1 Corinthians 12:1

1 COR. 12

This and the following two chapters were written to correct disorders which had arisen in the Corinthian church over the question of spiritual gifts, especially with regard to envy and strife over the relative importance of various gifts. The great test of all spirituality is its relation to Christ and his spiritual body the church. So-called "gifts" that led to the denunciation of Christ or any conduct that contravened the will of Christ were not of God, but of the devil. "Gifts" that take people away from the church are not of God's Spirit at all, but are derived from the evil one (1 Corinthians 12:1-3). There is diversity in the unity of the church, since the Lord has not given the same gifts to all Christians (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). The great metaphor of "the body" is developed as a figure of Christ's spiritual body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-31).

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. (1 Corinthians 12:1)

The word "gifts" is supplied; and this does no violence to the text, since it may not be denied that the "gifts" were very much in Paul's thoughts. The setting of the entire Corinthian letter should be noted.

Before the New Testament was completed, while it was still being written, in certain places and at certain times, God gave special miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit's help of the churches.[1]

It is with such miraculous gifts that this and the following chapters are concerned. As Kelcy said:

These gifts were necessary in the days of the infancy of the church when as yet the body of perfectly revealed truth was incomplete. They were temporary measures designed for a special purpose.[2]

The trouble was that in Corinth "The whole idea of the gifts of God's Spirit had degenerated, most of them being ignored, and the one being stressed above all others was speaking in tongues."[3] Thus most of these three chapters deals with that phenomenon. However, there are beautiful insights into many other things as well.

[1] Henry H. Halley, Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 548.

[2] Raymond C. Kelcy, First Corinthians (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Co., Inc., 1967), p. 55.

[3] Donald S. Metz, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1968), p. 424.