1 Corinthians 12:4-11
5 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
Same Spirit…same Lord: Paul recognizes diversity in the body of Christ. He wants believers to not encourage conformity to a preconception of what constitutes a “normal” Christian. Instead, each believer has a unique gift from the Spirit and the Lord.
Same God who works all things: Paul is making the point that no single spiritual gift is the primary evidence of having been saved by Christ. Instead, he affirms that all spiritual gifts are from God and are uniquely important. Each gift is given for the common good of all believers. Spiritual gifts, therefore, encourage and create unity in the body of Christ. If a gift does not edify people, then it is not from God.
Word of wisdom…knowledge: Given that Christ is true wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 1:30), a word of wisdom is pointing people to Christ in a specific circumstance. This is likely similar to the word of knowledge. In comparison to the knowledge of Greek philosophical thought, true knowledge is the Gospel of grace. Therefore, Paul seems to be saying that certain people have special innate abilities to communicate and apply godly wisdom and the Gospel to specific people in specific contexts.
Faith: The Spirit gives certain Christians a unique ability to have faith in a specific circumstance for the edification of others.
Healing: Paul has in mind the perfect physical healing of specific illnesses and afflictions. Paul may also have in mind healing of a spiritual nature that occurs when people believe in Jesus, or mental and emotional healing which God does throughout a person’s life.
Effecting of miracles: Paul was adamant that miracles can absolutely happen though they are rare.
Prophecy: Paul likely has in mind godly, grace-based comfort and encouragement to fellow believers. Prophecy is for exhortation.
Distinguishing of spirits: Paul is speaking about a gift that enables a believer to discern the validity of a teacher’s message. In Paul’s day there were many false teachers and those with this gift evidently had a special ability to discern the intentions of this person.
Kinds of tongues…interpretation: Paul has in mind speaking foreign earthly languages in an evangelistic manner. Those who have this gift are able to speak the Gospel in a foreign language not previously learned or known. This is precisely what happened in Acts 2.
One and the same Spirit: All of these gifts, and so many others, come from the same God. This reality ought to have created unity within the Corinthian church as it leaves no room for judging another person’s value in light of their gifts. Each person received the precise gift given to them by God.
