Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

12:1 Now concerning. Paul now returns to the issues raised in the Corinthians' letter to him (see 7:1, 25; 8:1). spiritual gifts. The Greek has only the plural adjective "spiritual" (pneumatikōn), and this could refer either to "spiritual people" (2:13, 15) or to "spiritual gifts." In 14:1 the same word clearly refers to gifts, which would indicate that is what it means here.

12:2 pagans. Literally, "Gentiles" (Gk. ethnē) or non-Jews. The implication is that the Corinthians, although not Jews in the ordinary sense, are nevertheless now part of the people of God, standing in continuity with OT Israel. See v. 13; 10:1, 32.

12:3 Because of their background in pagan worship services (v. 2), some Corinthians may have had concerns about speech gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit in the church. Paul first assures them that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" (and therefore they should not worry that Christians who speak in tongues might be uttering blasphemous things), and also that no one can say in genuine faith that "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit (and therefore all who genuinely profess faith in Christ have the Holy Spirit within them, and none should be excluded, for they all have valuable gifts for the benefit of the church).

12:4-6 Spirit . . . Lord . . . God. A Trinitarian reference to the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus, and God the Father (cf. 2 Cor. 13:14). The most common pattern in the NT Epistles is to refer to God the Father with the word "God" (Gk. Theos, which is the normal Septuagint translation for the OT Hb. ’Elohim, "God") and to refer to God the Son with the word "Lord" (Gk. Kyrios, which is used in the Septuagint over 6,000 times to translate the OT Hb. name YHWH, "Yahweh" or "Lord"). Therefore both names are evidence of deity. The diversity of divine persons within the unity of the Trinity should be reflected in the diversity of gifts within the unity of the body of Christ in Corinth. (See also Eph. 4:3-16.) Therefore Paul wants the Corinthian church to understand how their unity can be enhanced by appreciating the variety of gifts God has given to them.

12:8 utterance of wisdom . . . utterance of knowledge. Some understand these to be miraculous gifts ("word of wisdom" and "word of knowledge") by which a speaker is given supernatural "wisdom" or "knowledge" from God to impart to a situation. Others take these to be more "natural" gifts: the ability to speak wisely or with knowledge into a situation. The Greek expressions (logos sōphias and logos gnōseōs) occur nowhere else in the Bible, and Paul does not give any further explanation, so it is difficult to be certain. But since Paul already has a different, broader term that he uses to refer to speech based on something that God suddenly brings to mind ("prophecy"; see note on v. 10), the second view seems preferable.

12:9 faith. This is not the faith that all Christians have in Christ, since Paul implies that some Christians have it and others do not. It is probably a special endowment of faith for accomplishing some task (see 13:2; cf. Acts 14:9; James 5:15). gifts of healing. Both terms are plural (lit., "gifts of healings"), suggesting that different people may be gifted regarding different kinds of healing.

12:10 miracles. Probably the ability to work various kinds of miracles, including but not limited to healing (see Acts 8:13; 14:8-10; 19:11-12; Rom. 15:19; Gal. 3:5; Heb. 2:4). prophecy. The word "prophecy" (Gk. prophēteia) as used by Paul in 1 Corinthians refers generally to speech that reports something that God spontaneously brings to mind or "reveals" to the speaker but which is spoken in merely human words, not words of God. Therefore it can have mistakes and must be tested or evaluated (see 1 Cor. 12:29; 1 Thess. 5:19-21). An alternative view of this gift, held by some, is that it involves speaking the very words of God, with authority equal to the OT prophets and equal to the word of Scripture. A third view is that it is very similar to the gifts of preaching or teaching. This gift is widely indicated throughout the NT churches (see 1 Cor. 11:2-5; 12:28-29; 13:2, 8-9; 14:1-40; Acts 2:17-18; 11:27-28; 19:6; 21:9-11; Rom. 12:6; 1 Thess. 5:19-21; 1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14; 1 John 4:1). Prophecy is used to build up, encourage, and comfort the gathered community (1 Cor. 14:3). Prophecy is also used evangelistically to disclose the secrets of the hearts of unbelievers and lead them to worship God (14:24-25). Because God used this gift to build up the Christian community, Paul urged the Corinthians to value it highly (14:4-5, 39). distinguish between spirits. A special ability to distinguish between the influence of the Holy Spirit and the influence of demonic spirits in a person's life. Those who claim to speak under the Spirit's prompting could be mistaken, and so God also gives gifts of discernment to the Christian community (14:29; 1 Thess. 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1-3). tongues. Speech in a language the speaker does not know, and that sometimes does not follow the patterns of any known human language (1 Cor. 13:1). Paul sees this gift as a means of expressing prayer or praise to God (14:2, 14-17, 28; cf. Acts 10:46) in which the speaker's human spirit is praying even though the speaker does not understand the meaning (see 1 Cor. 14:2, 11, 13-19, 23). The normally unintelligible nature of tongues makes their interpretation necessary if the gathered community is to be edified by them (14:1-25). Paul probably placed the last two gifts at the end of the list because an overemphasis on tongues in Corinth had led to the neglect of those with other gifts (12:14-26). See also vv. 28 and 30. Bible-believing Christians disagree as to whether the gift of tongues ceased after the apostolic age of the early church, or whether tongues is a spiritual gift that should continue to be practiced today. In either case, there is no indication that speaking in tongues is a normative requirement that all Christians must experience.

12:12 Paul assumes the Corinthians know that the church is Christ's body (see also v. 27; 6:15; 10:16; Rom. 12:4-8; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4, 12-16; 5:23; Col. 1:18, 24).

12:13 Since the Spirit is one, he unites peoples across lines of ethnicity and social class that would otherwise divide them. (See Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:27-28; Col. 3:11.) in one Spirit we were all baptized. The same Greek construction (the verb baptizō plus en ["in"] plus the dative of pneuma, "Spirit") is used here as in the other six "baptism in the Holy Spirit" passages in the NT (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16), and here it seems clearly to refer to the cleansing and empowering work that the Holy Spirit does in a new convert at the point of conversion. Baptism is used metaphorically here to refer to the Spirit's work within the believer to unite him or her to the body of Christ, which is also the corporate body of believers. Water baptism is an outward symbol of this reality (cf. Rom. 6:4; Gal. 3:27). made to drink. Probably not a reference to the cup of the Lord's Supper but to the outpouring of God's Spirit on his people (cf. John 7:37-39; Rom. 5:5).

12:14 body . . . member. See Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-16.

12:17 whole body . . . an eye . . . an ear. See also v. 19. One problem Paul seeks to address throughout 12:1-14:40 is the elevation of one gift (probably speaking in tongues) above all others. The general principle applies to an unbalanced emphasis on any particular spiritual gift at any time or place in the church.

12:18 God arranged. The Corinthians' thinking will be corrected when they consider God's sovereignty in assigning gifts (cf. also vv. 3, 11, 28).

12:20 many parts, yet one body. One of the key themes in these chapters is unity in the midst of diversity.

12:21 This probably reflects Paul's assessment of how those Corinthians with the gift of tongues (and perhaps other more spectacular or "showy" gifts) were treating those with other gifts.

12:25-26 The purpose of the gifts is to build one another up and to care for one another, not to flaunt one's own spirituality.

12:28 On apostles, see notes on Matt. 10:2; Rom. 1:1. prophets. See note on 1 Cor. 12:10. First . . . second . . . third . . . then seems to be a ranking of importance or benefit to the church, with apostles being primary and then prophecy and teaching also contributing greatly to building others up. Teachers, helping, and administrating do not appear in the list in vv. 8-10, and helping and administrating do not show up in the rhetorical questions in vv. 29-30, indicating that the different lists are representative rather than exhaustive.

12:29-30 Are all apostles? The answer is obviously no, setting up the reader to answer no to all of the following questions (the Greek particle mē before each question also shows that Paul expects a negative answer to each one). Therefore, Do all speak with tongues? implies that the Holy Spirit does not give the gift of tongues to everybody, but just those to whom "he wills" (v. 11) to give it, as he does with the other gifts.

12:31 Earnestly desire implies that Christians can and should desire additional spiritual gifts (cf. 14:1, 13; James 1:5). The higher gifts means those that do more to build up the church (see 1 Cor. 14:5, 12, 17, 26). "Higher" here and "greater" in 14:5 translate the same Greek word (meizōn, comparative form of megas). A still more excellent way than merely seeking the higher gifts is to use the gifts in love (ch. 13) so that others are built up (ch. 14).

12:31b-13:13 Spiritual gifts without love are worthless, and love is supreme because it lasts forever.

13:1 tongues . . . angels. See note on 12:10. Tongues is probably the first gift mentioned because the Corinthians have used and emphasized it without love (12:21). On love, see note on John 13:34-35.

13:3 deliver up my body to be burned. As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did (Dan. 3:19-23; Heb. 11:34). Love cannot be measured by actions alone; motives must be assessed to determine what is loving (see 1 Cor. 4:4-5).

13:7 The terms believes and hopes are sandwiched between bears and endures and, like them, probably refer to relationships between people rather than to faith and hope in God. Love believes the best of others and hopes the best for them.

13:8 Interpreters differ over the time when Paul expects prophecies to pass away and tongues to cease (along with other gifts represented by these examples). The "cessationist" view is that miraculous gifts such as prophecy, healing, tongues, interpretation, and miracles were given to authenticate the apostles and their writings in the early years of the church, but those gifts "ceased" once the entire NT was written and the apostles died (c. a.d. 100). Others hold that Paul expected these gifts to continue until Christ returns, which will be the time when "the perfect" (v. 10) ways of speaking and knowing in the age to come replace the "in part" (v. 9) gifts of this age. Support for the second position is found in v. 12, which indicates that "then" (the time when these gifts will cease) is the time of Christ's return.

13:12 mirror dimly. Ancient mirrors were made from polished metal (such as bronze), and thus one's reflection was even more "dim" than in modern mirrors. Face to face suggests a reference to Christ's second coming (the OT uses this phrase to refer to seeing God personally; cf. Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:11; Deut. 5:4; 34:10; Judg. 6:22; Ezek. 20:35). Then, the spiritual gifts of this present age will no longer be needed.

13:13 faith, hope, and love. The relationship of these three Christian qualities is a frequent theme in Paul's letters. See Rom. 5:1-5; Gal. 5:5-6; Eph. 4:2-5; Col. 1:4-5; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8.

14:1 earnestly desire. Even in the midst of some misuse of spiritual gifts, Paul does not say to discontinue their use but to seek after them all the more, reflecting his conviction that these are given by God for the good of the church (cf. v. 12; 12:31). that you may prophesy. See note on 12:10.

14:2 Speaks not to men but to God indicates that Paul views tongues as a form of prayer and praise, but in a language that the speaker does not understand. No one understands him implies that Paul expected tongues in Corinth in most cases to be unknown languages, unlike the evangelistic situation in Acts 2:1-13. On tongues and prophecy, see note on 1 Cor. 12:10.

14:4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself because his spirit is praying to God even though he does not understand what is being said (see vv. 2, 14, 28).

14:5 I want you all to speak in tongues. Paul's desire to set boundaries on speaking in tongues does not mean that he thinks the Corinthians should abandon this gift. It builds up the individual who has it (v. 4), and, if interpreted, builds up the church. (See also vv. 13, 18, 27, 39.) Still, prophecy is greater because, as intelligible speech that needs no interpretation, it is more directly useful to the church. Unless someone interprets implies that if there is an interpreter, then prophecy and tongues have equal value, since then they would both be understandable. But equal value does not imply that the gifts have the same function, for prophecy is based on something that God suddenly brings to the mind of the speaker, and thus is communication from God to man (vv. 25, 30; cf. Acts 11:28; 21:4, 10-11), while tongues is ordinarily prayer or praise from man to God (1 Cor. 14:2, 14-17, 28; cf. Acts 10:46).

14:6-19 Paul uses a variety of illustrations to teach that speaking in tongues without an interpretation does not edify others, indicating that edification comes through understanding.

14:14 The comparison between my spirit and my mind shows that Paul is not speaking of the Holy Spirit but of his own human spirit. When Paul uses the term "spirit" of human beings, he means an inner, invisible faculty that can be especially attuned to the things of God (see 2:10-15; 5:3-5; Rom. 1:9; 8:16). "Mind" refers to the human faculty connected with intellectual understanding (1 Cor. 14:19; 1:10).

14:16-17 with your spirit. That is, with your spirit only (in tongues) but not understanding with your mind (see note on v. 2). outsider. An interested inquirer into Christianity (see vv. 23-24). Uninterpreted tongues in the assembly do nothing to build this person up and therefore nothing to move him or her toward a full commitment to Christ.

14:18 tongues. See note on 12:10.

14:20 See 3:1-3. Paul is going to tell them not to speak in tongues in church without interpretation, for that is acting like children and not caring for the needs of others.

14:21 Paul alludes to Isa. 28:11, where God's word of judgment against Israel is spoken in a foreign, unintelligible language by the invading Assyrian army.

14:22-25 Thus tongues are a sign . . . for unbelievers. Not a positive sign, to lead people to faith (as in John 2:11; 20:30-31), but as in 1 Cor. 14:21 a negative sign that facilitates God's judgment on the unbelieving. Uninterpreted tongues function as a sign of judgment for the outsider and unbeliever because they may conclude from hearing them that Christians are out of their minds and so leave the church, never to return. prophecy is a sign . . . for believers. Although the purpose of prophecy is primarily for the benefit of believers, prophecy (unlike tongues) also has the secondary benefit of convicting the unbeliever, exposing the secrets of his heart and causing him to worship God. When believers see this happen, prophecy encourages them that God is at work, and thus it serves as a positive "sign" of God's blessing on the congregation (a "sign" in Scripture can be either positive or negative; cf. Ex. 8:23; 10:12; Luke 21:11; Rom. 15:19).

14:26 When you come together. This verse gives a fascinating glimpse into the kinds of activities that took place when the early church gathered as the body of Christ to worship the Lord. The worship included a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. In order to prevent discord and confusion (cf. vv. 23, 33), Paul concludes his description of early church worship by emphasizing that all of these activities must be "done decently and in order" (v. 39). The goal of building up is analogous to the building of the temple (see 3:16; cf. Ex. 25:8).

14:27 Each in turn implies that speaking in tongues was not "ecstatic speech," for the speakers were aware of what was happening in the meeting and could control themselves and take turns. And let someone interpret could include either the person speaking in tongues (see v. 13) or someone else.

14:28 And speak to himself and to God means the speaker would use the gift of tongues privately in prayer, but not in public, since there was no interpreter.

14:29 let the others weigh what is said. "The others" means the whole church, not just those with gifts of prophecy or discernment, for there is no reason to think that those with the gift of prophecy would have better judgment than all the other Christians (cf. 1 Thess. 5:20-21 and 1 John 4:1-3, where the whole church is similarly told to evaluate prophecies). Those who claimed to speak under the Spirit's prompting could be mistaken, so it was important for the assembly to discern whether the prophecies were really from the Lord. Some understand this to imply that Paul did not think the prophecies at Corinth could include absolutely authoritative "words of the Lord" in the manner of OT prophets, although others disagree.

14:32 The spirits of prophets seems to refer to the various workings of the Holy Spirit within the prophets (cf. Rev. 3:1; 4:5 for similar usage). The Holy Spirit will not force people to prophesy against their will.

14:33b As suggested by the punctuation in the ESV, as in all the churches of the saints is better taken as the beginning of the sentence in v. 34 (on how the Corinthians should act) than as the end of the sentence in v. 33 (on the character of God). Paul elsewhere tells the Corinthians to follow the patterns of behavior that "all the churches" follow (see 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 16:1), and the mention of "churches" in 14:34 means that Paul's statement is not limited to one local church situation. (There were no verse numbers in Paul's letters; they were first added by an editor of a Greek NT in 1551.)

14:34-35 the women should keep silent in the churches. Since Paul seems to permit wives to pray and prophesy (11:5, 13) as long as they do not dishonor their husbands by the way they dress (11:5), it is difficult to see this as an absolute prohibition (cf. Acts 2:17; 21:8-9). Paul is likely forbidding women to speak up and judge prophecies (this is the activity in the immediate context; cf. 1 Cor. 14:29), since such an activity would subvert male headship. Law also says. Paul is probably thinking of the woman's creation "from" and "for" the man (see 11:8-9; Gen. 2:20-24), as well as a general pattern of male leadership among the people of Israel in the OT.

14:37 a command of the Lord. A very strong affirmation of the absolute divine authority of Paul's writings. Paul seems to have been aware that when he wrote to the churches with his apostolic authority, his words had authority equal to the OT Scriptures (cf. also 1 Tim. 5:18; 2 Pet. 3:15-16).

14:39 As he commonly does in this letter, Paul sums up a complex discussion by clearly stating his main point (cf. 7:39-40; 10:31-11:1; 11:33-34).