1 Corinthians 12:12,15-20,27
1 Corinthians 12:12 New International Version (NIV)
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 New International Version (NIV)
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 New International Version (NIV)
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 The Message (MSG)
You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
1 Corinthians 12:14-18-19-24 The Message (MSG)
I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, transparent and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 The Message (MSG)
You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “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.
1 Corinthians 12:12 King James Version (KJV)
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 King James Version (KJV)
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 King James Version (KJV)
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
1 Corinthians 12:12 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12 New Century Version (NCV)
A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that also.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 New Century Version (NCV)
The foot might say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. The ear might say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the ear from being a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell. If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them. So then there are many parts, but only one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 New Century Version (NCV)
Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body.
1 Corinthians 12:12 American Standard Version (ASV)
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 American Standard Version (ASV)
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 American Standard Version (ASV)
Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof.
1 Corinthians 12:12 New King James Version (NKJV)
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
I Corinthians 12:15-20 New King James Version (NKJV)
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.
I Corinthians 12:27 New King James Version (NKJV)
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
1 Corinthians 12:12 Amplified Bible (AMP)
For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 Amplified Bible (AMP)
If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole [body] were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But now [as things really are], God has placed and arranged the parts in the body, each one of them, just as He willed and saw fit [with the best balance of function]. If they all were a single organ, where would [the rest of] the body be? But now [as things really are] there are many parts [different limbs and organs], but a single body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body, and individually [you are] members of it [each with his own special purpose and function].
1 Corinthians 12:12 New Living Translation (NLT)
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 New Living Translation (NLT)
If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 New Living Translation (NLT)
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Just as the human body is one, though it has many parts that together form one body, so too is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 The Passion Translation (TPT)
So if the foot were to say, “Since I’m not a hand, I’m not a part of the body,” it’s forgetting that it is still a vital part of the body. And if the ear were to say, “Since I’m not an eye, I’m not really a part of the body,” it’s forgetting that it is still an important part of the body. Think of it this way. If the whole body were just an eyeball, how could it hear sounds? And if the whole body were just an ear, how could it smell different fragrances? But God has carefully designed each member and placed it in the body to function as he desires. A diversity is required, for if the body consisted of one single part, there wouldn’t be a body at all! So now we see that there are many differing parts and functions, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:27 The Passion Translation (TPT)
You are the body of the Anointed One, and each of you is a unique and vital part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:15-20 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
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. 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. 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? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.