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First Corinthians Chapter Twelve

by Paul George  
11/26/2008 / Bible Studies

1 Corinthians 12:1-31

Quotes from World English Bible unless noted otherwise

One of the prominent areas of difference between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day was the definition of what it means to be spiritual. The scribes and Pharisees measured spirituality based on external appearances. No wonder they were so eager to become wealthy. If Jesus' parable of the wise steward in Luke chapter sixteen verses one through sixteen caused the Pharisees to scoff (verse 14), one can imagine how the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) offended them. Their problem, Jesus said, was judging based on appearances rather than on the motives of men's hearts (Luke 16:14-18).

In today's contemporary Christian community, Christians are dividing themselves over differing definitions of spirituality. Chapters twelve through fifteen of First Corinthians are about true spirituality, and in particular the subject of spirituality in the context of spiritual gifts.

As Paul's words in verse one indicates, the Corinthians are lacking in knowledge when it comes to the subject of spirituality. The Corinthians believe they are spiritual. After all, they are a charismatic church, a church that possesses all the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7). Regardless of whether we may view some gifts as temporary or not, this church has all the gifts. These Corinthian professing Christians see themselves as spiritual and wise, while at the same time they tend to look down on Paul and the other apostles. Worse yet, some of the Corinthians actually dared to accuse Paul of being unspiritual. The truth of the matter is just the opposite; they are not spiritual (1Corinthians 3:1-3).

The evidence supports Paul's accusation. The Corinthian church is a divided church. There are factions, some based upon whom the group followed as their leader. The Corinthians are proud and arrogant. The Corinthians are soft on sin, especially sexual immorality. They are proud that they embraced a man whose sin shocked the pagan. They are taking their disputes before the secular courts rather than before the church or rather than suffer abuse for the sake of the kingdom of God. While some are engaged in sexual immorality, others are guilty of setting aside sex within marriage. Some portray marriage as an evil to be avoided and thus encourage unbiblical divorces. Some Corinthians are eating meats offered to idols, and participating in pagan idol-worship ceremonies. Those who engage in this pagan worship think they are spiritually superior and look down on those who refrain from such involvement with idols as "weak." Many of the Corinthian Christians are sick, and a good number died because they celebrated the Lord's Supper in an improper manner.

In verses one through three, Paul defines false spirituality, the kind of spirituality inspired by false, demonic spirits that they experienced as pagans. He defines true Christian spirituality as spirituality inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. In verses one through three, Paul gives a test by which they can know whether the prevailing spirit is divine or demonic.

In verse two, Paul reminds the relatively new believers in Corinth who think they are so spiritual that they once were led away to those mute idols, by demonic spirits. This does not mean the demons are speechless, that there is no inspired utterance in pagan or false religion. The Scriptures make it clear that the demons that lead men astray to the dumb idols are also those spirits who inspire speech that calls them to engage in false and idolatrous worship. Demons not only inspire false religion, they also engage in corrupting true religion (2 Corinthians 11:3, 12-15; 1Timothy 4:1-5).

In the warning, Paul implies that those led astray in the past by deceitful and demonic spirits may be susceptible to the same influence as Christians. Paul wants the Corinthians to realize the appeal of the spirit world is powerful and they should avoid involvement in the demonic inspired activities, something professing Christians in the twenty-first century need to keep in mind; in their eagerness to "tap into" spiritual power, they might involve themselves in the pagan spirit power of the past.

It is important to notice that Paul's emphasis here is upon "speech." He has already referred to the idols of the Corinthians past as mute idols" (v 2). Now he speaks about the speech of worshipers. Ordinary speech is not primarily in view here, but inspired utterance, speech made under the controlling influence of a spirit. A person speaking under demonic control is incapable of saying, "Jesus is Lord." Nowhere in the gospels does a demon-possessed person say this. The demons reluctantly acknowledge that Jesus is the "Son of God" or the "Holy One of God" but not that He is Lord. Even when commanded to come out of a possessed person, the demons seem to resist and rebel to the last moment (Mark 1:23-26).

The test Paul sets forth in verse three is primarily a test of the spirit who inspires a man's speech. Paul reminds the Corinthians there is a pagan spirituality, that as pagans they were spirit-led, but that leading comes from a demonic spirit who hates and opposes the lordship of Christ just as Satan did and will do to the end. Those who are led by the Spirit of God will profess Jesus as Lord, and they will be led to intimacy with God, not away from Him by deceit.

Is everyone who claims "Jesus is Lord" possessed by the Spirit of God? No. In Matthew seven, those who say, "Lord, Lord," are unbelievers who stand before the Lord Jesus Christ in the day of judgment, the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). How would any man dare to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ in that day and not call Him Lord? These men remind the Lord that they have cast out demons and performed miracles and prophesied. However, the Lord Jesus rejects them as unbelievers because they have not submitted to Him as Lord in life by obeying His commands. They boast of having done mighty deeds in His name, but they have not bowed the knee to Him by humbly obeying His commands, the sign of a true disciple. Lordship is more than words mouthed by men, but when a spirit is speaking through men, the confession of Jesus as Lord is a test of the spirit.

Spirituality is the work of a spirit. Paul reminds us there are two kinds of spirituality, the false and the true. All unbelievers are, in one sense, "spiritual." Some are spiritual led of demonic spirits to worship idols. Others may be spirit-led without knowing it. A spirit-led unbeliever may be an atheist. He may not believe in any god or practice any religion at all. Nevertheless, he or she is still spirit-led, still under the control of Satan. Those who indulge in and serve the flesh are not only "walking according to the course of this world," they are also walking "according to the prince of the power of the air," the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4 NASB).

We can expect that false teaching will always attack the doctrine pertaining to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because the lordship of Jesus Christ is the dividing line between false prophets and the true, and between false spirituality and the true. Ultimately, it does not matter how spiritual we appear to ourselves or to men. What matters is whether we worship and serve Jesus Christ as Lord.

Paul's words in First Corinthians chapter twelve verses one through three contain a warning about false spirituality, and false spiritual gifts. Paul wants it understood that true professing believers in Christ should avoid anything they bring with them to Christianity which was a part of their pagan past. We often hear people say, "If that person ever came to faith in Christ, they could do a lot for the cause of Christ." If you look at Paul's view of his religious past as a devout Jew, he does not seem to bring anything with him that contributes to his calling as an apostle (Philippians 3:1-14).

Spiritual gifts and spirituality are not about what we have brought with us into the faith but about what we have left behind, mortified, put to death, and what the Spirit of God has bestowed upon us in His sovereign grace. Thus, there is no basis for pride or boasting in the gifts given us.

A spiritual gift is a supernatural ability bestowed upon every Christian by the Holy Spirit, enabling him or her to carry out their divinely assigned function as a member of Christ's body, the church. Spiritual gifts are given to us to enable us to do what we cannot do in and of ourselves. Spiritual gifts are not given primarily for our own edification but for the edification of the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts are divinely bestowed strengths through which we may minister to others. Apart from the miraculous working of God's Spirit in us, we can do nothing. In this sense, nothing any Christian does will have a spiritual impact apart from the Spirit's enablement.

In verse twelve, Paul indicates that the church is Christ's body and that this imagery is instructive as to the nature and function of the church. In verse thirteen, Paul reminds his readers that individual members are "baptized" into this one body, the body of Christ, the church. Our membership in Christ's body begins at the time we are saved, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit, who baptizes us into the church by identifying us with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:1-11). What Paul emphasizes about this "Spirit baptism" is the unity that God brings from such great diversity among those united with the church, the body of Christ. In Ephesians Chapter two, Paul indicates that the baptism of the Holy Spirit unites Jews and Greeks, slaves and free. The "one Spirit" of which believers partake unites them.
The members of Christ's body each have a specific place and function in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit has ordained each member of the body of Christ to serve in a particular way. Our placement in the body of Christ is neither a matter of chance nor a matter of our choice; it is by God's sovereign will (v 18). If the Corinthians have their way and everyone possesses the same gift, where would the body be (v 19)?

Although there are many different members with different gifts and ministries in the church, there is but one body. The members are many, but the body is one (v 20). In verses fifteen and sixteen, Paul deals with those who seem to suffer from a spiritual inferiority complex. If they cannot be what others think they should be, and what they themselves desperately wish to be, then they will not consider themselves a part of the body. However, what of those who do possess the spiritual gifts that are thought to be most spiritual and most significant? Some who appear to possess the most coveted gifts may begin to slip into an attitude of contempt toward those with different gifts. They should not think their gift is to their credit, or that their gift frees them from dependence that God designed for His church described by Paul in verse twenty-one. Contrary to a popular misconception at Corinth, the so-called "weaker members" of the body are a necessary part of the church (v 22).

God designed the church as a body with many members and each with its own unique function. Every member of the body has an important role to play in the body. All the members of the body are interdependent, and none can be independent. The purpose for God designing the "body" of Christ in this way is to promote unity, not dissension and divisions (v 25). God has created the "body" with various members, none of which can function without the support of the rest of the body. All the members of the body should thus have the same care for the other members of the body. Whatever affects the body as a whole affects each member of the body. When one member of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it; when one member is honored, all the members should rejoice with it (v26). The church, the body of Christ, is designed in such a way that each member is interdependent upon all the other members. Every member makes a unique and valuable contribution to the whole body, and thus to all the other members.

The way the Corinthians view it, there are very few gifts which really count for anything. Their teaching is that everyone who is spiritual should possess the gifts they value so highly. Paul constantly stresses that the body has many different members, each appointed by God. Now he confronts them with the facts. In each case where Paul asks a question, the form of his question indicates he expects an answer in the negative. Of course, all are not apostles, prophets, or teachers! Yet this is precisely where their teaching and practice ends up (vv 29-30). Everyone is forsaking their gifts and ministry to obtain the "best," or "most spiritual" gifts, or ministry, as the Corinthian status-seekers perceive them. For the life and health of the entire congregation, the church should covet the better gifts, but these "better gifts" are not those the Corinthians think to be better (v 31). Rather, they seem to be the gifts many of the Corinthians disdain. Paul is not instructing individual Christians to seek after the better gifts, but rather he instructs the whole church to desire those gifts which are most profitable for the church.
There is a far better way to go about the Christian walk and ministry than the Corinthians have been doing it. Paul wants the Corinthians to stop thinking and acting as rugged individualists and to begin to act with a sense of corporate identity and responsibility. In athletic terms, Paul wants the Corinthians to begin to think and behave like a team.

Most of the Corinthian church members want to be something they are not. The "foot" wants to be a "hand" (v 15); the "ear" wishes it were an "eye" (v 16). The matter of spiritual gifts and placement in the body of Christ is not a matter over which we have control. Our spiritual gifts, our place of service in the body, and the results of our ministry are all divinely determined (vv 4-6). Those who mistake gifts as evidence of spirituality or of status are wrong, and those who mistake their gift as a symbol of insignificance are just as wrong and demean the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

This is evidenced in the Book of Acts. Where are gifts ever given as a reward for service? Where are particular gifts granted because men sought them? In Acts chapter two, Acts chapter eight, Acts chapter ten, and Acts chapter nineteen, the baptism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit were not sought; they came as a surprise to those who are granted them. We see Christians today trying desperately to obtain certain gifts, if they are sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, why must men strive to get them.

Paul's words in verses twenty-two through twenty-four come as a surprise to the status-seekers at Corinth. He turns their value system upside-down. The most important gifts, like the most important organs, are those that are not visible or spectacular, those of which we are the least conscious. Those gifts which appear to be the most powerful and impressive are not as significant as they appear. The most necessary gifts are those that we might least likely desire or appreciate.

Look at Jesus. He was not outwardly impressive. Jesus' disciples had nothing to brag about either. They were mere Galileans, who were uneducated and untrained. Look at Paul, God did not utilize Paul's strengths to make him the great apostle he was rather God used his weaknesses. These very weaknesses caused some of the Corinthians to look down upon him.

Just as individual believers think and act competitively, so local churches can fall into the same error. Too many people attend church to have their needs met. Too many people leave churches, complaining that the church has not met their needs. The church is to build up itself in love, but the goal of the church is to live out the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, to His glory. We, the church, are the body of Christ. This means we, as the church, are to carry on His ministry in the world today. The church ministers to itself, to build itself up so that it may carry out its mission, and that mission is living out Christ in a fallen world. We have become as preoccupied with the church's ministry to us as individuals that we have failed to concentrate on the church's mission to the world, and our obligation to sacrifice ourselves in ministry to and through the church to the world. The question is not, "What is the church doing for me?" The question is, "What can I contribute to the church to participate in its fulfillment of its mission and calling?"

That which results in division in the fallen world in which we live should be the occasion for unity and harmony in the church. We should not all want to look alike or function alike, but each should function as God has made him or her, so that the body is benefited by our presence and ministry. As God made Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, male and female, we need to demonstrate this unity in diversity, because we are one body.

Let us not seek to all be alike, look alike, think alike, and serve alike. Let us be different, as God intended, each contributing our unique gifts and ministries that He has given, to the edification of the church and to the glory of God.

Retired pastor,Church of the Nazarene

Author of web site Exploring God's Word

www.thewordofgodonline.net

New American Standard Bible

King James Version

The World English Bible

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