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12 I am now moving on to speak about how God’s Spirit specially empowers believers. I want to inform you, my fellow believers, about these things. 2 You remember what you did when you were not believers. You worshiped other gods. These other gods cannot even speak, but you did whatever wrong things people told you to do to worship these other gods. 3 So then, I am informing you that a person who curses Jesus does not speak with the power of God’s Spirit. On the other hand, a person who says that Jesus is Lord must be speaking with the power of the Holy Spirit.
4 The Spirit empowers people in many different ways, but there is only one Spirit. 5 People serve the Lord in many different ways, but there is only one Lord. 6 People work for God in many different ways, but there is only one God. He is the one who empowers all people to function in all these ways.
7 Each believer receives from God specific ways in which God’s Spirit works through them to help fellow believers. 8 For example, God’s Spirit empowers some believers to speak wisely. Other believers can speak knowledgeably, and the same Spirit empowers them to do this. 9 The same Spirit empowers some believers to trust God in special ways. The same Spirit empowers other believers to heal others. 10 Other believers can do powerful things. Other believers can speak messages from God. Other believers can decide whether something comes from God’s Spirit or not. Some believers can speak unknown languages. Other believers can interpret those unknown languages. 11 The same Spirit works to empower believers to do all these things. There is just one Holy Spirit, and he decides how to work specifically through each believer.
12 We consider a person’s body to be a unity, but the body has many body parts. So, all those body parts, no matter how many there are, together make up one body. We can think about the Messiah in a similar way. 13 Now, God has united us together as closely as if we made up one body. This happened when people baptized us, with the result that we have the one Spirit. We make up this one body even though some of us are Jewish people and others are non-Jewish people, and even though some of us are slaves and others are free people. Further, we all shared in this one Spirit just like we all shared a drink from one cup.
14 As you know, one body part does not make up a body. Rather, it takes many body parts to make up a body. 15 Imagine that your foot could talk to you, and it said that, since it was not a hand, it could not belong to your body. That reason does not keep it from belonging to your body. 16 Again, imagine that your ear could talk to you, and it said that, since it was not an eye, it could not belong to your body. That reason does not keep it from belonging to your body. 17 Imagine that only eyes made up your body. You would not be able to hear anything! Imagine that only ears made up your body. You would not be able to smell anything! 18 But here is what is true about the body: God decided how each body part should function, and he connected each body part to the body for a specific reason. 19 Imagine that all your body parts were the same kind of body part. You would not really have a body at all! 20 But here is what is true about the body: many different body parts exist. However, together they make up one body. 21 Imagine again that your body parts could talk. An eye would never tell a hand, “I do not need you.” Similarly, a head would never tell feet, “I do not need you.” 22 Rather, what is true is that the body parts that we consider to be the delicate ones are actually necessary. 23 Further, we more highly value the body parts that we think of as less valuable. We treat our indecent body parts more decently, 24 but we do not treat our decent body parts in any special way. In the end, God is the one who put all the body parts together into one body, and he makes the less valuable parts more valuable. 25 God did this in order that the body would not split up into different parts. Instead, the body parts work together and do not privilege one body part over other body parts. 26 So, all the body parts hurt when one body part is hurting. All the body parts celebrate when somebody praises one body part.
27 I say all this because you all are like the Messiah’s body. Each of you is like a body part in that body. 28 In line with that, God has specially empowered the people who worship him. First, some people are those whom God has sent to represent the Messiah. Second, some people proclaim what God says. Third, some people teach other believers. Further, some people do powerful things. Others can heal others, help other believers, guide the group of believers, or speak unknown languages. 29 Only some believers are those whom God has sent to represent the Messiah. Only some proclaim what God says. Only some teach other believers. Only some do powerful things. 30 Only some heal others. Only some speak unknown languages. Only some interpret those unknown languages. 31 Now I want you to eagerly seek the most beneficial gifts. Next, I will tell you about the very best thing you can do.