1 Corinthians 12-14

Easy-to-Read Version

Gifts From the Holy Spirit

12 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand about spiritual gifts. ² You remember the lives you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that have no life. ³ So I tell you that no one who is speaking with the help of God’s Spirit says, “Jesus be cursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” without the help of the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different ways to serve, but we serve the same Lord. ⁶ And there are different ways that God works in people, but it is the same God who works in all of us to do everything.

⁷ Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person. The Spirit gives this to each one to help others. ⁸ The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. ⁹ The same Spirit gives faith to one person and to another he gives gifts of healing. ¹⁰ The Spirit gives to one person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy, and to another the ability to judge what is from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages, and to another the ability to interpret those languages. ¹¹ One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things. The Spirit decides what to give each one.

The Body of Christ

¹² A person has only one body, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts, but all those parts are still just one body. Christ is like that too. ¹³ Some of us are Jews and some of us are not; some of us are slaves and some of us are free. But we were all baptized to become one body through one Spirit. And we were all given^[a] the one Spirit.

¹⁴ And a person’s body has more than one part. It has many parts. ¹⁵ The foot might say, “I am not a hand, so I don’t belong to the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. ¹⁶ The ear might say, “I am not an eye, so I don’t belong to the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell anything. ^18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But as it is, God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one. ²⁰ So there are many parts, but only one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!” ²² No, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are actually very important. ²³ And the parts that we think are not worth very much are the parts we give the most care to. And we give special care to the parts of the body that we don’t want to show. ²⁴ The more beautiful parts don’t need this special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it. ²⁵ God did this so that our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. ²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, then all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part is honored, then all the other parts share its honor.

²⁷ All of you together are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of that body. ²⁸ And in the church God has given a place first to apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers. Then God has given a place to those who do miracles, those who have gifts of healing, those who can help others, those who are able to lead, and those who can speak in different kinds of languages. ²⁹ Not all are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles. ³⁰ Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different kinds of languages. Not all interpret those languages. ³¹ Continue to give your attention to the spiritual gifts you consider to be the greatest. But now I want to point out a way of life that is even greater.

Let Love Be Your Guide

13 I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal. ² I may have the gift of prophecy, I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. ³ I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. ⁵ Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. ⁶ Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. ⁷ Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.

⁸ Love will never end. But all those gifts will come to an end—even the gift of prophecy, the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, and the gift of knowledge. ⁹ These will all end because this knowledge and these prophecies we have are not complete. ¹⁰ But when perfection comes, the things that are not complete will end.

¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. ¹² It is the same with us. Now we see God as if we are looking at a reflection in a mirror. But then, in the future, we will see him right before our eyes. Now I know only a part, but at that time I will know fully, as God has known me. ¹³ So these three things continue: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.

Use Spiritual Gifts to Help the Church

14 Love should be the goal of your life, but you should also want to have the gifts that come from the Spirit. And the gift you should want most is to be able to prophesy. ² I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in a different language are not speaking to people. They are speaking to God. No one understands them—they are speaking secret things through the Spirit. ³ But those who prophesy are speaking to people. They help people grow stronger in faith, and they give encouragement and comfort. ⁴ Those who speak in a different language are helping only themselves. But those who prophesy are helping the whole church.

⁵ I would like all of you to have the gift of speaking in different languages. But what I want more is for you to prophesy. Anyone who prophesies is more important than those who can only speak in different languages. However, if they can also interpret those languages, they are as important as the one who prophesies. If they can interpret, then the church can be helped by what they say.

⁶ Brothers and sisters, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No, it will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some knowledge, prophecy, or teaching. ⁷ This is true even with lifeless things that make sounds—like a flute or a harp. If the different musical notes are not made clear, you can’t understand what song is being played. Each note must be played clearly for you to be able to understand the tune. ⁸ And in a war, if the trumpet does not sound clearly, the soldiers will not know it is time to prepare for fighting.

⁹ It is the same with you. If you don’t speak clearly in a language people know, they cannot understand what you are saying. You will be talking to the air! ¹⁰ It is true that there are many different languages in the world, and they all have meaning. ¹¹ But if I don’t understand the meaning of what someone is saying, it will just be strange sounds to me, and I will sound just as strange to them. ¹² That’s why you who want spiritual gifts so much should prefer those gifts that help the church grow stronger.

¹³ So those who have the gift of speaking in a different language should pray that they can also interpret what they say. ¹⁴ If I pray in a different language, my spirit is praying, but my mind does nothing. ¹⁵ So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. ¹⁶ You might be praising God with your spirit. But someone there without understanding cannot say “Amen” to your prayer of thanks, because they don’t know what you are saying. ¹⁷ You may be thanking God in a good way, but others are not helped.

¹⁸ I thank God that my gift of speaking in different kinds of languages is greater than any of yours. ¹⁹ But in the church meetings I would rather speak five words that I understand than thousands of words in a different language. I would rather speak with my understanding, so that I can teach others.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, don’t think like children. In evil things be like babies, but in your thinking you should be like full-grown adults. ²¹ As the Scriptures^[b] say,

This is what the Lord says.

²² And from this we see that the use of different languages shows how God deals with those who don’t believe, not with those who believe. And prophecy shows how God works through those who believe, not through unbelievers. ²³ Suppose the whole church meets together and you all speak in different languages. If some people come in who are without understanding or don’t believe, they will say you are crazy. ²⁴ But suppose you are all prophesying and someone comes in who does not believe or who is without understanding. Their sin will be shown to them, and they will be judged by everything you say. ²⁵ The secret things in their heart will be made known. So they will bow down and worship God. They will say, “Without a doubt, God is here with you.”^[c]

Your Meetings Should Be Helpful to All

²⁶ So, brothers and sisters, what should you do? When you meet together, one person has a song, another has a teaching, and another has a new truth from God. One person speaks in a different language, and another interprets that language. The purpose of whatever you do should be to help everyone grow stronger in faith. ²⁷ When you meet together, if anyone speaks to the group in a different language, it should be only two or no more than three people who do this. And they should speak one after the other. And someone else should interpret what they say. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, then anyone who speaks in a different language should be quiet in the church meeting. They should speak only to themselves and to God.

²⁹ And only two or three prophets should speak. The others should judge what they say. ³⁰ And if a message from God comes to someone who is sitting, the first speaker should be quiet. ³¹ You can all prophesy one after the other. This way everyone can be taught and encouraged. ³² The spirits of prophets are under the control of the prophets themselves. ³³ God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace. This is the rule for all the meetings of God’s people.

³⁴ The women should keep quiet in these church meetings. They are not allowed to speak out but should be under authority, as the Law of Moses says. ³⁵ If there is something they want to know, they should ask their own husbands at home. It is shameful for a woman to speak up like that in the church meeting.

³⁶ God’s teaching did not come from you, and you are not the only ones who have received it. ³⁷ If you think you are a prophet or that you have a spiritual gift, you should understand that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. ³⁸ If you do not accept this, you will not be accepted.

³⁹ So my brothers and sisters, continue to give your attention to prophesying. And don’t stop anyone from using the gift of speaking in different languages. ⁴⁰ But everything should be done in a way that is right and orderly.