1. One Spirit; one body (12,13)

The Christian Church is the body of Christ. Christ has only one body. God baptizes with the Holy Spirit all those who repent of their sins and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord; all of these, without exception, are parts of the body of Christ. There may seem to be many groups and denominations, but these are all man-made divisions. From God's point of view, there is only one true, invisible Church of Jesus Christ.

2. The body has many parts (14-31)

Hands don't compete with feet; a nose and an eye are both precious. If I burn my finger, my whole body suffers. Each person in the Christian fellowship has something to do to build up the whole church. Some work may seem more glamorous to people, but to Christ the head, each person is precious. If we love Jesus, we can do anything for him-and rejoice even in suffering.

Application: Lord, help me to respect and love each of your precious children, and use my gifts to build up the body.
One Word: One Spirit, one body, many parts