1 Corinthians 12:18
But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design.
But in fact
This phrase serves as a strong contrast to any misconceptions or misunderstandings that might have been present among the Corinthian believers. The Greek word "νυνὶ δέ" (nyni de) emphasizes a present reality, underscoring the truth that Paul is about to convey. It is a call to attention, urging the reader to focus on the divine order and purpose that God has established. This phrase sets the stage for a profound theological truth about God's sovereignty and intentionality.

God has arranged
The Greek word "ἔθετο" (etheto) is used here, which means "to place" or "to set." This verb indicates deliberate action and purpose. In the context of the body of Christ, it signifies that God Himself has intentionally placed each member in the body. This is not a random or haphazard arrangement but a carefully orchestrated design. The use of this word highlights God's active role in the church, affirming His authority and wisdom in the organization of His people.

the members of the body
The term "μέλη" (melē) refers to the parts or members of a body. In the context of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the metaphor of a physical body to describe the church. Each member, or part, has a unique function and purpose. Historically, this metaphor would have resonated with the Corinthian audience, who were familiar with the concept of a body as a unified whole composed of diverse parts. This imagery emphasizes the interconnectedness and interdependence of believers within the church.

every one of them
The phrase "ἕκαστον αὐτῶν" (hekaston autōn) underscores the individuality and uniqueness of each member. It conveys the idea that no one is overlooked or insignificant in God's design. Each person has a specific role and contribution to make. This is a powerful reminder of the value and importance of every believer, countering any feelings of inferiority or superiority that might arise within the church community.

according to His design
The Greek phrase "καθὼς ἠθέλησεν" (kathōs ēthelēsen) translates to "as He willed" or "according to His pleasure." This highlights God's sovereign will and purpose in the arrangement of the body. It is a reminder that God's design is perfect and intentional, reflecting His wisdom and love. The use of this phrase assures believers that their place and function within the church are not accidental but are part of a divine plan. This understanding calls for trust in God's wisdom and a commitment to fulfilling one's role in the body of Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 1 Corinthians, addressing the church in Corinth, a city known for its diversity and challenges in maintaining unity among believers.

2. The Church in Corinth
A diverse congregation facing issues of division and misunderstanding of spiritual gifts, prompting Paul to address the importance of unity and diversity within the body of Christ.

3. God
The divine arranger and designer of the body of Christ, emphasizing His sovereignty and intentionality in placing each member in their specific role.
Teaching Points
Divine Sovereignty and Design
God is the ultimate designer of the church, placing each member with purpose and intention. Recognizing His sovereignty helps us appreciate our unique roles and contributions.

Unity in Diversity
The diversity of gifts and roles within the church is intentional and necessary for its proper functioning. Embracing this diversity fosters unity and strengthens the body of Christ.

Individual Purpose and Value
Every member of the church has a specific role and value. Understanding this can encourage believers to actively participate and contribute to the church community.

Interdependence of Believers
Just as the human body relies on each part to function properly, so does the church rely on each member. This interdependence calls for cooperation and mutual support.

Contentment and Faithfulness
Being content with the role God has assigned us and being faithful in fulfilling it is crucial for the health and growth of the church.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's intentional design for the church impact your view of your role within your local congregation?

2. In what ways can you embrace and celebrate the diversity of gifts and roles within your church community?

3. How can recognizing the interdependence of believers influence your relationships and interactions within the church?

4. What steps can you take to be more content and faithful in the role God has assigned you in the body of Christ?

5. How can the teachings in 1 Corinthians 12:18 inspire you to encourage others in their unique roles and contributions to the church?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Romans 12:4-5
Paul also discusses the concept of the body of Christ, emphasizing that just as each part of a human body has a different function, so do the members of the church.

Ephesians 4:16
This passage highlights how each part of the body works together to promote growth and build itself up in love, reinforcing the idea of divine arrangement and purpose.

Psalm 139:13-16
Reflects on God's intentional design and purpose for each individual, paralleling the idea of God arranging the members of the body according to His design.
Concerning Spiritual GiftsM. Doris, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Of Spiritual GiftsC. Hodge, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual GiftsCanon Liddon.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual GiftsK. Gerok, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual GiftsC. Lipscomb 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual Gifts and InspirationF. W. Robertson, M.A.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Christly AssemblyD. Thomas, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Unity of the Christian Church is its DiversityPastor Pfeiffer.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Work of the Spirit in Modern LifeC. Short, M.A.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Law of Order in the Human BodyR. Tuck 1 Corinthians 12:12-26
The Body of ChristE. Hurndall 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Christians Ingrafting into ChristW. Fenner.1 Corinthians 12:13-20
Human ConnectionsW. H. H. Murray.1 Corinthians 12:13-20
Of Union with Christ1 Corinthians 12:13-20
The Sameness of ReligionS. Stennett, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:13-20
The True Unity of the ChurchJ. Lyth, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:13-20
Unity in Christ the Secret of Man's LifeR. Paisley.1 Corinthians 12:13-20
People
Corinthians, Paul
Places
Corinth
Topics
Arranged, Body, Chose, Desired, Fact, Fit, Matter, Members, Organs, Placed, Pleased, Pleasing, Wanted, Willed
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Corinthians 12:18

     1130   God, sovereignty
     1325   God, the Creator

1 Corinthians 12:12-25

     7025   church, unity

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

     5409   metaphor
     8210   commitment, to God's people

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

     7110   body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:14-31

     7924   fellowship, in service

1 Corinthians 12:17-30

     5886   individualism

Library
Tenth Sunday after Trinity Spiritual Counsel for Church Officers.
Text: 1 Corinthians 12, 1-11. 1 Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led. 3 Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema [accursed], and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

List of Bible Passages
Address. Page. Genesis iv, 9 LXX 176 Exodus xx, 1-7 LXXXIII 207 Deut. xxxiii, 27 XXXIII 83 I Ks. xix, 1-13 LXXV 187 II Kings vi, 17 XC 212 Mat. ii, 1-11 XXIX 74 iv, 1-11 XLVIII 171 v, 3 XXII 58 v, 4 XXIII 60 v, 5 XXIV 62 v, 6 XXV 64 v, 7 XXVI
Francis Greenwood Peabody—Mornings in the College Chapel

May the Twenty-Ninth Many Gifts --One Spirit
1 CORINTHIANS xii. 1-13. There is no monotony in the workmanship of my God. The multitude of His thoughts is like the sound of the sea, and every thought commands a new creation. When He thinks upon me, the result is a creative touch never again to be repeated on land or sea. And so, when the Holy Spirit is given to the people, the ministry does not work in the suppression of individualities, but rather in their refinement and enrichment. Our gifts will be manifold, and we must not allow the difference
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

May the Thirty-First Connection and Concord
"By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." --1 CORINTHIANS xii. 12-19. It is only in the spirit that real union is born. Every other kind of union is artificial, and mechanical, and dead. We can dovetail many pieces of wood together and make the unity of an article of furniture, but we cannot dovetail items together and make a tree. And it is the union of a tree that we require, a union born of indwelling life. We may join many people together in a fellowship by the bonds of a formal creed,
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

June the First the Beauty of Variety
1 CORINTHIANS xii. 20-31. God's glory is expressed through the harmony of variety. We do not need sameness in order to gain union. I am now looking upon a scene of surpassing loveliness. There are mountains, and sea, and grassland, and trees, and a wide-stretching sky, and white pebbles at my feet. And a white bird has just flown across a little bank of dark cloud. What variety! And when I look closer the variety is infinitely multiplied. Everything blends into everything else. Nothing is out of
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Making and Breaking Connections.
Many Experiences, but One Law. In mechanics power depends on good connections. A visit to any great machine shop makes that clear. There must be good connections in two directions--inward toward the source of power, and outward for use. The same law holds true in spiritual power as in mechanical. There must be good connections. These nights we have been together a few things have seemed clear. We have seen that from the standpoint of our lives there is need of power, as well as from the standpoint
S.D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on Power

The Universal Gift
'The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.'--1 COR. xii. 7. The great fact which to-day[1] commemorates is too often regarded as if it were a transient gift, limited to those on whom it was first bestowed. We sometimes hear it said that the great need of the Christian world is a second Pentecost, a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God and the like. Such a way of thinking and speaking misconceives the nature and significance of the first Pentecost, which had a transient
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The True Gentleman
1 Cor. xii. 31; xiii. 1. Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. My friends, let me say a few plain words this morning to young and old, rich and poor, upon this text. Now you all, I suppose, think it a good thing to be gentlemen and ladies. All of you, I say. There is not a poor man in this church, perhaps, who has not before
Charles Kingsley—Sermons for the Times

Public Spirit
Preached at Bideford, 1855.) 1 Corinthians xii. 25, 26. That there should be no division in the body; but that the members should have the same care, one of another. And whether one member suffer, all suffer with it; or whether one member be honoured, all rejoice with it. I have been asked to preach in behalf of the Provident Society of this town. I shall begin by asking you to think over with me a matter which may seem at first sight to have very little to do with you or with a provident society,
Charles Kingsley—Sermons for the Times

Sponsorship
1 Cor. xii. 26, 27. Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or whether one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. I have to tell you that there will be a confirmation held at . . . on the . . . All persons of fit age who have not yet been confirmed ought to be ready, and I hope and trust that most of them will be ready, on that day to profess publicly their faith and loyalty to the Lord who died for them.
Charles Kingsley—Sermons for the Times

The Dispensation of the Spirit.
Preached Whitsunday, May 19, 1850. THE DISPENSATION OF THE SPIRIT. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."--1 Corinthians xii, 4. According to a view which contains in it a profound truth, the ages of the world are divisible into three dispensations, presided over by the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the dispensation of the Father, God was known as a Creator; creation manifested His eternal power and Godhead, and the religion of mankind was the religion of Nature. In the
Frederick W. Robertson—Sermons Preached at Brighton

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity
(From the Epistle for the day) Admonishing each man to mark what is the office to which he is called of God, and teaching us to practise works of love and virtue, and to refrain from self-will. 1 Cor. xii. 6.--"There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." ST. PAUL tells us in this Epistle that there are different kinds of works, but that they are all wrought by the same Spirit to the profit and well-being of man. For they all proceed from the same God who
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Antipathies
(Tenth Sunday after Trinity.) 1 Cor. xii. 3, 4, 5, 6. Wherefore, I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. We are to come to the Communion this day in love and charity
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Judgments of God.
LUKE XIII. 1-5. There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I
Charles Kingsley—Westminster Sermons

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Prophets and Apostles.
The work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets is an entirely distinctive work. He imparts to apostles and prophets an especial gift for an especial purpose. We read in 1 Cor. xii. 4, 8-11, 28, 29, R. V., "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.... For to one is given through the Spirit wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

The Government of the Church.
"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."--1 Cor. xii. 3. The last work of the Holy Spirit in the Church has reference to government. The Church is a divine institution. It is the body of Christ, even tho manifesting itself in a most defective way; for as the man whose speech is affected by a stroke of paralysis is the same friendly person as before, in spite of the defect, so is the Church, whose speech is impaired, still the same holy body of Christ. The visible and invisible
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Spiritual Gifts.
"But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And a still more excellent way show I unto you." --1 Cor. xii. 31 (R.V.). The charismata or spiritual gifts are the divinely ordained means and powers whereby the King enables His Church to perform its task on the earth. The Church has a calling in the world. It is being violently attacked not only by the powers of this world, but much more by the invisible powers of Satan. No rest is allowed. Denying that Christ has conquered, Satan believes that the time
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Dr. Martin Luther Concerning Penitence and Indulgences.
In the desire and with the purpose of elucidating the truth, a disputation will be held on the underwritten propositions at Wittemberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Monk of the Order of St. Augustine, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and ordinary Reader of the same in that place. He therefore asks those who cannot be present and discuss the subject with us orally, to do so by letter in their absence. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1. Our Lord and Master
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

The First Wall.
Let us, in the first place, attack the first wall. It has been devised, that the Pope, bishops, priests and monks are called the Spiritual Estate; Princes, lords, artificers and peasants, are the Temporal Estate; which is a very fine, hypocritical device. But let no one be made afraid by it; and that for this reason: That all Christians are truly of the Spiritual Estate, and there is no difference among them, save of office alone. As St. Paul says (1 Cor. xii.), we are all one body, though each member
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Continuation of the Discourse on the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians xii. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, &c. 1. In the preceding Lecture, according to our ability we set before you, our beloved hearers [2095] , some small portion of the testimonies concerning the Holy Ghost; and on the present occasion, we will, if it be God's pleasure, proceed to treat, as far as may be, of those which remain out of the New Testament: and as then to keep within due limit of your attention we restrained our eagerness (for there is no satiety
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

On the Article, and in one Holy Ghost, the Comforter, which Spake in the Prophets.
1 Corinthians xii. 1, 4 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant....Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, &c. 1. Spiritual in truth is the grace we need, in order to discourse concerning the Holy Spirit; not that we may speak what is worthy of Him, for this is impossible, but that by speaking the words of the divine Scriptures, we may run our course without danger. For a truly fearful thing is written in the Gospels, where Christ has plainly said,
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

But this is So Great, that Certain Understand it to be the Fruit An...
46. But this is so great, that certain understand it to be the fruit an hundred-fold. [2190] For the authority of the Church bears a very conspicuous witness, in which it is known to the faithful in what place the Martyrs, in what place the holy nuns deceased, are rehearsed at the Sacraments of the Altar. [2191] But what the meaning is of that difference of fruitfulness, let them see to it, who understand these things better than we; whether the virginal life be in fruit an hundred-fold, in sixty-fold
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Hence Too is Solved that Question, How is it that the Martyrs...
19. Hence too is solved that question, how is it that the Martyrs, by the very benefits which are given to them that pray, indicate that they take an interest in the affairs of men, if the dead know not what the quick are doing. For not only by effects of benefits, but in the very beholding of men, it is certain, [2760] that the Confessor Felix (whose denizenship among you thou piously lovest) appeared when the barbarians were attacking Nola, as we have heard not by uncertain rumors, but by sure
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead.

Epistle vii. To Peter, Domitian, and Elpidius.
To Peter, Domitian, and Elpidius. Gregory to Peter, Domitian, and Elpidius, Bishops [1688] . I rejoice exceedingly that you welcomed with great joy the ordination of the most holy Cyriacus, my brother and fellow-priest. And since we have learnt from the preaching of Paul the apostle that If one member rejoice, all the members rejoice with it (1 Cor. xii. 26), you must needs consider with how great exultation I rejoice with you in this thing, wherein not one member, but many members of Christ have
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Links
1 Corinthians 12:18 NIV
1 Corinthians 12:18 NLT
1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV
1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB
1 Corinthians 12:18 KJV

1 Corinthians 12:18 Commentaries

Bible Hub
1 Corinthians 12:17
Top of Page
Top of Page