1 Corinthians 12

1 Corinthians 12:1

E. Concerning the Gifts of the Spirit and Their Use in the Church (Chaps. 12-14) Chapters 12-14 deal with the gifts of the Spirit. There had been abuses in the assembly in Corinth, especially in connection with the gift of tongues, and Paul writes in order to correct those abuses. There were believers in Corinth who had received the gift of tongues, which means that they were given the power to speak foreign languages without ever having studied those languages. But instead of using this gift to magnify God and edify other believers, they were using it to show off. They stood up in the meetings and spoke in languages which no one else understood, hoping that others would be impressed by their linguistic proficiency. They exalted the sign-gifts above the others, and claimed superior spirituality for those who spoke in tongues. This led to pride on the one hand, and to feelings of envy, inferiority, and worthlessness on the other. It was therefore necessary for the apostle to correct these erroneous attitudes and to establish controls in the exercise of the gifts, especially tongues and prophecy. 12:1 He does not want the saints at Corinth to be ignorant in the matter of spiritual manifestations or gifts. The literal reading here is Now concerning ‘spirituals,’ brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. Most versions supply the word gifts to complete the sense. However, the next verse suggests that Paul might have been thinking not only of manifestations of the Holy Spirit but of evil spirits as well. 12:2 Before conversion the Corinthians had been idolaters, enslaved by evil spirits. They lived in fear of the spirits and were led about by these diabolical influences. They witnessed supernatural manifestations of the spirit world and heard spirit-inspired utterances. Under the influence of evil spirits, they sometimes surrendered self-control, and said and did things beyond their own conscious powers. 12:3 Now that they are saved, the believers must know how to judge all spirit-manifestations, that is, how to discern between the voice of evil spirits and the authentic voice of the Holy Spirit. The crucial test is the testimony that is given concerning the Lord Jesus. If a man says, Jesus is accursed, you can be sure that he is demon-inspired, because evil spirits characteristically blaspheme and curse the name of Jesus. The Spirit of God would never lead anyone to speak of the Savior in this way; His ministry is to exalt the Lord Jesus. He leads people to say that Jesus is Lord, not just with their lips, but with the warm, full confession of their hearts and lives. Notice that the three Persons of the Trinity are mentioned in verse 3 and also in verses 4-6. 12:4 Paul next shows that while there is a variety of gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church, there is a basic, threefold unity, involving the three Persons of the Godhead. First of all, there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. The Corinthians were acting as if there was only one gifttongues. Paul says, No, your unity is not found in the possession of one common gift, but rather in possession of the Holy Spirit who is the Source of all the gifts.12:5 Next the apostle points out that there are differences of ministries or services in the church. We don’t all have the same work. But what we have in common is that whatever we do is done for the same Lord and with a view to serving others (not self). 12:6 Then again, though there are diversities of activities as far as spiritual gifts are concerned, it is the same God who empowers each believer. If one gift seems more successful or spectacular or powerful than another, it is not because of any superiority in the person possessing it. It is God who supplies the power. 12:7 The Spirit manifests Himself in the life of each believer by imparting some gift. There is no believer who does not have a function to perform. And the gifts are given for the profit of the entire body. They are not given for self-display or even for self-gratification but in order to help others. This is a pivotal point in the entire discussion. That leads quite naturally to a list of some of the gifts of the Spirit. 12:8 The word of wisdom is the supernatural power to speak with divine insight, whether in solving difficult problems, defending the faith, resolving conflicts, giving practical advice, or pleading one’s case before hostile authorities. Stephen so demonstrated the word of wisdom that his adversaries were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke (Act_6:10). The word of knowledge is the power to communicate information that has been divinely revealed. This is illustrated in Paul’s use of such expressions as Behold, I tell you a mystery (1Co_15:51) and For this we say to you by the word of the Lord (1Th_4:15). In that primary sense of conveying new truth, the word of knowledge has ceased, because the Christian faith has been once for all delivered to the saints (Jud_1:3). The body of Christian doctrine is complete. In a secondary sense, however, the word of knowledge may still be with us. There is still a mysterious communication of divine knowledge to those who live in close fellowship with the Lord (see Psa_25:14). The sharing of that knowledge with others is the word of knowledge. 12:9 The gift of faith is the divine ability to remove mountains of difficulty in pursuing the will of God (1Co_13:2) and to do great exploits for God in response to some command or promise of God as found in His word or as communicated privately. George Mfcller is a classic example of a man with the gift of faith. Without ever making his needs known to anyone but God, he cared for 10,000 orphans over a period of sixty years. The gifts of healings have to do with the miraculous power to heal diseases. 12:10 Working of miracles could include casting out demons, changing matter from one form to another, raising the dead, and exercising power over the elements. Philip worked miracles in Samaria, and thereby gained a hearing for the gospel (Act_8:6-7). The gift of prophecy, in its primary sense, signified that a person received direct revelations from God and transmitted them to others. Sometimes the prophets predicted future events (Act_11:27-28; Act_21:11); more often they simply expressed the mind of God. Like the apostles, they were concerned with the foundation of the church (Eph_2:20). They themselves were not the foundation, but they laid the foundation in what they taught concerning the Lord Jesus. Once the foundation was laid, the need for the prophets ceased. Their ministry is preserved for us in the pages of the NT. Since the Bible is complete, we reject any so-called prophet who claims to have additional truth from God. In a weaker sense, we use the word prophet to describe any preacher who declares the word of God authoritatively, incisively, and effectively. Prophecy can also include the ascription of praise to God (Luk_1:67-68) and the encouragement and strengthening of His people (Act_15:32). Discerning of spirits describes the power to detect whether a prophet or other person is speaking by the Holy Spirit or by Satan. A person with this gift has special ability to discern if a man is an imposter and an opportunist, for instance. Thus Peter was able to expose Simon as one who was poisoned by bitterness and in the bond of iniquity (Act_8:20-23). The gift of tongues, as has been mentioned, is the ability to speak a foreign language without ever having learned it. Tongues were given for a sign, especially to Israel. The interpretation of tongues is the miraculous power to understand a language which the person has never known before and to convey the message in the local language. It is perhaps significant that this list of gifts begins with those that are connected primarily with the intellect and closes with those dealing primarily with the emotions. The Corinthians had reversed this in their thinking. They exalted the gift of tongues above the other gifts. They somehow thought that the more a man had of the Holy Spirit, the more he was carried off by a power beyond himself. They confused power with spirituality. 12:11 All the gifts mentioned in verses 8-10 are produced and controlled by the same Spirit. Here again we see that He does not give the same gift to everyone. He distributes to each one individually as He wills. This is another important pointthe Spirit sovereignly apportions the gifts. If we really grasp this, it will eliminate pride on the one hand, because we don’t have anything that we didn’t receive. And it will eliminate discontent on the other hand, because Infinite Wisdom and Love decided what gift we should have, and His choice is perfect. It is wrong for everyone to desire the same gift. If everyone played the same instrument, you could never have a symphony orchestra. And if a body consisted only of tongue, it would be a monstrosity. 12:12 The human body is an illustration of unity and diversity. The body is one, yet has many members. Although all the believers are different and perform different functions, yet they all combine to make one functioning unit the body. So also is Christ is more precisely translated: So also is the Christ. The Christ here refers not only to the glorified Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, but to the Head in heaven and to His members here on earth. All believers are members of the Body of Christ. Just as the human body is a vehicle by which a person expresses himself to others, so the Body of Christ is the vehicle on earth by which He chooses to make Himself known to the world. It is an evidence of wonderful grace that the Lord would ever allow the expression the Christ to be used to include those of us who are members of His body. 12:13 Paul goes on to explain how we became members of the Body of Christ. By (or in) one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. The more literal translation here is in one Spirit. This may mean that the Spirit is the element in which we were baptized, just as water is the element in which we are immersed in believer’s baptism. Or it may mean that the Spirit is the Agent who does the baptizing, thus by one Spirit. This is the more probable and understandable meaning. The baptism of the Holy Spirit took place on the Day of Pentecost. The church was born at that time. We partake of the benefits of that baptism when we are born again. We become members of the Body of Christ. Several important points should be noted here: First, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that divine operation which places believers in the Body of Christ. It is not the same as water baptism. This is clear from Mat_3:11; Joh_1:33; Act_1:5. It is not a work of grace subsequent to salvation whereby believers become more spiritual. All the Corinthians had been baptized in the Spirit, yet Paul rebukes them for being carnalnot spiritual (1Co_3:1). It is not true that speaking in tongues is the invariable sign of being baptized by the Spirit.

All the Corinthians had been baptized, but not all spoke in tongues (12:30). There are crisis experiences of the Holy Spirit when a believer surrenders to the Spirit’s control and is then empowered from on high. But such an experience is not the same as the baptism of the Spirit, and should not be confused with it. The verse goes on to say that believers have all been made to drink into one Spirit. This means that they partake of the Spirit of God in the sense that they receive Him as an indwelling Person and receive the benefits of His ministry in their lives. 12:14 Without a variety of members you could not have a human body. There must be many members, each one different from the others, working in obedience to the head and in cooperation with the others. 12:15 When we see that diversity is essential to a normal, healthy body, it will save us from two dangersfrom belittling ourselves (vv. 15-20) and from belittling others (vv. 21-25). It would be absurd for the foot to feel unimportant because it can’t do the work of a hand. After all, the foot can stand, walk, run, climb, danceand kick, as well as a host of other things. 12:16 The ear shouldn’t try to become a dropout because it is not an eye. We take our ears for granted till deafness overtakes us. Then we realize what a tremendously useful function they perform. 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, you would have a deaf oddity fit only for a circus sideshow. Or if the body had only ears, it wouldn’t have a nose to detect when the gas was escaping and soon wouldn’t even be able to hear because it would be unconscious or dead. The point that Paul is driving at is that if the body were all tongue, it would be a freak, and a monstrosity. And yet the Corinthians were so overemphasizing the gift of tongues that they were, in effect, creating a local fellowship that would be all tongue. It could talk, but that was all it could do! 12:18 God has not been guilty of such folly. In His matchless wisdom, He has arranged the different members … in the body just as He pleased. We should give Him credit for knowing what He is doing! We should be profoundly grateful for whatever gift He has given us and joyfully use it for His glory and for building up others. To be envious of someone else’s gift is sin. It is rebellion against God’s perfect plan for our lives. 12:19 It is impossible to think of a body with only one member. So the Corinthians should remember that if they all had the gift of tongues, then they would not have a functioning body. Other gifts, though less spectacular and less sensational, are nonetheless necessary. 12:20 As God has ordained, there are many members, yet one body. These facts are obvious to us in connection with the human body, and they should be equally obvious to us in connection with our service in the church. 12:21 Just as it is folly for one person to envy another’s gift, so it is equally foolish for anyone to depreciate another’s gift or feel that he doesn’t need the others. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. The eye can see things to be done, but it can’t do them. It depends on the hand for that. Again, the head might know that it is necessary to go to a certain place, but it depends on the feet to take it there. 12:22 Some members of the body … seem to be weaker than others. The kidneys, for instance, don’t seem to be as strong as the arms. But the kidneys are indispensable whereas the arms are not. We can live without arms and legs, or even without a tongue, but we cannot live without heart, lungs, liver, or brain. Yet these vital organs never put themselves on public display. They just carry on their functions unostentatiously. 12:23 Some members of the body are attractive while others are not so elegant. We compensate by putting clothes over those that are not so beautiful. Thus there is a certain mutual care among the members, minimizing the differences. 12:24 Those parts of the body that are presentable don’t need extra attention. But God has combined all the differing members of the body into an organic structure. Some members are comely, some homely. Some do well in public, some not so well. Yet God has given us the instinct to appreciate all the members, to realize that they are all interdependent, and to counterbalance the deficiencies of those that are not so handsome. 12:25 The mutual care of the members prevents division or schism in the body. One gives to another what is needed, and receives in return the help which only that other member can give. This is the way it must be in the church. Overemphasis on any one gift of the Spirit will result in conflict and schism. 12:26 What affects one member affects all. This is a well-known fact in the human body. Fever, for instance, is not confined to one part of the body, but affects the whole system. So it is with other types of sickness and pain. An eye doctor often can detect brain tumor, kidney disease, or liver infection by looking into the eye. The reason is that, although all these members are distinct and separate, yet they all form part of the one body, and they are so vitally linked together that what affects one member affects all.

Therefore, instead of being discontent with our lot, or, on the other hand, instead of feeling a sense of independence from others, we should have a real sense of solidarity in the Body of Christ. Anything that hurts another Christian should cause us the keenest sorrow. Likewise, if we see another Christian honored, we should not feel jealous, but we should rejoice with him. 12:27 Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are the body of Christ. This cannot mean the Body of Christ in its totality. Neither can it mean a Body of Christ, since there is only one Body. It can only mean that they collectively formed a microcosm or miniature of the Body of Christ. Individually each one is a member of that great cooperative society. As such he should fulfill his function without any feeling of pride, independence, envy, or worthlessness. 12:28 The apostle now gives us another list of gifts. None of these lists is to be considered as complete. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles. The word first indicates that not all are apostles. The twelve were men who had been commissioned by the Lord as His messengers. They were with Him during His earthly ministry (Act_1:21-22) and, with the exception of Judas, saw Him after His resurrection (Act_1:2-3, Act_1:22).

But others besides the twelve were apostles. The most notable was Paul. There were also Barnabas (Act_14:4, Act_14:14); James, the Lord’s brother (Gal_1:19); Silas and Timothy (1Th_1:1; 1Th_2:6). Together with the NT prophets, the apostles laid the doctrinal foundation of the church in what they taught about the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph_2:20). In the strict meaning of the word, we no longer have apostles. In a wider sense, we still have messengers and church-planters sent forth by the Lord.

By calling them missionaries instead of apostles, we avoid creating the impression that they have the extraordinary authority and power of the early apostles. Next are the prophets. We have already mentioned that prophets were spokesmen of God, men who uttered the very word of God in the day before it was given in complete written form. Teachers are those who take the word of God and explain it to the people in an understandable way. Miracles might refer to raising the dead, casting out demons, etc. Healings have to do with the instantaneous cure of bodily diseases, as mentioned previously. Helps are commonly associated with the work of deacons, those entrusted with the material affairs of the church.

The gift of administrations, on the other hand, is usually applied to elders or bishops. These are the men who have the godly, spiritual care of the local church. Last is the gift of tongues. We believe that there is a significance in the order. Paul mentions apostles first and tongues last. The Corinthians were putting tongues first and disparaging the apostle! 12:29, 30 When the apostle asks if every believer has the same gift whether apostle, prophet, teacher, miracles, healings, helps, governments, tongues, interpretations of tonguesthe grammar in the original shows that he expects and requires a No answer. Therefore any suggestion, expressed or implied, that everyone should have the gift of tongues, is contrary to the word of God and is foreign to the whole concept of the body with its many different members, each with its own function. If, as stated here, not everyone has the gift of tongues, then it is wrong to teach that tongues are the sign of the baptism of the Spirit. For, in that case, not everyone could expect that baptism. But the truth is that every believer has already been baptized by the Spirit (v. 13). 12:31 When Paul says: But earnestly desire the best gifts, he is speaking to the Corinthians as a local church, not as individuals. We know this because the verb is plural in the original. He is saying that as an assembly they should desire to have in their midst a good selection of gifts that edify. The best gifts are those that are most useful rather than those that are spectacular. All gifts are given by the Holy Spirit and none should be despised. Yet the fact is that some are of greater benefit to the body than others. These are the ones that every local fellowship should ask the Lord to raise up in the assembly. And yet I show you a more excellent way. With these words Paul introduces the Love Chapter (1 Cor. 13). What he is saying is that the mere possession of gifts is not as important as the exercise of these gifts in love. Love thinks of others, not of self. It is wonderful to see a man who is unusually gifted by the Holy Spirit, but it is still more wonderful when that man uses that gift to build up others in the faith rather than to attract attention to himself. People tend to divorce chapter 13 from its context. They think it is a parenthesis, designed to relieve the tension over tongues in chapters 12 and 14. But that is not the case. It is a vital and continuing part of Paul’s argument. The abuse of tongues had apparently caused strife in the assembly. Using their gifts for self-display, self-edification, and self-gratification, the charismatics were not acting in love. They received satisfaction out of speaking publicly in a language they had never learned, but it was a real hardship on others to have to sit and listen to something they did not understand. Paul insists that all gifts must be exercised in a spirit of love. The aim of love is to help others and not to please self. And perhaps the non-charismatics had overreacted in acts of unlove. They might even have gone so far as to say that all tongues are of the devil. Their Greek tongues might have been worse than the charismatic tongues! Their lovelessness might have been worse than the abuse of tongues itself. So Paul wisely reminds them all that love is needed on both sides. If they would act in love toward one another, the problem would be largely solved. It is not a problem that calls for excommunication or division; it calls for love.