1 Corinthians 12:12

1 Corinthians 12:12 in other versions

• 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.
• 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.
• English Standard Version (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.
• 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.

Context of 1 Corinthians 12:12

10The same Spirit gives other people power to do miracles. Other people can speak messages from God. Some people can recognize whether spirits are good or bad. Some people can speak in different kinds of languages. And other people can explain what those languages mean. 11There is only one Holy Spirit. The same Spirit helps people to do all these different things. He decides which gifts he will give to each person. Each person has only one body, but that body has many parts. All those different parts make only one body. It is like that with Christ too. 13When they baptized us, we all became parts of one body. It was the one Spirit who brought us together. It made no difference whether we were Jews or Gentiles. It made no difference whether we were slaves or free people. God poured his one Spirit into all of us. 14A person's body does not have only one part. It has many parts.

1 Corinthians 12:12 word by word

Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα ἕν ἐστιν καὶ μέλη πολλὰ ἔχει, πάντα δὲ τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος πολλὰ ὄντα ἕν ἐστιν σῶμα, οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστός.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• asκαθάπερkathaper · just asG2509
• the bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• membersμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• andδέde · thenG1161
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 12:12

• 1 Corinthians 10:17We are many people, but all of us eat part of the same loaf of bread. That shows that we are one group of people. We belong together because Christ died on our behalf.
• Romans 12:4Each part of our body works in a different way. But all the parts belong to our one body.
• Ephesians 1:23The church is like Christ's body and he is its head. Christ fills all things everywhere and he causes the church to become complete.
• Ephesians 4:4As God's people, you are like one body. There is one Spirit that gives you life. God has chosen you to be his own people. So you all expect to receive the same great things from God.
• Ephesians 5:23A husband has authority over his wife, in the same way that Christ has authority over the church. The church is like Christ's body. As its head, he saves her.
• Colossians 1:18The church is like Christ's body and he is its head. He is where it all begins. As God's special Son, he was the first person who became alive again after death. As a result, Christ is first and most important in all things.
• Colossians 2:19False teachers like that do not receive their message from Christ. As God's people, we are like a body and Christ is like our head. He is the one who causes the whole body to be strong. He helps us to work well together, like the different parts of a body. Then we can all grow properly, because it is God who is helping us to grow.
• Colossians 3:15Christ has given you peace in your minds. So let that peace rule your thoughts. God has chosen you to be like one body, as his people. So he wants you to live together in peace. Thank God for everything that he gives to you.
• 1 Corinthians 12:27All of you together are Christ's body. And each of you is a part of that body.
• Galatians 3:16In the same way, God promised to bless Abraham and Abraham's descendant. The Bible does not say ‘descendants’. It does not speak about ‘many people’. No, God promised to bless Abraham's descendant. He speaks about one person, and that person is Christ.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 12:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12For as the body is one - Though the human body have many members, and though it be composed of a great variety of parts, yet it is but one entire system; every part and member being necessary to the integrity or completeness of the whole. So also is Christ - That is, So is the Church the body of Christ, being composed of the different officers already mentioned, and especially those enumerated, 1 Corinthians 12:28, apostles, prophets, teachers, etc. It…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12For as the body is one - The general sentiment which the apostle had been illustrating and enforcing was, that all the endowments which were possessed in the church were the work of the same Holy Spirit, and that they ought to be appropriately cherished and prized, as being all useful and valuable in their places. This sentiment he now illustrates 1 Corinthians 12:27, meaning that it is one, and that he sustains to it the relation of Head; compare…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-26Verses 12-26 Christ and his church form one body, as Head and members. Christians become members of this body by baptism. The outward rite is of Divine institution; it is a sign of the new birth, and is called therefore the washing of regeneration, Tit 3:5. But it is by the Spirit, only by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, that we are made members of Christ's body. And by communion with Christ at the Lord's supper, we are strengthened, not by drinking the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-31The church is like a body (see 12:27) made up of many different parts. Each part has its own role, as determined by God (see 12:11, 18, 28; Romans 12:4–5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1312-13. Unity, not unvarying uniformity, is the law of God in the world of grace, as in that of nature. As the many members of the body compose an organic whole and none can be dispensed with as needless, so those variously gifted by the Spirit, compose a spiritual organic whole, the body of Christ, into which all are baptized by the one Spirit. of that one body--Most of the oldest manuscripts omit "one." so also is Christ--that is, the whole Christ, the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 12:12

• Church
• Communion
• Fellowship
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Administration
• Bond
• Covet
• Temper
• Tongues, Gift of
• Church Government
• Communion; (fellowship)
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings