1 Corinthians 12:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

NIV: To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,

NASB: For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

CSB: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit,

NLT: To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice ; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.

KJV: For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

NKJV: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

Paul has been describing to the Christians in Corinth what spiritual gifts are. In short, they are manifestations of the Holy Spirit. That is, they are abilities that go beyond normal human capacity in some specific way, even if the display of God's power is not always obvious. Paul has shown that they are given to every Christian by God to be used for the common good of the church.

Now Paul begins to describe some of these specific gifts. This first list contains nine gifts, and it is not exhaustive. Other passages in the New Testament list additional spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6–8; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:10–11).

Some groups of Christians believe this specific set of gifts, sometimes called the sign gifts or confirmation gifts, to have been given to Christians in the early church to demonstrate the power of God and confirm that the gospel was true. These groups typically believe God stopped giving these gifts after the church was established and the New Testament was published. The same group may or may not believe these gifts are given today sporadically and under special circumstances. Other groups of believers, such as Pentecostals and Charismatics believe these gifts are still distributed by the Holy Spirit regularly and throughout the church around the world.

Paul starts the list with two gifts of "utterance" or kinds of messages. He says again that both are given by the same Spirit, though they are slightly different. The first is the "utterance" or "word" or "message" of wisdom, depending on the translation. The second is the utterance of knowledge.

The word of wisdom involves the supernatural ability to offer insight into truth from God in a way that helps others. The word of knowledge might be understood as the ability to proclaim God's revelation to those who need to hear it or to offer understanding of how it applies to specific areas of life.

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.