Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 12:5
So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
5. in Christ ] i.e. by virtue of our union with Him. See on Rom 8:1. Cp. also for the profound meaning of the phrase, 2Co 5:17.
and every one ] Perhaps better, in view of MSS. &c., but with respect to individuality; “as concerns our several positions.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
So we, being many – We who are Christians, and who are numerous as individuals.
Are one body – Are united together, constituting one society, or one people, mutually dependent, and having the same great interests at heart, though to be promoted by us according to our special talents and opportunities. As the welfare of the same body is to be promoted in one manner by the feet, in another by the eye, etc.; so the welfare of the body of Christ is to be promoted by discharging our duties in our appropriate sphere, as God has appointed us.
In Christ – One body, joined to Christ, or connected with him as the head; Eph 1:22-23, And gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body; compare Joh 15:1-7. This does not mean that there is any physical or literal union, or any destruction of personal identity, or any thing particularly mysterious or unintelligible. Christians acknowledge him as their head. that is, their Lawgiver; their Counsellor, Guide, and Redeemer. They are bound to him by especially tender ties of affection, gratitude, and friendship; they are united in him, that is, in acknowledging him as their common Lord and Saviour. Any other unions than this is impossible; and the sacred writers never intended that expressions like these should be explained literally. The union of Christians to Christ is the most tender and interesting of any in this world, but no more mysterious than what binds friend to friend, children to parents, or husbands to their wives; compare Eph 5:23-33. (See the supplementary note at Rom 8:17.)
And every one members one of another – Compare 1Co 12:25-26. That is, we are so united as to be mutually dependent; each one is of service to the other; and the existence and function of the one is necessary to the usefulness of the other. Thus, the members of the body may be said to be members one of another; as the feet could not, for example, perform their functions or be of use if it were not for the eye; the ear, the hand, the teeth, etc., would be useless if it were not for the other members, which go to make up the entire person. Thus, in the church, every individual is not only necessary in his place as an individual, but is needful to the proper symmetry and action of the whole. And we may learn here:
(1) That no member of the church of Christ should esteem himself to be of no importance. In his own place he may be of as much consequence as the man of learning, wealth, and talent may be in his.
(2) God designed that there should be differences of endowments of nature and of grace in the church; just as it was needful that there should be differences in the members of the human body.
(3) No one should despise or lightly esteem another. All are necessary. We can no more spare the foot or the hand than we can the eye; though the latter may be much more curious and striking as a proof of divine skill. We do not despise the hand or the foot any more than we do the eye; and in all we should acknowledge the goodness and wisdom of God. See these thoughts carried out in 1Co 12:21-25.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. So we, being many] We who are members of the Church of Christ, which is considered the body of which he is the head, have various offices assigned to us, according to the measure of grace, faith and religious knowledge which we possess; and although each has a different office, and qualifications suitable to that office, yet all belong to the same body; and each has as much need of the help of another as that other has of his; therefore, let there be neither pride on the one hand, nor envy on the other. The same metaphor, in nearly the same words, is used in Synopsis Sohar, page 13. “As man is divided into various members and joints, united among themselves, and raised by gradations above each other, and collectively compose one body; so all created things are members orderly disposed, and altogether constitute one body. In like manner the law, distributed into various articulations, constitutes but one body.” See Schoettgen.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So we being many are one body in Christ,…. This is the application of the above simile. The chosen of God, the redeemed of Christ, and those that are justified by his righteousness, and sanctified by his Spirit; though they are but few in comparison of the men of the world, but considered in themselves are many, and yet make up but one body, the church, of which Christ is the head: and though this general assembly; or church universal, may be distinguished into several congregational churches, and distinct communities, yet each community, consisting of divers persons, is but one body “in Christ”, united and knit together by joints and bands, under him their head, Lord, and King; in him, and not in Caesar, or any earthly monarch, to distinguish this body from bodies politic, or any civil community among men:
and everyone members one of another; as in union with Christ their head, so to one another in love, walking in holy fellowship together, sympathizing with, and serving each other.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And severally ( ‘ ). A difficult late idiom where the preposition ‘ () is treated adverbially with no effect on the nominative case like (2Co 11:23). So ‘ (Mr 14:19) and in Modern Greek as a distributive pronoun. But we have ‘ in 1Co 14:31. The use of the neuter article here with ‘ is probably the accusative of general reference, “as to each one.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Being many [ ] . Lit., the many. Rev., better, who are many. Every one [ ] . The literal phrase can only be rendered awkwardly : and as to what is true according to one; i e., individually, severally. Compare, for a similar phrase, Mr 14:19; Joh 8:9.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “So we being many,” (houtos hoi polloi) “So we existing as or being (as a church) many members”; Many individuals. When one believes and is saved he does not lose his identity or individuality. He exercises it. Thereafter he is to confess and commit his life in surrendered service to Christ in his body (assembly) the church, from which the highest degree of honor and service to God may be given, Mat 5:15-16; Rev 1:18-20; Eph 3:21.
2) “Are one body in Christ,” (en soma esmen en Christo ti) “We are or exist as one body (assembly) in Christ”; The term “body of Christ,” is used in two ways in the New Testament. 1) First, it refers to his physical body-cross body in and thru which he bare our sins, and purchased his second body, the church body; 1Pe 2:24; Col 1:20-22.
3) Second, the body of Christ refers restrictedly to a company, congregation, or assembly of baptized believers in Christ, never to all the saved, 1Co 12:27; Col 1:24.
4) “And every one members one of another “ (de kath eis allelon mele) “And each (of us) is one of another member”; Each member exists as having his body membership of the vote, acceptance, or reception by other, prior members of the church. And each is important, necessary, and has a witness of influence to give that none other can give in the church or community, 1Co 12:22; None is addressed as the body of Christ, or a member of his body, his assembly, his church, his bride, his temple, or his house except he has been 1 ) saved 2) baptized, 3) become a member of a local church body, agreeing to worship and work therein, and thereby to carry out the commission of Jesus Christ to his body, church, or assembly, Joh 20:21; Mat 28:18-20; Act 1:8.
The following passages refer to his body, the church, as an institution which Hebrews 1) purchased -with his own blood, 2) commissioned after his resurrection, and 3) sanctified, baptized, or empowered for her world-wide and age-long commission. Act 20:28; Joh 20:21; Act 1:8; Act 2:1-4; Eph 1:22-23; Eph 2:20-22; Mat 16:18; Eph 4:4; Eph 4:12; Eph 4:16; Col 1:24. The “ye” or “you all” refers to members of a local body, 1Co 12:27.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(5) In Christ.Christ is the unifying principle in the Church, just as the personality or will is the unifying principle in man.
Every one.A somewhat peculiar phrase in the Greek, not found in this form in classical writers, meaning as individuals.
Members one of another.Strictly speaking, the members are called members in their relation to the body, and not in their relation to each other. We should say, rather, fellow-members with one another.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. One body in the faith and atoning mercy of Christ.
One of another Each belonged not only to the whole, but each to the other; since the good order or disorder of one limb affects every other limb. We have here a sight of the organic arrangements of the Roman Church as it existed before a later providential expediency had crystallized it into permanent form, and before the apostle had ever overseen it. The official and charismatic are so blended that while there are unity, and form, and regular cooperation, yet the polity is spontaneous and spiritual, rather than governmental.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Ver. 5. One body in Christ ] See Trapp on “ 1Co 12:12 “ See Trapp on “ 1Co 12:13 “
And every one members ] Try thy membership, if, 1. Sociable with Christ and Christians. 2. Useful and serviceable to the body. 3. Compassionate, as Paul; “Who is afflicted,” saith he, “and I burn not?” I feel twinges when others are hurt; and I hold myself a debtor (as a member) to Greeks and barbarians, to the wise and unwise, be they but of the body, Rom 1:14 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5. ] But [severally , i.e.] as regards individuals . A solcism for , as in ref. Rev. Wetst., on ref. Mark, gives many examples of it.
Members of one another = fellow-members with one another, members of the body of which we one with another are members.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Christ. App-98.
every one = severally. Greek. kath’ (App-104. x) heis.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5. ] But [severally, i.e.] as regards individuals. A solcism for , as in ref. Rev. Wetst., on ref. Mark, gives many examples of it.
Members of one another = fellow-members with one another,-members of the body of which we one with another are members.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 12:5. ) see Mar 14:19, note.-, members, Eph 4:25.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 12:5
Rom 12:5
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another.-[The members of the human body, and the function of each member is peculiar to itself; and as all are essential, no one can claim superiority over the others.] So the church, composed of many members, constitutes the spiritual body in Christ. In this each member has its appropriate office and work to do, and by virtue of all being members of the one body they are members one of another, each dependent upon the life and fidelity of the others for his own spiritual activity and life. Hence, each should constantly look to the good of all the others.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Rom 12:4, 1Co 10:17, 1Co 12:12-14, 1Co 12:20, 1Co 12:27, 1Co 12:28, Eph 1:23, Eph 4:25, Eph 5:23, Eph 5:30, Col 1:24, Col 2:19
Reciprocal: Joh 15:5 – vine Joh 17:21 – they all Act 4:32 – the multitude 1Co 1:30 – in 1Co 6:15 – your Gal 2:9 – the grace Gal 3:16 – which Eph 1:3 – in Christ Eph 3:6 – the same Eph 4:4 – one body Phi 1:27 – in one
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom 12:5
There are some moral and spiritual truths which it seems to be almost impossible to impress upon the practical life of the world, although they meet with a sort of universal acceptance.
I. The purpose of Christs revelation is to crucify the selfish instinct in us, and to rouse us to the life of self-devotion, to the idea of consecrated energies; and this being so, all Christian life is of the nature of a warfare; and a warfare which begins afresh with each generation of men; because selfishness, with all its tribe of attendant appetites and passions, springs afresh in every single soul, and is nurtured, strengthened, cultivated, by so many of the conditions of life. If, then, the Spirit of Christ is really to prevail in our life, it must be by effecting our emancipation from selfish instincts, and rousing in us the spirit of devotion to the good of other lives.
II. In proportion as you diminish selfishness in your own life or in any other, by fostering generous affections and cultivating the spirit of social duty and religious aspirations, by walking in the footsteps of Christ and living in the light of His presence, you are laying the only possible foundation of any lasting progress, you are following the one true method by which the mystery of sin is to be overcome.
III. We may wonder that this should be so difficult; for of selfishness we should say that we all dislike it. In its grosser forms we repudiate it. The very word is one which we articulate with a certain accent of contempt. But when we come to its refined and subtle workings in our nature, when we think of its Proteus-like changeableness, its power of assuming the various guises even of duty or religion; when we reflect how it can clothe itself in the choicest garb of art, or science, or Divine philosophy, we find very likely that we are always in danger of being enslaved by it.
And we do well to pray in all sincerity that grace may expel our selfishness; for indeed the influence of true religion is to be gauged by the extent to which this prayer is being fulfilled in us. The fulfilment of it is what we mean by the regenerate life.
Bishop Percival.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD
We who realise our brotherhood remember what it is to be children of the one true Father Whose name is Love, members of that one body with the life of Christ pulsing in our souls and drawing us into a constant union.
I. Brotherhood of nations.Look at some of its widest and clearest issues. Look at the pictures of all families, families of men north, south, east, and west. We preach the Christ and we profess the Christ, and then we fight, and the most hideous witness against our Christ is war. God made of one blood all the nations of men on the face of the earth. The hideousness of war comes home to us, and we ought not to forget nations at war. We should pray for them and do more. We should so live, so strive, that the world may learn to be Christian, to hate war.
II. Brotherhood in the Church.Can I narrow it down? There is the family of the Church with fuller responsibility and with fuller knowledge. And that family, the sacred immaculate Body of Christ, is rent and torn asunder by our unhappy divisions. Nay, it is much worse than that, it is by our deliberate sin, by our slothfulness, our carelessness, our refusal to spend any time or trouble upon religion. Those divisions in Christendom are criminal. Do we realise what this disunion means? It means utter confusion, it means many a soul sent to the despair and abyss of perplexity, and it means that many a soul is not won for Christ because the world does not know what He teaches. We must pray for the reunion of Christendom. There is much we might do with sure conviction, and do it in all charity. Do not condemn; do not reject; maybe you are condemning and rejecting Christ. Then by the sweetness and the purity of your own faith speak the truth in love.
III. Brotherhood in the parish.In our own parish there is the awful need for brotherhood and love, and for sympathy, and all of you may spend your energy in Christs service. We have lost our inspiration, we have lost our enthusiasm because we do not believe in the Christ. If you did you could not sit still; if you did you would offer yourself for His work; you would go out from your homes and churches, and you would bring some one single child, man, or woman to the Christ. Realise your brotherhood. Start it in your own homes. If you are parents, do not put anything in the way of your children when they want to go to Christ; and if you are children bear your witness faithfully, and let father and mother see that you are Christs. In your work, too, you might give some witness to the Christ. Take one single friend each week and lead him nearer to Jesus. You might let him know that you care for God, and you might make your profession of God a living reality. If this were done the papers and the statisticians would not then have to talk about our empty churches, because every one would come and do his homage to Christ.
Rev. E. Rogers.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Rom 12:5. So we, the many, not, being many, but the many, like the many members of the body, are one body in Christ (see marginal references).
And severally, etc. The phrase is very unusual; it is literally: and what (is true) as to individuals, (they are) members of one another. Christ is the Head, and fellowship with Him makes us one body, and in consequence the individual relation is that of fellow-member with every other.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. [As God gives to each member of the human body its several function for the good of the whole body, so he distributed the miraculous gifts of the Spirit to the different members of the Roman church for the good of the whole church. The gifts were intended to be held in common, so that each member should contribute to the needs of all the others, and in return receive from all the others in mutual helpfulness and interdependence. Difference in office or function, therefore, was not a matter for pride or boasting, for the gift was held in trust for service, and was a gift to the whole body, through the individual member. There is no room for comparison or pride between the related members of one living organism. This comparison of the relationship of Christians to the mutual dependence of the members of the human body is a favorite one with Paul, and he elaborates it at 1Co 12:4-31 and Eph 4:1-16 . See also Eph 4:25; Eph 5:30]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
5. So also we being many are one body in Christ and members one of another,
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 5
One of another; one with another.