New Testament · Letters

1 Corinthians chapter 12

Now about , — I don’t want you to be uninformed.You know that when you were , you were somehow swept away to , led astray however it happened.So I want you to understand that no one speaking by says “Jesus is ,” and no one can say “Jesus is ” except by the Breath of God.Now there are different kinds of , but the same Breath gives them.There are different kinds of , but the same is behind them.And there are different kinds of , but the same God all of them in everyone.Each person is given .To one person, the Breath gives a . To another, the same Breath gives a .To another, the same Breath gives . To another, that one Breath gives the .To another, the ability to do . To another, the ability to . To another, the ability to . To another, the ability to . And to another, the ability to .But one and the same Breath produces all of these, them to each person individually, exactly .Think of it like a human — it’s one body, but it has many parts, and even though there are many parts, they all make up one body. That’s exactly how it is with .Because we were all by one Breath into one body — whether Jewish or non-Jewish, whether or free — and we were all given .After all, the body isn’t made up of one part — it’s made up of many.If the foot said, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” that wouldn’t make it any less part of the body.And if the ear said, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” that wouldn’t make it any less part of the body either.If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear anything? If the whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?But as it is, God has each part in the body exactly where he wanted it.If everything were the same part, where would the body be?But there are many parts, and yet one body.The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” And the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”Actually, the parts of the body that seem are the ones we can’t do without.And the parts of the body we think are — we treat those with extra respect. The parts that aren’t presentable get treated with special care,while the presentable parts don’t need that. But God has in a way that gives greater honor to the parts that lacked it,so that there would be no in the body, but instead all the parts would have the same for each other.If one part suffers, every part it. If one part is , every part it.Now you are , and each of you is an of it.And God has people in like this: first, ; second, those who ; third, ; then those who do powerful things; then those with the ability to heal; then those who ; then those who ; then those who speak in other languages.Not everyone is sent out with a message, are they? Not everyone speaks what God has revealed, do they? Not everyone is a teacher, are they? Not everyone does powerful things, do they?Not everyone has the ability to heal, do they? Not everyone speaks in other languages, do they? Not everyone interprets those languages, do they?But the greater gifts. And now I’m going to show you of all.