1 Corinthians 12:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;

NIV: There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

NASB: And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

CSB: There are different ministries, but the same Lord.

NLT: There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.

KJV: And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

NKJV: There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

Paul wrote in the previous verse that there are different spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Holy Spirit. Now he adds that there are different services. The term translated "services" here is diakoniōn, sometimes rendered as "ministries." All spiritual gifts given by the Spirit are intended for serving others in the body of Christ. None of the spiritual gifts are given as a way of enriching or serving just the one who is gifted.

In this chapter, Paul will list some spiritual gifts and the services those gifts empower Christians to perform. He says here, though, that there is only one Lord. Christ alone is the Lord. He is the one we give our allegiance to even while we use our gifts to serve each other in the church. The overall theme of this passage, and the chapter, is that Christians are equally valuable and equally part of the body, even if they are designed with a different set of gifts.

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 4/29/2024 12:41:03 PM