1 Corinthians 12
1 Corinthians 12
Last week we examined Colossians 3 about how “if we’ve been raised with Christ”, we need to “set our minds on things that are above”.
In short, we need to begin believing and behaving like who we have already become.
Our new identity as followers of Christ must work its way into real life.
Next, we will be looking at the important topic of Spiritual Gifts.
What are spiritual gifts?
Spiritual gifts are gifts or abilities that the Holy Spirit gives each believer for the purpose of serving others and building up the Church.
Gifts like: mercy, encouragement, administration, giving, evangelism, teaching, and so on.
Why this subject is relevant for us today…
First, it makes biblical sense for us to go from a conversation about training our minds to dwell on the things of God into a conversation on spiritual gifts, because in Romans 12 that’s exactly the progression the apostle Paul follows.
The first 11 chapters are mainly about salvation and believers’ new identity in Christ, then in chapter 12 he says, in light of that salvation we are to present our entire lives as a worshipful sacrifice to God, and the fundamental way that begins is by allowing God to transform our minds (which we talked about last week in Colossians 3).
But then immediately after that, Paul follows with a conversation about how to serve one another in the church through the use of our spiritual gifts.
Another reason this subject is important for us today is because God says, through the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 that he especially doesn’t want us to be ignorant about this topic of spiritual gifts.
1 Cor. 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
The word translated ‘uninformed’ really means ‘ignorant’.
So this is not a subject we have the luxury of brushing aside or making of second importance.
Interesting side note: In all of Paul’s writings there are only three things about which he says explicitly that he doesn’t want Christians to be ignorant about:
God’s plan for Israel (Romans 11:25)
Spiritual gifts in the church (1 Corinthians 12:1)
The second coming of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
Ironically, those tend to be the most confusing and misunderstood concepts in scripture.
Third, our understanding of this subject will drastically affect the way you view your role in the church, and your overall sense of purpose.
Fourth, it’s important for us not to be ignorant or misinformed about spiritual gifts because of the misuse and abuse of them in the Church at large today.
Lastly, this subject is important because it is connected to the glorification of God in His church.
1 Peter 4:10–11 (ESV): 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
In 1 Corinthians 14:1 it says we should earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.
There are 3 primary texts on spiritual gifts in the Bible: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 (and you may throw in 1 Peter 4 as well).
1 Corinthians 12:1–31 (ESV):
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
So Paul is writing to believers (that’s what that word ‘brothers’ means)...
And he’s saying that he doesn’t want them to be uninformed (or other translations say ignorant) about this topic of spiritual gifts.
Actually, the word gifts is implied; the phrase in the original text only says ‘spirituals’.
That’s important because much of the letter to the Corinthians leading up to this has been spent addressing their carnality. Corinth was sort of like the Las Vegas of the ancient world… sin city. And unfortunately, some of that pagan culture had seeped into the church.
It’s also helpful because it keeps the emphasis on the word “spiritual”… these are not natural gifts. You aren’t born with them; you are reborn with them.
2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
Some of those Paul was writing to were literally saved out of paganism.
So he’s simply saying that in order for them to come to an accurate understanding of spiritual gifts, they’re not going to be able to rely on their pagan background.
Why is this important for us?
On the North Shore, we see people come to Christ from all different backgrounds.
We have folks in our church who came to Jesus out of various cults.
We have folks who came to Him out of a new age background.
Some were saved out of pure secularism or atheism.
And so on.
The point Paul is making to the Corinthians stands for us as well: we need to be aware that our background isn’t always helpful in understanding the things of God. Sometimes we need to wipe the slate clean in our minds and start fresh from a biblical worldview.
Then he gives them a simple litmus test that they, as former pagans, can apply to various situations to know whether something is of Jesus or is false…
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
In other words: Does a supposed expression of a spiritual gift bring direct glory to Jesus? That’s the most basic acid test for authenticity.
Now he’s going to help shape our theology of spiritual gifts…
Having an accurate theology is important because our theology ultimately results in our methodology. What we believe has a direct downstream effect on how we behave.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
He’s really just saying the same thing three different ways… But each time he says it it helps clarify nuances about spiritual gifts:
They are varied.
They are Spirit-given (or God given).
They are for the purpose of service (verse 5), they are called ‘activities’ in verse 6 which means they are something that is expressed through action.
And notice, he says three times: they are from the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God empowers them all.
Unity in diversity; Various gifts given to people in the church, but they are coming from the same God, and they are to result in unity not in division.
Unity is a major theme in 1 Corinthians. This church has been divided in all sorts of terrible ways. There were sin issues dividing them, there was prejudice, there were social status divisions, there was favoritism over which leaders they aligned with…. We see these same points of division in churches today.
And in some ways, this is understandable. When you get a group of people together from all different walks of life, who all have sinful and selfish tendencies left over from their old nature, and who have a variety of different strengths and weaknesses… It's a recipe for division.
But God does not want His Church to be divided. He wants our diversity to come together as a beautiful tapestry.
Remember Jesus’ high priestly prayer the night before He was crucified? He prayed that we as His people would be one even as He and the Father are one (John 17:11).
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Phrase by phrase…
To each…
That means that every believer in Christ has a spiritual gift, without exception.
1 Corinthians 7:7 (ESV): 7 …each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
Ephesians 4:7 (ESV): 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Romans 12:3 (ESV): 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
If you have repented of your sins and trusted Christ as your Savior, you definitely have received a gift. Nobody is exempt.
To each is given…
That means these gifts are apportioned by the Holy Spirit; they aren’t acquired by our own effort or will. We don’t get to choose what gifts we receive. That’s up to God, in His infinite wisdom.
1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV): 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Speaking about the Spirit, Jesus said in John 3, “the wind blows where it wishes”. The Holy Spirit does what He wants. This is true of our salvation, and it’s true of our gifts once we receive salvation.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit…
Spiritual gifts are nothing less than the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in and through us. In fact, that word translated ‘manifestation’ is intended to convey the idea that God is disclosing Himself among us. He’s revealing Himself among us… when these gifts are in use.
Sam Storms: “Spiritual gifts are not God bestowing to His people something external to Himself. They are not some tangible ‘stuff’ or substance separable from God. Spiritual gifts are nothing less than God Himself in us, energizing our souls, imparting revelation to our minds, infusing power in our wills and working His sovereign and gracious purposes through us.”
And finally…
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Spiritual gifts are not intended for our own self-use or self aggrandizement… They are intended for the benefit of others.
This is made abundantly clear through the New Testament.
Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12… all portray spiritual gifts as being designed for building up the church.
1 Peter 4:10–11 (NLT): 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
So gifts are given by the Holy Spirit, they are varied, and they are to be used for serving others.
Verses 8-31 are an expansion of those points.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
This is not a comprehensive list; there are more gifts listed in other passages. I’ll give you a comprehensive list in a moment.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
…and then comes the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13…
1 Corinthians 13:1–7 (ESV): 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
What’s the point? We could be the most gifted people in the world, but if it isn’t done in love it’s pointless.
Stay tuned for part 2 on the practical outworking of the gifts in the church.
List of Gifts:
1. Wisdom
Definition: The ability to apply knowledge in a godly and practical way.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:8
2. Knowledge
Definition: The ability to understand and speak truths from God’s Word.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:8
3. Faith
Definition: Exceptional trust in God’s power and promises.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:9
4. Healing
Definition: A divine ability to restore health supernaturally.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:9
5. Miracles
Definition: The ability to perform acts that manifest God’s power.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:10
6. Prophecy
Definition: Speaking forth God’s message; can include foretelling or forth-telling.
References: Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:10, Ephesians 4:11
7. Discernment (of spirits)
Definition: The ability to distinguish between true and false spiritual influences.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:10
8. Tongues
Definition: Speaking in a language unknown to the speaker, as directed by the Holy Spirit.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:10
9. Interpretation of Tongues
Definition: Understanding and explaining the message given in tongues.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:10
10. Apostleship
Definition: Being sent out with the authority to establish churches and lead movements.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11
11. Teaching
Definition: The ability to explain God’s Word clearly and effectively.
References: Romans 12:7, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11
12. Helps (Service)
Definition: Supporting others in practical ways to enable their ministry.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:28
13. Administration (Leadership)
Definition: Organizing, planning, and coordinating ministry efforts.
References: 1 Corinthians 12:28, Romans 12:8
14. Encouragement (Exhortation)
Definition: Uplifting and motivating others to live faithfully.
Reference: Romans 12:8
15. Giving
Definition: Generously and joyfully providing resources for others.
Reference: Romans 12:8
16. Leadership
Definition: Guiding and overseeing others with diligence and care.
Reference: Romans 12:8
17. Mercy
Definition: Compassionately ministering to those in need or distress.
Reference: Romans 12:8
18. Evangelism
Definition: Sharing the gospel effectively to bring others to Christ.
Reference: Ephesians 4:11
19. Shepherding (Pastor)
Definition: Caring for and guiding a group of believers.
Reference: Ephesians 4:11