Calvin says, “As, however, many abused spiritual gifts for purposes of ambition, he enters into a discussion, in the twelfth chapter, as to the purpose for which they are conferred by God, and also as to what is the proper and genuine use of them, which is, that by contributing mutually to each other’s advantage, we may be united together in one body, that of Christ. This doctrine he illustrates by drawing a similitude from the human body, in which, although there are different members and various faculties, there is nevertheless such a symmetry and fellow-feeling, that what has been conferred on the members severally contributes to the advantage of the whole body – and hence love is the best directress in this matter.” Let’s take a look.
Spiritual Gifts
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[1] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[2] 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Though Paul changes subjects again here, he is still in the mode of correction; just as the Corinthians had messed up in the areas of abusing freedom (chapter 5-6), marriage and purity (chapter 7), food concerns (chapter 8, 10), worship practices (chapter 11), and the Lord’s Supper (chapter 11), they also need additional instruction in matters of spiritual gifts (chapter 12). Sound doctrine in speech is an important part of this distinction, which may set Paul’s stage for his discussion of tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:6-19. Paul reminds them in v1-3 of their need for distinction from the pagans around them. Holy living, which is our audible testimony of the indwelling Holy Spirit, is crucial to the gospel. We speak “Jesus be cursed,” by our unspiritual actions, by our sins, especially as when we were pagans, or Gentiles (Ephesians 2:12); but our holy deeds, wrought in the Spirit, speak to us as individuals, to our congregations, and to the world that “Jesus is Lord.” Those without the Spirit revile Jesus; yet He is revered, exalted and cherished by those with the Spirit. I like what Calvin says in response to this teaching of Paul:
“Here it is asked – ‘As the wicked sometimes speak of Christ in honorable and magnificent terms, is this an indication that they have the Spirit of God?’ I answer – ‘They undoubtedly have, so far as that effect is concerned; but the gift of regeneration is one thing, and the gift of bare intelligence, with which Judas himself was endowed, when he preached the gospel, is quite another.’ Hence, too, we perceive how great our weakness is, as we cannot so much as move our tongue for the celebration of God’s praise, unless it be governed by His Spirit. Of this the Scripture, also, frequently reminds us, and the saints everywhere acknowledge that unless the Lord open their mouths, they are not fit to be the heralds of His praise. Among others, Isaiah says – I am a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).”
V4-6 include a mention of the Trinity (Spirit, Lord, God). Paul reminds his audience here of the fact that God is the giver of all spiritual gifts (in their variety) to His Church in whatever proportion He desires (v11) for His good and pleasing purpose (Ephesians 1:11). Similarly, the composer makes use of notes and pages and varying instruments to bring about a glorious tune when played aright by all parts following the conductor. Ultimately, God’s Spirit conducts unity, not divisive distinction, “for the common good” (v7). How foolish then, knowing this, it is to covet gifts that you have not been given, or perhaps worse, to boast about your gift being superior to the gift(s) of others! You are an important part, but still only a part of the Body of Christ; there is no place for boasting (v12-20). The Corinthians, perhaps like us, struggled with this.
In v8-10, Paul offers a list of spiritual gifts (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues), though it is not intended to be all-inclusive (see more in v28 and compare Romans 12:6-8). Questions often arise regarding the difference between wisdom and knowledge, and it may best explained that thus: knowledge is, according to Calvin, “acquaintance with spiritual truths,” or “understanding ordinary information,” while wisdom is the perfection of it, or the application of spiritual truths, “revelations of a more secret and sublime order.” Calvin describes the spiritual gift of faith as “a special faith…of such a kind as does not apprehend Christ wholly, for redemption, righteousness, and sanctification, but only in so far as miracles are performed in His name;” he says, “Everyone knows what is meant” by the gift of healing. “Miraculous powers” is also translated “operation of influences,” meaning exorcisms and restraining demons (Acts 13:11). The gift of prophecy is not confined to foretelling future events, but rather serving as a messenger of God. The gift of distinguishing between spirits is the ability to discern a true minister of God from one who is not (1 John 4:1-2).
Finally in v10, Paul mentions “different kinds of tongues,” and commentators are unsure of Paul’s meaning, though 3 kinds are considered (Acts 2:4-11 (miracle of hearing); 1 Corinthians 13:1 (languages of men and of angels; 14:2 (spiritual language)). There is the gift of speaking in tongues and a separate gift of interpreting tongues, but the concluding call in v11 is to unity in the purpose of using these gifts.
12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[3] one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Paul points to the Body as one unit in v12, through the unity of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). Calvin notes the similarity to Romans 12, but also says, “In that passage, he exhorts every one to be satisfied with his own calling, and not to invade another’s territory; as ambition, curiosity, or some other disposition, induces many to take in hand more than is expedient. Here, however, he exhorts believers to cleave to each other in a mutual distribution of gifts, as they were not conferred upon them by God that every one should enjoy his own separately, but that one should help another.” Paul goes so far as to say that Christ Himself is made up of many parts, even us! Thus, in some sense at least, the Church is Christ in the world today. And it is remarkable that Christ would associate Himself with such a corrupt and sinful entity; yet He bought Her with His own blood, and She is His treasure and inheritance (Ephesians 1:23).
The repetition of “all” in v13 signifies this unity of the Body, and encourages – even demands – cultivation of fellowship within (see Colossians 2:11-14 regarding baptism by the Holy Spirit), in spite of diversity; Jews and Greeks would not have desired to associate, and likewise with slave and free. Paul also hints at partaking of the Spirit by means of the sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), which at the same encourages the congregation to unity in fellowship.
In v14-20, Paul turns to acknowledge the Church’s diversity (after setting forth adamantly its unity). Unity is not unanimity. We don’t all have the same role, and it’s true that some roles seem weaker or less honorable than others; we’ll look at that in the next passage. But in the meantime, an apt conclusion is v18, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.” Questioning one’s role or place in the body is foolish. Similarly, questioning the validity of spiritual gifts may equal questioning God’s authority. We can’t escape asking why about certain gifts, but we have to be willing to let go and let God work; there’s no doubt that He knows what He is doing.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[4] ? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire[5] the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
Prior to this passage, we could say that Paul intended to teach the weaker and less honored members of the congregation to fulfill their roles without envying the more honored members; now Paul is teaching the more honored members not to think too highly of themselves, since the weaker and less honorable members are actually the indispensable ones. In v22-23, he makes the claim that the weaker and less honored parts of the Body are actually the most essential parts, the parts worthy of most honor, not because of their outward beauty, but because of the roles they play for the benefit of the body. This was the heart of the Corinthians’ problem; they didn’t grasp this truth. They perceived that some gifts are better than others, and many of them boasted in that.
“But,” Paul echoes what He said in 1 Corinthians 12:18, “God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (v24-25). Let’s consider this for a minute. Paul is saying that God gave the greater honor to the dispensable parts for the sake of unity! God’s ways are not our ways! What do men honor in a woman? Her eyes, her hair, her lips, her breasts? Those are the parts that she can live without; God has given those parts more honor than her hands, feet, mind, and internal organs, despite the truth that those less honorable parts are “indispensable.” Now, transferring the illustration to the spiritual truth about the Church, we can say that preachers and worship leaders are more honored in the Church than the laity; yet the laity are what make the Church! It is the laity that’s indispensable. However, if the honor was given to the laity, then there might be severe division. So God gives the parts that the Church can do without (the preacher) the most honor in the minds of the congregation for the sake of unity.
Calvin concludes, “Let not the man, who is endowed with superior gifts, be puffed up with pride, and despise others; but let him consider that there is nothing so diminutive as to be of no use – as, in truth, even the least among the pious brings forth fruit, according to his slender capacity, so that there is no useless member in the Church. Let not those who are not endowed with so much honor, envy those above them, or refuse to do their duty to them, but let them maintain the station in which they have been placed. Let there be mutual affection, mutual fellow-feeling, mutual concern. Let us have a regard to the common advantage, in order that we may not destroy the Church by malignity, or envy, or pride, or any disagreement; but may, on the contrary, every one of us, strive to the utmost of his power to preserve it.”
In v28, Paul lists spiritual offices, similar to Ephesians 4:11, and it’s a different list than the gifts we saw in v8-10. His point is that God doesn’t assign offices without corresponding gifts. In other words, a person won’t be called to preach without being given gifts associated with that office. Paul lists apostles first, and then prophets, or pastors, or shepherds. Apostleship was a temporary office given to a select few and designed for the expansion of the gospel throughout the world; the office of prophet is permanent, given to many more through the gifts of interpreting Scripture and applying it with wisdom, and designed for shepherding congregations established by apostles (and evangelists, which are mentioned in the list in Ephesians 4:11). Calvin argues that Paul prefers prophecy to other gifts, because the prophet’s goal, in serving as “ambassadors to communicate the divine will,” is edification. Calvin goes on with Paul’s list, saying, “The office of Teacher consists in taking care that sound doctrines be maintained and propagated, in order that the purity of religion may be kept up in the Church.”
The offices of miracle working and healing were discussed with their gifts earlier in this chapter. Nowhere else in the New Testament do we find the Greek words translated “helping” and “administrating,” but they are likely akin to “leadership” and “acts of mercy,” such as in the roles of deacon and elder. The office of helping others (mercy ministry) is the role of deacon; and elders have “gifts of administration.” Finally, Paul mentions the role of speaking in tongues, and most commentators agree that he includes both speaking and interpreting in the one mention, since he distinguished the gifts earlier in the chapter.
In v29-30, Paul concludes with some rhetorical questions showing that God gives who He pleases whatever gift He please in whatever proportion He pleases (1 Peter 4:10). His design is to remove all reason for boasting, which is exactly what some of the Corinthians were doing. And in v31, Paul is likely anticipating what he’ll later mention about gifts that edify, that build up others (1 Corinthians 14:12,19), or perhaps he’s referring to the v28 list of offices over the v8-10 list of spiritual gifts. Rather than simply crave the gifts, covet the roles of putting them into practice for the benefit of the congregation of which you are a part. Paul’s point is to introduce love, which he calls “the most excellent way,” and which he discusses in the next chapter. Without love (putting them into practice), the gifts are useless.
Footnotes
- 12:10 Or languages; also in verse 28
- 12:10 Or languages; also in verse 28
- 12:13 Or with; or in
- 12:30 Or other languages
- 12:31 Or But you are eagerly desiring
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.