<p>12:21- see on 12:15.</p><p><i>Therefore the eye cannot say to the hand: I have no need of you; nor the head to the feet: I have no need of you- </i>The same word is used in :24 about our more honourable parts thinking they have &quot;no need&quot;. Perhaps we are therefore to read in an ellipsis there, to the effect they think they have no need; for here in :21 it is made clear that we all stand in need of each other. Again Paul is touching to the core of our subconscious sense that we are sufficient of ourselves.</p><p>This is something more than a random example: the head (the Lord Jesus) cannot do without the feet (a symbol of the preacher in Rom. 10:15). In the work of witness especially, the Head is reliant on the preacher for the work He wills to be done. He likens preaching to drag net fishing (Mt. 13:47), in which one big fishing boat drags a net which is tied to a small dinghy. God&rsquo;s fishing is thus dependent on us, the smaller boat, working with Him. Thus the harvest was plenteous during the Lord&rsquo;s ministry, but relatively few were converted due to the dearth of labourers (Mt. 9:37 implies). So the idea is that if even the Lord Jesus needs us, how much more do we need each other.</p><p>As John realized the tendency of some to think they could love God without loving His sons,&nbsp;so Paul here tackled the same problem at Corinth. He knew that some would want to go off on their own, and he shows that such behaviour would suggest that they alone were the whole body. He knew that some would think that they had no need of other parts of the ecclesial body; he saw that some would feel that they were so inferior to others that they had no place in the body. All these are reasons why believers push off on their own. But notice that Paul doesn't actually say 'the eye <i>shouldn't </i>say to the hand, I have no need of you'; but rather &quot;the eye <i>cannot</i> say to the hand...&quot;. Although some may say or feel this, ultimately, from God's perspective, it's simply not valid. Christian disillusion with Christianity&nbsp;mustn't lead us to quit the body. The same logic applies to those who think that the body of Christ is divided; ultimately, there is one body, and from God's perspective this is indivisible. The divisions only exist in the minds of men. Those who say that they don't need fellowship with their brethren &quot;cannot say&quot; this, according to Paul. If they continue on this road, ultimately they declare themselves not of the one body of Christ; although I trust there are many brethren who have done just this who may still receive God's gracious salvation. &nbsp;</p>