The Gifts of the Spirit in the Service of the Church[a]
Chapter 12
Discerning the Gifts of the Spirit. 1 Now in regard to the gifts of the Spirit, brethren, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were still pagans you were constantly being enticed and led astray to the worship of mute idols. 3 Therefore, I wish you to understand that no one speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God says, “May Jesus be cursed.”[b] Likewise, no one can say “Jesus is Lord,” except under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit Distributes the Gifts for the Common Good.[c] 4 There are different varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different forms of activity, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
7 To each of us, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one, is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom; and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. 9 Another by the same Spirit is granted faith, while still another is granted the gift of healing by the same Spirit.
10 To one, is granted the gift of mighty deeds;[d] to another, the gift of prophecy; and to yet another, the gift to discern spirits. One receives the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. 11 One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing them individually to each person as he wills.
12 You Are the Body of Christ.[e] The body is one, although it has many parts; and all the parts, though many, form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is one, although it has many parts. 15 If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it nevertheless still belongs to the body. 16 Or if an ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it nevertheless still belongs to the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, how would we be able to hear? If the whole body were an ear, how would we exercise a sense of smell? 18 But God arranged each part in the body as he intended. 19 If all the members were identical, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many members, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” any more than the head can say to the feet, “I do not need you.” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are in fact indispensable, 23 and those parts of the body that we regard as less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable parts are treated with greater propriety, 24 whereas our more respectable members have no need of this.
But God has so designed the body as to give greater honor to the more humble parts, 25 in order that there may be no dissension within the body and each part may have equal concern for all the others. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it. If one member is honored, all the members rejoice together with it.
27 You therefore are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it. 28 And those whom God has appointed in the Church are first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then doers of mighty deeds, those who have the gifts of healing, helping others, administering, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all doers of mighty deeds? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Set your hearts on the greater gifts.
Hymn to Love.[f] Now I will show you a more excellent way.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 12:1 These pages have new relevance today. Such words as “charism” and “prophet” have once again become common in the Church. We are deeply interested in the relationships, undertakings, and inspirations that characterize the life and vitality of communities. God does indeed grant the grace of renewal for the sake of the authentic development of the Christian community. Nevertheless, we should not stop at the visible gifts, but should seek initiatives that help to unite the community and promote true love and the knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Christian experience is not a spectacle but a lived reality. This is a principle for discernment.
- 1 Corinthians 12:3 Cursed: to say this is to fail to recognize Jesus as the messenger of God (see Jn 8:48f; 9:24).
- 1 Corinthians 12:4 Note that these verses speak of the intervention of the three divine Persons. The charismatic movement cannot become a competition of visions nor a conflict of claims and a quest for prestige.
- 1 Corinthians 12:10 Mighty deeds: this phrase refers to actions that cannot be explained by natural means—hence, actions of God intended to show his power and purpose.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 The Church, united and in harmony like a physical body, really forms the Body of Christ (1 Cor 10:17; Col 1:8-24; Eph 1:22-23; 5:23), brought into being by participation in his Eucharistic Body and given life by the life of the Spirit. This is one of Paul’s major ideas regarding the mystery of the Church.
- 1 Corinthians 12:31 This may be termed a passage for the ages. The word “love” summarizes for Paul all the newness that Jesus brings to the world. Wherever love exists, something of the eternal and the divine enters into the life and communication of human beings. In comparison to love, every other value is relative and transitory; love is the ultimate meaning.
We should leave aside all the cloying sentiments with which the words “love” and “charity” are often burdened and read these few strophes to rediscover this supreme reality that is so simple, so demanding, and so sublime. What a reversal this emphasis on genuine love is for the Corinthians! All the gifts that they like permit pretense, vanity, and ostentation even in the religious sphere; love is the direct opposite of all that.
Where love is lacking, all the charisms lose their power and meaning, even those that are the most needed and the most fruitful for the mission of the Church. The gifts are all provisional. When humankind attains its completion in the love of God, it will be genuinely and definitively fulfilled. In the fullness of this communion and in the complete vision of the Lord, faith and hope themselves will be left behind. But love alone will remain; it is eternal, for God is love (1 Jn 4:8). Even on earth, love is the reality and the power by which Christians must live.