Concerning Spiritual Gifts
12 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers, and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous power, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[Or languages; also in verse 28] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[Or languages; also in verse 28] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[Or with; or in ] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so, the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[Or other languages]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Love Is Indispensable
And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
12:1–14:40 Ecstatic and charismatic activity were common in
early Christian experience, as they were in other ancient religions. But the
Corinthians seem to have developed a disproportionate esteem for certain
phenomena, especially tongues, to the detriment of order in the liturgy. Paul’s
response to this development provides us with the fullest exposition we have of
his theology of the charisms.
12:2–3 There is an experience of the Spirit and an
understanding of ecstatic phenomena that are specifically Christian and that
differ, despite apparent similarities, from those of the pagans. It is
necessary to discern which spirit is leading one; ecstatic phenomena must be
judged by their effect (1 Cor 12:2). 1 Cor 12:3 illustrates this by an example:
power to confess Jesus as Lord can come only from the Spirit, and it is
inconceivable that the Spirit would move anyone to curse the Lord.
12:4–6 There are some features common to all charisms,
despite their diversity: all are gifts (charismata), grace from outside
ourselves; all are forms of service (diakoniai), an expression of their purpose
and effect; and all are workings (energēmata), in which God is at work. Paul
associates each of these aspects with what later theology will call one of the
persons of the Trinity, an early example of “appropriation.”
12:12–26 The image of a body is introduced to explain
Christ’s relationship with believers (1 Cor 12:12). 1 Cor 12:13 applies this
model to the church: by baptism all, despite the diversity of ethnic or social
origins, are integrated into one organism. 1 Cor 12:14–26 then develop the need
for diversity of function among the parts of a body without a threat to its
unity.
12:27–30 Paul now applies the image again to the church as a
whole and its members (1 Cor 12:27). The lists in 1 Cor 12:28–30 spells out the
parallelism by specifying the diversity of functions found in the church (cf.
Rom 12:6–8; Eph 4:11).
12:28 First, apostles: apostleship was not mentioned in 1
Cor 12:8–10, nor is it at issue in these chapters, but Paul gives it pride of
place in his listing. It is not just one gift among others but a prior and
fuller gift that includes the others. They are all demonstrated in Paul’s
apostolate, but he may have developed his theology of charisms by reflecting
first of all on his own grace of apostleship (cf. 1 Cor 3:5–4:14; 9:1–27; 2 Cor
2:14–6:13; 10:1–13:30, esp. 1 Cor 11:23 and 12:12).
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