I have chosen to use the New Living Translation for this study. My comments, along with those things I wish to emphasize, will be in bold print, not that my comments are more important than the Word of God, (God forbid that anyone should believe I think that!), but I do so for clarity sake.
Therefore I (Paul), a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God (For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness - 1 Thes. 4:7). Be humble and gentle (Phil. 2:5-8). Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love (1 Cor. 13:4-7). Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace (Heb. 12:14). We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord (Jesus), one faith (Jn. 14:6), one baptism (Since there are at least three baptisms, John's - Acts 19:3, the Church ordinance - Matt. 28:19, and Spirit baptism - 1 Cor. 12:13, in context, the one baptism Paul speaks of here is the one which places us into Christ's body - 1 Cor. 12:13), and there is only one God and Father (Notice that the Holy Trinity is shown here!), who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.
However, He has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ (1 Cor. 12:4-11). That is why the Scriptures say, "When He ascended to the heights (Acts 1:9-10), He led a crowd of captives (I believe He emptied Paradise - Lk. 23:43 - or "Abraham's bosom" - Lk. 16:22) and gave gifts to His people" (Eph. 4:11) Notice that it says "He ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. The same One who came down is the One who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that His rule might fill the entire universe (The very one He created - Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2).
He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: (these are the gifts:) the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people (train them) to do His work and build up the church (win souls to Christ), the body of Christ (Rom. 7:4; 1 Cor. 10:16; 12:27), until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ (Rom. 12:1-2; Phil. 1:6; 2:13), who is the head of His body, the Church. Under His direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work (Heb. 10:24-25), it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
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