² To God’s church at Corinth,^(A) to those who are sanctified^(B) in Christ Jesus and called^(C) as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name^(D) of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.

A Generous and Growing Church

⁴¹ So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. ⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,^(A) to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.^(B)

[³⁷ And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]^{[a] 38} Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

¹¹ And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,^{(A) 13} until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,^(B) growing into a mature man with a stature^(C) measured by Christ’s fullness. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,^(D) by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head^(E)—Christ. ¹⁶ From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together^(F) by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth^(G) of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

²⁵ not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other,^(A) and all the more as you see the day drawing near.