1 Corinthians 12:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;

NIV: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.

NASB: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

CSB: Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.

NLT: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

KJV: Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

NKJV: There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

Paul spoke in the previous verse of the Spirit of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, he mentioned all three members of the Trinity or the Godhead. Now he begins to do the same in reverse order, beginning here and continuing his thought through verse 6.

Paul is preparing to give the Christians in Corinth very specific information about the spiritual gifts given to every believer by the Holy Spirit. He starts by revealing there are a variety of different gifts. Each serves a different purpose in the church. His main point here, though, is that there is only one Holy Spirit, the same one that occupies every person who comes to faith in Christ.

In other words, the Spirit is not given to some Christians and not others (Romans 8:9). Those who are saved all have the same, the only, Spirit of God with them. There are not different versions of God's Spirit, though there are different kinds of gifts given to believers by Him. Differences in spiritual gifts are not, at all, differences in spiritual value or salvation.

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 4:48:47 AM