Unity in the Body

(Psalm 133:1–3, 1 Corinthians 1:10–17)

4 [As a] prisoner in [the] Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 [and] with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

4 [There is] one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope [when] you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who [is] over all and through all and in all.

7 Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8 This is why it says:[fn] “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”[fn]

9 What [does] “He ascended” [mean], except that He also descended[fn] to the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the very [One] who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

11 And [it was] He who gave some [to be] apostles, some [to be] prophets, some [to be] evangelists, and some [to be] pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for works of ministry [and] to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [as we] mature to the full measure of [the] stature of Christ.

14 Then {we will} no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching [and] by the clever cunning of men in [their] deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, {we will} in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. 16 From [Him] the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows [and] builds itself up in love through [the] work of each individual part.