1Cor 12 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Cor 12:1-14:40: 12:1–14:40 The church at Corinth had placed too much emphasis on the gift of tongues (see 14:1-25 , 27 ; cp. the lists in 12:8-10 , 28 , where Paul places tongues last), so Paul gives corrective advice regarding the value and use of spiritual gifts. Summary for 1Cor 12:1-3: 12:1-3 Paul introduces the topic, emphasizing the active presence of the Holy Spirit in believers.

Summary for 1Cor 12:1-14:40: 12:1–14:40 ^a The church at Corinth had placed too much emphasis on the gift of tongues (see 14:1-25 ^b, 27 ^c; cp. the lists in 12:8-10 ^d, 28 ^e, where Paul places tongues last), so Paul gives corrective advice regarding the value and use of spiritual gifts.
Summary for 1Cor 12:1-3: 12:1-3 ^f Paul introduces the topic, emphasizing the active presence of the Holy Spirit in believers.
12:2 ^g pagans: Gentile unbelievers.
12:3 ^h Paul gives two criteria for discerning the presence of the Spirit in worship. (1) Those who curse Jesus thereby express their rejection of Jesus and his message and thus cannot be speaking by the Spirit of God. (2) The presence of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives is shown by their sincere confession that Jesus is Lord. This is perhaps the earliest Christian creed (cp. Rom 10:9 ⁱ, 13 ^j; 2 Cor 4:5 ^k; Phil 2:11 ^l; 1 Jn 4:2-3 ^m).
Summary for 1Cor 12:4-11: 12:4-11 ⁿ Though believers are united in the Lord and his Spirit, God gives different kinds of spiritual gifts to different people so that they can fulfill different kinds of service to the same Lord (see also 7:7 ^o; 12:7-11 ^p, 28-31 ^q; Rom 12:6-8 ^r; Eph 4:11 ^s).
12:6 ^t All the work believers do for God is in fact God working through them (see 15:10 ^u; 2 Cor 4:7 ^v; Gal 2:8 ^w; Phil 2:13 ^x; cp. Gal 2:20 ^y).
12:7 ^z Spiritual gifts are not given for the individual recipients’ benefit but to help each other (cp. 1 Pet 4:10-11 ^aa).
Summary for 1Cor 12:8-10: 12:8-10 ^ab This list of nine spiritual gifts is a representative rather than complete list (cp. 12:28-30 ^ac; Rom 12:6-8 ^ad; Eph 4:11 ^ae). 12:8 ^af God’s Spirit gives supernatural wisdom or knowledge to some believers.

• gives a message of special knowledge: cp. 1:5 ^ag; 8:1 ^ah; 13:2 ^ai, 8 ^aj.
12:9 ^ak The spiritual gift of great faith is not the faith required for salvation but an unusual ability to trust God for special needs (see 13:2 ^al; Matt 17:19-20 ^am; cp. Acts 6:5 ^an; 11:24 ^ao).
12:10 ^ap The ability to prophesy does not refer primarily to predicting the future, but to speaking a special message directly from God (see 11:4-5 ^aq; 13:2 ^ar, 8 ^as; 14:1-25 ^at, 29-33 ^au; 1 Thes 5:20 ^av; cp. Acts 13:1-2 ^aw; 21:4 ^ax, 10-11 ^ay).

• The ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit is a necessary gift for any Christian community that is open to hearing a word directly from God (see 1 Cor 14:29 ^az; 1 Thes 5:19-21 ^ba; cp. Acts 16:16-18 ^bb; 1 Jn 4:1-3 ^bc).

• For Paul, the ability to speak in unknown languages here refers to spiritual language that requires the spiritual gift of interpretation in order to be understood. By placing this gift near the bottom of the list (both here and in 1 Cor 12:28 ^bd), Paul shows the lesser priority to be attached to the gift of tongues, with which the Corinthian church had become over-enamored (cp. 13:1 ^be, 8 ^bf; 14:1-25 ^bg, 27 ^bh).

• The ability to interpret does not refer to natural intellectual ability to translate, but to a spiritual ability to understand the meaning of the Spirit’s message communicated through the gift of tongues (see 14:5 ^bi, 13 ^bj, 26-28 ^bk).
12:11 ^bl The Spirit ... decides which gift each person should have: See 12:4 ^bm, 6 ^bn, 18 ^bo, 28 ^bp. Paul paradoxically affirms both the sovereign choice of God in giving spiritual gifts and the human responsibility to “earnestly desire the most helpful gifts” (12:31 ^bq).
Summary for 1Cor 12:12-31: 12:12-31 ^br The church is like a body (see 12:27 ^bs) composed of many different parts, each with its own function as determined by God (see 12:11 ^bt, 18 ^bu, 28 ^bv; Rom 12:4-5 ^bw).
12:13 ^bx Ethnic and social distinctions have no significance in the church (see Gal 3:28 ^by; Col 3:11 ^bz).

• baptized into one body by one Spirit: Water baptism symbolizes a spiritual baptism in which the believer is united with Christ and the church by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Summary for 1Cor 12:14-21: 12:14-21 ^ca These verses move from the image of a physical body to the image of the church as a spiritual body. Every part of the body is important and essential to its proper functioning. Believers should neither boast of their spiritual ministry nor belittle it in comparison to the ministries of other believers. God, who made the body, has put each part just where he wants it (12:18 ^cb).
Summary for 1Cor 12:22-26: 12:22-26 ^cc The seemingly weaker and less significant parts of the body are the most necessary and should be given special attention and respect so that the whole body will function well.
Summary for 1Cor 12:25-26: 12:25-26 ^cd The church is a unified body, so harmony and care for each other in the church is essential.
Summary for 1Cor 12:28-31: 12:28-31 ^ce Paul lists some of the different individual roles given to people in the church (see also the list in 12:8-10 ^cf; cp. Rom 12:6-8 ^cg; Eph 4:11 ^ch). 12:28 ^ci Apostles are specially commissioned emissaries of Christ in the world (see also Eph 4:11 ^cj).

• Prophets speak a word from God (see 12:10 ^ck and corresponding study note; Eph 4:11 ^cl; cp. Acts 13:1-2 ^cm).

• Teachers instruct others in the faith (Rom 12:7 ^cn; Eph 4:11 ^co; cp. Acts 13:1 ^cp).

• those who speak in unknown languages: See study note on 12:10.
Summary for 1Cor 12:29-30: 12:29-30 ^cq These rhetorical questions all expect the answer, Of course not! Paul gently rebukes those who are jealous of others. Believers are to gratefully accept the gifts God has given them, and not to envy other gifts or elevate any gifts as more important than others (but see 12:31 ^cr).
12:31 ^cs Believers are to earnestly desire the most helpful gifts, those that have the greatest potential to build up the church (see 14:12 ^ct), while realizing that God is the one who distributes gifts as he chooses (12:11 ^cu, 18 ^cv, 28 ^cw). Paul encourages the Corinthians to move beyond their desire for the gift of tongues (cp. 14:1-25 ^cx, 27 ^cy; see 12:10 ^cz) because it has the least potential, of all the gifts, to build up the church.

• But now let me show you: This statement transitions to Paul’s description of love in 13:1-13 ^da. Love is a way of life that is best of all.