1 Corinthians Chapter 13

1 Corinthians 13:1

Spiritual gifts were present in Corinth, 1-7; right doctrine was ever in place, 11:2; but love was absent. This led to the quarrels and exhibitions of selfishness and pride that plagued the church – notably in the area of spiritual gifts. Instead of selfishly and jealously desiring showy gifts which they don’t have, believers should pursue the greatest thing of all, love for each other.
This chapter is considered by many the greatest literary passage ever penned by Paul. It is central to his earnestly dealing with spiritual gifts (chapters 12 – 14), because after discussing the endowment of gifts in chapter 12 and before presenting the function of gifts in chapter 14, he addresses the attitude necessary in all ministry in the church (chapter 13).

Eloquence was greatly admired in the first century and the Corinthians were no exception, though they found little of it in Paul (cf. 1Co_2:1, 1Co_2:4; 2Co_10:10). This may explain in part their fascination with tongues. Paul’s application of this and the following conditional clauses (1Co_13:2-3) to himself was forceful since he could claim exceptional experiences, particularly in regard to the languages of men (1Co_14:18) and of angels (cf. 2Co_12:4). But the statement was probably meant to include every imaginable mode of speech. It was a statement of hyperbole concerning exalted eloquence, which if void of love might be momentarily electrifying like a clash of gong or cymbal but then vanished just as quickly. The word that was translated "charity" is agape, which means love. This use of love is not the kind of love that has conditions. It is not "I love you because", but "I love you in spite of". This type of love is the kind the Lord Jesus has for all of us. While we are yet in sin, Christ gave his life for us. This is the God kind of love. The nearest thing to that kind of love on this earth is the mother's love for her child. Even that falls very short of being the perfect love that God has for mankind.

"The tongues of men": That this gift was actual languages is established in Acts 2:1-13, affirmed in this text by Paul’s calling it “of men” – clearly a reference to human language. This was the gift which the Corinthians prized so highly, abused so greatly, and counterfeited so disastrously. God gave the ability to speak in a language not known to the speaker, as a sign with limited function.

“Tongues of angles”: The apostle was writing in general hypothetical terms. There is no biblical teaching of any special angelic language that people could learn to speak.

Love: Self giving love that is more concerned with giving than receiving. The word was not admired and thus seldom used in ancient Greek literature, but it is common in the New Testament.

Without love, no matter how linguistically gifted one is to speak his own language, other languages, or even (hypothetically) the speech of angels, his speech is noise only. In New Testament times, rites honoring the pagan deities Cybele, Bacchus and Dionysius included ecstatic noises accompanied by gongs, cymbals and trumpets. Unless the speech of the Corinthians was done in love, it was no better than the gibberish of pagan ritual.

Love on the other hand produces eternal effects (cf. 1Co_13:13).

1 Corinthians 13:2

Even the gift of prophecy (cf. 1Co_12:10) which Paul championed as a great gift for the Corinthian church (1Co_14:1) or the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and faith (cf. 1Co_12:8-9) were nothing compared with love. Paul was not depreciating those gifts but was appreciating love by showing it to be incomparable. You may even be filled with the knowledge of God to overflowing, but without love, no one will listen. "Prophecy", in this instance, has to do with predictions. Paul speaks of this gift as the most essential one because it brings God’s truth to people. Even this gift must be ministered in love.

"Understanding all mysteries" This encompasses gifts of wisdom, knowledge and discernment, which are to be exercised in love.

“All faith”: This refers to the gift of faith, enduring, believing prayer; which is useless without selfless love for the church.

We must place our faith in God's ability and not in our own ability. All things we might do are no use at all, unless we are full of love for God and man.

1 Corinthians 13:3

Even self-sacrifice can be self-centered (cf. Mat_6:2), and the ultimate sacrifice, here depicted as self-immolation (cf. Dan_3:17-18; 2 Maccabees 7:5; is ultimately futile without love. In all the lessons, you see it is more important why you do something, than in the actual doing. The woman gave all she had, which was very little monetarily. Jesus said she had given more than those who gave great sums, because she gave all she had. The Lord does not want us to figure out some formula about giving and receiving. He wants us to give from a free heart, expecting nothing in return.

God who sees in secret will reward you openly. It is not the fact of giving all that he owns that is important. If he did not give it from a loving heart, he should have kept it. It will do him no good. We are not to give begrudgingly, or of necessity.

I1 Corinthians 9:7 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."

You may give your body to be burned, but that is not what God wants from you. He does not want you to die for Him; He wants you to live for Him. Everything I do with love in my heart is better than ten times that much without love.

In the previous comments of v.1-3, the focus is on the emptiness produced when love is absent from ministry. In the verses from 4-7, the fullness of love is described, in each case by what love does. Love is action, not abstraction. Positively, love is patient with people and gracious to them with generosity.

Negatively, love never envies or brags, or is arrogant, since that is the opposite of selfless service to others. Never rude or overbearing, love never wants its own way, is not irritated or angered in personal offense, and finds no pleasure in someone else’s sin, even the sin of an enemy.

On the positive side again, love is devoted to truth in everything. With regard to “all things” within God’s righteous and gracious will, love protects, believes, hopes and endures what others reject.

1 Corinthians 13:4

Paul shifted from the first person to the third person and replaced himself with a personification of love. Some have seen in 1Co_13:4-6 the fruit of the Spirit (Gal_5:22-23); others have seen here a description of Christ Himself. As different sides of the same coin, both are applicable and provided a solution to the many Corinthian problems. Love, defined by 14 predications (half of them negative, half positive) constituted the “way.” Love, Paul wrote, is patient… kind… does not envy or boast, and is not proud. Now, we see a description of this type of love in action. How can you tell if I have this type of love? This type of love is willing to suffer for the ones he loves. This is speaking primarily of love for God, but extends to mankind, as well. This type of love is a positive. This type of love overlooks shortcomings in others. It is even patient, until they can change.

This perfect love, spoken of here, never wants what someone else has, or wonders why they did not get that, too. They are happy for the one who does have it. "Vaunteth", in the verse above, means boast. Someone who truly loves will not boast and brag to make someone else feel little.

This being "puffed up" is speaking of pride. We must never act proud and cause someone else pain in the doing. True love thinks of other's feelings, before they think of their own.

Patience (makrothymia) is the capacity to be wronged and not retaliate. The Corinthian church had many members who had been wronged (e.g., in lawsuits [1Co_6:8] and the poor at communal meals [1Co_11:21-22]). The response of love to these wrongs would be a display of kindness and goodness. Envy and boasting seemed to abound as two poles of the same problem (e.g., divisions [1Co_1:10; 1Co_3:3, 1Co_3:21]; gifts [1Co_12:14-25]). The Corinthians had no monopoly on pride though they seemed to. The verb physioō occurs only seven times in the New Testament, six of which are found in this letter (cf. 1Co_4:6, 1Co_4:18-19; 1Co_5:2; 1Co_8:1).

1 Corinthians 13:5

Paul then gave four negative descriptions of love: It is neither rude nor self-seeking nor easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. "Unseemly" means indecently, or shamefully. A person who has love in his heart would not embarrass others and God doing things that would be a shame. He would always do the decent thing. Love in the sense of " seeketh not her own" could be very well covered by the word charity. It would mean that others needs would be more important to them, than their own needs.

This person, full of love, would not go around with a chip on his shoulder looking for someone to knock it off. He would be a peace maker. He would have the mind of Christ and would not be thinking evil thoughts. His mind, stayed on Christ would have no room for negative thoughts.

Rudeness found expression in the problem of women in worship (1Co_11:2-16), the disorders at the Lord’s Supper (1Co_11:17-22), and the general organization of worship (1Co_14:26-33). Self-satisfaction was a pervasive disorder particularly manifested in the eating of food sacrificed to idols (1Co_8:9; 1Co_10:23-24). People who are not easily angered usually do not start lawsuits (as in 1Co_6:1-11). Love does not record wrongs, though there was ample opportunity for doing so in Corinth (e.g., 1Co_6:8; 1Co_7:5; 1Co_8:11).

1 Corinthians 13:6

Love does not delight in evil (e.g., incest [1Co_5:1-2, 1Co_5:8]), but rejoices in truth (1Co_5:8). The person, who has the kind of love that this is speaking of, does not find pleasure in earthly things. His pleasure is in pleasing God. The truth would be his motto. We see from the whole armor of God that all Christians must wear, what part truth has.

Ephesians 6:14 "Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;"

You see you are not only to speak truth, but to have it tightly bound around you. The true Christian with this godlike love does not love to make a lie, but gets real joy from telling the truth.

1 Corinthians 13:7

Love always protects (cf. 1Co_8:13), trusts (cf. 1Co_15:11), hopes (cf. 1Co_9:10, 1Co_9:23), and perseveres (hypomenei, “remains steadfast in the face of unpleasant circumstances”; cf. 1Co_9:19-22). Paul thought it all joy to suffer for Christ. This verse, above, is speaking of being willing to bear whatever persecution comes our way, in the name of the Lord. This "believeth all things" has to do with faith in God.

Abraham believed, and it was counted unto him as righteousness. This means continues to believe, even in the face of problems. Christians have hope of the resurrection.

Matthew 10:22 "And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

We see from this Scripture that there is something to endure. It, also, tells us how long it will be required of us to endure.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10

Following this elaboration of the preeminence (1Co_13:1-3) and perfections (1Co_13:4-7) of love, Paul concluded with a discussion of its permanence (1Co_13:8-13). Love never fails, in the sense it will never come to an end. Positively stated, it is eternal. This is not true of the spiritual gifts. Some of the gifts were foundational (e.g., prophecies and knowledge; cf. Eph_2:20) and confirmatory (e.g., tongues; cf. 2Co_12:12; Heb_2:4). Every gift is linked in some way to building up the church to maturity — some (prophecy, knowledge, tongues) functioning in the early years of the Church Age and others continuing on till the church is perfected. When that perfection is achieved, the gifts will have served their purposes and will be rendered obsolete. But this will not happen to love. As Paul explained it, the gift of knowledge (1Co_13:8), essential as it was, was not exhaustive. The ability to prophesy, however crucial for the church’s life, was of limited scope. The gifts were temporary blessings in an imperfect age. One day they would give way to perfection, toward which all the gifts pointed.

These verses refer to love’s lastingness or permanence as a divine quality. Love outlasts all failures. Paul strengthens his point on the permanence of love by comparing it to the spiritual gifts which the Corinthians so highly prized: prophecy, knowledge, and languages, all of which will have an end. There may be a distinction made on how prophecy and knowledge come to an end, and how the gift of languages does. This is indicated by the Greek verb form used. In the case of prophecy and knowledge, they are both said to “be abolished” (in both cases the verb indicates that something will put an end to those two functions).

Verses 9-10 indicate that what will abolish knowledge and prophecy is “that which is perfect.” When that occurs, those gifts will be rendered inoperative. The “perfect” is not the completion of Scripture, since there is still the operation of those two gifts and will be in the future kingdom. The Scriptures do not allow us to see “face to face” or have perfect knowledge as God does in verse 12.

The perfect” is not the rapture of the church or the second coming of Christ, since the kingdom to follow these events will have an abundance of preachers and teachers. The perfect must be the eternal state, when we in glory see God face to face and have full knowledge in the eternal new heavens and new earth. Just as a child grows to full understanding, believers will come to perfect knowledge and no such gifts will be necessary.

On the other hand, Paul uses a different word for the end of the gift of languages, thus indicating it will “cease” by itself, as it did at the end of the apostolic age. It will not end by the coming of the “perfect,” for it will already have ceased. The uniqueness of the gift of languages and its interpretations was, as all sign gifts, to authenticate the message and messengers of the gospel before the New Testament was completed.

“Tongues” were also not a sign to believers, but unbelievers, especially those unbelieving Jews. Tongues also cease because there was no need to verify the true messages from God once the Scripture was given. It became the standard by which all are to be deemed true. “Tongues” was a means of edification in a way far inferior to preaching and teaching.

In fact, chapter 14 was designed to show the Corinthians, so preoccupied with tongues, that it was an inferior means of communication, an inferior means of praise, and an inferior means of evangelism. Prophecy was and is, far superior. That tongues have ceased should be clear from their absence from any other books in the New Testament except Acts. Tongues ceased to be an issue of record or practice in the early church, as the Scripture was being written. That tongues has ceased should be clear also from its absence through church history since the first century, appearing only sporadically and then only in questionable groups.

What Paul meant when he referred to the coming of perfection is the subject of considerable debate. One suggestion is that perfection described the completion of the New Testament. A few have suggested that this state of perfection will not be reached until the new heavens and new earth is established. Another point of view understands perfection to describe the state of the church when God’s program for it is consummated at the coming of Christ for His bride and is presented to the Father. There is much to commend this view, including the natural accord it enjoys with the illustration of growth and maturity which Paul used in the following verses.

1 Corinthians 13:11

Paul elsewhere described the purpose of gifts by an illustration employing the imagery of growth and maturity. According to Eph 4: 11-16 the gifts to us were to be used to bring the church from a state of infancy to adulthood the word translated “mature” in that passage (Eph_4:13) is the word translated “perfection” (teleion) in 1Co_13:10. In the Ephesians passage, maturity is defined as “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” This is just saying that we cannot always stay a baby in Christ. Sometime down the road, we need to start being an adult in the Lord. Milk is for babies. Get where you can chew the Word and get stronger nourishment. We need to grow in the Lord to the extent that we can stop being fed, and begin to feed others. It is alright to be a child, when you are first saved. There is a time, however, to put all that behind and take on the responsibilities of adulthood.

It would appear that the same perspective was developed in this passage to the Corinthians. Paul applied the illustration to himself (cf. 1Co_13:1-3). The threefold talking, thinking, and reasoning were probably meant to balance the thrice-mentioned gifts (1Co_13:8). With the coming of adulthood, such gifts become passé. Paul’s use of the word became (gegona, a perf. tense verb, probably proleptic; cf. Rom_13:8; 1Co_14:23) was of course to be understood in the context of the illustration. It does not indicate that he personally or the church collectively had yet arrived at that point (cf. Php_3:12). It would not, on the other hand, necessarily rule out a gradual obsolescence of certain gifts as the church progressed toward maturity.

1 Corinthians 13:12

A city like Corinth, famous for its bronze mirrors, would have particularly appreciated Paul’s final illustration. The perfection and imperfection mentioned in 1Co_13:10 were deftly likened to the contrasting images obtained by the indirect reflection of one’s face viewed in a bronze mirror and the same face when viewed directly. Such, Paul said, was the contrast between the imperfect time in which he then wrote and the perfect time which awaited him and the church when the partial reflection of the present would give way to the splendor of perfect vision. We will not fully understand about the Lord until we meet Him face to face. We see Him now in types and shadows in the things we read of Him, There will come a time when the dark glass is removed and we will see Him face to face. Jesus tore the curtain away into the Holy of Holies. We can now enter in.

1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

Then Paul would see God (cf. 1Co_15:28; 1Jn_3:2) as God now saw Paul. Then partial knowledge (cf. 1Co_8:1-3) would be displaced by the perfect knowledge of God.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Paul completed his three-paneled portrait of love (1Co_13:1-3, 1Co_13:4-7, 1Co_13:8-13) with a final triad: faith, hope, and love. Much discussion has focused on whether faith and hope were portrayed by Paul as being (with love) eternal. The solution is probably found in 1Co_13:7. Faith is an expression of love (the word “trusts,” pisteuei, 1Co_13:7, is the verb form of the noun “faith,” pistis), as is hope (cf. Gal_5:5-6). Faith and hope, as manifestations of love, will endure eternally. Faith, hope, and love are all very much of Christianity. They do not change. You might even say, they are conditions of Christianity. "Abideth" means continues to abide. You see, these never change, and they are absolutes. If we had to give up all but one, we would have to hang on to love. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

To sum up this lesson, we would have to say that Paul is teaching them the proper functions of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the confines of their traditions. There is a song written from the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians called "Charity".

So too everyone who follows the way of love (1Co_14:1) finds “the most excellent way” (1Co_12:31), because every individual characterized by love carries that mark eternally. The spiritual gifts will one day cease to exist, but love will endure forever.

Romans Chapter 10 Part Two

Romans 10:14-15

After proclaiming God’s gracious offer in Christ, Paul confronted the natural questions that arise, each additional question building on the key verb from the preceding question. God’s promise of salvation to “everyone who calls” on Him (Rom_10:13) begins the process. How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? Previously, to call on the Lord was equated with trusting Him or believing in Him (cf. Rom_10:11 and Rom_10:13), but here it follows the believing. When one believes in Christ, he “calls” on Him. Believing, in turn, is based on hearing, and hearing is based on someone preaching… and how can they preach unless they are sent? In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: First, because the call must be preceded by faith and second, because faith must be preceded by hearing. This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content.
Third, because hearing requires a preacher and forth because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.
(Since the Gr. word kēryssō, “preach,” means “to be a herald, to announce,” it is not limited to proclamation from a pulpit.) Carrying God’s gracious offer involves human beings whom God has brought to Himself and then uses as His heralds. They share God’s message of salvation because He will save everyone who calls on His name. Paul quoted from Isa_52:7 concerning the eagerness of the bearers of good news. Paul’s main point in this series of rhetorical questions is that a clear presentation of the gospel message must precede true saving faith. True faith always has content, the revealed Word of God. Salvation comes to those who hear and believe the facts of the gospel.
“How beautiful are the feet” comes from Isaiah 52:7  "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
It is the message of good news which those feet carry that is so welcome.

Those who bear it have beautiful… feet, that is, their message is welcome. In Isa_52:7 the messenger announced to Judah that God had ended their Exile in Babylon (cf. Isa_40:9-11). But Paul applied Isa_52:7 to the Jews of his day to whom the gospel was being given.

 

 Romans 10:16-18

Israel’s Rejection

Paul had made it clear that God’s gracious offer of righteousness by faith was given to all, Jews and Gentiles alike (cf. Rom_10:12). His focus in this chapter, however, has been on the people of Israel and their response to that offer (cf. Rom_10:1). Therefore when he wrote, But not all the Israelites (the Gr. text simply says “all”) accepted the good news, he obviously had in mind the Jews’ failure to respond. (“Accepted” translates hypēkousan, a compound of the verb “to hear.” It means “to hear with a positive response,” and so “to obey, to submit to.”) This is borne out by Paul’s confirming quotation of Isa_53:1 : Lord, who has believed our message? The good news is not only a gracious offer but a command to believe and repent. “Believed our report” is a scripture quoted from Isaiah 53:1.
The report Isaiah described was of the substitutionary death of Christ, the good news of the gospel. (Isa 53:5)
This failure of the Jews to respond to the good news was true in Jesus’ days on earth (Joh_12:37-41) and in Paul’s day as well. However, the indefinite “all” of the Greek text (Rom_10:16) is appropriate, because the response to the gospel among the Gentiles was also far less than total. Paul explained, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message (lit., “is out from hearing”; cf. Rom_10:14) and the message is heard through the word of Christ (lit., “and the hearing is through the saying [rhēmatos; cf. Rom_10:17] concerning Christ”). “The Word of God”: or better, the word of Christ. The reference is to the oral communication of the gospel. (The word translated “report” in this verse 16 is translated “hearing” here) Notice that it is not faith in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard. This is what Paul meant in 1:16 when he said the gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.” Saving faith is not man doing his part in response to God’s having done His part. Saving faith can come about only through the gospel. Salvation is God’s work alone. This also shows that there is no other way to be saved but by the explicit gospel of Christ.
Luke 11:28 "But he said, Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it."
It is the Word of God that is powerful, that convicts us of our sin and sets us on the road to salvation. Look at the next Scripture and see just how powerful this Word is.
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

The Greek word akoē (“hearing”) can mean the thing heard (the message; Rom_10:16) or the act or sense of hearing (Rom_10:17).

Someone, however, might insist that the Jews were not given adequate opportunity to hear the message. So, Paul said, But I ask (“say”), Did they not hear? He then quoted Psa_19:4, concerning God’s general revelation in the cosmic heavens (cf. Rom_1:18-20). However, that psalm also discusses God’s special revelation in the Old Testament (Psa_19:7-11). Paul cited this quotation from the LXX which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament’s version of Psalms 19:4 to show that even David understood that God’s revelation of Himself has reached the entire earth.

Paul’s obvious answer to his question is that Israel had ample opportunity by both general and special revelation to respond to God. Certainly she heard.

Romans 10:19-21

With these verses the argument takes a turn. The apostle anticipated another objection. Someone might argue, “Yes, Israel heard but she did not understand that God purposed to offer righteousness by faith to all mankind, including Gentiles.” So Paul wrote, Again I ask (lit., “But I say”), did Israel not understand? (egnō, “know”) His answer this time was from two Old Testament quotations, one as early as Moses (Deu_32:21) and the second by Isaiah (Isa_65:1). Both Old Testament leaders wrote about God’s turning to the Gentiles, whom the Jews thought had no understanding (asynetō, “senseless”; cf. Rom_1:21, Rom_1:31). Israel was ignorant of the salvation truth contained in her own Scriptures, including that the gospel would reach the Gentiles, (no people (those who are not a nation) and by a foolish nation) as promised in Deut. 32:21 and Isa 65:1-2.
In verse 19 God would provoke the Jews to jealousy by the Gentiles, who are not a part of Israel, God’s special, chosen nation.

And yet concerning Israel, God has been gracious in spite of her disobedience (a quotation of Isa_65:2). “Disobedient”, means “to contradict” or “to speak against.” As throughout her history, Israel once again had contradicted the Word of God. This time it was the truth of the gospel.

Israel’s continuing rebellious and unbelieving disobedience was judged by God’s turning to the Gentiles (Rom_10:20; cf. Act_8:1-8, Act_8:10). At the same time God has not withheld salvation from Jews. He has held out His hands, imploring them to return to Him.

1 Corinthians Chapter 12 Part Two

1 Corinthians 12:12

This verse forms an excellent three-part summary of the rest of the chapter. (a) The human body is a unit (cf. 1Co_12:13 on the unity of the body of Christ). (b) The human body has many parts, with a necessary diversity in its members (cf. 1Co_12:14-20). (c) The parts of the human body work together as one, with a dependent mutuality as each part fulfills an important function (cf. 1Co_12:21-26). Paul used the human body as an analogy for the unity of the church in Christ. From this point on to v.27, he used “body” 18 times.

This is part of the teaching that we had earlier on the fact that all Christians make up the body of Christ, and Christ Himself is the head. Jesus is, also, the tree of life that we are grafted into if we are believers. We are nothing in and of our self, but we are the power of God working on this earth, when we do all things in the name of Jesus. It is His power that we have been given authority to use, if we are believers. We will, also, find that Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. We get our strength and power to exist from the vine. He is the Cornerstone, and we are the lively stones, as well. We could go on and on. The truth is, if we stand alone, we can do nothing of ourselves. He is our strength. We are, also, told that when we become a Christian, we no longer live, but Christ liveth in us. We are part of Him.

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." We all have our part to play in the body of Christ.

Likewise the body of Christ has a diversity of parts functioning together (1Co_12:27-30).

1 Corinthians 12:13

The One who gave the diverse gifts, the Spirit, was also the medium in which, by which, and with which (possible translations of the Gr. preposition en; cf. Mat_3:11) that unity exists. The baptism of the Spirit is experienced by all who believe, at the moment of salvation (cf. Rom_8:9). In that baptism, believers, regardless of nationality (whether Jews or Greeks) or station of life (slave or free), are identified with Christ (baptized… into one body) and are indwelt by the Spirit (given the one Spirit to drink; cf. Joh_4:14; Joh_7:38-39). Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

There is only one Way and that is Christ. We were flesh, filled with death, until we accepted life in the Lord Jesus Christ. All Christians have been grafted into the Tree of Life {the Lord Jesus Christ}. We are adopted children of the Father. Our adoption was paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:5 "So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ," Look, with me, at what baptism does for us.

Romans 6:3-8 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:" "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." "For he that is dead is freed from sin." "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:"

It is the Spirit of Christ within us that makes us one with Him.

Baptized: The church, the spiritual body of Christ, is formed as believers are immersed by Christ with the Holy Spirit. Christ is the baptizer who immerses each believer with the Spirit into unity with all other believers. Paul is not writing of water baptism. That outward sign depicts the believer’s union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Similarly, all believers are also immersed into the body of Christ by means of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s point is to emphasize the unity of believers. There cannot be any believer who has not been Spirit baptized, nor can there be more than one Spirit baptism or the whole point of unity in the body of Christ is convoluted. Believers have all been Spirit baptized and thus are all in one body. This is not an experience to seek, but a reality to acknowledge.

“Drink into one Spirit”: At salvation, all believers not only become full members of Christ’s body, the church, but the Holy Spirit is placed within each of them. There is no need or divine provision for any such thing as a second blessing, a triumphalistic experience of a deeper life, or a formula for instantly increased spirituality. Christ’s salvation provision is perfect and He calls only for obedience and trust in what has already been given.

1 Corinthians 12:14-20

Different parts are needed if a body is to exist (1Co_12:19). By his illustration of how every part of a human body is essential to the function of that body, Paul showed that unity is an indispensable need of the church; but divinely provided diversity within that unity is also necessary. His words additionally implied that some selfish members were discontent with their gifts, wanting the gifts they had not been given, v.11. With that attitude, they in effect questioned God’s wisdom and implied He had made a mistake in assignments. In seeking showy abilities and power, they also became vulnerable to carnal, demonically counterfeited gifts.

The church you attend is one body, but it is made up of many members. That is what this is saying, as well. That is what Paul is saying, it takes all the parts rightly fit together to make the whole.

So too, no believer should think of himself or his gift as inferior and so desire another member’s gift. So many times, someone will feel that their contribution to the body is not the same as someone else, and they will feel that they are not of the body. Paul is showing, here, how ridiculous that is. If the body was just made up of hands with no feet, look what a mess the body would be. We are all unique. Each one of us fits into the body to make up the whole. If you have ever worked a jigsaw puzzle, you see thousands of little pieces, and no two of them are exactly alike. Each one has a place. If even one piece is missing, the puzzle cannot be finished. You may not be a corner piece, but the puzzle is not complete, until your contribution is made. What a silly question to ask. This is the same as above. What a problem to be able to see, and not to hear. The gifts were not haphazardly distributed (cf. 1Co_12:11) but carefully arranged according to the perfect will of God (1Co_12:18). Each person is a unique individual. God made you for a specific purpose. No one else can take your place in the kingdom of God. If you do not fulfill the position that God has for you, then there will be a place not filled. Paul dealt with the foolish and carnal Corinthians who were discontent with what had been given them sovereignty for the edification of the church and the glory of its Lord.

Are you working in a church that is so small that you feel as if you are forgotten? We see from the verse above, that each of us is exactly where the Lord would have us, if we have submitted our will to His will. Some may feel, because they are not the pastor of the church that God could not possibly have anything for them to do in this body. God knows what your abilities and your desires are. He has you where you will do the most good. As I said in another verse, you are unique. No one can do the job that God has called you to do as well as you can do it.

We see that the overall plan is not always what we had in mind. You cannot be someone else. Be the very best that you can be in the capacity that the Lord has called you to. Every person in the church is an integral part. If you happen to be the janitor instead of the missionary, realize that the church would be a mess, if you did not do your job. Be the very best janitor in the world. When we were trying to say something to make our children realize their importance in the place God has chosen for them to labor, we told them, if they were a garbage collector, be the best in the name of the Lord. No honest job is to be looked down on. We cannot all be surgeons. Be what you can be, and do it as unto the Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:21-26

In the diversity of the bodily parts there was a corresponding mutual dependence. A person with a seemingly greater gift should not imagine that he could function alone since a bodily member cut off from the natural body would cease to exist. More importantly, one thought to possess a lesser gift should in fact be accorded greater attention by the other members of the body (cf. 1Co_14:1-5) just as in the natural body special deference in attention to dress is paid to those parts of the body deemed less presentable (1Co_12:22-24). Possibly Paul was reaching back in thought beyond the immediate discussion of gifts when he referred to weaker members (1Co_12:22; cf. 1Co_8:7-13) and less honorable ones (1Co_12:23; cf. 1Co_11:22) who also required special care and consideration. “No need”: While some in Corinth were bemoaning the fact that they did not have the showy gifts, those who did were belittling those with the more quiet and less prominent gifts. The “eye” and the “head”, which are highly visible and the focus of all who engage each other, represent the people with public gifts. They so overestimated their own importance that they disdained those whom they perceived as less gifted and less significant. They were apparently indifferent. (“I have no need”) and self sufficient. If you did not have a big toe, you could not balance yourself to stand. You see the lesser job might not appear to be important at a glance, but it gives balance to the whole body. This too was part of God’s plan (God… combined the members), that members of the spiritual body would demonstrate a mutual concern for the well-being of others (1Co_12:25-26; 1Co_10:24, 1Co_10:33) so that rivalry would cease (so that there should be no division in the body; 1Co_1:10; 1Co_11:18) and genuine unity would exist (1Co_12:26). This is just showing, that even the jobs that really are not out front, are just as important as those that are out in view. Rich and poor, old and young, white and black, all make up the family of God.

Paul’s answer to the pride of the more visibly gifted was to engage his analogy again and remind them that the more fragile and less lovely, in fact, ugly parts of the body which are not publicly “presentable” are given the great respect for their necessity. He spoke of the internal organs. "Schism" means gap or split. It can, also, mean division or rent. In the beginning, the church was of one accord. Together we stand, divided we fall. If one has a problem, it should be the problem of all. If one rejoices, we should all rejoice with him.

God has designed visible, public gifts to have a crucial place, but equally designed and more vital to life are the hidden gifts, thus maintaining the perspective of unity – all are essential to the working of the body of Christ.

The thing that bonds us together is the Lord. We are all family. If there is an injury to any part of the body, the whole body hurts.

This is a call to mutual love and concern in the fellowship of believers which maintains the unity that honors the Lord. There is one body in which all function, yet never do they lose their personal identity and the essential necessity of ministry as God has designed them to do it.

Just because we are part of the larger body, does not mean that we are not individuals with Christ. He saved all of us, one at a time.

1 Corinthians 12:27-31

 Once again in verses 28-30, Paul emphases the sovereignty of God. He does so by illustrating the individuality and unity of the body by a repeat of the representative categories of ministries, calling and giftedness.

The unifying member in the spiritual body is Christ. As the Head (Eph_1:22; cf. 1Co_11:3) He possesses the body and sovereignly expresses His will. His command is that love should prevail among the members (Joh_15:12). This was the force which would maintain unity within the diversity and to this subject Paul would shortly move (1 Cor. 12:31b-13:13). Apostles … prophets: Their purpose was; (1) to lay the foundation of the church; (2) to receive and declare the revelation of God’s Word through signs, wonders, and miracles. “Apostles” refers, primarily, to those 12 chosen by our Lord plus Paul and Matthias. There were also secondary serving as messengers of the church such as Barnabas, Silas and Timothy.

Prophets were especially gifted men in the local churches, who preached God’s Word. Any message preached by a prophet had to be judged by the word of the apostle. Teachers could be the same as pastor-teachers, but probably should be broadened to include all who are gifted for teaching in the church, whether they have the office of pastor or not.

The following Scripture gives a view of how serious it would be to vary from the true message. Galatians 1:8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that, which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."

The apostles, in the verse above, are watchmen of the church. In this case, it was Paul who had established this church. Prophets are not only those who through the anointing of the Holy Spirit tell of the future, but would be the person who brought the message to the church. God has a specific message for each individual church. The minister should bring the message God has for that particular group on that particular day.

We find, also, that God has given others a special understanding of the Scriptures, so that they can teach the Word with powerful anointing. Notice in all of this, that God puts His Word before miracles and other things. Miracles and healings are each a unique gift in themselves, and God has chosen someone in each church to fulfill this calling.

Sometimes one person will have more than one of these offices to fulfill. We must not be influenced by signs and wonders above the Word. The Antichrist will be able to call down fire from heaven. All miracles and healings must stay within the realm of the Word. If we are to do the particular thing, there will be an example in the Bible.

Helps, even though it is one of the most important jobs, is usually unsung. They fill in the gap, and do it so quietly that usually no one notices. God notices always. Governments are like the deacons and elders of the church. They see to the day to day function of the church. They must be godly people.

Diversities of tongues just mean that certain people in the church generally bring to the assembled people messages from God to the congregation in a tongue other than the native tongue. All of these are important functions in the church.

For a third time (cf. 1Co_12:18, 1Co_12:24, 1Co_12:28), however, Paul stressed the fact that God, not man, assigned the gifts. As he discussed another sample of gifts (some repeated from 1Co_12:7-10 and some new), it was the members, the people so gifted, to whom he referred. Since the gifts included in the two lists in this chapter contain novelty and redundancy (which is the case elsewhere in passages detailing gifts, e.g., Rom_12:6-8; Eph_4:11; 1Pe_4:10-11 — the gift of teaching being the only gift which appears in each list), probably no complete catalog existed.

The fact that Paul assigned ordinal numbers (first… second… third) to the first three gifts suggests that these may have been relegated to a lesser role by the Corinthians (cf. 1Co_12:21-24). Those three kinds of gifted members — apostles… prophets… teachers — probably were rated lower than those who had the more spectacular gift of tongues. But the first three gifts may have been greater (1Co_12:31) because of their extensive value to the whole body of Christ. This may be why he listed them first and then said that the church should eagerly desire (1Co_12:31) the exercise of those gifts in the assembly (cf. 1Co_14:1-5). Gifted apostles, prophets, and teachers characteristically ministered to a whole church, and so would engender unity and mutual edification. The gift of tongues, on the other hand, suited the Corinthian penchant for self-expression and the pursuit of personal freedom. This self-centeredness also afflicted the church in other areas (e.g., eating sacrificial foods, women in worship, celebration of the Lord’s Supper). Love for others was an essential need in the Corinthian church and to that fundamental attribute Paul then turned to pay eloquent tribute.

Superiority of love to all gifts

Though Paul greatly valued spiritual gifts, he valued even more a quality of life which the Spirit produced. Spiritual gifts were variously apportioned to individuals in the church so that no single gift was possessed by every member (cf. 1Co_12:19-30). On the other hand the Holy Spirit sought to produce the fruit of the Spirit in every Christian (Gal_5:22-23), chief among which was love. This was more important than the gifts, and when displayed it would help correct the Corinthian aberrations which surrounded their possession and use of God’s gifts (cf. 1Co_14:1).

The way Paul referred to was a manner of life preeminently characterized by love (cf. Joh_15:9-17). Each of these rhetorical queries expects a “no” answer. The body of Christ is diverse and God sovereignty designs it that way.

Each person functions in the office the Lord has called him, or her, to. This is the only time permissible to covet. The best gifts are preaching the Word, of course.

Jesus and John the Baptist followed this way of righteousness (Mat_3:15; Mat_21:32) by obediently practicing the will of God and exhorting their followers to do the same (Mat_5:6, Mat_5:10, Mat_5:20; Mat_6:33). This same manner of life and consequent conduct Paul called the way of love (1Co_14:1; cf. Rom_13:8-10), which he followed and exhorted the Corinthians to do the same (1Co_14:1; cf. 1Co_11:1).