Paul emphasizes the major truth that the church is Christ’s present spiritual, earthly body, also a distinct and formerly unrevealed truth about God’s people. This metaphor depicts the church not as an organization, but as a living organism composed of mutually related and interdependent parts. Christ is Head of the body, and the Holy Spirit is its lifeblood. The body functions through the faithful use of its members’ various spiritual gifts, sovereignly and uniquely given by the Holy Spirit to each