⁷ To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, ^(A)called to be saints:

^(B)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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, ^(A)for the ^[a]edifying of ^(B)the body of Christ,

Unity and Diversity in One Body^(A)

¹² For ^(B)as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, ^(C)so also is Christ. ¹³ For ^(D)by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(E)whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and ^(F)have all been made to drink ^[a]into one Spirit. ¹⁴ For in fact the body is not one member but many.

¹⁸ And I also say to you that ^(A)you are Peter, and ^(B)on this rock I will build My church, and ^(C)the gates of Hades shall not ^[a]prevail against it.

¹⁸ And ^(A)He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, ^(B)the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

²³ to the ^[a]general assembly and church of ^(A)the firstborn ^(B)who are registered in heaven, to God ^(C)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^(D)made perfect,

²⁰ The ^[a]mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are ^(A)the ^[b]angels of the seven churches, and ^(B)the seven lampstands ^[c]which you saw are the seven churches.