1 Corinthians 12:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

NIV: All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

NASB: But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

CSB: One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.

NLT: It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

KJV: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

NKJV: But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Paul has concluded his first list of spiritual gifts distributed by God's Spirit to Christians. He repeats once more, as he has throughout the chapter, that all these gifts are given by one and the same Holy Spirit of God. He is the unifying factor in all spiritual gifts. Now Paul adds that the Holy Spirit is the one who decides to whom each gift will be given.

The point of Paul's emphasis is that nobody selects their own spiritual gifts. Nobody generates the power behind their spiritual gifts. Nobody earns their gifts. Because of that, nobody can take credit for which gift or gifts they receive from the Spirit. Paul will urge the Corinthians to understand that the gifts are not meant to glorify the people who receive and use them. They are intended to be used to serve other believers and to bring glory to God.

This is a key concept in the idea of Christian unity: that we can be differently-abled, differently-blessed, and differently-assigned, yet serve with equal value, purpose, and meaning.

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 4/28/2024 6:27:39 PM