1 Corinthians Chapter 12

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand about spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:2 Remember the lives you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols, things that have no life.

1 Corinthians 12:3 That is why I tell you: If the Spirit of God is in someone’s heart, that person can not curse Jesus. And when someone believes that Jesus is the Lord, he can say that only because the Holy Spirit is in his heart.

1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different gifts, but it is the same Spirit who gives them.

1 Corinthians 12:5 And there are different ways to serve the Lord, but we serve the same Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:6 And there are different kinds of ways that God works in the congregation, but it is the same God who helps people do all these things.

1 Corinthians 12:7 The Spirit shows everyone what he must do, because the Spirit knows what is best for the congregation.

1 Corinthians 12:8 The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge.

1 Corinthians 12:9 The same Spirit gives faith to one person and to another he gives gifts of healing.

1 Corinthians 12:10 The Spirit gives to one person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy, and to another the ability to judge what is from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages, and to another the ability to interpret those languages.

1 Corinthians 12:11 One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things. The Spirit decides what to give each one.

1 Corinthians 12:12 Every person has a body, but his body has many parts. Yes, there are many parts, but the many parts are one body. It is the same with the body of Christ. It has many parts.

1 Corinthians 12:13 When we were baptized, the Holy Spirit made us all part of one body. We are Jews, Greeks, slaves and free people but the same Spirit is in all of us.

1 Corinthians 12:14 Our bodies do not have only one part. They have many parts.

1 Corinthians 12:15 If the foot says: I am not part of the body because I am not the hand, is the foot then not part of the body? No, it is still part of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:16 If the ear says: I am not part of the body because I am not the eye, is the ear then not part of the body? No, it is still part of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, then the body would not have been able to hear. And if the whole body were an ear, then the body would not have been able to smell.

1 Corinthians 12:18 But now God has given different parts to the body. He gave every part as He wanted.

1 Corinthians 12:19 If the whole body were just one part, then it would not have been a body.

1 Corinthians 12:20 But now there are many parts, and there is only one body.

1 Corinthians 12:21 The eye can not say to the hand: I do not need you. The head can not say to the feet: I do not need you.

1 Corinthians 12:22 We think there are parts of the body that are weaker than other parts, but the body needs them.

1 Corinthians 12:23 And the parts that we think are not worth very much are the parts we give the most care to. And we give special care to the parts of the body that we don’t want to show.

1 Corinthians 12:24 The more beautiful parts don’t need this special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it.

1 Corinthians 12:25 That is why the body does not fight against itself, because the different parts of the body care for each other.

1 Corinthians 12:26 When one part of the body suffers, then all the other parts also suffer. And when the people praise one part of the body, then all the other parts are also happy.

1 Corinthians 12:27 All of you together are the body of Christ. You all are a part of this body

1 Corinthians 12:28 God gives each one of us a place in the church. First there are the apostles, 2nd are the prophets, 3rd are those who teach other people, then the people who do miracles, then those who have the gift of healing people and then those who help other people. There are people who can speak in tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:29 Not all of them are apostles, not all are prophets, not everyone can teach other people and not everyone can do miracles.

1 Corinthians 12:30 Not all have the gift of healing other people, not everyone speaks in tongues, and not everyone can interpret what people say when they speak in tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:31 Continue to give your attention to the spiritual gifts you consider to be the greatest. But now I want to point out a way of life that is even greater