고린도전서 Chapter 12

Translation: ESV

4

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;

Key Message

Gifts are diverse, but their source is the one Spirit. Diversity is not division but richness.

▸Verses 12:4–6 have a Trinitarian structure: the Spirit (gifts), the Lord (ministries), God (activities).

Verses 12:4–6 have a Trinitarian structure: the Spirit (gifts), the Lord (ministries), God (activities). The diversity of gifts and the unity of their source is the key point. The various gifts all come from the one Spirit. Diversity is not division but richness within unity.

Related Verses

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
12

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Key Message

Just as one body has many members, the church is made up of those with diverse gifts and roles who are united as one in Christ.

▸This is the central metaphor of the church as the body of Christ.

27

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Key Message

The church is the body of Christ and each believer is a member of that body. This is the most fundamental theological definition of the church community.

▸This is the most essential definition of the church.

31

But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Key Message

There is a way more excellent than all gifts, and that is love. This is the introduction to chapter 13.

▸The final verse of chapter 12 is the transition point to chapter 13.