1 Corinthians 12
by Pastor David Groendyk

This chapter is part of a larger section regarding the corporate worship practices of the church in Corinth. On either side of chapter 12, we see Paul discussing whether or not it is appropriate for a woman to pray or prophesy with her head uncovered in worship (chapter 11) and the role of prophecy and speaking in tongues in worship (chapter 14). All of this prompts a broader discussion on spiritual gifts given to the church in general.

One point that Paul makes clear throughout this chapter is the role of the Holy Spirit in giving gifts. All spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit equips every single believer with gifts. If you are a Christian and have been saved by Jesus Christ, you have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 13), and if you have been given the Holy Spirit, you necessarily have been gifted. This means that you are necessarily called and equipped by the Spirit to serve and to minister to the church. There is no such thing as a Christian who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit, and so there’s no such thing as an un-gifted Christian. Every single member of the body of Christ is indispensable to the body. If you have no idea how to serve the body, here are three questions you can ask yourself to hone in on how the church might need you: What are you good at? What do you like to do? What does the church need? Usually when we think about spiritual gifts, we just think about those first two questions. I’m sure many of us have taken some sort of ‘What Is Your Spiritual Gift’ quiz at some point in our lives. But let me encourage you with a different way thinking. Serving the church is about more than defining your personal skillset and only ever serving when that particular skill is needed. Serving the church is about meeting needs whenever and however they arise. Rather than boxing yourself in, think about what the body needs, and figure out how you can help. And if you feel inadequate for that task, remember that it’s the Holy Spirit who’s empowering you to serve.

What should this teach us about our various spiritual gifts? That there are no better or worse gifts. We shouldn’t ever disqualify ourselves from serving the body simply because our gifts don’t seem as important or as cool as someone else’s. Likewise, no one should ever look down on someone else because they don’t have the same skillset as you. Although some parts of the body get more attention or seem to be more important, every single member is indispensable. What lesson should that teach us? Unity. There should never be division or dissension because certain people are seeking greater honor for themselves than others (vv. 24–25). It can be easy to get either puffed up or depressed based on your own abilities or influence in the church, but neither of those mindsets are godly or healthy. Both are too focused on your own self. Rather, the goal of our gifts and of our service is so that everyone in the body would be cared for (vv. 25–26). Whether we’re ministering to the suffering or to the successful, the goal is the same—stay true to the confession that Jesus is Lord (v. 3). Every one of us should have the same goal, every one of us is limited in our abilities, every one of us has different abilities, every one of us needs to be ministered to, and every one of us has an equal standing before God in our salvation. Let us not cause strife and division by trying to elevate our own selves over the common good of the edification of the body and the worship and glory of the one true God.