That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
Parallel translations
- WEB that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
- BSB so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.
- NKJV that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
- NASB so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.
- NLT This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God's design aims to prevent division, so that members care equally for one another. Mutual care is the goal of the body's structure.
Overview
Here Paul names the purpose behind God's arrangement: unity expressed in shared, mutual care. The honoring of weaker members exists to knit the body together rather than fracture it. This directly addresses the Corinthians' divisions, summoning them to the same love that flows from their common life in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Cor 13:11Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
- 1 Cor 1:10–12Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- John 17:21–26That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
- 2 Cor 8:16But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.
- 1 Cor 3:3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
- 2 Cor 7:12Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 12:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.