Bible Commentaries
1 Corinthians 12

Verses 1-12

21 The phrase ..the Lord's supper " is misleading. Supper denotes an evening meal, but the word here employed has no such significance, though its first observance was at night. The word denotes the principal meal of the day, just as the word dinner does with us, without any reference to the time when it is eaten. The Corinthians brought their own dinners and ate them in the ecclesia. This custom was not approved by the apostle. He would have them eat at home.

23 The fact that Paul received a special revelation, after his severance from the rest, concerning the Lord's dinner, shows that it is in harmony with, and a part of, the new system of truth with which he was entrusted. It is in contrast with baptism, which he never received from Christ ( 1Co_1:17 ). He was thankful that he had baptized but few of the Corinthians. The Lord's dinner, however, he had given over to them pursuant to the special revelation which he had received. It was to be observed "till He should be coming". It is often called an "ordinance," (A V Eph_2:15 , Col_2:14 ), but this refers rather to the decrees issued by James ( Act_15:20 ; Act_16:4 ) which were hostile to us and were taken away by the cross ( Col_2:14 ). These were given by James, whereas the Lord's dinner was accepted by Paul from the Lord Himself, after his severance from the other circumcision apostles ( Act_13:2 ), to give to the nations to whom he was sent.

24 The word "remembrance" fails to give the full force of the Greek word here used. It is a strengthened form of the usual term for remembrance, denoting a voluntary and sustained effort, hence we render it recollection .

27 The manner in which the Corinthians partook of the Lord's dinner was not in keeping with the august solemnity befitting such a sacred recollection. The powers of the kingdom were still present among them and led to the judgment of those who had offended. Some suffered from illness and some even died. Even thus, the apostle explains, it is that such should not be condemned with the world. The discipline of the Lord is always salutary, even though it may seem most severe.

4 The threefold treatment of the subject of "spirituals" (as they are called in the Greek) is indicated in the opening sentence. First the graces are enumerated, as they are apportioned to each one by the spirit, in verses seven to eleven. Then the Lordship of Christ in the apportionment of service is illustrated by the figure of the human body, in verses twelve to twenty-seven. The rest of the chapter considers the operation of the graces under the disposition of God.

7 The spirit we have received, though one, manifests itself in a variety of ways. This was far more manifest among the Corinthians than it is today, for the signs which characterized that immature economy were closely allied to the miraculous manifestations which accompany the proclamation of the kingdom. As the next chapter explains, now that maturity has arrived, such exhibitions of the spirit's power are not in keeping with the perfection or maturity of this secret administration. Spiritual endowments were not confined to one member of an ecclesia, or even to a few. Each one was given some special evidence of the spirit's presence, with a view to the blessing of all. None of these endowments, whether wisdom, or healing, or languages, was the outgrowth of natural ability. Neither could anyone acquire them. They were apportioned to each one quite apart from human instrumentality. Though these endowments are no longer given, the divine principle still remains, that God chooses His instruments quite apart from their natural qualifications.

12 The figure of the human body is the most notable of all the illustrations of our relationship to Christ. It is the most marvelous example of unity with diversity in the realm of creation. Spirit baptism unites all who believe God to one another and to Christ, and dissipates all the physical distinctions which divide humanity into diverse and antagonistic classes, making them one in Him. In Christ there is no Greek and Jew, bond and free, male and female. In the Lord , however, in relation to service , these distinctions still remain.

Verses 13-31

13 The body of Jesus, or of the Lord, denotes His physical frame. The body of Christ, however, is quite a distinct thought. Christ, or the Anointed, is a title rather than a name. It suggests official position. We are not united to Him by physical ties, as Israel was, but by purely spiritual relationships. This is forcibly suggested by the two figures used, baptism, or dipping, and drinking. One spirit, within and without, binds us together and unites us to Christ.

The true ecclesia, or "church", today is not to be seen in the multitudinous organizations of

Christendom with their many heads, but in the one spiritual, invisible unity, composed of all who have God's Spirit, by which they are vitally joined to the living organism of which Christ Himself is Head. All the members of this spiritual body are mutually dependent on one another. Some perform one function, some another, but none can be dispensed with. No one can choose his own place in the body, for God reserves this entirely within His own power. It is futile to usurp some function for which we are not divinely endowed. It is failure when we do not exercise the function for which the Spirit of God has fitted us. Each one should be deeply exercised to discover his own place in the body, whether high or low, respectable or mean, and seek, by God's grace, to fill it. None can be apostles or prophets now, for their work has been accomplished. Few can be teachers, but the work of a pastor, who shepherds the saints, or an evangelist, who proclaims the evangel, is, in measure, open to all in a private, if not in a public way.

25 It is the privilege of all who love God to cooperate with Him in avoiding schism in the body of Christ, by cultivating a due sense of their dependence on all other members, and a godly solicitude and sympathetic regard for their welfare; and this, too, even when fellow members despise and oppose them and persecute them. The body is one. We need only act accordingly. Christ is its Head. We need only accord Him His place.

28 In the later revelation ( Eph_4:11 ) "suited to transcendence" ( 1Co_12:31 ), we have a revised list of the gifts. There the lesser graces, such as powers, healing, and languages are omitted. That this would be the case is predicted in the next chapter ( 1Co_13:8 ), where we are told of a time when the gift of languages would cease. The revised list given in Ephesians, however, looks backward as well as forward. Apostles and prophets are no longer necessary to the edifying of the body of Christ. We are distinctly told that prophecies will be abrogated ( 1Co_13:8 ) when maturity arrives. They were needed only so long as God's written revelation was incomplete. So that, today, the special gifts have narrowed down to three: evangelists, pastors and teachers.

31 Most of the graces were transient, suited to immaturity, hence the apostle seeks to lead them up to those which will remain in the impending transcendent administration, in which we find ourselves today.

1 The "gift of tongues", even when it was a reality, was nothing but a noise unless impelled by the power of love. Even those high endowments, such as prophecy and knowledge, amount to nothing unless love regulates their exercise. Yes, and every personal sacrifice, even martyrdom itself is without value apart from the spirit of love.

8 It would seem that a few were already mature ( 1Co_2:6 ), but the secret wisdom into which they were initiated was not made public until Paul wrote his Perfection Epistles, Ephesians ( Eph_4:13 ), Philippians ( Php_3:15 ), and Colossians ( Col_1:28 ; Col_4:12 ). The writing of these epistles was the signal for the abrogation of the gift of prophecy, as they completed the word of God ( Col_1:25 ), for the cessation of the gift of languages, as it was a sign of earthly powers in the coming eon, and we are blessed among the celestials ( Eph_1:3 ), and for the abrogation of the gift of knowledge (directly revealed), as there was a final written revelation.

9 These gifts belonged to the time of transition, when the full orb of truth was not revealed. When it was, there came the necessity of withdrawing much which did not accord with its final form.