1 Corinthians 12:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

NIV: Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.

NASB: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.

CSB: Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.

NLT: Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.

KJV: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

NKJV: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:

Paul launches into a new topic with this verse. Since he begins by saying "now concerning," most scholars assume he is answering another, separate question. This is likely another issue raised by the Corinthians in a letter we no longer have (1 Corinthians 7:1). Paul has gone back and forth between addressing reported issues in the Corinthians church and answering their questions to him.

The question raised here is about "spiritual gifts" or the "spiritual ones." It's possible the Corinthians' question had to do with those among them who were thought to be "more spiritual," because they seemed to have spiritual abilities the others did not. Paul writes he does not want them to be uninformed. He will go on to show that every Christian is spiritual. Every believer has a gift, or gifts, from the Holy Spirit. Not all gifts are as obvious or as public as others, however.

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.

Accessed 5/3/2024 2:01:17 PM