1 Corinthians 12

1 Corinthians 12

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

Okay, so we’re supposed to understand spiritual gifts. What are they? Gifts given to us through the Holy Spirit. Question: are they confined to members of the church? Question: how do they differ from the other gifts God gives us?

2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost

Paul wants to explain spiritual gifts because he’s speaking to a formerly pagan audience. They don’t understand the gospel yet entirely, and so they can be led away. He reminds them of how they were led in their pagan past to worship dumb idols. So, what does Paul say about spiritual gifts? This verse (3) seems to say that their purpose is to bear testimony of and serve Christ. No matter how powerful the spiritual manifestation may seem to be, if it takes you away from Christ, then it is not a gift of the Holy Spirit, but of an Unholy spirit.

Also, one of the gifts of the spirit is testimony. No man can know that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (cf. DC 46:13) “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.”

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

The gifts of the Spirit are varied. There are different things, different talents and experiences that each person has. However, it is the same Lord who does it all; we don’t believe in a sort of system of muses who inspire different people differently. All comes from God. Paul may be trying to fight against their pagan backgrounds here and point to the unity of the church. And if there isn’t unity, then the Spirits in question might not be the correct one.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

This is the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit. It is to profit the individual member and the church as a whole. Compare D&C 46:9: “For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me.” They are given as a benefit for those who love God and seek to keep his commandments. Note also that there is an admonition to ask for them.

So, spiritual gifts are meant as something to bless the faithful, not as a wow factor sort of affair (which explains why our current manifestations of the gift of tongues are frequently more subtle than the Day of Pentecost sort. We mostly can have missionaries learn languages, and so God helps them learn instead of having flashy miracles. Peter and the other apostles didn’t have the luxury of an MTC. The crowd was there right then, and they needed t o talk to them. So it happened.)

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit.

Lds.org defines the gift of the word of wisdom as “the ability to use knowledge in righteous ways”

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues and interpretations of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one body, so also is Christ.

So, here the church is the body of Christ. The different spiritual gifts (and perhaps also natural gifts) that each member enjoys are necessary.

13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Is this sacramental imagery here? We drink the Spirit? Or is this another continuation of the baptismal imagery?

14 For the body is not one member, but many.

So as we join the church, we do not lose who we are. We still retain our selfhood. But we are made part of something bigger and better. And just as a foot or a hand would die if it were severed from the body, so we also cannot survive spiritually without Him. As parts of the Body of Christ, we we are nourished by the blood of Christ. This reminds me of John 15, where Christ is the vine and we are his branches. Interesting that the word here is vine, which has a common root with our word for wine, and is most probably a grape-vine. Thus, the vine becomes another connection to the sacrament. Jesus picked his images more carefully than we frequently assume.

15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

Interesting that here, Paul isn’t saying, “don’t exclude the people that you don’t think fit in the church,” good point though that is. Rather, he’s saying, “don’t exclude yourself because you don’t think you fit in.” Don’t worry if you’re different. Don’t worry if you don’t feel like you have particular spiritual gifts. Don’t worry if you feel like you’re an inferior part of the church. You still belong. You are still welcome.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

God has given you the spiritual gifts that He pleases. He wishes for you to seek for more, but He created you, and He created you with good inside you, and with potential for good.

19 And if all were one member, where were the body?

You can’t very well have a body be all composed of one part. There’s no way that would work. So, God specializes His church as He specialized the parts of our body. He gives different gifts to different people and asks them to work together to achieve his goals. He brings in people from different backgrounds and social classes and asks them to work together and love one another. And when we agree to do it, when the parts of the body work together, then the body is beautiful and works well, and love grows in the church.

One of the most dangerous things in medicine seems to be when the different parts of the body don’t work together. For example, auto-immune diseases seem to be one of the hardest to cure and most deadly sorts of disorders. And these happen when one part of the body doesn’t accept another. It treats it as foreign and sets about trying to destroy it. A cold that could ordinarily be fought off easily is suddenly a major deal and can completely destroy a person if they have auto-immune disorders. Isn’t it the same way with the church? Nothing from without can destroy us. There can be scandals and persecutions, but what ultimately can rip us apart is ourselves. If we stand together we are strong. But if we bicker and backbite, then we’re sure to fall away. The early church didn’t disappear because of outside persecution. Rather, it fell apart because the individual members fell away from God and from each other and from priesthood authority.

20 But now are they many members, yet one body.

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

The Doctrine and Covenants makes it clearer: “the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together” (DC 84:110). The church needs every member. Maybe this is why we try so hard to fellowship and reactivate people. We need them. The Lord goes even further and states why we need them: “that the system may be kept perfect.” Perfect is a pretty strong word, and it doesn’t show up all that often in the scriptures. But that’s what the church is, when it has all its members.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

I think about the brain here. The Egyptians thought it was worthless. When they mummified people, they pulled out all of the organs they thought were important and kept them in jars. But they didn’t know what the brain did, so they just threw it away. We would probably consider the brain the most important organ from our current (and we flatter ourselves, “true”) perspective. Couldn’t it be that eventually we’ll realize how important the people in the church we dislike or look down on are?

Also, I think about the stomach lining. What could seem more feeble and worthless than that? All it is, as far as I understand it, is a layer of mucous. Pretty unglamorous, and even kind of gross. But without it, our stomach acid would start to dissolve and “eat” the rest of our body. This is what happens when people get ulcers—the stomach lining weakens, and some of the acid gets through. All sorts of “feeble” and gross things are necessary in the body: bile, blood, phlegm, scar tissue. Even places like the rectum are necessary, and we’d be in trouble if we didn’t have one! So, if you don’t like someone in the church, get used to them. They’re a part of your body, and you’re commanded to love them, and to be one with them.

23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that all the members should have the same care for one another.

26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

I find in this an echo of Alma’s words to the people when he was baptizing at the waters of Mormon (spoken, suitably, to people about to enter the church): “Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort” (Mosiah 18:10). This statement by Paul contains an element that Alma doesn’t include, though: that of rejoicing together. It is a good thing to bear each others’ burdens, to comfort those that suffer. It is also a good thing, though, to rejoice with those who have been blessed. We all know we’re supposed to take dinner to the member in our ward who is sick. Sometimes, though, when good things happen to others, instead of rejoicing with them, we get jealous.

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular

28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

These are some of the specific gifts that God has given to the church. We have apostles, prophets and teachers. We have gifts of healing, of help. We have the gift of tongues. We have government, or an orderly system of administration, within the church. These are signs of the true church.

29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?

30 Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

Just as people’s natural abilities and personalities are different, their spiritual gifts and callings differ as well. Not everyone is called to be an apostle. Not everyone’s a prophet. At different times, we are called upon to teach in the gospel, but sometimes we’re the gospel doctrine teacher, and sometimes we’re the student. The gift of healing is present to some extent in just about every priesthood holder, but that gift is subject to the timing and the will of the Lord. Not all are miracle workers in the kingdom. In fact, John the Baptist, of whom Christ stated, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen [one] greater” (Matt 11:11) “did no miracle” (John 10:41). We don’t get to decide exactly what role we play in the kingdom. Our responsibility is to be worthy and willing to serve wherever we are called, with the knowledge that God will bless us and make us equal to whatever task He assigns us. In life, as in the eternities, we are supported by “grace . . . after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23).

However, in verse 31, Paul does counsel us to seek after spiritual gifts. A number of excellent talks on the proper use and seeking of Spiritual gifts can be found here under the link of “Church Magazine Articles”: http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?index=19&locale=0&sourceId=3d8ef73c28d98010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Verse 31 is also Paul’s segue into his famous discussion of charity in 1 Corinthians 13. Thus, the “more excellent way” is the pursuit of what some have called the three cardinal virtues: faith, hope and charity. These are, in a very real sense, the best gifts. Mormon suggests that charity is a gift which God gives: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48). Similarly, hope is a gift which an outside influence bestows on us: the "Comforter filleth with hope” (Moroni 8:26). Elder Bruce R. McConkie argued that faith is a gift: “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 264). These are certainly among the gifts which we are supposed to seek, and as Paul points out in chapter 13, they endure forever.