1 Corinthians 12:1-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts,[a] brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant.(A) 2 You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.(B) 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.(C)
4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit,(D) 5 and there are varieties of services but the same Lord,(E) 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.(F) 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,(G) 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,(H) 10 to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.(I) 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.(J)
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- 12.1 Or spiritual persons
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
The Message
Spiritual Gifts
12 1-3 What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.
4-11 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson