Spirit-given Unity, Diversity and Maturity (preaching resource for Epiphany 4)

This exegesis of 1 Corinthians chapters 12-13 provides context for the RCL Epistle reading on Epiphany 4 (2/2/25). Insights are drawn from commentary by Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary") and Bruce Winter ("New Bible Commentary"). 

Reconstruction of the city of Corinth in Paul's day (via Wikimedia Commons)

Introduction  

In 1 Corinthians chapter 11 Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to resolve the disorder occurring in its assemblies due to controversy about head coverings in church and wrong approaches to sharing the Lord’s Supper. Now in chapters 12 and 13, Paul addresses a third source of their disorder—the misuse of spiritual gifts: "Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant" (1Cor. 12:1).

Though they possessed many and varied spiritual gifts, the Corinthian Christians displayed immaturity in their use. How sad that the gifts given by the Spirit to create unity in the church were a source of disorder and division. To help them correct this, Paul offers instruction concerning the church’s Sprit-given unity, diversity and maturity.

Unity 

1 Cor. 12:1–13

Unfortunately, the church in Corinth was known more for division than unity. This should not be, for the church, in its very essence, is one in Christ. We participate in this unity and avoid division only when we follow the Spirit in four essential practices: 

1. Confessing one Lord (vv. 2-3)

2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul contrasts the Corinthian’s former lives as pagan idolaters with their present lives as Jesus followers. Once they worshiped dead idols, but now they belong to the one living God, the Lord Jesus. Their idols never spoke to them, but the Lord now speaks to and through them (as in the gift of prophecy)—doing so by his one Spirit. A principal message conveyed is the confession that “Jesus is Lord.” A sneering sinner may mouth these words, but that is not true confession. Part of Paul’s point is that a true believer is always in control of themselves when the Spirit speaks through them (1Cor. 14:32). Indeed, Jesus Christ the Lord is in charge. Thus any “Spirit manifestation” that robs a person of Christ-centered self-control is not of God; for, indeed, “the fruit of the Spirit is...self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23, NASB). 

2. Sharing in one work (vv. 4–6) 

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Note the Trinity here: “the same Spirit... the same Lord... the same God.” We individually have different gifts, kinds of service (ministries), and kinds of working (activities), but it is “the same God” who “works all of them in all men.” Note the universal scope of this statement: all humanity is included in the life of Christ, and the Spirit is operating in all men (though, of course, all don’t know this). As believers, we should be aware that our spiritual gifts are from God; and that the sphere for administering them must be with God and for God; and that the energy with which we use them comes from God. In this emphasis on God, there is no room for glorifying the individual bearer of the gifts—no room for self-promotion or a sense of superiority. It’s God’s work in which we may all share. 

3. Utilizing the one Spirit’s gifts (vv. 7–11) 

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

We share in God’s work by utilizing the spiritual gifts which are the “manifestation of the Spirit” in and through our lives. These gifts are not for individual glory, but “for the common good”—to edify the whole church. Paul lists here several of these gifts. Other lists are found in Romans 12, Ephesians 4 and 1Peter 4. When you combine the lists, you end up with about 20 gifts. Since the lists vary, we understand them to be representative, not exhaustive. No doubt, there are other gifts that God imparts. 

Paul mentions the gift of prophecy (v. 10).  In the early church this was both a gift and an office—prophets had a special place in the early church in conveying messages from God to edify, encourage and comfort the church (1Cor. 14:3). These messages were tested by the church to determine whether they were from God (1Cor. 14:29; 1Thes. 5:19–21). Ephesians 2:20 notes that the prophets, in concert with the apostles, laid the church’s foundation, which included producing writings that became the New Testament. These founding function of prophets and apostles is now complete and these offices are probably no longer in operation. However, the gift of prophecy may continue in certain ways—perhaps through inspired preaching. All such messages must continue to be tested by the church and line up with the Holy Scriptures.

Another gift Paul mentions is miraculous powers (v. 10). These were part of the credentials of God’s servants (Heb. 2:1–4) and included various types of miracles. These had a special place of prominence in the early church in validating the ministry of the apostles and prophets. They still seem to be present in the church today, but perhaps for different reasons. Paul also mentions gifts of tongues and the interpretation of tongues, and the message of wisdom and the message of knowledge. As we will note later, Paul’s concern is not so much the method or mechanics of such messages, but their content—all such messages must edify the church and not exalt the message-bearer.

Paul also mentions the gift of faith, apparently a special ability to deeply trust in God concerning his will for the church. The distinguishing between spirits was also an important gift in the early church since Satan tried to counterfeit the work of God and the word of God. Today, the Spirit especially uses Scripture to give us this discernment—helping us to distinguish true teachers from false. 

We thank God for all the gifts he gives, but we are not fixated upon any one of them. To be fixated would be to fail to understand the main reason they are given: to enhance our service of the Lord and to unite all our ministries together in one body. The Holy Spirit bestows these gifts “just as he determines” (v. 11), not as we might want. No Christian should complain about or boast about their gifts. We are many members united by the Spirit in one body, privileged to participate in the Lord’s one ministry in and through his one church. 

4. Sharing one baptism (vv. 12–13) 

12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

The church is Christ’s one united body. The Spirit establishes this unity by baptizing (immersing) us in the one life of the one Lord Jesus. This immersion—this participation—in the life of Jesus is for all, no matter their racial or socio-economic standing. We are all one in Christ, “given the one Spirit to drink.” It is unfortunate that being baptized by the Spirit (or in the Spirit) is often viewed as a way to distinguish a particularly “anointed” Christian. The baptism by (or in) the Spirit includes all, and incorporates all into the one body of Christ without distinction. Thus there is true unity and we must embrace, respect and promote that unity in how we use spiritual gifts.

Diversity 

1 Cor. 12:14–31

Part of the Spirit’s genius is to grant to the one body of Jesus a unity that is expressed through wonderful diversity of spiritual gifting. God loves variety. Indeed, life itself is a dynamic balance between variety (diversity) and unity. If the church is to truly express the life and love of the Father, Son and Spirit, there must by Spirit-anointed diversity. But that diversity must never be allowed to lead to disunity. We will see in 1Cor. 13 that love (the hallmark of Christian maturity) is what balances unity and diversity. 

Using the human body as his illustration, Paul now explains three important facts about Spirit-given diversity in the body of Christ. He does so in answer to the question: Why are there different functions and gifts in the body of Christ?

1. The body needs different functions if it is to live, grow and serve (vv. 14–20) 

14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If 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? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

No member should compare or contrast themselves with any other member, because each is different and important. The ear cannot see and the eye cannot hear, yet each organ has an important ministry. And have you ever tried to smell through your ears? There is a tendency for some people to magnify the “sensational” gifts. Some believers feel inferior because they possess gifts that do not put them in the limelight. But diversity does not mean inferiority for some. The sovereign Lord did not make any mistakes when he gifted the various parts of his one body. 

2. The members promote unity as they discover their dependence on one another (vv. 21–26) 

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

Diversity in the body is evidence of God’s creative genius. Each member needs the others, and no member can afford to be independent. In a healthy human body, the various members cooperate and even compensate for each other when a crisis occurs. The instant any part of the body says to any other part, “I don’t need you!” it begins to weaken and die and create problems for the whole body. No Christian servant can say to any other servant, “My ministry can get along without you!” 

God’s desire is that there be no division in the church. Diversity leads to disunity when the members compete with one another; but diversity leads to unity when the members use their particular gifts to care for one another by helping others function in their giftings. If one member suffers, it affects every member. If one member is healthy, it helps the others to be strong. 

3. Diversity of members fulfills the will of God in the body (vv. 27–31) 

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

It is God who bestows the gifts and assigns the offices. He has a perfect plan, not only for the church as a whole, but also for each local congregation. We have no reason to believe that each congregation in the New Testament possessed all of the gifts. The church at Corinth was an especially gifted group (1 Cor. 1:4–7; 2 Cor. 8:7). However, God gives to each congregation the gifts it needs when they are needed. 

In this paragraph, Paul points out that some gifts have more prominence than others. But this fact does not contradict the lesson already shared—that each gift is important and each individual believer is important. Even in the human body, there are some parts that we can do without, even though their absence might handicap us a bit. 

The apostles and prophets, of course, appeared first on the scene because they had a foundational ministry (Eph. 2:20). Teachers were needed to help establish believers in the faith. The other gifts were needed from time to time to help individual believers and to build the church. 

The Greek construction in 1Cor. 12:29–30 demands no as the answer to each of these questions. No individual believer possesses all the spiritual gifts. Each believer has the gift (or gifts) assigned to him by the Lord and needed at the particular time. 

As noted in v. 31, some spiritual gifts are greater in significance than others, and it is proper for the believer to desire these gifts (1Cor. 14:1). Paul put a particularly high value on prophecy, in contrast to the high value the Corinthians put on the gift of tongues.  

Maturity 

1 Cor. 13:1–13

Unity and diversity must be balanced and that takes maturity, and maturity comes with love. It is this love that Paul now addresses. The only way spiritual gifts can be used appropriately is when the ministers of those gifts are filled with and motivated by Christ’s love. Paul makes this point by explaining three characteristics of Christian love that show why love is so important in the context of Spirit-gifted ministry. 

1. Love is enriching (vv. 1–3) 

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Paul here names five spiritual gifts and notes that the exercise of these gifts apart from love amounts to nothing. For example, tongues apart from love is mere noise. It is love that enriches the gifts and gives them value. Ministry without love cheapens both the minister and those who are touched by it; but ministry with love enriches the whole church. Indeed, Christians are “taught by God to love each other” (1Thes. 4:9). God the Father taught us to love by sending his Son (1John 4:19), and God the Son taught us to love by giving his life and by commanding us to love each other (John 13:34–35). The Holy Spirit teaches us to love one another by pouring out God’s love in our hearts (Rom. 5:5). The most important lesson in the school of faith is to love one another. Love enriches all that it touches. 

2. Love is edifying (vv. 4–7) 

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor. 8:1). The purpose of spiritual gifts is to edify (build up) the church (1Cor. 12:7; 14:3, 5, 12, 17, 26). This means we must not think of ourselves, but of others; and this demands love. Unfortunately, the Corinthians were not loving toward one another in the way they conducted their public meetings (1Cor. 14:29–32). They were envying each other’s gifts, and they were “puffed up” with pride (1Cor. 4:6, 18–19; 5:2). Love for others would bring an end to all these divisive behaviors and attitudes. Indeed, love “is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1Cor. 13:5). Forgiveness, motivated by love, means that we wipe the record clean and never hold things against people (Eph. 4:26, 32). Love does not “delight in evil,” rather it “covers over a multitude of sins”(1Pet. 4:8).  It’s eye-opening to compare 1Cor. 13:4–7 with Galatians 5:22–23. You will see that all the characteristics of love show up in the fruit of the Spirit. Love edifies by releasing the power of the Spirit in our lives and churches. 

3. Love is enduring (vv. 8–13) 

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

In the early church prophecy, knowledge, and tongues generally went together: God imparted knowledge to the prophet who then shared that message in a tongue. Then an interpreter (sometimes the prophet) would explain the message. These were gifts that some of the Corinthians prized, especially tongues. However, these gifts are transient and imperfect (like an imperfect reflection in a crudely constructed mirror). Imperfect knowledge leads to imperfect prophecy, but when perfection comes in glory, these imperfections will fall away and be replaced by true perception. Partial knowledge will give way to full knowledge, just as we are fully and perfectly known by God. Permanence is only given to faith, hope and love. However, love has the top place. 

The Corinthians were like children playing with toys that would one day disappear. You expect a child to think, understand, and speak like a child; but you also expect the child to mature and start thinking and speaking like an adult. The day comes when he must “put away childish things” (1Cor. 13:11). This maturing must happen for the whole church (Eph. 4:11–16) and for individuals (1Cor. 14:20). We will not be fully completed until glorified at Jesus’ return, but we ought to be growing and maturing now. 

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit imparts a diversity of gifts to individuals in order to enhance the unity of the church. But diversity only leads to unity when the gifts are exercised with maturity—particularly love for one another. Spiritual giftedness is important, but unity achieved through love is far more important.So let us use our gifts, but always do so in love, and always with an eye toward the unity of the body of Christ.