FollowIntroducing The Spiritual Realities and Gifts
© 2025 C. O. Bishop
1st Corinthians 12:1-14
Introduction:
In 1st Corinthians chapters 1-11, Paul corrected a number of serious issues in the Corinthian Church. But now in chapter 12, (also corrective teaching) he goes back to the foundation of our existence in the Body of Christ. He shows how He put us there, and the results of the Holy Spirit having placed us there.
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
We should compare John 4:23, 24. “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Spiritual Reality
Jesus told the Woman at the Well that God seeks those who worship from their spirit, and in complete truth. So, it is important that Paul not allow the Corinthian believers to remain ignorant. They would have no standard by which to measure “truth” or “falsehood.” It is also important that they understand there is such a thing as “Spiritual Reality:” Not all claims of “spiritual things” are true.
A woman once showed me a large painting her daughter had made. I could describe it as “ethereal.” It had swirls of cloudy, nearly shapeless, ascending color. But she claimed it was a “very spiritual” painting. I saw it as rather creepy modern art, with zero spiritual value. I had already attempted to share Christ with her. She had no interest. So, I said nothing in reply: I only nodded politely.
But there is a Spiritual Reality. And that is what God wants in us.
Spiritual Falsehood
Paul gave an example of spiritual falsehood. He said, 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
The word “dumb” here, means speechless. The idols were wood, stone or metal carvings. They had no life in them, no ability to give life, to move, or even to speak. Paul says that they were led to those idols by others. The spiritual lies tied to those idols enslaved them.
We know of the spiritual enslavement the people of the Dom tribe have escaped through Christ. They lived their lives in fear of the evil spirits associated with their fetishes and taboos. The Gospel came to them through Jim and Judy Burdett, and The Holy Spirit set them free from that fear: They learned to live the Reality of their relationship with Jesus.
Falsehood and Reality
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.
It seems clear that a true believer, speaking by the Spirit of God, will never malign the Lord Jesus. We have no trouble with the first statement: But the second clause is another matter.
People often used this verse attempting to “sort out false brethren.” They had the idea that it is “physically impossible” to say “Jesus is the Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. So, they made a person “repeat those words,” as some sort of “proof of Spiritual Reality.”
However: Many unbelievers also quote this passage. They “repeated those words” as “proof” that God’s Word is not true. So, we seem to have a problem! And the problem is not whether God’s Word is true: The problem is whether we understand it correctly.
Compare Scripture with Scripture
Remember what Jesus told the Woman at the Well: “God seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!” And while unbelievers can verbally, orally say that “Jesus is the Lord,” their spirit will continue to control their actions (and their other words) in such a way as to give the lie to that statement. They did not say it “in spirit and in truth.” They are “mouthing good words,” but it means nothing to them. Their “good words” are cloaking an evil, unrepentant heart. They know that we think it is impossible to “say those words” apart from the Holy Spirit. So, they are deliberately seeking to deceive us by their use of those words.
A Practical Example
I knew a missionary, many years ago, who told me how an unbeliever (in a primarily Muslim nation) accosted him at a bus stop or some similar location: He said, “You Christians say that no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit! Well, ‘Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord!’ What do you say to that??”
The challenge shocked and surprised the missionary. He never saw the man before. He had no idea why the man chose to challenge him. The missionary looked off to one side and saw a group of Muslim men chatting on a street corner. So, he shouted to them, “Hey! This man says that Jesus is the Lord!” The men turned and looked at the man, who now was frozen in terror: He turned and sprinted away into the crowd, and in moments, he had disappeared. You see, the statement had held zero truth in him, and his behavior immediately revealed his spiritual reality.
We are trying to determine spiritual reality. A false spirit will eventually show itself, either through behavior or through heretical teaching, designed to turn people away from the Gospel.
What about the Gifts?
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.
Notice that there seems to be a division, here: A separation of ideas. He calls out three categories of Gifts:
- Gifts (gifts of the Spirit)
- Administrations (gifts of Christ: the Lord)
- Operations (gifts of God)
Do I think I understand all this? No! I don’t. But I must point out the stated structure as it is given. I cannot just set it aside and “ignore it,” because I’m not satisfied that I fully understand it.
God lists three different “sets” of gifts. We will see the “Gifts” called out as gifts of the Spirit in this chapter.
God lists some of the Gifts of the Lord, (Administrative gifts) in Ephesians 4:11-16. He says these gifts are people: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds and teachers. He gave them to raise up the believers into maturity as true disciples: they build children of God into true Followers of Jesus.
Some of the “Operations,” Gifts specifically attributed to God, we can see in 2nd Peter 1:1-15, and in Ephesians 1:3-14. We can see that He gave many of these gifts unconditionally: They are ours whether or not we are actually walking with God in obedience. He gave others, however, as conditional gifts: goals to be pursued and added to, through diligent pursuit of the God who calls us to walk with Him and to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. They are still gifts, only available to believers, but we can neglect them and miss out on their blessing.
And What is the Purpose of ALL the Gifts?
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
Some translations render this sentence as, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”
NO gift of the Spirit is given for self-blessing, or entertainment, much less self-aggrandizement. All the gifts are for the blessing, help and profit of the entire assembly, and ultimately the broader Body of Christ. They are to produce unity and promote the Agapé love, never to produce pride, selfish behavior or division.
God warns us of false gifts in James 1:17-21 and of false wisdom in James 3:13-18.
A Partial List of Gifts
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 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; to another the interpretation of tongues:
Some commentators deny that any of the “Sign gifts” are still in existence. They virtually always cite 1st Corinthians 13:8-12 as “proof.” The problem with that allegation is that they also insist that the “perfect” in that passage refers to the “completion” of the canon of scripture. So, they say that since the canon of scripture has been completed, (and I agree that it is complete) all of the things in that passage have ceased to exist.
However, I have never heard one of them also include the part that says, “Now we know in part, and prophesy in part, but then shall we know fully even as we are fully known.” None of them is so bold as to claim that they know Jesus fully: (literally “as well as He knows them!”)
Nor do any of them (usually) claim to have seen Jesus, face to face, when that passage clearly says we will! So, the completion of the scriptures cannot be the “Perfect” or “the completion” that is to come. So far as I can tell from scripture, all the gifts are still extant, but the sign gifts are very limited as to when and where they appear.
What About Sign Gifts?
1st Corinthians 1:22 says that “The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” And (possibly without exception) every time the Spirit chose to perform a healing, or a miracle, or a manifestation of tongues, etc., there were Jews present who still needed convincing, at some level. In Acts 3, where Peter and John were used to heal the lame man, it was for the specific purpose of drawing attention to the message of the Gospel and to convince the crowds of watching Jews that the Holy Spirit was indeed at work among them.
In Acts 10, when Peter and a group of other believing Jews went to Cæsarea, and presented the Gospel of Christ to a group of Gentiles (the household of Cornelius,) the entire group believed the Gospel, and were born again on the spot! They also spoke in tongues: The languages that those Jews understood, and which the speakers had not learned. Why? Because the Jewish believers needed proof that the Gentile believers did not have to “become Jews to be saved!
As far as I can see from scripture, the usual manifestations of miraculous sign gifts are (a) to draw attention to the message of Christ, and (b) to convince the children of Israel that Jesus truly is the Messiah. As far as I can see, the modern obsession with tongues and signs does neither. You can make of that what you will.
The Underlying Source of ALL the Gifts
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
These gifts, regardless of how they manifest themselves and through whom, and at what times, are for the general profit and blessing, and edification of the Church at large. And, we do not get to choose what gifts we will have.
We can earnestly desire to have certain gifts. (Paul tells us to “desire prophecy! Preaching! See 1st Corinthians 14:1) But the Holy Spirit is in charge, and He alone decides who gets what gift. He uses our physical body as an illustration of that concept.
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. 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 been all made to drink into one Spirit.
We are not going to spend a lot of time on this verse, but the baptism (immersion) of the believer BY the Holy Spirit INTO the Body of Christ, is the “real” baptism. Water baptism only commemorates the true baptism which occurred at the moment of saving faith.
Comparison: Body to Body
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
The point, here, is “every part of the physical body has a function.” They all work together for the good of the whole. An arm hair can transmit tiny vibrations to your brain, warning you that a mosquito has landed: Respond quickly, and you may avoid a bite. Ears can detect storms long before they are close enough to do damage. Respond promptly, and perhaps you can find cover.
Similarly, all the members of the Body of Christ work together to strengthen, feed, and protect the flock. We will look at this concept in more detail in the following messages. Meanwhile, read ahead: read Romans chapter 12 and Ephesians chapter four. Consider how God may want to use you to bless the other believers around you.
Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the Spiritual Realities you reveal in Your Word. Give us Grace to respond to your call, and serve one another in simplicity, to worship You in Spirit and in Truth.