1: Now
concerning spiritual gifts brethren I would not have you ignorant 2: You
know that you were Gentiles carried away to these idols which cannot speak even
as you were led 3: Wherefore I give you to understand that no one speaking
by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed and that no one can say that Jesus is
the Lord but by the Holy Ghost 4: Now there are diversities of gifts but
the same Spirit 5: And there are differences of administrations but the
same Lord 6: And there are diversities of applications but it is the
same God who works all in all 7: But to each is given the manifestation of
the Spirit for the profit [of all] 8: For to one is given by the Spirit
the word of wisdom to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit 9:
To another faith by the same Spirit to another the gifts of healing by the same
Spirit 10: To another the working of miracles John 14:12 to
another prophecy to another discerning of spirits to another different kinds of
tongues to another the interpretation of tongues 11: But all these work
that one and the selfsame Spirit distributing to every one individually as [She] [1] wills[2] 12:
For as the body is one and has many members and all the members of that one
body being many are one body so also is Christ 13: For by one Spirit are
we all baptized into one body[3]
whether we be Jews or Gentiles whether we be bond or free[4] Galatians 3:26 and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit 14: For the body is not one member but
many 15: If the foot shall say Because I am not the hand I am not of the
body is it therefore not of the body 16: And if the ear shall say
Because I am not the eye I am not of the body is it therefore not of the body 17:
If the whole body were an eye where were the hearing If the whole were hearing
where were the smelling 18: But now has God set the members every one of
them in the body as it has pleased him 19: And if they were all one
member where were the body 20: But now are they many members yet but one
body 21: And the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you nor
again the head[5]
to the feet I have no need of you 22: No much more those members of the
body which seem to be more feeble are necessary 23: And those members of
the body which we think to be less honorable upon these we bestow more abundant
honor and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness 24: For our
comely parts have no need but God has tempered the body together having given
more abundant honor to those parts which lack 25: That there should be
no division in the body but that the members should have the same care one for
another[6] 26:
And when one member suffers all the members suffer with it or one member be
honored all the members rejoice with it 27: Now you are the Body of
Christ [united to one to the another as a single organism] and members out of
[it] individually 28: And God
has set some in the church first apostles[7]
secondarily prophets[8]
thirdly teachers[9]
after that miracles then gifts of healings helps governments diversities of
tongues 29: Are all apostles[10]
are all prophets Are all teachers Are all workers of miracles 30: Have
all the gifts of healing Do all speak with tongues[11] Do
all interpret 31: But covet earnestly the best gifts and yet show I to
you a more excellent way
[1] In the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old
Testament), The Holy Spirit is consistently referred to in the feminine, as Ruwach.
In the Greek New Testament, the Holy Spirit is referred to in the neuter, as Pneuma.
There is no hermeneutical case for referring to the Holy Spirit as, “He,” but,
there is a very strong hermeneutical case for referring to the Holy Spirit as, “She.”
All the while remembering, that only one member of the Godhead (God is a being—not
a person) actually has a physical human gender, and that is the man, Christ
Jesus.
[2] All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are
authoritative, in that whoever God chooses to manifest his gifts through, as ambassadors
of Christ, has the authority to use that gift. There is no historical or
biblical evidence that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are distributed according
to sex. But there is abundant scriptural proof that God can and does use anyone
he chooses, at any time he chooses, regardless of whether they are male or
female. Now, this passage, which states that it is God who distributes his authoritative gifts to anyone he chooses, presents a dilemma for
gender-divided hierarchal Christians. If women cannot speak or act authoritatively,
as the Spirit leads and gifts, then this passage must be speaking only to men.
But everyone knows that interpretation would be ludicrous, and no one has ever
had the audacity to set it forth. The Bible is full of examples where women spoke
and acted authoritatively. The only other option, exercised by many
denominations, is to deny that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are for contemporary
Christians at all. Getting rid of the gifts, neatly gets rid of the problem of
the woman problem, the problem of functional equality inherent in the
manifestation of the Gifts, which the Bible states are distributed to every Christian, individually—regardless
of sex—as the Spirit wills. There is
no scriptural basis for claiming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit were only for the
early Church and passed away with the Apostles of the Lamb.
[3] This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
It is not water baptism that baptizes a believer into the Body of Christ, it is
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that translates a believer from the Kingdom of
darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. 1 Corinthians 12:13 clearly states
that we are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This happens
the moment we are saved. There are filings of the Spirit, which can happen any
number of times in the life of a believer, in which any of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit can manifest through any person the Spirit chooses to work through,
but without being baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, we cannot
be saved. And this occurs only once. Salvation occurs the moment our faith
connects with Christ John 3:16, Romans 10:9-13. It is because of
this verse, that some denominations teach that without the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit one cannot be saved. They are
correct. However, they err when they add an additional requirement for
salvation by claiming the gift of tongues is the evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. When that logic is
followed, one is forced to conclude that without the evidence of the gift of
tongues, one cannot be saved. Other denominations teach that the gift of
tongues is not necessary to
salvation, but is the evidence of the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit. So, the question must be asked, if the gift of
tongues is indeed evidence of being baptized into the Body of Christ (One God
One Lord ONE baptism), and one cannot be saved without being baptized into the
Body of Christ (this is a clearly stated biblical fact), then how can anyone
say the gift of tongues is not required for salvation? What a conundrum! This
writer believes what the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:13. We cannot be saved without being baptized into
the Body of Christ by the Spirit of God. The gift of tongues is just that, a
gift. The answer to Paul’s rhetorical question, in verse :30 of this same
chapter, negates any claim that the gift of tongues is either evidence for the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit or a requirement for salvation. 1 Corinthians 12:30
leaves no room for argument; the answer to the apostle’s rhetorical question
(Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?)
is a resounding, No! All do not
speak with tongues. How many Christians have been made to feel spiritually
inferior because they do not possess the spiritual gift of tongues? God’s gifts
are distributed as He wills—not as we will. Yet, some denominations
continue to refuse perfectly qualified Christians positions in church
leadership, simply because they do not possess a gift that the scriptures
clearly state that all do not have.
This is wrong.
[4] The early Church was rife with class
discrimination and prejudice of every ilk. The problem persists today. In the
books of Acts and Galatians, we read where both Peter and Paul addressed this
sin in detail.
[5] The word, “head,”
generates all manner of debates among gender-divided, hierarchal, Christians
and those who espouse essential and functional equality among all Christians,
regardless of sex. The Church is “One Body,” yet it is claimed that males,
humanly speaking, are the “heads”—as in leaders—of all females. And those
making that claim, often Use the physical head in a body to illustrate
hierarchy. As we will show, that is a preposterous illustration. And that is
certainly not what this passage is doing. In fact, 1 Corinthians chapter 12,
establishes just the opposite. It is an unequivocal statement on absolute
equality between women and men. What is the head in a body? Is it the boss of
the body? Does the head tell the body what to do, and lead it around?
Impossible! The “head” is a house. And everyone knows a house, at its most
basic, is a repository—a shelter for people or things. As such, the head is used
by the body to store, support, and shelter the brain, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, (and
much more) etc. But the head itself, is
not capable of directing anything. It
is nothing more than skull, tendons, muscle, and skin (an over-simplified description
to be sure). Both men and women have heads. And the heads of women, serve the
exact same functions as the heads of men. So, Paul’s analogies of the Body of
Christ being “One” Body, with no part
being more important than the other—but every
member of the Body of Christ being one
with every other member, is a clear portrayal of essential and functional
equality among believers—regardless of sex.
[6] Verse :25 is an explicit statement of functional
equality between all believers.
[7] To say that the Spiritual/Ministry gift
of “apostle” was only for the early Church, is to contradict the passage in
Ephesians, which states the ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the
edification of the saints and will be present within the Body of Christ until
Jesus comes again. The gift of apostle, which is the pinnacle of leadership in
the Church (Paul explicitly stated, “First”), was also the first gift listed in
the Ephesian letter. Not only does the Church have apostles today, but from the
earliest times, God called and gifted women
to be apostles right alongside men. Consistent with this discourse, in his
letter to the Romans Romans 16:7, Paul acknowledges one of his
relatives, a woman named Junia**, as a “notable apostle.” The phrase in Romans 16, is translated by some, as
reading, “of note among,” rather than the literal translation of “notable
apostle.” This mistranslation (“of note” rather than notable), and translation supplement of the word, “among,” [which
is not present in the text, nor even implied) is intended to deceive readers
into believing this woman was merely someone the apostles “took note” of. That
is not the case. But, even if that were, complementarian teaching dictates that
Paul should not have acknowledged or set forth women as leaders in the Church—which
he did. The writings of Paul are very much at odds with modern patriarchal/male-headship
paradigms.
** Though
the English translation does not always reflect it, the Textus Receptus
(Received or Majority Greek Text) shows itself, in passage after passage, to be
a friend of women. The editor of the Received/Majority Text (which was written
in the Koine Greek—everyday language of the Greek speaking world—that underlies
the New Testament of the King James Version and a few other translations), did
not meddle with the original Greek by transforming Junia into a male by changing
her name to “Junias,” but faithfully recorded the Koine Greek text that
identified a woman as an apostle in the early Church. Some Bible translators—including
those of the KJV—translated Junia’s name accurately. On the other hand, the
editors of the Alexandrian/Egyptian Minority texts (written in the classical Greek of the academics),
performed a sex-change operation. Junia became Junias. Even so, most scholars,
admit that Junia was 1.) a woman and 2.) an apostle.
[8] Prophets are also listed, in Ephesians,
as ministry gifts which will be present in the Church until Christ returns.
Both Testaments (Old and New) confirm that women are called and used by God as
prophets. When God uses a woman as a prophetess, she is not restricted to
speaking authoritatively to women only. All prophecy, is authoritative—whether the
inspired utterance is a foretelling or the inspired preaching/ teaching of the
Word of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, is a remarkable witness to the essential
and functional equality of women and men in all aspects of leadership and
service within the Body of Christ.
[9] No one argues the ministry gift of
teacher is still present and operative in the Church, today. The contemporary argument
is that God does not call women to
teach, except as teachers to children and other women. However, scripture
contradicts the false teaching of complementarianism. Priscilla, a woman,
taught the great Apostle himself. He mentions her in more than one letter.
[10] This is a rhetorical question, and the
answer is, No.
[11] The answer to this and all rhetorical
questions in this passage is, No. Not every Christian will speak with tongues. So,
to view a Christian who does not speak in tongues as lacking in spirituality,
as not being Baptized in the Holy Spirit, or filled with the Spirit, is wrong...
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