1Cor.12.1

What I want to talk about now is the various ways God's Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable.

1Cor.12.1

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.

1Cor.12.1

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:

1Cor.12.1

And now, dear brothers and sisters, I will write about the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of us, for I must correct your misunderstandings about them.

1Cor.12.2

Remember how you were when you didn't know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It's different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can.

1Cor.12.2

You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

1Cor.12.2

You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

1Cor.12.2

You know that when you were still pagans you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.

1Cor.12.3

For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say "Jesus be damned!" Nor would anyone be inclined to say "Jesus is Master!" without the insight of the Holy Spirit.

1Cor.12.3

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.

1Cor.12.3

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

1Cor.12.3

So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God: No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

1Cor.12.4

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit.

1Cor.12.4

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1Cor.12.4

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1Cor.12.4

Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all.

1Cor.12.5

God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit.

1Cor.12.5

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

1Cor.12.5

There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

1Cor.12.5

There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving.

1Cor.12.6

God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all.

1Cor.12.6

There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

1Cor.12.6

And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

1Cor.12.6

There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us.

1Cor.12.7

Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

1Cor.12.7

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

1Cor.12.7

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

1Cor.12.7

A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.

1Cor.12.8

The variety is wonderful: wise counsel clear understanding

1Cor.12.8

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,

1Cor.12.8

for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

1Cor.12.8

To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge.

1Cor.12.9

simple trust healing the sick

1Cor.12.9

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,

1Cor.12.9

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

1Cor.12.9

The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick.

1Cor.12.10

miraculous acts proclamation distinguishing between spirits tongues interpretation of tongues.

1Cor.12.10

to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

1Cor.12.10

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

1Cor.12.10

He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

1Cor.12.11

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

1Cor.12.11

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

1Cor.12.11

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

1Cor.12.11

It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

1Cor.12.12

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts--limbs, organs, cells--but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ.

1Cor.12.12

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

1Cor.12.12

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

1Cor.12.12

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ.

1Cor.12.13

By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain--his Spirit--where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves--labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free--are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

1Cor.12.13

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

1Cor.12.13

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

1Cor.12.13

Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.

1Cor.12.14

I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.

1Cor.12.14

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.

1Cor.12.14

For in fact the body is not one member but many.

1Cor.12.14

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.

1Cor.12.15

If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so?

1Cor.12.15

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

1Cor.12.15

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?

1Cor.12.15

If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.

1Cor.12.16

If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body?

1Cor.12.16

And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.

1Cor.12.16

And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?

1Cor.12.16

And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?

1Cor.12.17

If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell?

1Cor.12.17

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

1Cor.12.17

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

1Cor.12.17

Suppose the whole body were an eye--then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?

1Cor.12.18

As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

1Cor.12.18

But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

1Cor.12.18

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

1Cor.12.18

But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.

1Cor.12.19

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster.

1Cor.12.19

If they were all one part, where would the body be?

1Cor.12.19

And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

1Cor.12.19

What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!

1Cor.12.20

What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own.

1Cor.12.20

As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

1Cor.12.20

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.

1Cor.12.20

Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.

1Cor.12.21

Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"?

1Cor.12.21

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"

1Cor.12.21

And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

1Cor.12.21

The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

1Cor.12.22

As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way--the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach.

1Cor.12.22

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

1Cor.12.22

No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.

1Cor.12.22

In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.

1Cor.12.23

When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons.

1Cor.12.23

and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,

1Cor.12.23

And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,

1Cor.12.23

And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen,

1Cor.12.24

If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

1Cor.12.24

while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,

1Cor.12.24

but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,

1Cor.12.24

while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.

1Cor.12.25

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't,

1Cor.12.25

so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

1Cor.12.25

that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

1Cor.12.25

This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally.

1Cor.12.26

the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

1Cor.12.26

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1Cor.12.26

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

1Cor.12.26

If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.