1 Cor 12–14 - the longest section of the letter after 1 Cor 1–4. It is all about unity, diversity, and hierarchy.
Verses 12:1–3
Spiritual “gifts” - actually the word “gifts” is not present in the text. It is not good to be ignorant of them.
“Voiceless idols” - see Isaiah 44:9–20 and Psalm 115:4–11; 135:15–18. Paganism is associated with worshipping such idols (see also Isaiah’s challenge to those idols - Is 41:21–24).
“Lord Jesus” - the source of this confession is the Spirit of God. During the time of Paul it was also a political statement: Caesar is not Lord, but Jesus. On the opposite is a possibility of cursing Jesus. Did such thing take place during the time of Paul? No one under the Spirit of God could utter such a curse. Here, we realize that there is spiritual realm that influences human beings. Christians are influence by the Spirit of God, others by some other spiritual forces.
12:4–7
From the confession of faith in Jesus as Lord under the influence of the Spirit of God, Paul moves to source of all the gifts and their purpose.
Superiority and inferiority. Who is better than whom? Who has the most important function? Who has the best position? Who holds the greatest gift?
1 Cor 12:4–7. Reading this passage, we can notice the following:
There are varieties of gifts, But the same Spirit;
… varieties of services, But the same Lord;
… varieties of activities, But it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the same Spirit for the commonn good.
Gifts, services, and activities are all manifestations of Spirit, Lord, and God. They are not for personal ascendancy, but “for the common good.”
12:8–11
The manifestations of the Spirit. 1 Cor 12:8–10 - nine gifts; 1 Cor 12:28–30 - nine service activities.
In between, Paul inserts 1 Cor 12:20 - one body, many members.
Based on 1 Cor 12:12–13 and 12:27, we can say that:
The first two gifts are related to “word” - logos: word of wisdom (1 Cor 1:23–24; 2:6–7) and word of knowledge (1 Cor 1:5).
Next are related to ‘supernatural actions’: faith, healing, and “operation of powers”. Some think that here, faith has to be distinguished from a ‘believing faith’, namely the ‘saving faith’. They think here faith refers to what Jesus said in Matt 17:20.
Healing (Ex 15:26). Healing miracles of Jesus confirmed His messianic role, and healing ministry of the apostles showed the presence of the risen Christ in the Church (Acts 9:34).
“Operation of powers” is distinguished from healing. The key word used here is “dynamis” (see Mark 5:30; 6:5; 9:39; Luke 4:36). This “powers” were also evident in the preaching of Paul (2 Cor 12:12; Rom 15:19).
The last four spiritual gifts are: (1) prophecy (see Acts 21:8–11; 1 Cor 14:3–4); (2) discerning of spirits (1 John 4:1–3); (3) kinds of tongues (1 Cor 14:2.5–6) (4) interpretation of tongues (1 Cor 14:13.27).
12:12–31
The metaphor of body sums up Paul’s idea about the spiritual gifts. All are important, all are necessary for the community, and none should be considered as higher, better, or more important.
1 Cor 12:13. “All” means Jews and Greeks, slaves and free (Gal 3:27–29). That was the composition of the early Church.
“Baptized in or by one Spirit” and “one Spirit given to drink” - stresses the unity of the Church.
1 Cor 12:21 - a criticism of those who reject others - lower rank members in the community.
1 Cor 12:24–26 - a call to care for the least members of the community (see 1 Cor 1:26–29).
1 Cor 12:27 - applying the metaphor to the Church. Thus, each member of the Church is important (see also 1 Peter 2:5).
1 Cor 12:28–30 corresponds to 1 Cor 12:8–10. Paul indicates here that there is no one member of the Church who holds all the gifts. Thus, no one is self-sufficient. We all need each other for the growth of the Church.
Here, the charismatic gifts are structured from the first - the apostles - different from the Twelve, to speaking in tongues - was it intended to criticize those who possessing the gift of tongue looked down upon other members of the community?
Here, we have two additional ‘gifts’: “helps” - a gift of (financial?) support (see Rom 12:6–8); “governing” - the root word refers to a boat pilot, who knows how to navigate the waters. Thus, the gift would refer to leading others, giving advice.
Paul ends with an advice: eagerly desire greater gifts. However, he does not say what kind of greater gifts he has in mind.
Then, he promises to show them a “more excellent way”, namely love (1 Cor 13). For the description of Christianity as “the way” see Acts 16:17; 18:25–26; 22:4; Mark 10:52).