^23 (A)which is his body, ^(B)the fullness of him ^(C)who fills ^(D)all in all.

^12 (A)to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(B)building up ^(C)the body of Christ,

¹⁸ And ^(A)he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^(B)the beginning, ^(C)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For ^(D)in him all the ^(E)fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ ^(A)that surpasses knowledge, that ^(B)you may be filled with all ^(C)the fullness of God.

¹⁶ For from ^(A)his fullness we have all received, ^(B)grace upon grace.^[a]

Paul's Ministry to the Church

²⁴ Now ^(A)I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(B)I am filling up ^(C)what is lacking in Christ's afflictions ^(D)for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

¹⁰ He who descended is the one who also ^(A)ascended ^(B)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(C)fill all things.)

⁹ For ^(A)in him the whole fullness of deity dwells ^(B)bodily, ¹⁰ and ^(C)you have been filled in him, who is ^(D)the head of all rule and authority.

One Body with Many Members

¹² For just as ^(A)the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^(B)so it is with Christ. ¹³ For ^(C)in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(D)Jews or Greeks, slaves^[a] or free—and ^(E)all were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less 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, ^(F)God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^(G)as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[b] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^(H)all rejoice together.

²⁷ Now ^(I)you are the body of Christ and individually ^(J)members of it.