²³ For I received from the Lord Himself that which I passed on to you [it was given to me personally], that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was treacherously delivered up and while His betrayal was in progress took bread,

²⁴ And when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, Take, eat. This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

²⁵ Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord’s death until He comes [again].

²⁷ So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord.

²⁸ Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ’s] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself.

³⁰ That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death.

³¹ For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

³² But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined and chastened, so that we may not [finally] be condemned [to eternal punishment along] with the world.

⁴ Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, ^[a]extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same.

⁵ And there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but it is the same Lord [Who is served].

⁶ And there are distinctive varieties of operation [of working to accomplish things], but it is the same God Who inspires and energizes them all in all.

⁷ But to each one is given the manifestation of the [Holy] Spirit [the evidence, the spiritual illumination of the Spirit] for good and profit.

⁸ To one is given in and through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] a message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] a word of knowledge and understanding according to the same [Holy] Spirit;

⁹ To another [^[b]wonder-working] faith by the same [Holy] Spirit, to another the extraordinary powers of healing by the one Spirit;

¹⁰ To another the working of miracles, to another prophetic insight (^[c]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose); to another the ability to discern and distinguish between [the utterances of true] spirits [and false ones], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, to another the ability to interpret [such] tongues.

¹¹ All these [gifts, achievements, abilities] are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually [exactly] as He chooses.

¹² For just as the body is a unity and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

¹³ For by [^[d]means of the personal agency of] one [Holy] Spirit we were all, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, baptized [and ^[e]by baptism united together] into one body, and all made to drink of one [Holy] Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many.

¹⁵ If the foot should say, Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not [a part] of the body?

¹⁶ If the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not [a part] of the body?

¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where [would be the sense of] hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where [would be the sense of] smell?

¹⁸ But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation.

¹⁹ But if [the whole] were all a single organ, where would the body be?

²⁰ And now there are [certainly] many limbs and organs, but a single body.

²¹ And the eye is not able to say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

²² But instead, there is [absolute] necessity for the parts of the body that are considered the more weak.

²³ And those [parts] of the body which we consider rather ignoble are [the very parts] which we invest with additional honor, and our unseemly parts and those unsuitable for exposure are treated with seemliness (modesty and decorum),

²⁴ Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted (mingled, harmonized, and subtly proportioned the parts of) the whole body, giving the greater honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts which lack [apparent importance],

²⁵ So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.

²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the parts [share] the suffering; if one member is honored, all the members [share in] the enjoyment of it.

²⁷ Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body and [individually] you are members of it, each part severally and distinct [each with his own place and function].

²⁸ So God has appointed some in the church [^[f]for His own use]: first apostles (special messengers); second prophets (inspired preachers and expounders); third teachers; then wonder-workers; then those with ability to heal the sick; helpers; administrators; [speakers in] different (unknown) tongues.

²⁹ Are all apostles (special messengers)? Are all prophets (inspired interpreters of the will and purposes of God)? Are all teachers? Do all have the power of performing miracles?

³⁰ Do all possess extraordinary powers of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?