The Body of Christ

¹² A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts to a body, but all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that too. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, and some of us are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some of us are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.

¹⁴ And a person’s body has more than one part. It has many parts. ¹⁵ The foot might say, “I am not a hand. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. ¹⁶ The ear might say, “I am not an eye. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, the body would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, the body would not be able to smell anything. ^18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one of them. ²⁰ And so there are many parts, but only one body.

²⁹ Not all are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles.