--- title: "1 Corinthians 12 - Study King James Bible with the church pulpit commentary" description: "Read 1 Corinthians 12 with the church pulpit commentary commentary. 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12" --- [ Read](/kjv/1-corinthians/12)[ Commentary](/study/1-corinthians/12)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/1-corinthians/12) Audio 1 Now concerning spiritual *gifts*, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and *that* no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another *divers* kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also *is* Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether *we be* Jews or Gentiles, whether *we be* bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body *were* an eye, where *were* the hearing? If the whole *were* hearing, where *were* the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if they were all one member, where *were* the body? 20 But now *are they* many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those *members* of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely *parts* have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely *parts* have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that *part* which lacked: 25 That there should be no schism in the body; but *that* the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 29 *Are* all apostles? *are* all prophets? *are* all teachers? *are* all workers of miracles? 30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? 31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. [1 Corinthians 11](/study/1-corinthians/11) [1 Corinthians 13](/study/1-corinthians/13) ## Commentary To verse 1 *SPIRITUAL GIFTS* **‘Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.’** ** [1 Corinthians 12:1](/kjv/1-corinthians/12/1)** ** St. Paul is setting forth to the Corinthians in this letter which he addresses to them a particular aspect of spiritual things. **I. There are spiritual gifts which are bestowed upon a man to his own sanctification**. **II. There are spiritual gifts which are bestowed upon him for the edification of others,** for the benefit of the whole body. ‘The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal’—to do good with; and so we read the list which he puts before them—wisdom, knowledge, faith, the power of miracles, prophecy or preaching, the speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. We cannot allow for one moment that prayer and religious exercises are waste of time, withdrawing a man from the more solid activities and offices of life. We claim for spiritual research a power as great or greater than that which belongs to physical or intellectual research. Look at St. John Baptist, withdrawn from the activities and instruction of the world to the very edge of the desert, where, with his back turned to the prizes and distinctions of men, he gazed out upon God, and turned round to give the message to publican and Pharisee, to the soldier and the simple man, which should best meet his needs and aspirations. Who shall say that his magnificent protest to Herod against his sin has yet spent itself in force? Would to God we had more like him, with that irresistible force of spiritual conviction which is at once a reforming and a constructive power. It was a spiritual force, again, which enabled the fishermen to overthrow their enemies and convert the Empire. **III. We are taking men too much at their own valuation,** and already we are beginning to find out our mistake. Every one can see for himself, who has eyes to see, that goodness, simple goodness, is still the greatest power in the world—that a man of sincere piety, who abhors compromise, and is not afraid of his principles, will carry all before him, and appeal to hearts which mere cleverness cannot reach or mere tact conciliate. Surely it is one of the most cheering symptoms of the day that we are still able to appreciate goodness; that although we are complacently spending money on a system of education in which religion has to fight its way to a scanty and grudged recognition, still, the type of man whom we admire is the good and the religious; not merely the morally uncorrupt, but the religiously true and pure. **IV. The duty laid upon us, not merely as men but as citizens, is tremendous.**—We owe to God our perfection, we owe to ourselves our salvation, but we owe to the world around us our sanctification. The man who neglects his prayers and his church, who starves the Spirit within him, is depriving the world of a spiritual contribution to its welfare. He is as one who refuses to pay spiritual rates. For this the State looks in the elections which send men to her Parliament, not for clever men merely, but for good men. We look for men, once more, who, like a great statesman departed, go ‘from communion with God to the great affairs of State.’ We want good men, and not merely clever men, to fill our places of business, to write our books, and to minister to the future and completeness of our life. But why look wider? We each in the circle of our own life owe this contribution to the age in which we live, to the place which we fill. As far as we are concerned, let us be as those who concerning spiritual gifts are not ignorant, and who know that God has given them the spiritual powers which He bestows upon them, that they may profit withal. —Rev. Canon Newbolt. **Illustration** ‘In the West Country, amidst the green fields and running streams, under the softly rounded hills of North Somerset, the tourist turns aside to see the remains of a Cistercian abbey, which still retains moulded in its buildings much of the domestic side of the religious life so suddenly arrested in the sixteenth century. Refectory, dormitory, cloister, common-room still remain, but the chapel has been razed to the ground, not one stone left upon another, save a few foundations to indicate its length and breadth, and a stone cross sunk in the ground to mark the site of the high altar, round which the religious life of that little community centred, where standing the traveller may still say, “Adorabo in loco quo steterunt Pedes Eius”—“I will adore in the place where stood His Feet.” This abbey is a type of many a living temple of God at this day. The devil has snatched at it, the world has coveted it, the flesh has desecrated it. The outward semblance remains diverted from its purpose, body and soul still serve the uses of some alien master, some lay impropriator, but the consecrated shrine of God’s Majesty is gone, the spirit no longer seeks God’s presence nor welcomes His approach.’ ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12","name":"1 Corinthians 12 - Study King James Bible with the church pulpit commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read 1 Corinthians 12 with the church pulpit commentary commentary. 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary","name":"the church pulpit commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians","name":"1 Corinthians"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/the-church-pulpit-commentary/1-corinthians/12","name":"12"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```