1 Corinthians 12:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

NIV: For we were all baptized by 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.

NASB: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

CSB: For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

NLT: Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

KJV: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

NKJV: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Paul is building an illustration for the church, all the Christians on earth, from the idea of a human body. Every human body is one thing, one person, made up of lots of different parts—"members"—with a wide variety of functions, sizes, and visibility.

Likewise, the church, known as the body of Christ, is one thing with lots of parts. How is this possible? Paul uses the concept of baptism here to imply a union, or a joining-together for a common faith and purpose. Paul may have literal water baptism in mind here. This is something the early church practiced almost immediately after someone converted to Christianity. It's also possible that water baptism is being used as a picture of what happens when someone comes to Christ and receives God's Spirit for the first time. They are said to be baptized into the Spirit, immersed in God's protective, empowering Spirit. In addition, Paul describes every believer in Jesus as drinking of one Spirit. This pictures the Spirit's coming into Christians and occupying them. Every Christian has the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9).

Because every Christian is immersed in and filled up with God's Spirit—the same Spirit for all believers—we are also connected to each other. This allows the church to become one body made up of diverse parts. These differences include nationality and race, gender, physical and intellectual ability, as well as social status. The church in Corinth was especially diverse in these differences.

First Corinthians 12:12–31 continues Paul's teaching on the spiritual gifts as they cooperate to empower God's will for the church. The Christian church is like a human body. It is one individual organism made up of many different parts that serve a wide variety of functions. All those functions matter. Nobody should decide they don't like their gift or their role in the church and try to quit. The body needs each member to do its part in order to work properly. We must respect and value each other for the vital roles we serve in the church.

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.