Lesson: I Corinthians 12:1-11
Golden Text: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (I Corinthians 12:7).
I. INTRODUCTION. The age of the Christian church is in a special sense the age of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit wasn’t active in other ages, for He empowered many Old Testament saints for special works. Bezaleel for example, crafted all the articles of the tabernacle and the robes for the priests in the power of the Holy Spirit (see Exodus 35:30-33). The seventy elders of Israel received the Spirit in order to share the burden of judging the people with Moses (see Numbers 11:24-30). The Holy Spirit also empowered Jesus for His ministry (see Matthew 12:28). The Christian receives the Holy Spirit at the very moment they are converted (see Acts 10:44-48; Romans 8:9). Therefore, the Spirit ministers to and through the believer so that he or she can serve others in God’s power. It’s God who gives spiritual gifts or special abilities to Christians for ministry. The church at Corinth apparently was a gifted church, but its effectiveness was hindered by many carnal behaviors. Another major problem was the misunderstanding and misuse of spiritual gifts by the Corinthian believers. Paul was deeply concerned and wanted the Corinthian church to have a proper understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to spiritual gifts. This week’s lesson reveals the source of these gifts and the reason why they are given.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON. Paul wrote I Corinthians because he was concerned about the church’s problems. He had heard from members of Chloe’s household (see I Corinthians 1:11) that the church had serious divisions with members divided over which Christian leader to follow (see I Corinthians chapters 1-4), sexual immorality was widespread (see I Corinthians chapter 5), and believers were taking each other to court to solve disputes (see I Corinthians 6:1-11). The church also had questions they wanted Paul to answer concerning marriage (see I Corinthians chapter 7),Christian liberty or freedom (see I Corinthians chapter 8:1-11:1), church worship (see I Corinthians 11:2-34), spiritual gifts (see I Corinthians chapters 12-14), resurrection (see I Corinthians chapter 15), and finally questions about stewardship (see I Corinthians 16:1-18). Our lesson for this week centers on the questions the church asked concerning spiritual gifts.
III. THE
SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS (I Corinthians
12:1-3)
A. The need for
instruction regarding spiritual gifts (I Corinthians
12:1-2).
1. (vs. 1). In our first verse Paul writes “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” The Apostle Paul begins with “Now concerning” which was how he began addressing each subject the Corinthians needed answers to (see I Corinthians 7:1, 25; 12:1; 16:1). At this point Paul would be addressing the issue of “spiritual gifts.” Instead of building up and unifying the Corinthian church, the issue of spiritual gifts was splitting it. Since the Corinthian believers had every spiritual gift they needed to serve the body of Christ (see I Corinthians 1:4-7), their concern was the use of these gifts. Even though these believers were “brethren,” because they were all members of the body of Christ, they still had much to learn about spiritual things. Therefore, Paul said “I would not have you ignorant” when it came to “spiritual gifts.” In other words, he didn’t want them to be uninformed about the proper use of these gifts. Note: During the early years of the church, spiritual gifts were particularly important. Since the New Testament was not yet completed, early Christians would have to depend on revelations from apostles and prophets to give guidance on various issues. However, as the New Testament was written and completed, the need for sign gifts (miracles) diminished and revelation gifts of wisdom and knowledge became more prominent in more believers not just apostles or prophets (see I Corinthians 12:8). Now that we have the whole written New Testament (which they didn’t have) and Christianity has been established as the result of miracles, we don’t need further miracles (sign gifts) to confirm the gospel. In the same sense, the pillar of cloud that guided the Israelites was withdrawn from them when they were sufficiently assured of God’s Divine Presence.
2. (vs. 2). Paul goes on to say in this verse “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” Paul here reminds the Corinthian believers of who they were before they were saved. He said “ye were Gentiles” meaning unsaved pagans or idol worshippers, not simply non-Jews. As “Gentiles or unsaved pagans, they were “carried away unto these dumb idols.” Before they accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, these believers were led astray by various “dumb idols” promoted by demonic forces (see Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalms 106:36-37; I Corinthians 10:20). The word “dumb” means that these idols could not speak or communicate. When they were unbelievers, the Corinthians worshipped speechless idols. Unlike the true God, Jehovah, who has spoken to reveal Himself, these objects couldn’t speak and had no power (see Psalms 115:4-8; I Corinthians 8:4-6). When speaking of false gods Jeremiah said “They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne (carried), because they cannot go (or move). Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” (see Jeremiah 10:5).
B. The test to confirm the Spirit’s presence (I Corinthians 12:3). Paul continues to say “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” The word “Wherefore” connects this verse to the previous verse where Paul reminded his readers of what they were before they were saved. Now he tells them how they can know that they have been converted. He said “I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed.” Paul was saying that he wanted his readers to understand that no one speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit can call Jesus “accursed.” This was the test that the Corinthian believers could apply when determining if a messenger was really from God or not. Note: In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), the word for “accursed” is “Anathema.” It can also mean “separated” (see Romans 9:3). In the Old Testament, the word is applied to the images, altars, and sacred objects of the Canaanites (see Deuteronomy 7:23-26). The gold and silver of their gods were “accursed” and were not to be kept by the Israelites, but were to be destroyed with fire (see Joshua 6:17-18). Paul was saying that it was inconceivable for anyone guided by the Holy Spirit to say that Jesus was set aside for destruction. It may seem incredible that in Christian worship anyone would declare that Jesus was “accursed” or set for destruction by God. However, as farfetched as it may seem, in that day some false teachers pretending to be Christians taught that Jesus was just a man whose humiliating death proved that He was accursed by God. On the other hand, Paul said “and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” In other words, no one can affirm or confess that “Jesus is the Lord” except by being under the influence of the “Holy Ghost.” Before receiving Christ, the Corinthians might have blasphemed Jesus’ name by declaring that He was cursed. But now, inspired by the Holy Ghost, they confessed that “Jesus is the Lord.” To confess that He is “Lord” acknowledges at least two things. First, “Lord” is the same word translated “Yahweh” in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and recognizes Jesus’ deity. Second, the word “Lord” affirms His sovereignty over the person who confesses that He is Lord. This confession can only come from God’s Spirit within the believer. Note: Having been convicted by the Holy Spirit (see John 16:8) and brought into the body of Christ by the Spirit (see I Corinthians 12:13), the Corinthians now confessed Christ. No man can call Christ Lord with a believing dependence on him, unless that faith is produced by the Holy Ghost. It was because the Corinthians had come to know Christ as Savior and Lord that the gift of the Spirit was bestowed upon them (see Acts 2:38; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:19). In addition to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the Corinthian saints were also granted special gifts by the Spirit as we shall see.
IV. THE UNITY OF DIVERSE (DIFFERENT) SPIRITUAL GIFTS (I Corinthians 12:4-11)
A. Diversity of gifts from a single source (I
Corinthians 12:4-6). While the mystery
of the Trinity or Triune God is difficult both to
comprehend and explain, it’s clear from what Paul said in verses 4-6 that all
three members of the Godhead---Father, Son, and Holy Ghost---are active in
providing spiritual gifts to the church.
1.
(vs. 4). In
this verse Paul went on to say “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit.” The word “diversities” means
“different kinds” or “varieties.” It comes from a verb meaning
“apportion” or “divide.” Therefore, Paul’s use of this word can
have two connotations. It can imply that the gifts of the Spirit
are of many kinds, each one accomplishing a different work. Or it
can imply that the gifts are distributed widely among many Christians.
Both of these are true, but in light of verse 11, it appears that Paul’s
emphasis is on the distribution of the gifts to all believers. The
word “gifts” is the Greek word “charismata” which comes from
the word for “grace.” The gifts are a result of God’s grace and
therefore are not earned by us. Spiritual gifts have been
apportioned or given to all believers by “the same Spirit.”
Of course this refers to the Holy Spirit. Some
members may have similar gifts, but none are identical because they are
demonstrated through different personalities. Since spiritual
gifts are given by “the same Spirit,” the use of them shouldn’t
cause division because the Holy Spirit doesn’t contradict Himself.
In addition, since the Spirit distributes or gives all the gifts, it’s
wrong to put one gift above others. And since the Spirit is holy,
we can assume that His gifts will produce godly results.
Note: Spiritual gifts are not the natural talents each of us
may have. Although we may use our natural abilities in a different
manner after we are saved, we possessed them before our salvation
experience. The spiritual gifts are given to us as a result of our
salvation. These gifts are special abilities given only to
believers or Christians to equip them to minister to each other (see I
Corinthians 14:5, 26). While there is a variety, or diversity of
gifts, it’s the same Spirit who bestows them to each believer
individually.2. (vs. 5). Here Paul continues to say “And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.” Not only are there different gifts, Paul also says “And there are differences of administrations.” The word “administrations” in the Greek is “diakonion” and from it we get our English word “deacon” which means servant or minister. Thus the word “administrations” means ministries or services. Christians perform many kinds of ministries or services as they use their spiritual gifts. Paul stated that there are many different ministries “but the same Lord.” The same Lord Jesus Christ is glorified through the services performed by gifted believers. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts to believers so that their ministries or service will glorify Jesus. This is the reason why the Spirit was given (see John 15:26: 16:14). Therefore, any gift that does not glorify Christ is not being used properly. For sure, there is no room for boasting about our achievements or using gifts for selfish gains. Note: Some Christian service may be performed publicly, while other ministries are performed in private settings. However, all gifts are important and none should be seen as not having value.
3. (vs. 6). In this verse Paul goes on to say “And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” Just as there are different kinds of gifts, and different ministries or services performed with the gifts, Paul here added that “there are diversities of operations.” The Greek word for “operations” is “ergematon” from which we get our word “energy.” The “operations” are the effects that come from the gifts that are at work in the ministry or service. Just as the Holy Spirit gives the gifts, and Christ is glorified through the use of the gifts, Paul declared that “it is the same God which worketh all in all.” In other words, it’s God’s energy, or power that’s at work in each believer. Therefore, God oversees the entire spiritual operation as He “worketh all in all.” God is “able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask, or think, according to the power (or operation) that worketh in us” (see Ephesians 3:20). Note: Even though there are diversities and differences in the gifts, there is also unity, for we see that all three Persons of the Trinity are working in the church. The Holy Spirit bestows or gives the gifts; Jesus receives the glory from the service produced by the gifts; and God, the Father empowers or energizes the whole operation to produce the desired results.
B. Diversity of gifts with a single, unified focus (I Corinthians 12:7). Now in this verse, Paul says “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” Here Paul refers to the spiritual gifts as “the manifestation of the Spirit.” In other words, the Holy Spirit manifests or shows Himself in various ways through different Christians. The gifts or “manifestations of the Spirit” are not given strictly to apostles, church officials, or those with spectacular gifts, but “is given to every man to profit withal.” This means that every Christian is included. Every Christian has been endowed with a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit. The spiritual gifts are evidences of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Paul said that these gifts are given to every believer and the purpose is “to profit withal” meaning for the common good of all of us. The intent is the edification of the church. Paul’s point was that the gifts of the Spirit are not given simply for the benefit of the person receiving the gift, but the gifts are given for the good of the whole church thus building up the body. Paul later wrote in I Corinthians 14:12 “Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” Therefore, “to profit withal” simply means that the gift is not given to make the recipient feel good, but for the benefit of the whole church. Note: As previously mentioned in the commentary on verse 1, the Corinthian church was apparently highly gifted, not lacking in any needed gifts (see I Corinthians 1:4-7). However, since they were spiritually immature (see I Corinthians 3:1-4), the members were showing off their abilities to glorify themselves. It was as if they were performing on a stage to gain applause from men. Therefore, there are two extremes that every believer should avoid. First, a person with a spiritual gift should never use it to gain applause from fellow believers. That would be stealing God’s glory. Second, a gifted person should never hide his or her gift or ignore the gifts of other believers. That would be stealing the saints’ blessings. Scripture is clear that we are to use our gifts. We don’t have to wait for some mystical experience or a “calling” experience. Every believer has a God-given ability and we should use it for the building up of God’s kingdom. One thing all the gifts have in common is that they are designed for the common good of the whole church. Every believer should be building up other believers. This is the ultimate purpose of all the spiritual gifts.
C. Unity in diversity illustrated (I Corinthians 12:8-10). The Apostle Paul gave a diverse list of spiritual gifts. Lists of spiritual gifts are found in I Corinthians 12:28-30, Romans 12:6-8, and Ephesians 4:11. In verses 8-10 here, nine spiritual gifts are identified. It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive or complete. It is a sample list of gifts which is also true of the lists in the other texts.
1. (vs. 8). In this verse, the Apostle Paul continued to say “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit.” The first gift Paul mentions as given to some believers, is “the word of wisdom.” This is the ability to skillfully communicate spiritual truth. This gift is being able to understand and explain the “deep things of God” (see I Corinthians 2:10) which distinguishes His truths from earthly understanding or wisdom (see I Corinthians 1:22-24; 2:6-8). The second gift mentioned is “the word of knowledge.” This seems to be the ability to perceive and understand the truths of God’s Word. This gift could be understood as Spirit-led insight into the meaning of Scripture (see Acts 18:25-28). No doubt the writers of Scripture exercised this gift in setting down the inspired words of God’s revelation (see II Timothy 3:16). Paul’s point here is that each of these gifts is given to the recipient not by a divided Spirit, but by one Spirit, God’s.
2. (vs. 9). Here Paul goes on to say “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.” The third gift given to believers in the church is “faith by the same Spirit.” This “faith” is not saving faith nor is it the faith that we exercise in daily living. This gift of “faith” is the ability to trust God to work in seemingly impossible situations (see Matthew 8:5-13; James 5:15). Paul referred to this gift of “faith” later in I Corinthians when he wrote about “faith” that could remove mountains (see I Corinthians 13:2). The fourth gift on this list is “the gifts of healing.” These spiritual gifts are different from the medical abilities that physicians possess. These “gifts of healing” refer to the ability to secure physical health for the afflicted. They were sign gifts (miraculous gifts that could be witnessed) used to verify the truth of the gospel (see Acts 3:6-9; 5:12-16; 9:32-35; 19:11-12) and also verified the apostles as preachers of God’s Word (see II Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:3-4). For this reason, many believe that the “gifts of healing” ceased with the close of the apostolic age at the end of the first century. Again Paul makes it clear that both the gifts of “faith” and “healing” are given by the “same Holy Spirit.” Note: The “gifts of healing” have occurred less often in recent times. God has never promised healing to everyone in all circumstances. The Holy Spirit uses this gift according to His own will (see Hebrews 2:4) as a way to glorify Christ.
3. (vs. 10). Continuing his list of gifts, Paul says in this verse “To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” Paul continues his list of gifts adding five more to the four already given in verses 8-9.
a. The first gift Paul mentions in this verse is the “working of miracles.” Since the apostle has listed the gift of healings, we can assume that the “working of miracles” included miracles other than healings. This might include such miracles as raising the dead (see Acts 9:36-42), inflicting chastisement on those trying to hinder the gospel (see Acts 13:6-12), casting out demons (see Acts 19:12), and deliverance from deadly serpents (see Mark 16:17-20; Acts 28:1-6). Such miracles were performed through the apostles only as they preached the Word of God (see Acts 5:12). These miraculous works were also sign gifts used to confirm the authenticity of the apostles (see Hebrews 2:4).
b. The second gift the Apostle Paul mentions in this verse is the gift of “prophecy.” Before the Scriptures were completed, the gift of “prophecy” was especially valuable to the church and was the ability to declare God’s revelation or message to His people. The New Testament prophets were inspired by God to foretell future events (see Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11). At other times New Testament prophets expressed general exhortation to the church (see Acts 13:1-2; 15:32). There were also female prophets in the early church (see Acts 21:8-9; I Corinthians 11:5). The gift of “prophecy” in the form of foretelling future events is no longer needed because it has now been replaced by the completed Scriptures.
c. The third gift mentioned in this verse is the “discerning of spirits.” The basic meaning of the word “discerning” is the ability to distinguish truth from error. Therefore, the gift of “discerning of spirits” most likely was the ability to detect the presence of evil spirits in an individual (see Acts 16:16-18). However, this gift almost certainly was used to distinguish between the Word of God proclaimed by a true prophet from that of a satanic deceiver. Since there were false prophets and teachers present in the early church, this gift was very important. Before the New Testament was completed, Christians were fooled by fakes who claimed to have some new revelation. All believers were given guidelines from the apostles on how to discern true doctrine from false doctrine (see I John 4:1), but some believers were gifted with special discernment.
d. The fourth gift Paul mentioned here in verse 10 was “divers kinds of tongues” which means “different kinds of languages.” This gift was the ability given by the Holy Spirit to speak in known foreign languages that were unknown and unlearned by the one speaking. This was the gift the apostles exercised on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:4-11). This gift was especially useful for foreign evangelism (see I Corinthians 14:18, 21). Paul referred to this gift as “divers kinds of tongues” meaning different kinds of languages. It was a gift because the person witnessing was speaking to people who spoke a different language from the speaker; a real language that the speaker never learned, but the hearer understood. Let’s be clear, the gift was “divers kinds of tongues” not “unknown tongues” but undoubtedly this is what the Corinthian believers were speaking (see I Corinthians 14:2, 4, 19). Since Paul spent all of I Corinthians chapter 14 contrasting prophecy and tongues, it’s evident that whatever was going on in Corinth was causing contention and division. Therefore Paul gave strict guidelines for the use of “unknown tongues” (see I Corinthians 14:7-13, 22-29, 33).
e. The last gift Paul mentions in this verse was the “interpretation of tongues.” This was the ability to translate the gospel message from an unlearned, known foreign language into the language of those who heard it. The interpreter didn’t know the language of the one speaking. In order for the message to be understood, the gift of “interpretation of tongues” was necessary (see I Corinthians 14:27-28). Both the ability to speak in “divers kinds of tongues” and the “interpretation of tongues” were sign gifts that authenticated the apostles and their message (see I Corinthians 14:22). Note: If speaking in unknown tongues was a gift, it’s the only one that the Apostle Paul added restrictions to. First, no more than three people should speak in an assembly, and then they had to do in order. All three could not be speaking in unknown tongues at the same time. Second, there had to be an interpreter, because the unknown tongue was just that---unknown both to the speaker and the listener (see I Corinthians 14:27). Therefore, if anything beneficial to the whole body was being said, someone was needed to translate it. This was because no one, not even the speaker knew what they were saying. And there is no instance anywhere n Scripture that the speaker had both the gift to speak in an unknown tongue and to interpret. Third, if there was no interpreter present, the speaker was to keep silent (see I Corinthians 14:28). How many times have we heard people speaking in an “unknown tongue” and no one present to interpret? If the Bible says that one speaking in an unknown tongue should be quiet when no interpreter is present and they don’t, then they are sinning and there is no way that a person under the influence of the Holy Ghost is going to sin. We sin and disobey God when we’re under the influence of Satan.
D. Unity in diversity summarized (I Corinthians 12:11). In our final verse Paul summarizes the unity of the different gifts. He wrote “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” The words “all these” refer to the nine spiritual gifts Paul had just listed. The phrase “worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit” means that all the spiritual gifts are the work of the one and same Holy Spirit. This work of the Holy Spirit is “dividing to every man severally as he will.” In other words, God the Holy Spirit deals with us as individuals, distributing gifts to every believer according to His will. None of us are exempted from His gracious bestowal of gifts. Since these gifts are given as a result of God’s grace, we can’t pick and choose which one we want to have. The fact that Paul says “as he will” should remind us of the personality of the Holy Spirit. He’s not an “it” or an undefined force operating in the universe. He, the Holy Ghost is the third Person in the Godhead.
V. Conclusion. The Christian life is an ongoing relationship with the indwelling Holy Spirit. He enables us to truly acknowledge Jesus as Lord and in His grace, God gives spiritual gifts to all Christians to advance the work of His church. He expects each of us to use our gifts to profit or benefit the church. As I Peter 4:10 says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” If we do anything less, we aren’t being good stewards of the gifts that God has entrusted to us.
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