SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Common English Bible & The Message
12 Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. 13 We are all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all are given one Spirit to drink. 14 Certainly the body isn’t one part but many.
15 If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body?
16 If the ear says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body [intentionally]. 19 If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? 20 But as it is, there are many parts but one body. 21 So the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. 24b God has put the body together… 25 so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it. 27 You are the body of Christ and parts of each other.
28-31 You’re familiar with some of the parts that [Creator] has formed in the church, which is [Christ’s] “body”: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, those who pray in tongues. But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts. But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
