1 Corinthians · chapter 12 of 16
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1 Corinthians 12 teaches that spiritual gifts are diverse but come from the same Spirit, for the common good. Paul compares the church to a body of many members, all necessary and valuable, and concludes by urging them to desire the higher gifts and showing a still more excellent way, which he develops in the next chapter.
In Corinth spiritual gifts, especially speaking in tongues, had become a reason for pride and comparison. Paul now begins his reply to what they asked about gifts. Instead of ranking who has more, he corrects the perspective: gifts come from God, have a single purpose and form a unity.
Paul does not want them to be uninformed about spiritual gifts. He recalls that they were once led astray to mute idols, and gives a test: no one speaking in the Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.
There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; varieties of service, but the same Lord; varieties of activities, but the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good: the word of wisdom and of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues and their interpretation. All are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as he wills.
Paul compares the church to a body of many members. By one Spirit all were baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. If the foot said it does not belong to the body because it is not a hand, it would not be any less part of the body; if the whole body were an eye, there would be no hearing. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, and the parts that seem weaker are indispensable. If one member suffers, all suffer; if one is honored, all rejoice.
Paul concludes that you are the body of Christ. God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, healing, helping, administrating and tongues. Not all have the same gifts. He urges them to earnestly desire the higher gifts, and he will show them a still more excellent way.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. The confession of faith does not arise from human ability but from the Spirit's work in each believer.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Gifts are not a personal prize but a tool for serving the whole community.
By one Spirit all were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. The differences that divide the world do not divide the church.
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Paul describes a church where pain and joy are shared.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Only someone speaking by the Holy Spirit. — 1 Corinthians 12:3
Answer: For the common good. — 1 Corinthians 12:7
Answer: The same Spirit, as he wills. — 1 Corinthians 12:11
Answer: Into one body. — 1 Corinthians 12:13
Answer: All the members suffer with it. — 1 Corinthians 12:26
Answer: A still more excellent way. — 1 Corinthians 12:31
1 Corinthians 12 frees those who think they have nothing to offer and challenges those who think their gift is the most important. Every believer has something to contribute, from teaching to quiet acts of help. In a Sunday school class it is useful to help each person discover how they can serve.
It also encourages us to value members who go unnoticed and to share the pain and joy of others. A healthy church is not the one with the most visible talents but the one that cares for itself like a body.
1 Corinthians 12 ends by pointing to a more excellent way than any gift. Chapter 13, the hymn of love, develops that idea: without love, the most spectacular gifts are worth nothing.
Paul mentions the word of wisdom and of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues and interpretation; then, in another list, apostles, prophets, teachers, helps and administration. They are not closed lists but examples of how the Spirit equips the church.
Paul describes every believer's incorporation into the community of Christ by the Spirit. Christians understand the relation between this phrase and water baptism in different ways, but the sense of the text is that all belong to the same body without distinction.
Because in a body there are parts that seem less important but perform vital functions. Paul applies that image to the church: believers who hold no visible position are indispensable and deserve special honor.