For the Common Good Pt. 10 (Spanish Verses)

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. Cuando hablamos de comunidad, la mayoría de las personas dicen: “Sí, quiero comunidad. Estoy buscando comunidad.” Sin embargo, si somos honestos con nosotros mismos, nos gusta la idea de la comunidad, pero no a costa de nuestra independencia.

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. Dios ha diseñado a Su iglesia para ser una comunidad de interdependencia complementaria.

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. La Belleza de la Interdependencia

1 Corinthians 12:14–16 NBLA

Porque el cuerpo no es un solo miembro, sino muchos. 15 Si el pie dijera: Porque no soy mano, no soy parte del cuerpo, no por eso deja de ser parte del cuerpo. (V16) Y si el oído dijera: Porque no soy ojo, no soy parte del cuerpo», no por eso deja de ser parte del cuerpo.

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. Vivimos en una cultura que constantemente alimenta nuestras inseguridades.

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. Pablo está confrontando la autoexclusión que nace de la inseguridad.

The foot isn’t rejected—it removes itself.

The ear isn’t pushed out—it withdraws.

And why? Because

5. La comparación nos engaña haciéndonos creer que lo diferente es igual a lo insignificante.

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. Nuestro lugar en el cuerpo de Cristo no es algo que hayamos ganado por nuestro desempeño ni negociado mediante la comparación. Es algo que hemos recibido por gracia.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NBLA

Porque por gracia ustedes han sido salvados por medio de la fe, y esto no procede de ustedes, sino que es don de Dios; no por obras, para que nadie se gloríe.

7. No decidimos si pertenecemos al cuerpo; Dios lo decide.

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. La Necesidad de la Interdependencia

1 Corinthians 12:17–21 NBLA

Si todo el cuerpo fuera ojo, ¿qué sería del oído? Si todo fuera oído, ¿qué sería del olfato? 18 Ahora bien, Dios ha colocado a cada uno de los miembros en el cuerpo según le agradó. (V19-20) Y si todos fueran un solo miembro, ¿qué sería del cuerpo? 20 Sin embargo, hay muchos miembros, pero un solo cuerpo. (V21) Y el ojo no puede decirle a la mano: “No te necesito;” ni tampoco la cabeza a los pies: “No los necesito.”

Paul’s point is simple but profound:

8. Un cuerpo formado por una sola parte no es un cuerpo. Incluso la parte más importante, por sí sola, está incompleta.

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 NBLA

Si todo el cuerpo fuera ojo, ¿qué sería del oído? Si todo fuera oído, ¿qué sería del olfato?

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. Las partes del cuerpo nunca fueron diseñadas para funcionar en aislamiento; fueron diseñadas para funcionar juntas.

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. Dios no diseñó a Su pueblo para operar como individuos aislados, cada uno haciendo lo suyo. Nos diseñó para trabajar en conjunto, de modo que lo que un miembro aporta fortalezca lo que el otro provee.

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

1 Corinthians 12:18 NBLA

Ahora bien, Dios ha colocado a cada uno de los miembros en el cuerpo según le agradó.

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. La interdependencia no es un accidente; es el diseño de Dios.

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 NBLA

Y si todos fueran un solo miembro, ¿qué sería del cuerpo? 20 Sin embargo, hay muchos miembros, pero un solo cuerpo.

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

1 Corinthians 12:21 NBLA

Y el ojo no puede decirle a la mano: “No te necesito;” ni tampoco la cabeza a los pies: “No los necesito.”

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. Rechazar la interdependencia no es solo mal entender cómo funciona el cuerpo; es resistir la voluntad de Dios.

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. La Restauración que Produce la Interdependencia

1 Corinthians 12:22–27 NBLA

Por el contrario, la verdad es que los miembros del cuerpo que parecen ser los más débiles, son los más necesarios; 23 y las partes del cuerpo que estimamos menos honrosas, a estas las vestimos con más honra. Así que las partes que consideramos más íntimas, reciben un trato más honroso, (V24) ya que nuestras partes presentables no lo necesitan. Pero así formó Dios el cuerpo, dando mayor honra a la parte que carecía de ella, (V25-26) a fin de que en el cuerpo no haya división, sino que los miembros tengan el mismo cuidado unos por otros. 26 Si un miembro sufre, todos los miembros sufren con él; y si un miembro es honrado, todos los miembros se regocijan con él. (V27) Ahora bien, ustedes son el cuerpo de Cristo, y cada uno individualmente un miembro de él.

13. La restauración que produce la interdependencia se basa en una verdad fundamental: cada miembro del cuerpo es 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 NBLA

Por el contrario, la verdad es que los miembros del cuerpo que parecen ser los más débiles, son los más necesarios;

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 NBLA

y las partes del cuerpo que estimamos menos honrosas, a estas las vestimos con más honra. Así que las partes que consideramos más íntimas, reciben un trato más honroso, (V24) ya que nuestras partes presentables no lo necesitan. Pero así formó Dios el cuerpo, dando mayor honra a la parte que carecía de ella,

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 NBLA

a fin de que en el cuerpo no haya división, sino que los miembros tengan el mismo cuidado unos por otros.

14. Esto es lo que la interdependencia restaura: el cuidado mutuo.

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 NBLA

Si un miembro sufre, todos los miembros sufren con él; y si un miembro es honrado, todos los miembros se regocijan con él.

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. El cuerpo de Cristo está más sano cuando el dolor se comparte y el gozo se multiplica.

1 Corinthians 12:27 NBLA

Ahora bien, ustedes son el cuerpo de Cristo, y cada uno individualmente un miembro de él.

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. Si somos el cuerpo de Cristo, esto significa que nosotros no somos la cabeza; ¡Cristo lo es!

17. Y esto significa que la salud, el bienestar y el futuro del cuerpo no descansan en nosotros; descansan en Él.

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 NBLA

Cristo nos redimió de la maldición de la ley, habiéndose hecho maldición por nosotros, porque escrito está: “Maldito todo el que cuelga de un madero,”

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 NBLA

Al que no conoció pecado, lo hizo pecado por nosotros, para que fuéramos hechos justicia de Dios en Él.

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 NBLA

Y a todos les decía: “Si alguien quiere seguirme, niéguese a sí mismo, tome su cruz cada día y sígame.”

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 NBLA

Yo, pues, prisionero del Señor, les ruego que ustedes vivan de una manera digna de la vocación con que han sido llamados. (V2-3) Que vivan con toda humildad y mansedumbre, con paciencia, soportándose unos a otros en amor, 3 esforzándose por preservar la unidad del Espíritu en el vínculo de la paz.

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.