1 Corinthians 12:1-6

We now come to a major portion of 1 Corinthians (3 chapters, Ch. 12-14) dealing with what is still today a somewhat contentious issue in the Body of Christ.  Paul begins 12:1 saying, Now concerning spiritual gifts.  That is the subject of the three chapters except that already we must say there is need for clarification.  I believe the clarity of Paul’s teaching here is diminished by translating the term in 12:1 spiritual gifts.  You will note, if your English Bible translates it thus, that the word gifts is in italics, meaning it is not actually in the Greek.  It is supplied by the translator because he thinks it clarifies the passage.

What Paul actually says is, Now concerning spirituals.  The word for spiritual gifts (charismata) appears in Ch. 12 in v4 (gifts) and then in vs.9 and 28 (gifts of healings) and in v31 (gifts).  But it is not in v1.  The term spirituals was used in 1 Cor. 2:15 and 3:1.  Christians are spiritual beings because God has created them new.  That newness is true of the Christian in this life.  Paul’s concern here is about spirituals, certain realities of the Christian’s life that revolve around an issue in Corinth that had to do primarily with speaking in tongues.

Paul seems to indicate in 12:2-3 that, as with some other issues in Corinth, this one stemmed from their idolatrous lives before they were saved.  The arguments for sexual immorality (6:13), the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols (8:1) and their behavior at the Lord’s Table (11:14ff) stemmed from days of idolatry.  So here he calls attention to the former days of being carried away to these dumb idols.  There is strong evidence, first that several of the Roman temples involved ecstatic behavior, including speaking in tongues; and second that one of these temples was strong in Corinth, the worship of Apollo.  (On this subject we will recommend an article by H. Wayne House entitled Tongues and the Mystery Religions of Corinth, available online at dailyqt.com, originally published in Bibliotheca Sacra, April-June 1983, pp134-150.)

What are these spirituals Paul is concerned with in these chapters?  They are referred to in 12:4-6, and understanding this is critical. 

·        There are a variety of gifts (charismata) but the same Spirit.

·        There are a variety of ministries (diakonian, from which we get deacon) but the same Lord.

·        There are a variety of activities (energymaton, the noun) but the same God who works (also energeo, the verb) all in all.

The Spirit gives the gifts to believers; the Lord places believers in places of service in the Body as He wants them; and the result of the use of the gift in the place of ministry is the work of God (God always gives the increase, 1 Cor. 3:6).  Let us recognize God’s work in every believer.  This issue may be contentious but what is at stake is God’s work being done in the Body of Christ.  God desires to use this section of Corinthians to do just that.  Let us not be ignorant (12:1).