⁸ Therefore He says:

^9 (B)(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also ^[a]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One ^(C)who ascended far above all the heavens, ^(D)that He might fill all things.)

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, ^(E)for the ^[b]edifying of ^(F)the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith ^(G)and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to ^(H)a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be ^(I)children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of ^(J)deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the ^(K)head—Christ— ^16 (L)from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Living Sacrifices to God

12 I ^(A)beseech^[a] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies ^(B)a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your ^[b]reasonable service. ² And ^(C)do not be conformed to this world, but ^(D)be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may ^(E)prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Serve God with Spiritual Gifts

³ For I say, ^(F)through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, ^(G)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt ^(H)to each one a measure of faith. ⁴ For ^(I)as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, ⁵ so ^(J)we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is ^(K)given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us ^(L)prophesy in proportion to our faith; ⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; ^(M)he who teaches, in teaching; ^8 (N)he who exhorts, in exhortation; ^(O)he who gives, with liberality; ^(P)he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, ^(Q)with cheerfulness.

⁷ After that He was seen by James, then ^(A)by all the apostles. ^8 (B)Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁹ For I am ^(C)the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because ^(D)I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But ^(E)by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, ^(F)yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

³³ And with ^(A)great power the apostles gave ^(B)witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And ^(C)great grace was upon them all.

⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and ^(A)many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

Continuing Power in the Church

¹² And ^(A)through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. ^(B)And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.

⁸ On the next day we ^[a]who were Paul’s companions departed and came to ^(A)Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip ^(B)the evangelist, ^(C)who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

¹⁰ And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named ^(A)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(B)‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹² Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(C)“What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

⁵ Then ^(A)Philip went down to ^[a]the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.