In our study of 1 Corinthians chapter twelve, we look at spiritual gifts and their purpose in the church. There are those that say that these gifts were only for the early church but, as we will see, they are just as necessary for the church of today.
Now, if God speaks to you in this study, you can save your own personal notes on this page. Then, every time that you look at this study, your notes will automatically be added to the page. To add a note or to display your previous notes, click on the YOUR NOTES button.
But, brothers, I do not want you to go on being ignorant about the things of the Spirit.
The word "gifts" is not in the original transcripts and it is unfortunate that it is included. It was put in to clarify but has instead been used to create confusion. The original text uses the word "spiritualities" and Paul is simply shifting the focus of his letter from physical things to spiritual matters.
You know that when you were pagans, no matter how you felt you were being led, you were being led astray to idols, which can't speak at all. Therefore, I want to make it clear to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, "Yeshua is cursed!" and no one can say, "Yeshua is Lord," except by the Ruach HaKodesh.
Paul reminds them and us that, before we came to Christ, we chased after physical things but they had no power. He says they were "mute idols" meaning they could not do anything for us. In contrast to that, he says that only the power of the Spirit in us can cause us to acknowledge Jesus as Lord of our lives.
Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the same Lord being served. And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working them all in everyone.
In this simple passage, we see the Holy Trinity at work. We see that we are all given gifts through the Holy Spirit to serve our Lord Jesus as we carry out our part in God's plan. We also see in this that we should be united through these spiritual gifts because they are all from God and for His purpose. A gift (in this sense) is a capacity to perform a certain function that is necessary for the church as a whole. It is God using a believer to do a specific service for His people. Every believer has at least one gift and so is important to the church as a whole.
Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit that will be for the common good.
These gifts are simply a result of the Holy Spirit being present in the life of a believer. The gifts are to be used for the good of the church but, in many cases, they are used like some sort of circus sideshow. In using these gifts for the common good, the church is unified as each believer is of value to the church as a whole.
To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit;
Now, Paul begins to list different ways that the Holy Spirit is displayed in the lives of Christians. We see both wisdom and knowledge and they are both only available through the Spirit. Knowledge is understanding the things of God while wisdom is being able to apply them to practical living.
to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit;
Paul continues his list and we may ask about faith being on the list. While all Christians must have a measure of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, have you ever seen someone who it seems is stronger in their faith? There are some who have been given this measure where they simply just know what they know and will not be shaken or moved from it. There also those that can heal with a physical touch or through prayer. Once again, we see that they are both from the Holy Spirit.
to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues.
In this part of the list we see prophecy and tongues and sometimes they are confused. Prophecy is simply a person sharing a message from God with a person or persons. The message may be about things that are happening or going to happen. Speaking in tongues has become one of the most misunderstood methods of displaying the Holy Spirit. There are those that go so far as to tell others that they are not Christians if they do not speak in tongues. To clear this up we must understand what we are talking about. Speaking in tongues is where a person speaks to God (prays) in what seems to be their own language. As we see in the list, the ability to understand these languages is another way that the Spirit is displayed.
One and the same Spirit is at work in all these things, distributing to each person as he chooses.
Once again, Paul makes the point that all of these methods are from the Holy Spirit. We also see that they are given to whoever God desires to have them. This should silence those who would condemn other believers for not displaying the same method (such as the speaking in tongues). We must remember that their purpose is to draw the church together and not separate believers.
For just as the body is one but has many parts; and all the parts of the body, though many, constitute one body; so it is with the Messiah. For it was by one Spirit that we were all immersed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free; and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now, Paul continues to teach on unity as he compares the church (spiritual body of Christ on the earth) with the physical body of a man. As with the human body, the parts of the church must work together to complete its task. There is only one body of Christ on the earth and we all became a part of that body in the same way.
For indeed the body is not one part but many. If the foot says, "I'm not a hand, so I'm not part of the body," that doesn't make it stop being part of the body. And if the ear says, "I'm not an eye, so I'm not part of the body," that doesn't make it stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If it were all hearing, how could it smell? But as it is, God arranged each of the parts in the body exactly as he wanted them. Now if they were all just one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are indeed many parts, yet just one body.
Paul uses the human body as an example to show how ridiculous it is for Christians to be jealous of each other and not work together. In the extreme examples that he gives, the body would not be able to get much accomplished and it is the same way with the church. The body of Christ is to be united by the Spirit and then each part can fulfill its function. In this case the church would be healthy and get things done. Paul also makes an effort to make us see that every part is significant and that goes for people in the church as well. Every Christian has been given at least one gift that is to be used to build up the church.
So the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you"; or the head to the feet, "I don't need you." On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be less important turn out to be all the more necessary; and upon body parts which we consider less dignified we bestow greater dignity; and the parts that aren't attractive are the ones we make as attractive as we can, while our attractive parts have no need for such treatment.
Paul uses the examples of the hand and the feet to demonstrate the fact that the parts must work together. He goes on to say that the parts that do their job without being seen are just as necessary as the parts that are seen in public. It is the same in the church as some are called to be out front teaching and preaching while others are feeding the hungry and doing other such things.
Indeed, God has put the body together in such a way that he gives greater dignity to the parts that lack it, So that there will be no disagreements within the body, but rather all the parts will be equally concerned for all the others. Thus if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; and if one part is honored, all the parts share its happiness.
God has a way of using the things or people that the world sees as lowly. He elevates them and uses them often in a mighty way so that it is easier for others to see that it is a work of God. Like the human body, the church should rejoice at all of the successes and mourn with the trials of all of the members. It is easier to do this if we picture the local body of believers as an athlete. For instance, take a soccer player; when a player scores a game winning goal, they don't cut off the player's leg and give it an award. Instead, the whole body is given an award and the body celebrates the victory. Likewise, when the chance at the goal is missed, the leg is not cut off and discarded.
Now you together constitute the body of the Messiah, and individually you are parts of it. And God has placed in the Messianic Community first, emissaries; second, prophets; third, teachers; then those who work miracles; then those with gifts of healing; those with ability to help; those skilled in administration; and those who speak in various tongues.
Now, Paul goes back to the fact that a group of believers is, in fact, the body of Christ. Just like a human body, there are different parts with different functions and he lists some of them.
Not all are emissaries, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? or teachers? or miracle-workers? Not all have gifts of healing, not all speak in tongues, not all interpret, do they? Eagerly seek the better gifts. But now I will show you the best way of all.
We all have different functions or combinations of functions in the body of Christ. We are called to each use our gifts and talents for the good of the body. It is not wrong to desire the "greater gifts" as Paul even encourages it but the mature Christian accepts the fact that God gives the abilities to people as He sees fit.
Read about what we do with the data we gather and the rules you agree to by using this website in our privacy policy.