Devotional Questions:
1 Corinthians 12:2-3
- What are some mute idols that influence and lead astray people today?
- According to vv.2-3, Paul describes a pagan as someone following mute idols and a Christian as someone who can say “Jesus is Lord.” Is there evidence of this kind of fundamental difference between my life and that of a pagan? Does my life back up my confession that “Jesus is Lord?”
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
- What are the spiritual gifts that God has given me? How can I fully use them “for the common good?”
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
“‘You,’ he says, ‘are the body of Christ.’ There is tremendous thought here. Christ is no longer in this world in the body; therefore if he wants a task done within the world he has to find a man to do it. […] Literally, we have to be the body of Christ, hands to do his work, feet to run upon his errands, a voice to speak for him. […] Here is the supreme glory of the Christian man–he is part of the body of Christ upon earth.”[1]
- Reflect on the fact that individual Christians are called to unite to form the body of Christ–i.e., to be Christ to the world today. What is the personal implication of this truth on my life in terms of how I view myself, conduct my life, and regard and value other believers God has placed in the church with me?
1 Corinthians 12:14-20
“So Paul draws a picture of the unity which should exist inside the Church if it is to fulfill its proper function. A body is healthy and efficient only when each part is functioning perfectly. The parts of the body are not jealous of each other and do not covet each other’s functions. From Paul’s picture we see certain things which ought to exist in the Church, the body of Christ.”[2]
- What is the attitude of someone who says, “Because I am not _______, I do not belong to the body?”
- Given that “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (v.18), have I embraced my part in the body of Christ?
Additional Questions:
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
- Why does Apostle Paul emphasize that the different kinds of gifts, service and working are all from the “same Spirit,” the “same Lord,” and the “same God?” Why does it follow that there is no basis for any superiority or inferiority complex within the church?
- List different kinds of gifts, service, and working within the church. How do these differences fit together to build up the body of Christ?
- What is the purpose of the Spirit’s manifestation in each person? What other motivations can there be for desiring “the manifestation of the Spirit?”
1 Corinthians 12:21-31
“We ought to realize that we need each other. There can be no such thing as isolation in the Church. […] In the body there is no question of relative importance. If any limb or any organ ceases to function, the whole body is thrown out of gear. It is so with the Church. ‘All service ranks the same with God.’ Whenever we begin to think about our own importance in the Christian Church, the possibility of really Christian work is gone.”[3]
- What roles or services in the church do I consider “more important” than others? Why is this an unbiblical notion?
- Ultimately, why has God combined the members of the body to function together? Have I accepted the role of prophets and teachers as people that God has appointed?
- How Does God view each part of the body?
[1] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Commentary (Philadelphia, PN: Westminster Press, 1975) 113-114.
[2] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Commentary (Philadelphia, PN: Westminster Press, 1975) 114.
[3] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Commentary (Philadelphia, PN: Westminster Press, 1975) 114.
Commentary:
Introduction:
“Within chapter 12, Paul begins with an introduction highlighting the basic criterion for distinguishing the work of the Holy Spirit from that of other spirits (vv.1-3). Verses 4-6 then ground the diversity of spiritual gifts within the unity of the Triune Godhead. Verses 7-11 offer samples of the diverse gifts, while stressing that each comes from the same sovereign Spirit. Verses 12-26 develop in more detail the metaphor of the body of Christ, while verses 27-31 bring the chapter to a close with a second representative list of gifts which stresses that not one of them is given to all Christians. ‘The successive waves of Paul’s argument may be summed up as follows: (1) not disunity, but (2) unity; yet unity (3) not uniformity, but (4) of mutual concern and love.’”[1]
v.1 “A ‘spiritual’ gift is some capability given through the Holy Spirit that enables one to minister to the needs of Christ’s body, the church.”[2]
v.3 “The word for Lord was kurios and it was a tremendous word. It was the official title of the Roman Emperor. The demand of the persecutors always was, ‘Say, “Caesar is Lord (kurios).”’ It was the word by which the sacred name Jehovah was rendered in the Greek translation of the Old Testament scriptures. When a man could say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ it meant that he gave to Jesus the supreme loyalty of his life and the supreme worship of his heart. It is to be noted that Paul believed that a man could say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ only when the Spirit enabled him to say it. The Lordship of Jesus was not so much something which he discovered for himself as something which God, in his grace, revealed to him.”[3]
vv.12-26 “Paul develops the extended metaphor of the church as the body of Christ. […]He follows up an initial statement of the metaphor (v.12) by moving from the theme of unity (v.13) to diversity (v.14), and then describes in more detail first diversity (vv.15-21) and then unity (vv.22-26).”[4]
vv.21-26 “We ought to realize that we need each other. There can be no such thing as isolation in the Church. […] In the body there is no question of relative importance. If any limb or any organ ceases to function, the whole body is thrown out of gear. It is so with the Church. ‘All service ranks the same with God.’ Whenever we begin to think about our own importance in the Christian Church, the possibility of really Christian work is gone.”[5]
v.28 “To take ‘first,’ ‘second,’ and ‘third’ in verse 28 as a ranking in significance would clearly violate the whole point of Paul’s discussion thus far. So it is best to see in this enumeration a chronological priority (cf. Eph 2:20). To establish a local congregation requires a church-planter. Then the regular proclamation of God’s Word must ensue. Next teachers must supplement evangelism with discipleship and the passing on of the cardinal truths of the faith. Only at this point does a viable Christian fellowship exist to enable all the other gifts to come into play.”[6]
v.31 “The most excellent way. Paul now shows the right way to exercise all spiritual gifts—the way of love. He does not identify love as a gift; rather, it is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).”[7]
[1] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 242-243.
[2] The NIV Study Bible, Study Notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) 1804.
[3] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Commentary (Philadelphia, PN: Westminster Press, 1975) 107.
[4] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 245-246.
[5] William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, Daily Study Bible Commentary (Philadelphia, PN: Westminster Press, 1975) 114.
[6] Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 247.
[7] The NIV Study Bible, Study Notes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002) 1793.