For the Common Good Pt. 10

Good morning, church!

Today we continue our study of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. We are still in the section we’ve titled For the Common Good, where Paul addresses the gifts of the Spirit—Which are gifts given by God, through the Spirit, in order to build up the community of believers.

However when we come to a text like the one we will be looking at today, we have to recognize something important about the times we’re living in. And that is that modern people today do not like the idea of dependence. Another way of saying it is that our current culture values independence.

1. When we talk about community, most people will say, “Yes, I want community. I’m looking for community.” However if we are honest with ourselves, we like the idea community—but not at the expense of our independence.

We do not like to depend on others. For we live in a culture that celebrates independence, self-determination, and self-definition.

Think about it! We live closer to people than ever before, yet we are more disconnected than ever. We live in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and subdivisions where we recognize faces—but don’t know names. We pull into our garage, close the door behind us, and live our lives side by side, yet completely separate. But it doesn’t stop there.

We can actually live in the same household, under the same roof, and still be deeply disconnected. Families sit at the same table, in the same living room—five people, all related—yet each one absorbed in their own world, connected to a device, disconnected from one another.

You go to a restaurant and see people sitting across from each other. Physically present but relationally absent. Eyes on screens, not on each other. We are living in our own worlds. And in this kind of culture, something subtle—but deeply formative—begins to happen: We begin to live for self.

The worlds we inhabit start being shaped by what we consume—by our devices, our entertainment, our algorithms, our preferences. And over time, those worlds begin to define how we see reality, how we see life, and even how we see other people. And when self becomes king, something else quietly disappears: the desire to die to it.

We no longer instinctively pursue the good of others over our own. We no longer move towards people with the goal of knowing them or being known by them. Dependence starts to feel like a threat, not a gift. Community begins to feel like a limitation, not a blessing.

In a world shaped by personal preference, everything slowly becomes about what I like, what I want, what I feel and what I believe. Truth itself becomes personalized—my truth instead of the truth. And what that produces is not the community we claim to desire, but division. Fragmentation. Isolation.

The tragedy is this: we were created for community. We were made for one another. And yet the very culture shaping us is training us to resist the thing we were designed for. And this is exactly where the apostle Paul enters the tension.

As he continues addressing internal matters within the church at Corinth, Paul is deeply concerned—not just about individual behavior, but about what the church looks like as a community. Because if someone were to walk into the church at Corinth, they wouldn’t see much difference between the church and the world.

Their lives looked much like they did before the gospel.

Their gatherings looked much like they did before the gospel.

They had essentially imported their entire culture into the life of the church.

There was hierarchy. There were divisions based on social class. There was sexual immorality. There was pride, comparison, and disorder. So Paul calls them to take a hard look at themselves—not to shame them, but to reform them. His goal is that the church would become a visible witness to the beauty of the gospel—a light in the midst of darkness, not just another expression of it.

And the main point Paul is driving home in this passage is the following:

2. God has designed His church to be a community of complementary interdependence.

The church is complementary—meaning every member brings something that others need.

And the church is interdependent—meaning no one stands alone, no one is self-sufficient, and no one is unnecessary.

And this truth runs directly against the instincts of our culture—however it lies at the very heart of God’s design for His people.

And Paul knows that if the church is shaped by this kind of thinking, it will never reflect the gospel—so he calls the church to rediscover God’s design for life together. So, today we’re in 1 Corinthians 12:14–27, and what I want us to see through our text is the beauty, the necessity, and the restoration produced by interdependence in the church. This is where we’re going—and this is what we’re asking God to recover in us as a people.

I. The Beauty of Interdependence

1 Corinthians 12:14–16 NASB 2020

For the body is not one part, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. (V16) And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

What is Paul addressing here? What Paul is addressing here is something most people struggle with—and if we’re honest, something many of us in this room still struggle with today. And this is the issue of insecurity.

As I was reading this text, a song came to mind—some of you might remember it. It’s called “I Wish,” by Skee-Lo. The chorus of the song goes like this “I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six-four Impala.”

The entire song revolves around wishing to be different—wishing to look different, wishing life were different, wishing for traits the world associates with success, acceptance, or value. And at the heart of that song we find the same issue that Paul seeks to address through this text—and that is insecurity.

3. We live in a culture that constantly feeds our insecurities.

We are always looking at what other people have, what other people are doing, how other people appear to be living. And especially through social media, we’re constantly exposed to curated lives—highlight reels—that quietly whisper to us, “You’re not enough.” So we wish.

We wish we looked different.

We wish we had what they have.

We wish our lives felt more significant, more visible, more impressive.

And over time, comparison begins to shape our identity. We start to measure ourselves against others, and slowly—but surely—we begin to feel like we don’t quite fit. And the reality is that this type of mindset doesn’t just disappear when we come to the church. It often follows us right into the body of Christ.

And that’s exactly what Paul is addressing at Corinth.

He says, “If the foot says, ‘Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong,’ that doesn’t make it any less part of the body. And if the ear says, ‘Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong,’ that doesn’t make it any less part of the body.”

In other words,

4. Paul is confronting self-exclusion born out of insecurity.

The foot isn’t rejected—it removes itself.

The ear isn’t pushed out—it withdraws.

And why? Because

5. Comparison deceives us into believing that different equals insignificant.

But Paul’s point is clear:

Belonging is not determined by function.

Identity is not defined by comparison.

Here’s the beauty of interdependence: It tells us that

6. Our place in the body of Christ is not something we earned by performance or negotiated through comparison. It is something that we have received by grace.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NASB 2020

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

7. We don’t decide whether we belong to the body—God does.

He decided it when He called you.

He decided it when He saved you.

He decided it when He redeemed you.

He decided it when He gave you His Spirit and baptized you into the body of Christ.

So if you’re here today and insecurity has ever whispered to you, “You don’t matter,” “You don’t fit,” “You don’t bring anything of value,” Paul wants you to hear this clearly:

You belong to the body. Not because of what you lack, but because of what God has done. And here’s the beauty of interdependence: it’s not just that you belong in the body—it’s that without you, the body is incomplete.

Interdependence means you need the other members, and the other members need you. And this means that interdependence is not a weakness it is actually part of our identity. So Paul now moves from the beauty of interdependence to the necessity of it. It’s one thing to say we belong to the body—it’s another thing to understand that the body cannot function without us, and we cannot function without the body.

II. The Necessity of Interdependence

1 Corinthians 12:17–21 NASB 2020

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired. (V19-20) If they were all one part, where would the body be? But now there are many parts, but one body. (V21) 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.”

Paul’s point is simple but profound:

8. A body made up of only one part is not a body at all. Even the most important part, by itself, is incomplete.

A while back, I bought a piece of furniture from IKEA. And if you’ve ever bought anything from IKEA, you know two things are always true: first, it doesn’t come assembled—and second, sometimes there’s warning somewhere in the box that says, “Two people required.” I ignored that part.

I didn’t read the instructions carefully. I just looked at the pictures and tried to do it myself. And when I reached the moment where the design required someone else to hold the structure together, the whole thing fell apart. The material ripped, the structure failed, and what should have been sturdy became unstable—because it was never designed to be assembled alone.

And that’s exactly Paul’s point.

The problem wasn’t the desk. The problem was that I was trying to do individually what was designed to be done together.

Paul says V17:

1 Corinthians 12:17 NASB 2020

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

In other words, if the whole body were an eye, it would be able see—but it wouldn’t be able to hear. And “If the whole body were an ear, it would be able to hear—however it wouldn’t be able see.” And if there were no nose, the body could never smell.

What Paul is showing us here is that

9. The parts of the body were never designed to function in isolation—they were designed to function together.

I never really understood the connection between smell and taste until COVID. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. When you lose your sense of smell, your sense of taste is still technically there—but it’s drastically diminished. Food just doesn’t taste the same. Certain smells change. Some things are completely ruined, not because your taste buds stopped working, but because one sense was no longer working in harmony with the other. This is Paul’s point.

You can have one sense—but without the others, the experience is incomplete.

Think about it! When you stand in a park, you don’t just see the flower. You see it, you smell it, you touch it. You hear the environment around you. And when all those senses work together, the experience becomes richer, fuller and more meaningful. The body was designed for interconnection.

The eye doesn’t replace the ear.

The ear doesn’t replace the nose.

Each part enhances the other.

10. God did not design His people to operate as isolated individuals, each doing their own thing. He designed us to work in conjunction—so that what one member brings enhances what the other provides.

And V18 is crucial in our understanding of Paul’s illustration:

1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB 2020

But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.

Now, don’t miss what Paul is saying here!—Who is doing the arranging? God has arranged the parts.

God is the one who brought the parts together. He is the one who placed each member in the body. God is the one who did it.

And Paul adds this phrase—“just as He desired.”

That word desired here comes from the Greek word thelō, which means to will, to intend, to purpose. It’s not accidental language. Paul is saying that God arranged the body according to His intention according to His will according to His purpose.

In other words,

11. Interdependence is not an accident. It is God’s design.

Church, our differences are not something we are meant to overcome—they are something we are meant to embrace. This is how God designed the body of Christ to function. What we’re seeing here is God’s sovereignty at work in the church, expressed through diversity, distinction, and interdependence.

1 Corinthians 12:19–20 NASB 2020

If they were all one part, where would the body be? But now there are many parts, but one body.

And because this is God’s design, Paul then adds in V21:

1 Corinthians 12:21 NASB 2020

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.”

Notice Paul’s logic. Here Paul is not just saying that the eye can not do what the hand does. He’s not saying that the head can’t do what the feet do. It goes deeper. What he’s saying is that in saying to another member of the body “I don’t need you” you are actually ejecting God’s intention, purpose and design in placing you in the body.

12. To reject interdependence is not just to misunderstand how the body functions—it is to resist the will of God.

So, Paul’s point is simple but weighty: You don’t get to dismiss what God intentionally placed. This was God’s doing. And when the church embraces what God has designed—when we stop competing, stop comparing, and stop dismissing one another—something powerful happens.

Interdependence doesn’t just define the church. It restores the church. And this brings us to the final truth Paul shows us here: the restoration produced by interdependence.

III. The Restoration Produced by Interdependence

1 Corinthians 12:22–27 NASB 2020

On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable, (V24) whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked, (V25-26) so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another. And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it. (V27) Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

13. The restoration that interdependence produces is grounded in one foundational truth: Every member of the body is indispensable.

As we just saw Paul established in V21 that, “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.”

Paul almost presents this as something absurd. It’s nearly ridiculous to imagine parts of the body deciding they no longer need one another. And yet, this is exactly what was happening at Corinth—and it’s something we still struggle with today. So, Paul continues in V22:

1 Corinthians 12:22 NASB 2020

On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;

Notice what Paul does here. He doesn’t deny weakness—he redefines its value. The parts that seem weaker are not optional; they are essential. Think about the internal organs of the body—the heart, the lungs, the kidneys. They are not visible, but if any one of them fails, the whole body is affected.

1 Corinthians 12:23–24 NASB 2020

and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable, (V24) whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,

Here Paul is simply describing how the human body works. The most vulnerable parts receive the most protection. The most sensitive parts receive the most care. And Paul says this is by design—God has composed the body this way. And here is the heart of the restoration in V25:

1 Corinthians 12:25 NASB 2020

so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.

14. This is what interdependence restores: Mutual Care

Many Christians need to hear this today. We are deeply afraid of being dispensable. Nobody wants to be used and then discarded. We worry about whether we fit, whether we belong, whether we matter. And so people often move from one community to another, looking for the “right fit.” But Paul says something radically different.

If you are a member of a local church, you are indispensable. And so is every other member. God has placed you together—not randomly, not temporarily, but intentionally—to display the beauty of the gospel through the life we share.

Think about a hospital for a moment. There are medical directors, department heads, attending physicians, residents, interns, nurses, administrative staff, maintenance workers, and cleaning crews. Remove any one of those roles, and eventually the system begins to break down. Every part is indispensable.

Now, the church doesn’t run like hospital—but the principle stands. There is less hierarchy, but there is complete interdependence. No one stands alone.

And we see this even in our own bodies. If someone injures their back, What happens? The rest of the body instinctively compensates. You bend differently. You lean on the counter. Your arms help support your weight. Your knees adjust. The body doesn’t just say, “That’s your problem.” You should’ve worked out more. No, the other members responds with care.

Yes, the other parts may be inconvenienced—but that’s what it means to be one body. That’s the restoration interdependence produces. Paul puts it this way in V27:

1 Corinthians 12:26 NASB 2020

And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.

Just think about how the human body actually works.

If you have kids, you know this scenario. You’re walking through the house barefoot, and someone left Legos on the floor. You step on one—and immediately, pain shoots through your foot. Now notice what happens next.

The foot is the part that’s injured, but the whole body responds. Your hands immediately reach down to grab your foot. Your back bends. Your face reacts. Your entire body moves instinctively to protect, support, and alleviate the pain of that one injured part.

The body doesn’t pause to debate. It doesn’t say, “That’s your problem.” It doesn’t ignore the pain.

It responds—because that’s what a body does. And Paul says this is how the church is meant to function. When one member suffers, the rest of the body moves toward that suffering by being present with care and compassion.

But Paul doesn’t stop there.

He says, “If one part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.” Think about that as well.

If an athlete wins a race and receives a medal, it’s not just one isolated part of the body that celebrates. The legs may have done the running, but the whole body rejoices. The face smiles. The hands clap. The heart races. The entire person responds to the honor given to one part. That’s Paul’s picture.

In the body of Christ, we don’t compete with one another’s success—we celebrate it. We don’t envy honor—we rejoice in it. Because when one member is honored, the whole body is lifted. This is what gospel-shaped community looks like.

Shared suffering.

Shared joy.

15. The body of Christ is healthiest when pain is shared and joy is multiplied.

1 Corinthians 12:27 NASB 2020

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

And here is where Paul brings us full circle. Beloved the imagery that Paul uses here of the body is not generic—Paul is thinking of something specific.

16. If we are the body of Christ this means that we are not the head. Christ is!

17. And this means that the health, and the well-being, and the future of the body does not rest on us—it rest on Him.

Our life, our unity, and our restoration are secured because the head governs, sustains, and protects the body.

And here’s the heart of the gospel.

Christ could have looked at sinners and declared us dispensable. But in His grace, He declared us indispensable. More than that—the gospel tells us that He became dispensable in our place.

Galatians 3:13 NASB 2020

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a Tree”—

The most presentable part—the head—was willingly dishonored so that the least presentable parts, you and I, might receive honor.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB 2020

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The strongest member was made weak so that weaker members might be restored. The indispensable One was treated as expendable so that sinners could be brought into His body by grace.

Which means that:

None of us earned our way in.

None of us proved our value.

We have been incorporated into the body of Christ by grace.

And even when we falsely tell ourselves, “I don’t matter… I don’t belong… I’m dispensable,” the head of the body declares something very different: You are not.

So beloved, how do we respond to this truth? We fight.

We fight against the insecurity that tells us we don’t belong.

We fight against the pride that tells us we don’t need anyone.

We fight against the independence that resists God’s design.

We fight against self.

Jesus said it plainly in Luke 9:23

Luke 9:23 NASB 2020

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Interdependence requires daily self-denial. Community requires crucifying the self that wants control, comfort, and autonomy. And Scripture tells us what that fight looks like.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-4 that we are to:

Ephesians 4:1–3 NASB 2020

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, (V2-3) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Beloved this means that Unity doesn’t happen accidentally. It is fought for—with humility, patience, love, and grace.

So church, this is the call:

Let us step into the body instead of standing at a distance.

Let us move toward one another instead of withdrawing.

Let us share our burdens instead of carrying them alone.

And let us rejoice when others are honored instead of competing.

Because this is the community Christ died to create.

A body where no one is unnecessary.

A body where no one stands alone.

A body shaped by grace, sustained by love, and restored through interdependence.