1 Corinthians 12:1 – Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. (NLT)

As we look at this passage, we must recall that the major problem that the Church in Corinth was facing was divisions amongst the members.  They had divided because of education, economic status, and because of thw Christian leaders whom they followed.  As we discover here in chapter twelve, they were also dividing because of spiritual gifts.  The section that is begun here continues through Chapter fourteen.

Verses one through three seem strange to our modern ears.  What was going on in those worship services?  They were quite different from what we are familiar with, to be sure!  Most of the Corinthian Christians had been pagans before converting, and in the pagan rituals many worshippers would be moved into a state of spiritual ecstasy.  This is what Paul is referring to in verse two when he says that they were ‘swept along’ in their worship.  Who would have been saying that ‘Jesus be cursed?’  We really cannot say, but Paul makes it clear that such speech is not from God, and it was certainly not the Spirit of God that put those words in anyone’s mouth.

I find it interesting that in verses four through six, Paul uses the words Spirit, Lord, and God interchangeably.  While we do not find the word ‘Trinity’ in the New Testament, we can clearly see the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  God the Spirit is the source of spiritual gifts.  With these spiritual gifts we serve Jesus, our Lord.  God works differently in each of us, but it is the same God, even though we are different.

We should note that the list of spiritual gifts mentioned in this passage is not an exhaustive list.  There are other passages that give us other gifts.  The gifts that Paul mentions in these verses were the gifts that the Christians in Corinth were using to divide themselves.  Paul will go into further detail later in this chapter about the purpose of spiritual gifts, but for today suffice it to say that since it is the same God who gives different people differing gifts, then God does not want these differing gifts to divide God’s people.

In our own churches we all have people with differing gifts and interests.  Some are gifted to work with the homeless, while others are gifted to work with foreign mission projects.  Some are gifted to work with children, while others with music.  Sadly, even within what appears to be healthy churches there are divisions amongst Christians because of their differing interests.

Today, let us recognize that we are all part of one Body – the Church.  Let us celebrate our differing gifts and interests, which are given to us so that we may work together for the good of the Church.  

Posted by Ramón Torres