Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
This is the second subject for correction in the Corinthian assemblies: the 'first' was discussed, 1 Cor This is the second subject for correction in the Corinthian assemblies: the 'first' was discussed, 1 Corinthians 11:18-34.
Spiritual gifts - the signs of the Spirit's efficacious presence in the Church, which is Christ's body; the complement of His incarnation, as the body is the complement of the head. Foremost the gift of tongues is referred to here, as being the gift overrated by the self-sufficient, excitable, and loquacious Corinthians. By love pervading the whole, the gifts of the several members, reciprocally complementing each other, tend to perfect the one body of Christ. The ordinary and permanent gifts are comprehended with the extraordinary without distinction, as both alike flow from the indwelling Spirit of life. The extraordinary gift, so far from making professors more peculiarly saints than in our day, did not always even prove that such persons were saved at all (Matthew 7:22). They were needed at first:
(1) As a pledge to Christians who had just passed over from Judaism or pagandom, that God was in the Church;
(2) For the propagation of Christianity in the Church; (3.) For edifying the Church.
They continued down to the third century, when the Church rose on the decline of paganism. They were rare after the apostolic age. Now that we have the whole written New Testament, which they had not, and Christianity established by miracles, we need no further miracle to attest the truth. So the pillar of cloud which guided the Israelites was withdrawn when they were sufficiently assured of the divine presence, the manifestation of God's glory being thenceforward enclosed in the Most Holy place. Paul sets forth:
I.The unity of the body (1 Corinthians 12:1-27).
II.The variety of its members and functions (1 Corinthians 12:27-30).
III.The grand principle for rightly using the gifts-namely, love, (1 Corinthians 12:31, and 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.)
IV.The comparison of the gifts, (1 Corinthians 14:1-40.)
I would not have you ignorant - with all your boasts of "knowledge." If ignorant now, it will be your own fault, not mine (1 Corinthians 14:38).