For as we have Here first (and last) in this Epistle St Paul uses the simile of the Body and its Limbs, to illustrate the close mutual connexion of the saints. For parallels, see 1 Corinthians 10:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 4:4-16; Ephesians 5:23-30; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 1:24; Colossians 2:19; Colossians 3:15. In some of these passages the Lord appears explicitly as the life-giving Headof the Body; in one as its loving Bridegroom;while in others (as here) He does not explicitly appear in the imagery; the leading thought being the connexion of His saints with each other, and the diversity of their functions meanwhile. The phrase just below, "in Christ," does not strictly belong to the simile, though expressing a truth elsewhere conveyed by the simile of the Head of the Body.

all members Lit. the limbs all.

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