1 Corinthians: Chapter 12 (verses 1–11)

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed (1 Corinthians 12:1).

Paul starts this chapter of his epistle to the Corinthians with the words now concerning, indicating that he is now returning to the questions and issues which were raised by the Corinthian believers in their letter to him. He prefaces his writing on this topic by stating that he didn’t want them to be ignorant or uninformed regarding spiritual gifts. In calling them brothers (or brethren), Paul created a familial mood.

You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:2–3).

In these two verses Paul set up a contrast between the times when the Corinthians were pagan (or Gentiles) and were led astray to mute idols, and their Christian experience of speaking by the Spirit of God. Some interpreters believe Paul was contrasting the fact that pagans were led by idols whereas Christians are led by the Holy Spirit. Others propose that Paul was contrasting the experiences of ecstatic speech that occurred in pagan religions with the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the church (especially regarding speaking in tongues and prophecy).

Because of their background in pagan worship services, some Corinthians may have had concerns about these gifts. Paul assures them that the words of people filled with the Spirit will confess that Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone (1 Corinthians 12:4–6).

In these verses, Paul makes mention of all three persons of the Trinity: the Spirit, the Lord, and God. He is about to give the Corinthian believers information regarding the gifts given to every believer, and in doing so, he makes it clear that their source is the triune God Himself, who empowers them all in everyone.

Paul begins this passage by saying that there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and each one serves a different purpose in the church. Paul’s main point is that there is only one Holy Spirit, who indwells every person who believes in Christ. The Spirit isn’t given to some believers and not to others (Romans 8:9). Believers are all saved and have the Spirit of God dwelling within them. While there are different spiritual gifts, they all come from the Holy Spirit.

Paul then adds that there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. The Greek word translated as “services” is sometimes rendered as “ministries.” Paul points out that it is the same Lord at work in the diversity of services or ministries or activities of the believers. He wants the Corinthian church to understand that the variety of gifts and ministries that God has given to them is meant to build unity.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Paul then addresses the themes of unity, diversity, and distribution, first by saying that God gives a manifestation of the Spirit to each believer. Believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit will generally have some display of the Spirit’s presence in their life. Paul emphasizes unity by stating the Spirit’s manifestation in each believer is for the common good. As one author wrote, “Spiritual gifts are always given to be used, and to be used in such a way as to edify the whole body of believers, not some individual possessor of a gift.”¹

All spiritual gifts given by the Spirit are for serving others in the body of Christ. None of the spiritual gifts are given solely to enrich or serve those who are gifted.

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8–10).

Paul then listed some of the manifestations of the Spirit’s gifts in the lives of Christians. In so doing, he mentioned the Spirit four times in these verses to remind the Corinthians that these gifts come from a divine source: the Holy Spirit.

Comparisons with other lists in the New Testament of the Spirit’s manifestations show that this list is only a sampling of the gifts of the Spirit that probably corresponds with the gifts which Paul knew the Corinthian church manifested. For example, the list in Romans 12:6–8 includes other gifts, such as service, teaching, exhortation (or encouragement), giving, and leading. In Ephesians 4:11–12, we read of other types of gifts given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” which include evangelism and shepherding.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul briefly listed nine manifestations of spiritual gifts. There is little detail given in some cases of how these gifts are manifested, and Bible scholars throughout history have offered various interpretations for some of them. In the case of three of these gifts (the utterance of wisdom, knowledge, and distinguishing of spirits), these are the only mentions of these gifts in the New Testament.

Following is a brief summary for each of these gifts. (For more detail on each of these gifts, see the Heart of It All series, “The Gifts of the Spirit,” part 1 and part 2.)

1. Wisdom. Some Corinthians glorified the wisdom of the time, but in his teachings, Paul rejected the wisdom of the world and proclaimed that true wisdom was to be found in Christ’s saving work (1 Corinthians 2:1–5). Such wisdom helps believers to apply biblical truths to their daily lives, which provides guidance and counsel.
   
   
2. Knowledge. There are a few interpretations for what the utterance (or message) of knowledge refers to. Biblical scholars suggest that, similar to the previous gift of wisdom, this likely refers to the knowledge of God’s saving purposes in Jesus and the gospel. Some scholars have suggested that since Paul at times associates knowledge with mysteries, revelations, and prophecy (1 Corinthians 13:2; 14:6), he is making reference to supernatural knowledge and understanding of spiritual truths and mysteries.
   
   
3. Faith. The gift of faith does not refer to the faith in Jesus that all Christians have, which results in a person’s salvation. This more likely is referring to the kind of faith that Jesus describes as “faith as small as a mustard seed” that can “move mountains” (Matthew 17:20 NIV). The gift of faith can be understood as the strong conviction that God will move in a certain way in a specific circumstance or as a special endowment of faith for accomplishing a certain task.
   
   
4. Gifts of healing. This refers to the supernatural healing of the sick that is seen in the ministry of Jesus and the early church. Healing the physical body was a foretaste of the resurrection of the body on the last day (Matthew 8:17). The plural form of the word gifts may indicate that this manifestation of the Spirit takes different forms at different times. While healing is not promised to all believers in this life, God’s gifts of healing are given in anticipation of the eventual redemption of the body and healing of all our illnesses (Romans 8:23).
   
   
5. The working of miracles. This general term likely refers to the ability to work various kinds of miracles, including but not limited to healing (Hebrews 2:3–4). A miracle refers to an event that involves the divine intervention of God, which transcends the ordinary laws of nature. Throughout the Bible, God revealed Himself, His character, and His purposes through miracles. We see in all four Gospels that miracles played a critical role in Jesus’ ministry. The position of this gift, listed as the fifth of nine gifts, suggests it should not be given greater emphasis or significance than other less visible works of the Spirit.
   
   
6. Prophecy. The gift of prophecy refers to the ability the Spirit gives to believers to utter inspired words that convey the message of God to the hearers.² In the Old Testament, there were prophets who spoke the word of God under His inspiration and with authority equal to the word of Scripture. In the New Testament, the gift of prophecy more often referred to Christians who reported something that God had laid on their heart or brought to their mind, and were not considered to hold equal authority to Scripture.³ Paul encouraged the church to test the prophecies to evaluate them, and to hold fast what is good (1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19–21). The gift of prophecy was encouraged by Paul because of its usefulness for building up, encouraging, and comforting the community (1 Corinthians 14:1–3).
   
   
7. Distinguishing between spirits. At times, Old Testament Israel had false prophets and teachers whose true character had to be discerned (Deuteronomy 18:20–22). The same has been true within the church from its beginning, as we read throughout the New Testament. “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). It was a valuable gift for someone to have the ability to distinguish between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error (1 John 4:1–6).
   
   
8. Tongues. The gift of tongues refers to speech in a language the speaker does not know, first manifested by the disciples on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4–11). This gift has been somewhat controversial within the Christian church throughout history, in particular as to whether tongues were human languages spoken by someone who didn’t know the language or utterances not known to humans. It seems that Paul was perhaps intentionally ambiguous in referring to various kinds of tongues, which allowed for different forms of this gift to be characterized as tongues.
   
   
9. Interpretation of tongues. The word translated as interpretation can also be rendered as translation. The ability to interpret tongues apparently differed in ways that corresponded to the kind of tongues uttered. But even when a known human language was spoken, this gift was more than the ordinary ability to translate a language known to the translator, and may have been understood as a supernatural ability to translate an unknown language. Paul later gave instruction that when tongues occur in worship they were to be interpreted, if at all possible, so that all might benefit from what was spoken (1 Corinthians 14:2–5).

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:11).

Having presented a short list of various gifts of the Spirit, Paul ends with a general comment that all spiritual gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit. These gifts are important to the church because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Each believer in the church receives different gifts, not because of differences in personal qualifications or circumstances, but according to only one standard: just as the Spirit determines (1 Corinthians 12:11 NIV).

(To be continued.)

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Note
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.