12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the ^dbody of Christ,

16 ^kfrom whom the whole body, ^ljoined and ^mheld together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

30 because ⁱwe are ^jmembers of his body.

18 And he is the ^ghead of the body, the church. He is ^hthe beginning, ⁱthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be ^jpreeminent.

Paul’s Ministry to the Church

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am ^yfilling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his ^zbody, that is, the church,

23 For ^athe husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the ^bhead of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

27 Now ^wyou are the body of Christ and individually members of it.