1 Corinthians 12:19

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?

1 Corinthians 12:19 in Other Translations

19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?

19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part!

19 But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster.

19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

19 How could it be a body if it only had one part?

19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be?

19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body?

1 Corinthians 12:19 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 12:19

And if they were all one member
As all eye, or all ear, or all hand, or all foot: where were the body?
where would be the body? it would not be a body consisting of such proper and suitable members, as now it is: so if the community of the saints were either all ministers, or all hearers there would be no body, consisting of different persons, to receive any benefit or usefulness from either; the church of Christ would not be that uniform, useful, and consistent community it is.

1 Corinthians 12:19 In-Context

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

18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?

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!”