Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
- KJV Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
- BSB Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.
- NKJV Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
- NLT All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
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
Paul applies the whole image directly: 'you are the body of Christ, and members individually.' The Corinthians corporately and personally belong to Christ.
Overview
This verse drives the metaphor home. The Corinthian church is not merely like a body but is the body of Christ, with each believer a distinct member. Their identity, dignity, and responsibility all flow from union with Christ, which should transform how they regard one another and use their gifts.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Eph 4:12for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;
- Eph 5:30because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones.
- Rom 12:5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
- Col 1:24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly;
- 1 Cor 12:12For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
- 1 Cor 12:14–20For the body is not one member, but many.
- Eph 5:23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body.
- Eph 1:23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
- Col 1:18He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 12:27 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.