Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 - New International Version (2024)

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Listen to 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Unity and Diversity in the Body

¹²Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body,^(A) so it is with Christ.^(B) ¹³For we were all baptized^(C) by^[a] one Spirit^(D) so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free^(E)—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.^(F) ¹⁴Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.^(G)

¹⁵Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has placed^(H) the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.^(I) ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.^(J)

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ,^(K) and each one of you is a part of it.^(L) ²⁸And God has placed in the church^(M) first of all apostles,^(N) second prophets,^(O) third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing,^(P) of helping, of guidance,^(Q) and of different kinds of tongues.^(R) ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^[b]?^(S) Do all interpret? ³¹Now eagerly desire^(T) the greater gifts.

Love Is Indispensable

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

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Footnotes

1 Corinthians 12:13 Or with; or in
1 Corinthians 12:30 Or other languages

Cross references

1 Corinthians 12:12 : S Ro 12:5
1 Corinthians 12:12 : ver 27
1 Corinthians 12:13 : S Mk 1:8
1 Corinthians 12:13 : Eph 2:18
1 Corinthians 12:13 : Gal 3:28; Col 3:11
1 Corinthians 12:13 : Jn 7:37-39
1 Corinthians 12:14 : ver 12, 20
1 Corinthians 12:18 : ver 28
1 Corinthians 12:18 : ver 11
1 Corinthians 12:20 : ver 12, 14; S Ro 12:5
1 Corinthians 12:27 : Eph 1:23; 4:12; Col 1:18, 24
1 Corinthians 12:27 : S Ro 12:5
1 Corinthians 12:28 : S 1Co 10:32
1 Corinthians 12:28 : S Eph 4:11
1 Corinthians 12:28 : S Eph 4:11
1 Corinthians 12:28 : ver 9
1 Corinthians 12:28 : Ro 12:6-8
1 Corinthians 12:28 : ver 10; S Mk 16:17
1 Corinthians 12:30 : ver 10
1 Corinthians 12:31 : 1Co 14:1, 39

FAQs

What is the lesson of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31? ›

First Corinthians 12:12–31 continues Paul's teaching on the spiritual gifts as they cooperate to empower God's will for the church. The Christian church is like a human body. It is one individual organism made up of many different parts that serve a wide variety of functions. All those functions matter.

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What does 1 Corinthians 12-31-13-13 mean? ›

Paul directs the Corinthians to the “still more excellent way” of faith, hope, and love (see 1 Corinthians 12:31; 13:13) because that way will bring them back to valuing one another more than their own knowledge, wisdom, prophecy, miracles, tongues, and all the rest.

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What are the greater gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:31? ›

I believe that in 12:31, Paul is looking forward, not backward. The greater gifts are faith, hope, and love; and the greatest gift is love.

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What are two important points that Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 12? ›

Paul insists that the display of spiritual gifts does not make one believer more spiritual or important than another. Every believer in Jesus has the Spirit, and the Spirit gives to every believer one or more spiritual gifts. The gifts are given for the common good, and the church is like a human body.

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What does 1 Corinthians 12 teach us? ›

Main idea: The church is one body made up of many different individuals who have placed their faith in Jesus. We are called to commit to a particular local church where we can use our spiritual gifts to love and serve each other and build up the church in love.

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What is the main idea of the biblical passages 1 Corinthians 12 12 27? ›

In this twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul is comparing Christ's spiritual body, the church, to the human body. Just as the human body consists of many different parts, so does Christ's body consist of many diverse members (coming from different backgrounds, possessing different spiritual gifts, etc.)

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What is the greatest gift in Corinthians? ›

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” is from 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV).

What are the 7 spiritual gifts in the Bible verse? ›

(John 14:26) It is through these seven gifts–wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord–that we grow in holiness and are continually reminded of God's loving presence within us and around us.

What is the message of 1 Corinthians 12 12 31? ›

The body consists of many parts, not one body part. Therefore, there is no one who should say that he or she does not belong to this body. We have shared the same conversion experience but we are different. Here is the great truth: different parts of the body do different things.

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What is the highest spiritual gift? ›

Wisdom. Wisdom is considered the first and the greatest of the gifts. It acts upon both the intellect and the will. According to St. Bernard, it both illumines the mind and instills an attraction to the divine.

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Why do some Christians not believe in the gifts of the Spirit? ›

Baptists do not ascribe to the gifts of the Spirit and have quite an aversion to speaking in tongues and prophecy. They believe in the Bible as God's Word and focus on that. Some of them can be very abrasive toward any Christian who practices the gifts of the Spirit.

What does it mean to visit orphans and widows in their affliction? ›

Visiting orphans and widows is so much more than just taking a trip to another country to hand out some food to people you will never see again; visiting orphans and widows means to look after, to take care of, to provide for, with the implication of continuous responsibility.

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For what purpose are spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12 7? ›

The purpose of the gifts is to build up the church, to serve other Christians. First Corinthians 12:1–11 details Paul's specific teaching on what spiritual gifts are, who receives them, and why they are given. Every believer in Jesus is spiritual, because each Christian has God's Spirit with him or her.

Learn More Now ›

What does for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance mean? ›

Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” “Without repentance” means that God won't change His mind about what He has called you to do. If God has called you, that calling is still there, whether or not you have obeyed.