Paul references the Trinity in verses 4-6, telling them that although there is one Spirit, one Lord Jesus, and one God the Father, the triune God gives each Christian different spiritual gifts. All Christians are spiritual, filled with the Holy Spirit, united in declaring that Jesus is Lord.īut, Paul goes on to tell them that although they are united, they each possess different spiritual gifts. In other words, there are not different levels of spirituality based on what gift you have. They all have the Holy Spirit inside of them. I think Paul starts off this way to let the Corinthians know that all who acknowledge and serve Jesus as Lord are spiritual. He tells them in verses 2-3 that while pagans, those who do not follow the God of the Bible, are led astray by dumb idols or false gods, and while Jews declare that Jesus is cursed, not recognizing him as the Messiah, Christians confess by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is Lord. Paul begins this chapter by telling the Corinthians that he wants to educate them about spiritual gifts, because evidently they don’t have a correct understanding. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
Let’s read this passage a little at a time.ġ Corinthians 12:1-31 - Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. And so Paul wants to address the idea of spiritual gifts and whether or not there really are different classes of spirituality in the Lord. Specifically, those who could speak in tongues, in other-worldly language, were seen as superior, as more spiritual than everyone else. In this section, from chapters 12-14, he will be addressing something he calls “spiritual gifts.” Remember that Paul is writing this letter in response to the issues going on in the Corinthian church, and one of the issues they were dealing with is that they had elevated certain gifts and abilities above others as the mark of real spirituality.
So far he’s addressed the pride and arrogance in the church that has led to division and rivalry, the sexual issues that are rampant in the church and culture, how they should deal with the rampant idolatry in the city, and some of the problems happening in their worship gatherings. He has since left the church in the hands of other leaders so that he might start other churches, and he writes this letter around the year 54-55 AD in response to what he is hearing about some of the issues in the Corinthian church.
#Spiritually gifted series
This morning, I am continuing in my sermon series called The Gospel Changes Everything, based on the New Testament book 1 Corinthians, Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, a church he started around the year 50 AD.
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