1 Corinthians 12:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

NASB: and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

CSB: to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues.

NLT: He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

KJV: To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

NKJV: to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

Paul continues listing supernatural gifts distributed to Christians by the Holy Spirit. Among believers today, some churches see the gifts of this list as belong primarily to the era of the apostles. Other church groups believe they are distributed and practiced today. All agree that these are gifts empowered by God through the Holy Spirit and available only to those who are in Christ.

The working of miracles, or miraculous powers, may include the ability to heal, in some cases. And yet it also goes beyond that to supernatural displays of God's power for purposes of confirming the gospel message as well as enacting God's judgment.

Prophecy is usually described as delivering a message from God, perhaps with force and conviction. Some believe the gift of prophecy to include the supernatural ability to describe things that cannot be known by the speaker beyond special revelation from the Spirit of God. These might be things happening in the present or that will happen in the future.

The ability to distinguish between spirits may be related to prophecy. This seems to be a supernatural ability to tell whether a speaker truly represents God, or is a false or demonic spirit attempting to mislead God's people.

Various kinds of tongues includes the ability of a Spirit-powered believer to speak in a language not known to him or her. The gift was first seen at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–13). It allowed Peter to preach the message of Jesus to people in their own native language without his knowing those languages.

Interpretation of tongues is the supernatural ability to listen as someone speaks in a language not known to the interpreter, or usually to the speaker, and to translate it so those present can hear it in their own language.

First Corinthians 12:1–11 details Paul's specific teaching on what spiritual gifts are, who receives them, and why they are given. Every believer in Jesus is spiritual, because each Christian has God's Spirit with him or her. The Spirit gives one or more spiritual gifts to every believer for the common good, to be used in service to the church. Nobody acquires or earns their own gifts. The same Spirit gives them away, for free, as He sees fit, meaning that having one or the other gift does not make a Christian more important than another.

Apparently in response to further questions from Corinth, Paul describes what spiritual gifts are, who receives them, and what they are for. His emphasis is that particular spiritual gifts do not make believers spiritual. Every believer is spiritual because every Christian has God's Spirit with him or her. In addition, the Spirit gives one or more spiritual gifts to each believer to be used to serve the church. The church is like a body, in which every part is needed, and all the parts exist to serve one another. Every believer must discover how they are gifted by the Spirit and value the function they serve in Christ's body.

After tackling the issues of head coverings for women and the Lord's Supper in the previous chapter, Paul moves to the issue of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul insists that the display of spiritual gifts does not make one believer more spiritual or important than another. Every believer in Jesus has the Spirit, and the Spirit gives to every believer one or more spiritual gifts. The gifts are given for the common good, and the church is like a human body. Each gifted function in the church represents a body part, and all the parts are essential. This sets up a description of love, as defined from a Christian viewpoint, and famously recorded in chapter 13.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.