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What does 1 Corinthians 12 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes how and why God gives spiritual gifts to Christians. He seems to continue answering issues raised in a previous letter from the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 7:1). From the context, believers in Corinth seem to have been asking why some Christians were given spiritual gifts while others seemed not to be "spiritual ones." It's possible that some in Corinth had been demonstrating obvious supernatural power through speaking in tongues, for instance, while others lacked this ability.

Paul's teaching on spiritual gifts in this chapter shows how off-base this thinking is. He begins by saying he doesn't want them to be uninformed. Every Christian is spiritual, or one of the "spiritual ones," because every Christian has the Holy Spirit. Only those with the Holy Spirit can truthfully and sincerely say "Jesus is Lord," and every believer can say that (1 Corinthians 12:1–3).

Spiritual gifts, acts of service, and other godly activities come in a wide variety. What they have in common is that each one comes from the same Holy Spirit. Each one is given to be used in service to the same Lord Jesus. Each one is possible only through the power of the same God the Father. In other words, these spiritual gifts are not about the people who use them; they are ultimately about God and His purposes.

In addition, spiritual gifts are given to every Christian, and they are given for the purpose of serving other Christians. They are given for the common good and not to bring status and respect to one believer and not another. A spiritual gift is the supernatural ability to serve the church in a way that someone could not do in mere human strength (1 Corinthians 12:4–7).

Paul begins by listing nine of them, emphasizing that one is given to one believer while another is given to a different person. Nobody receives every single gift, but everyone receives at least one of them. These first nine gifts are often called the sign gifts or confirmation gifts. Many Christian groups and teachers believe these gifts were commonly given by the spirit during the time of the apostles and before the New Testament was established. Their purpose was to confirm that God's power was behind the message of the gospel. Other Christian groups and teachers understand these gifts to continue to be given to Christians by the Spirit in large numbers even today.

These gifts include the word of wisdom and word of knowledge, along with faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning between spirits, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. These gifts were likely on display in Corinth. Paul emphasizes that the Spirit decides who to give each gift to. This means the gifts are not earned or acquired by the effort of those who receive them (1 Corinthians 12:8–11).

That means, of course, that having one spiritual gift or another should not cause anyone to be thought of as more spiritual or important than another. Instead, Paul urged the Corinthians to think of their church, and the worldwide church in general, as a kind of body. A human body is just one thing, one organism, but it is made up of many different parts, all with different functions. In the same way, the church is made up of many believers, all connected by the Holy Spirit in them, and it is just one thing: Christ's body on earth (1 Corinthians 12:12–13).

It would be ridiculous for body parts to declare they were quitting the body because they can't be another part. It would be equally silly for any body part to say it doesn't need the other parts. Christians, too, should discover how essential their role in Christ's body really is, as well as learning to value how needed every other function is. Even those parts thought of as "less honorable" are given special care and honor, because we instinctively know how important they are! The same ought to apply to how Christians treat each other as we use and encourage spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:14–27).

Paul concludes, though, by saying that, at least in Corinth, the first, second, and third most essential gifted positions were apostle, prophet, and teacher. This seems to suggest that those are the roles most impactful, or at least the most potent, in fulfilling the church's role. As Paul has stated in this chapter, however, those gifts cannot be effective unless the other members of the body are being honored, and being active (1 Corinthians 12:28–31).

Paul ends this section with an intent to show "a more excellent way." This leads into one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture, a depiction of Christian love as God intended it to be.

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.

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.

Chapter Summary:

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.

Chapter Context:

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.

Accessed 4/28/2024 12:39:16 AM