1 Cor 12:1-11

Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 NRSV

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

—> Intro

—> How competitive are you?

—> Paul has been going over some of the missteps of the Corinthians for a while now, and he has finally got to a point that he was striving for from the beginning.

Jealousy over which teacher to follow

taking each other to court

quarreling over matters of sexual morality

exploiting the most vulnerable in Jesus’ name

succumbing to the worship of idols

showing contempt for each other at the table

1 cor 12:1-3

1 Corinthians 12:1–3 NRSV

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

—> Like everything else the Corinthians have begun to rank themselves by the Spiritual gifts that they have recieved.

—> Those that have the gift of speaking in tongues have elevated themselves over the others.

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 NRSV

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.

—> Their contributions to the life and health of the community are not their own doing (not spiritual things that they have achieved as an individual) but are a gift (a charisma)given to them for the sake of the whole.

—> The services and activities they have been give, in order to give away are diverse by God’s design.

1 cor 12:7-11

1 Corinthians 12:7–11 NRSV

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

—> It is the same Spirit/Lord/God who is the source of each gift.