XII.
(1) Now concerning spiritual gifts. — Again the sequence of the topics treated of is probably decided by the subjects contained in the letter from Corinth (see 1 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Corinthians 8:1), and the Apostle replies to inquiries regarding the comparative value and importance of certain spiritual gifts. In this early age the Church was full of the divine energy of spiritual youth. From the indwelling Spirit of God resulted certain marvellous “gifts,” some of which ceased with the apostolic age — some of which seem to have lingered for centuries, even to our own day — declaring themselves intermittently in times of profound religious awakening. The party spirit with which the Corinthian Church seems to have been saturated naturally led to diverse views as to the relative importance of certain of these gifts — some were unduly exalted, some unduly depreciated. The truth that these gifts are valuable as evidence of the indwelling Spirit, and so far as they could be useful for the Church, was forgotten. The Apostle reserves for consideration in more detail (see 1 Corinthians 13) the special gift of tongues, which was, perhaps, the gift most exaggerated and most misunderstood at Corinth, and deals in this chapter with the subject of spiritual gifts generally. The subject of the chapter is The Source, Object, and Value of Spiritual Gifts, and the chapter may be thus subdivided: —
1 Corinthians 12:1-3. The confession of Christ as Lord is the true evidence of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11. The gifts of the Spirit are diverse in character, but the origin is the same.
1 Corinthians 12:12-30. The analogy of the human body shows that the spiritual Body (the Church) is not a collection of independent parts, but a living organism consisting of mutually interdependent members.
I would not have you ignorant. — Better, I do not wish you to be ignorant.