Outline
I. Introduction (1:1-9)
1 Corinthians 12 NLT
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding
your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you
to misunderstand this.
2 You know that when you were still
pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless
idols.
3 So I want you to know that no one
speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is
Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual
gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
5 There are different kinds of service,
but we serve the same Lord.
6 God works in different ways, but it is
the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us
so we can help each other.
8 To one person the Spirit gives the
ability to give wise advice ; to another the same Spirit gives a message of
special knowledge.
9 The same Spirit gives great faith to
another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
10 He gives one person the power to perform
miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the
ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another
spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown
languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
11 It is the one and only Spirit who
distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should
have.
12 The human body has many parts, but the
many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.
13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,
some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body
by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body has many different parts,
not just one part.
15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of
the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the
body.
16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of
the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the
body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, how would
you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell
anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God
has put each part just where he wants it.
19 How strange a body would be if it had
only one part!
20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one
body.
21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I
don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that
seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.
23 And the parts we regard as less
honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect
those parts that should not be seen,
24 while the more honorable parts do not
require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra
honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
25 This makes for harmony among the
members, so that all the members care for each other.
26 If one part suffers, all the parts
suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body,
and each of you is a part of it.
28 Here are some of the parts God has
appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are
teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those
who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in
unknown languages.
29 Are we all apostles? Are we all
prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles?
30Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all
have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to
interpret unknown languages? Of course not!
31 So you should earnestly desire the most
helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
1 Corinthians 13 NLT
1 If
I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others,
I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If
I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and
possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains,
but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If
I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast
about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love
is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or
rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no
record of being wronged.
6 It
does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins
out.
7 Love
never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every
circumstance.
8Prophecy
and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless.
But love will last forever!
9 Now
our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals
only part of the whole picture!
10 But
when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become
useless.
11 When
I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up,
I put away childish things.
12 Now
we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we
will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and
incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows
me completely.
13 Three things will last
forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 14 NLT
1 Let love be your highest goal! But you
should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the
ability to prophesy.
2 For if you have the ability to speak in
tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to
understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will
all be mysterious.
3 But one who prophesies strengthens
others, encourages them, and comforts them.
4 A person who speaks in tongues is
strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire
church.
5 I wish you could all speak in tongues,
but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than
speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the
whole church will be strengthened.
6 Dear brothers and sisters, if I should
come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I
bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that
will be helpful.
7 Even lifeless instruments like the flute
or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the
melody.
8 And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear
call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?
9 It’s the same for you. If you speak to
people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying?
You might as well be talking into empty space.
10 There are many different languages in
the world, and every language has meaning.
11 But if I don’t understand a language, I
will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be
a foreigner to me.
12 And the same is true for you. Since you
are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that
will strengthen the whole church.
13 So anyone who speaks in tongues should
pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.
14 For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is
praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.
15Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the
spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit,
and I will also sing in words I understand.
16 For if you praise God only in the
spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How
can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are
saying?
17 You will be giving thanks very well, but
it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more
than any of you.
19 But in a church meeting I would rather
speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an
unknown language.
20 Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be
childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it
comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.
21It is written in the Scriptures : “I will
speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of
foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the LORD .
22 So you see that speaking in tongues is a
sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the
benefit of believers, not unbelievers.
23 Even so, if unbelievers or people who
don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone
speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy.
24But if all of you are prophesying, and
unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting,
they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.
25 As they listen, their secret thoughts
will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring,
“God is truly here among you.”
26 Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s
summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another
will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and
another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must
strengthen all of you.
27 No more than two or three should speak
in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they
say.
28 But if no one is present who can
interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to
God privately.
29 Let two or three people prophesy, and
let the others evaluate what is said.
30 But if someone is prophesying and
another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking
must stop.
31 In this way, all who prophesy will have
a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be
encouraged.
32Remember that people who prophesy are in
control of their spirit and can take turns.
33 For God is not a God of disorder but of
peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.
34 Women should be silent during the church
meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as
the law says.
35 If they have any questions, they should
ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church
meetings.
36 Or do you think God’s word originated
with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given?
37 If you claim to be a prophet or think
you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from
the Lord himself.
38 But if you do not recognize this, you
yourself will not be recognized.
39 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager
to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues.
40 But be sure that everything is done
properly and in order.
