The New Testament

The New Testament › 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 12

1As for spiritual matters, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were Gentiles, you were led away to speechless idols, however you were being led. 3So I make this known to you: nobody who speaks by God's Spirit calls Jesus accursed, and nobody can declare Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

4There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6and varieties of workings, but the same God, who works everything in everyone. 7To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common benefit. 8For through the Spirit one is given a word of wisdom; another, a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9another, faith by the same Spirit; another, gifts of healings by the one Spirit; 10another, workings of deeds of power; another, prophecy; another, discernments of spirits; another, kinds of tongues; another, interpretation of tongues. 11The one and same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each person individually just as he wills.

12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the body's members, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were given one Spirit to drink. 14For the body is not one member but many. 15If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that does not keep it from belonging to the body, does it? 16And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that does not keep it from belonging to the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would smell be? 18But as it is, God placed the members in the body, each one of them, just as he wished. 19If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20But as it is, there are many members, yet one body.

21The eye cannot dismiss the hand by saying, “I do not need you,” nor can the head say this to the feet: “I do not need you.” 22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem weaker are all the more necessary. 23Those parts of the body we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts receive greater dignity, 24while our presentable parts have no need of it. But God has blended the body together, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25so that there may be no division in the body, but that its members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all the members suffer together; if a member is honored, all the members rejoice together.

27You are Christ's body, and individually its members. 28God has appointed in the assembly first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then deeds of power, then gifts of healings, forms of help, forms of guidance, kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all perform deeds of power? 30Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And I will show you a way surpassing them all.

Translation notes 5

12:1–3 — Spiritual matters and speech. “Spiritual matters” leaves open whether the expression chiefly concerns spiritual gifts or spiritual people. “Gentiles” here describes their former religious life among the nations. The declarations about Jesus concern speech attributed to the Spirit, not the bare ability to pronounce certain words. “Brothers” includes the women of the community.

12:4–11 — One source, varied gifts. “Workings” and “works” express related Greek words for effective activity; “deeds of power” is often rendered “miracles.” The plural “gifts of healings” is retained. “Tongues” can mean languages; the wording does not by itself decide whether each phenomenon was an ordinary human language. The Spirit's individual distribution remains an act of will.

12:12–20 — One body. “Members” means the body's parts or limbs. “By one Spirit” can also be “in one Spirit.” The baptism and drinking images are distinct, and neither is replaced with a doctrinal explanation. “So also is Christ” follows the Greek without adding “the body of” before Christ.

12:21–27 — Honor and mutual care. The discussion includes less publicly presentable parts of the body without naming them. Clothing with honor retains the action expressed in the Greek. “You” in verse 27 is plural: the addressed community is Christ's body, with each person a member.

12:28–31 — Gifts and the better way. The questions expect the answer no; the translation preserves them as questions. “Forms of guidance” can also mean administrations or leadership. “Eagerly desire” can grammatically be read as the statement “you eagerly desire.” The command is adopted in light of the renewed command at 14:1. The surpassing way introduces love in chapter 13.