Free Bible Commentary
“1 Corinthians 12:1-13”
Categories: 1 Corinthians“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
---End of Scripture verses---
In chapters 12-14 the Apostle Paul addresses some of the problems that the brethren in Corinth were experiencing with miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. In these three chapters he deals with this issue from three different vantage points. In Chapter 12 he writes about the types and the purposes of these gifts. In chapter 13 he talks a bit about the duration of miraculous gifts. And in chapter 14 he deals, rather extensively, with the proper regulations of gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s main point in today’s reading is that there were “varieties of gifts,” but they all were given by “the same Spirit” (verse 4). There was a strong sense of rivalry among the brethren in the Corinthian church. Rivalry existed between males and females (1 Corinthians 11:2-16), rich and poor (1 Corinthians 11:17-22), and between the various “gifted” members. Some thought their gifts were much more important than anyone else’s, especially those who had the ability to miraculously speak in foreign languages (tongues). In tomorrow’s reading we will actually see that some of the brethren felt inferior or even insignificant.
Paul emphasizes in today’s verses that all the “members” of a congregation belong to the same “body” (verse 12). There was no need or room for rivalry, or feelings of inferiority or superiority. All Christians are part of the same “organism” and should be working toward the same goals and objectives—“the common good” (verse 7). It should have been obvious to them that the Holy Spirit was not working against Himself by granting a diversity of gifts to multiple individuals. The brethren were to use their gifts in a synergistic effort to build up and strengthen the body of Christ and cause it to flourish.
“You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led” (verse 2). Isn’t it amazing that the most meaningless and trivial things can “lead us astray”? For the heathens in Corinth it was lifeless, powerless, speechless idols. “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat” (Psalm 115:5-7). We have our own “idols” today that rob our love and attention away from the One who deserves those things the most.
“No one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (verse 3). If someone claimed that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and yet cursed the Lord Jesus, they should just have known that such a “prophet” was a phony. Maybe some of the brethren were being pressured into denying the Lord that saved them in order to avoid persecution. Whatever may have prompted someone to say accursed things against Jesus, the same person couldn’t then rightly claim that He was being led by the Spirit.
Verses 5-10 comprise a list (not an exhaustive one) of the various miraculous gifts that were granted by the Holy Spirit to the Christians living in the first century. It is very interesting to learn that, along with “tongue-speaking” and “healing” and other recognizable miraculous abilities, there were also actually some people with miraculous “wisdom” (verse 8) and miraculous “faith” (verse 9). I don’t know exactly how someone’s faith could be miraculous when personal faith is a prerequisite just to become a Christian. But somehow “faith” was a gift.
And all of these gifts were to be used in a unified effort by those who had been “baptized into one body” by the Holy Spirit (verse 13). Christians are all “one” (the word is used 11 times in today’s verses). It doesn’t matter what economic or social status, what race or color, what age or gender, or what variety of backgrounds. All Christians “drink from the same cup” and share in the same blessings!
More on this subject tomorrow Lord willing.
Please read I Corinthians 12:14-26.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
