay Springs and go to lessons and to Genesis study, begin with lesson #71.) Without accepting that Noah was the first person with a different skin color among the antediluvian people, one is at a loss of how to explain this passage in Genesis in light of the fact that people in the world today have fair to dark skin. Science actually confirms what we have here in the book of Enoch although scientists do not say much about this probably because of the implications. Science speaks of “melanin.” According to scientists, melanin is a substance in your body that produces hair, eye, and skin pigmentation. The more melanin you produce, the darker your eyes, hair and skin will be. They say that the amount of melanin in your body depends on a few different factors, including genetics and how much sun exposure your ancestral population had. The implication of the existence of melanin is that the original humans had more of it before they began to lose it leading to people becoming lighter in their skin color. It is impossible for the first human to have been without much melanin and suddenly acquired a lot of it. No! There must have been abundance of it before there can be less of it. Consider the fact that when a person spends more time in the sun the body produces more melanin, that is why a lighter skin person gets tanned when the person spends a lot of time in the sun but never enough to be dark skinned. The point of what I am describing is that God was the One that introduced diversity in physical make up of people. He had a purpose for doing this and so we should not be concerned about physical diversity since it is from Him. Furthermore, spiritual diversity, is from God since He gives different spiritual gifts to different believers and so no believer should be concerned with diversity whether in a physical or spiritual sense because both are from God unless you are not afraid to question God for His actions. In any event, the first reason You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ is because of the importance of unity and diversity in the church of Christ.

A second reason You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ is because each member depends on the other. This second reason stems from the first reason. We say this because the English of 1 Corinthians 12:21 should begin with a translation of a Greek word (de) used in the verse that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences the marker may be left untranslated. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, but it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. Majority of our English versions did not translate this Greek word in verse 21 but it should. The NASB translated with the word “and” which is a possible translation but it seems to me that the Greek word is used with the sense of “and for this reason” so that verse 21 should begin with the word “so” as in the HCSB or “so then” as in the TEV. If verse 21 begins this way, it is easier to perceive that what is given in verse 21 is related to what is stated in verse 20 which is, there is unity in diversity in the body of Christ.

The fact that there is unity in diversity in church of Christ leads to the assertion that each member of the body of Christ needs the other. You may think that you do not need other believers now but sooner or later you will come to recognize that that is not an attainable position. If our spiritual life is meaningful and important to us, it will be clear to us that we need each other in the body of Christ. It is this fact that we need each other that the apostle conveyed in verse 21 using two pairs of body parts. The first pair of body parts is used in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!”. Literally, the Greek reads the eye not is able to say to the hand, “I have no need of you,”. This is because of the Greek words used. The word cannot of the NIV combines a negative particle and a verb. The Greek used a Greek verb (dynamai) that means “to possess capability (whether because of personal or external factors) for experiencing or doing something” hence means “can, be capable.” The Greek word is preceded by a strong negative (ou) that is an objective negative, denying the reality of alleged fact fully and absolutely in contrast to another Greek negative (mē) that is a subjective negative, implying a conditional and hypothetical negation. Thus, the apostle states strongly what the eye could not declare to the hand.

The thing the eye could not utter to the hand is that it has no need for the hand as in the translation of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 12:21 I don’t need you that literally reads I have no need of you. The word “need” we used in the literal translation is translated from a Greek noun (chreia) that has a range of meanings. For example, the word can mean “need” in the sense of duty or office or service as it is used for the service to be rendered by the seven men appointed to administer the mundane affairs of the early church as described in Acts 6:3:

Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them

Here the translators of the NIV rendered the Greek noun with the word “responsibility.” The Greek noun can also mean “need” in the sense of that which is lacking in a material way as the word is used in the promise stated in Philippians 4:19:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:21, the word is used in the sense of “need,” that is, anything that is necessary but lacking. Hence, if the eye says it has no need for the hand, it utters something that is not true or even possible.

The second pair of body parts is used to convey the truth that believers need each other is in the second sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:21 And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”. Of course, the apostle is using human analogy to convey his point that we need each other in the body of Christ. But using the body parts the apostle mentioned, we know that what is stated does not make sense in that the feet could not function without the head. The head houses the brain that controls the nervous system of the body. If the brain does not function, movement would be impossible. Thus, the apostle used something that is impossible to happen to illustrate his point that no member of the body is independent of the other.

Apostle Paul’s use of certain body parts not able to declare independence from other body parts is intended to convey believers should not think that they do not need each other even those who are different from them. In effect, no believer should think that the individual does not need other believers. We need each other either physically or spiritually. Many who think they do not need fellow believers are usually those that are guilty of what I will describe as “Laodicean syndrome.” By this I mean those who are blinded by material affluence that they think that sufficiency in material sense implies sufficiency in spiritual sense or that because of material affluence one thinks the individual must be doing well spiritually. The syndrome is the charge the Lord brought on the church in Laodicea as we read in Revelation 3:17:

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

The charge the Lord levied on the members of the church in Laodicea is that they took their material wealth as an indication of their spiritual condition similar to what we find today among prosperity preachers. That aside, the truth is that believers need each other both physically and spiritually. The early church demonstrated the importance of each member in supporting others in a material sense so those who are well off provided for those who are not as that is what is implied in Acts 4:35:

and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

It was because believers recognized that we need each other even materially that was probably a motivating factor that caused the Philippians to meet the material needs of Apostle Paul who met their spiritual needs as we read in Philippians 2:25:

But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.

It is because believers need each other in a material sense that we have various instructions regarding being generous to one another. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed this in his epistle to the Romans in Romans 12:13:

Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

It is in part because of this reason that believers need each other in material sense that the Holy Spirit encouraged hard work on part of believers to be in a position to help others in a material sense as we read in the instruction of Ephesians 4:28:

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

A person could say that the individual has enough resources that the person does not need the help of others but that does not mean the individual does not need other believers in a material sense. Money is not the only need we have in a material sense. We need the company of other believers so if you do not need anything material because you have enough resources you certainly will need the company of other believers. This fact becomes truer in old age. This aside, we need each other spiritually. There is no doubt that every local church needs a pastor to teach the truth so to meet the spiritual needs of believers but those who have been taught the word of God also have the responsibility of encouraging other believers with the truth they have learned. This reality is conveyed in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:18:

Therefore encourage each other with these words.

The phrase these words refers to the content of what the apostle taught starting in verse 13 and ending in verse 17 of 1 Thessalonians 4. The summary of which is that those who have departed to be with the Lord will not miss the resurrection event as some of the Thessalonians might have been led to believe. But, in reality, those who have died in Christ will receive their eternal bodies before those who are physically alive at the second coming of our Lord. Thus, we see that believers have the responsibility of encouraging others from the truth they received from their pastors. The implication is that we need each other spiritually. Our encouragement of each other spiritually is to be something we do regularly as that is implied in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through the human author of Hebrews as we read in Hebrews 3:13:

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

It is not only that we need encouragement from our fellow believers, but we also need each other’s prayer as Apostle Paul acknowledged the prayers of the Corinthians for him and his missionary team as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:11:

as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

The point we are stressing is that we need each other both physically and spiritually. Therefore, it would be wrong for you to think that you do not need other believers. In any event, a second reason You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ is because each member depends on the other.

A third reason You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ is because even those considered weak are indispensable in the body of Christ. Our use of the word “even” recognizes that a reason a member of a local church may think the individual does not need other believers is because such a person may feel that other believers have nothing to contribute to them, especially if they are looking at others purely from the physical perspective. In other words, a person who is materially blessed may look down on the poor believer in the local church and think that such a person has nothing to contribute to the individual or to the local church. Or a person with visible spiritual gift may look down upon a person whose spiritual gift may not be readily visible. That is the wrong way to look at a fellow believer. Thus, to counter this kind of thinking, the apostle begins 1 Corinthians 12:22 with the phrase of the NIV On the contrary.

The expression “on the contrary” is translated from a Greek word (alla) that primarily is used to indicate a difference with or contrast to what precedes. In effect, it is used to express contrast between an immediate clause and the one preceding it so it may be translated “but, rather, on the contrary.” When the word is used in connection with a command, it may mean “now, then” as the word is translated in the instruction given to the wife regarding her husband in Ephesians 5:24:

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Some English versions began verse 24 with the conjunction “but.” Interestingly, the translators of the ISV began with the word “indeed” which is a permissible translation of the Greek word when a contrast is to be made in an emphatic manner or a strong alternative is being suggested. This aside, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:22, the apostle used it as a marker of emphatic contrast. It is because the apostle intended to emphasize the contrast between the view held by someone in verse 21 and the one a person should have that we used the word “even” in stating the third reason that we have given for being careful in one’s treatment of fellow believers.

It is not only the phrase of verse 22 On the contrary that enables us to recognize that the apostle is emphatic in what he states in verse 22 but also a Greek phrase that is not directly translated in the NIV and many of our English versions. The Greek phrase literally translates into the English as much more. Some suggest that the literal Greek phrase could be translated as “‘even more to the point.” Regardless of how the literal Greek phrase is translated into the English, the fact is that the phrase is another way the apostle conveyed that he was being emphatic in what he stated in the verse we are considering regarding the necessity of the weaker parts in the church of Christ.

The apostle having gotten the attention of the reader with an emphatic contrast and another phrase that we said literally translates much more, goes on to state the contrast using the analogy of the human parts that he has been using as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:22 those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

We humans are fond of judging others by what we perceive or by appearance contrary to God. You may say to yourself that you do not do that. Are you being honest when you say that? I mean, have you never formed an opinion of someone based on outward appearance? If you admit that you have done so in the past, you are not the first nor will you be the last. Prophet Samuel was caught in the same trap when the Lord sent him to anoint a son of Jesse as the king. When he saw Eliab who was tall and had the appearance of what humans may consider a good-looking king because of his height or appearance, he concluded that he must be the one the Lord chose but he was wrong as we may gather from what the Lord said to him as we read in 1 Samuel 16:6–7:

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.” ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

It is probably because we are prone to misjudging others based on appearance that the Holy Spirit directed Apostle Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 12:22 those parts of the body that seem. The word “seem” is translated from a Greek word (dokeō) that may mean “to be convinced” as it is used to describe the belief of Apostle Paul when he persecuted Christians as recorded in Acts 26:9:

“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

The word may mean to consider as probable so means “to think, believe, suppose, consider” as Apostle Paul used it to warn against self-deception in Galatians 6:3:

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

The word may mean to appear to one’s understanding hence means “to seem” as Apostle Paul used it to describe some of those he made known to, the gospel message he preached to the Gentiles, as we read in Galatians 2:2:

I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:22, the word has the sense of “to seem,” that is, to give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect.

Apostle Paul states that there is an impression given or created by certain parts of the body as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 12:22 those parts of the body that seem to be weaker. The word “to be” is translated from a Greek word (hyparchō) that may mean “to belong” as it is used to describe the estate of the chief official of the Island of Malta in Acts 28:7:

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.

The word may mean “to be” in a state or circumstance as Apostle Paul used it to describe the state of Sarah regarding being unable to become pregnant in Romans 4:19:

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

The word may mean “to possess” as it is used to describe the virtues that if believers have would keep them from being ineffective in their spiritual life as we read in 2 Peter 1:8:

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:22, the word is used in the sense of “to be or to exist in a state or condition.” The state or condition that is in view is the impression related to body parts.

The impression created is given in the word “weaker.” The word “weaker” is translated from a Greek word (asthenēs) that may pertain to suffering from a debilitating illness hence may mean “ill, sick” as Apostle Paul used it to describe his condition when he came to preach the gospel to the Galatians as we read in Galatians 4:13:

As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.

The word may also pertain to experiencing some incapacity or limitation either physically or spiritually. It is in the sense of being “unimpressive” that the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe how some in Corinth viewed him as we read in 2 Corinthians 10:10:

For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”

The clause but in person he is unimpressive is literally, but his bodily presence is weak. But the word “weak” stands in direct contrast to a Greek adjective (ischyros) that literally means “strong” although in the context of 2 Corinthians 10:10 has the sense of “impressive.” It is for this reason that our Greek word has the meaning of “unimpressive” as given in the NIV since it is the bodily appearance of the apostle that is being criticized by some in Corinth. In a spiritual sense, the word may mean “helpless” or “powerless” morally as it is used to describe our state before Christ died for our sins as stated in Romans 5:6:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

The apostle used our Greek word in both physical and spiritual weaknesses in the same passage as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:29:

Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

Being weak here probably refers to both physical and spiritual weakness. In other words, being weak refers to physical infirmity and being vulnerable to temptation and doubt. The apostle then feels weak in the sense that he empathizes or has compassion for their vulnerability to temptation and doubt since he himself experienced illness, discouragement, and fear. Of course, the apostle burns with anger towards those who lead others to sin. It is true that our Greek word may be used to describe physical and spiritual weakness but there are specific nuances implied in the use of the meaning “weak,” depending on the context. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:22, the word means “weak,” that is, “without strength.” So, the apostle in his analogy conveys that there are body parts that we consider to be weak or without strength but the Holy Spirit through him makes an astonishing statement about such body parts.

The assertion of the Holy Spirit through the apostle about the parts we consider of little strength or weak is that they are indispensable as in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:22 are indispensable. The word “indispensable” is translated from a Greek word (anagkaios) that may mean “necessary” as Apostle Paul used it to explain the reason, he sent some brothers to the Corinthians regarding the collection they promised to make to help their fellow believers in Judea as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:5:

So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

The word may mean “intimate” or “close” as the word is used to describe those Cornelius invited to his home in anticipation of the arrival of Apostle Peter as we read in Acts 10:24:

The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:22, the word is used with the meaning of “necessary,” that is, “unavoidably determined by prior circumstances.”

Be that as it may, the Holy Spirit through the apostle meant to convey that the parts of the body that we consider weak in the sense of not having strength have been considered necessary by God who placed those parts in the body. Of course, the apostle was not concerned with body parts as such, but he uses body parts in analogy to convey the truth the Holy Spirit wants us to get as we consider the importance of unity and diversity. Consequently, the Holy Spirit intend to convey to us at least two facts regarding members of the body of Christ. He wants us to recognize that there is no believer that is unimportant in God’s plan for the church. No matter what we think of a fellow believer, we should not forget that such a person is as much a beneficiary of the work of Christ as we. Apostle Paul had already indicated that Christ died for the believer that we may consider weak as we read in 1 Corinthians 8:11:

So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.

If the Lord Jesus Christ considered the so-called weak believer important to die for such a person, who are you to consider a fellow believer unimportant because of your human evaluation. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit wants us to recognize that no spiritual gift is insignificant in the body of Christ. Every spiritual gift has been given to individual believers because God had determined that such gifts are necessary for the functioning of the body of Christ. This means that we should not undervalue any spiritual gift since it comes from God who has seen the necessity of that gift for the local church. Anyway, a third reason You should be careful how you treat members of the body of Christ is because even those considered weak are indispensable or are necessary members of the body of Christ. We will continue with the fourth reason in our next study.

07/22//22