Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 12:17

"If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?" — 1 Corinthians 12:17 (ASV)

If the whole body were an eye.—Here is shown how absurd it would be for the body to be merely one member, and in 1 Corinthians 12:19 is shown the converse absurdity of the members losing their individuality. There is a corporate body composed of diverse members. That is the difference between a dead machine and a living organism.