1 Corinthians 12

 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

• This chapters on Spiritual Gifts that God gives us
• The public exercise of Spiritual Gifts
• Love more excellent than gifts
• Prophecy the best gifts
• Instruction as to spiritual gifts
• Concerning spiritual and is applied to things in the Divine sphere, as well as to those in Satan's realm
• Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
• It is put in contrast with that is natural as in "supernatural" would express the meaning.
• 1 Corinthians 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
• Meat = Food = Manna fell from heaven, for them to eat
• Psalms 78:24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
• 1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
• Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
• Drink = Hebrews 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

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

• Carried = led
• Matthews 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
• Acts 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
• Psalms 115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
• Even as ye were = as ye changed to be
• The popularity of different gods waxed and wanted.

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 Spirit.

• Give you to understand = make know to you
• No man = no one
• Calleth = saith "accursed Jesus"
• This was probably a form of renunciation
• Acts 23:14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
• Holy Spirit = This means acknowledging Him as Lord and Master, not mere lip service
• Roman 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
• If you believe in the Lord and own up to your belief, you shall be saved.
• Remember of course, believing in Him requires obeying His commands.

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

• Diversities of gifts
• Spirit = In these verse 4-6 we have the Spirit, the Son, and the Father working.

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

• Differences = same as "diversities" verse 4
• Administration = services

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

• Operations = working
• Roman 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
• When we were in the unspiritual, our old pre-Christian nature, the craving of sin worked in us.
•  All in all = all the gifts in all the members

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

• God's gifts to the saints

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:

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

• Selfsame = same
• Dividing = distributing
• Luke 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
• Father = Our Heaven Father
• Portion = like your money in the bank
• He doing this to himself
• Severally = In His own way

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.

• The many members of the body
• That one = the texts read "the" so also = so is Christ also

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.

• John 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit
• Gentiles = Greek
• Bond = slaves
• Have been = were
• Into = as above, but the texts omit, probably because of the difficulty of the expression; but eis may be rendered "at" the gifts of the Spirit being regarded as a fountain
• Acts 8:10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
• John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

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

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?

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.

• Hath = same as "ordain"
• John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
  17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
  18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
  19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
  20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
  21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
  22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
  23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
  24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

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

20 But now are they many members, yet but 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.

• Their mutual interdependence

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

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:

• Tempered.. together = mingled together, or compounded
• Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
• Lacked = came short
• Roman 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
  24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

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

• One for another = on behalf of one another
• That = In order that = Should have the same care = should care the same
• 1 Corinthians 7:31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
  32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
  33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
• Back then, The man would of have been gone months at a time
• Today, we have better ways of traveling
• Most married men want to care for their family
34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

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

• Whether = if at least
• Suffer with it = suffer together
• Roman 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
• This time He is coming, for the elect, when this dispensation ends.
• People will turn on you, if you tell them about the word.

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.

• God's provision for the church
• Miracles = power, as in verse 10
• Here it means "workers of miracles"
• Governments = The word means "guidance"
• Diversities = different kinds = not the same as in verse 4-6

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

• Diversities of gifts

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.

• Exhortation as to spiritual gifts
• Best = greater = more excellent
• Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
• Or, was this good law bad for me?
• Never, the law taught us right from wrong and by the commandment pointed out what was exceedingly sinful.
• By the way, it is one of Satan's pet tricks to blame something good for anything evil-to blame the law for man's fall rather than the sin of which he is the father.

• Exactly 2520 years from the exile of Benjamin, Iceland became an independent nation.

 

•  The first tribe to be conquered by the Assyrians was Manasseh, in 745 B.C. Exactly 2520 years later America became a nation on July 4, 1776.

(Leviticus. 26: 28-46) God warned Israel that if they persisted in continually breaking His Laws, not only would curses come upon them.

He would punish them for seven times, (a time being 360 years, seven times would be 2520 years) and would banish them from the land of Palestine and scatter them among the heathens (like lost sheep)

• Study the book: Abrahamic Covenant, (A study outline of the identity of God's people) By E. Raymond Capt - page 25