1 Corinthians 12:1-11
About the Text
(1) What are "spiritual gifts"?These are special abilities that God's Holy Spirit gives to believers. The believers of the early church in Corinth knew that they possessed such special abilities, but held the gift of tongues (the supernatural speaking of an unintelligible language) as the only genuine gift. Paul writes these verses and the next two chapters to refute their error.
(2) Why did Paul mention the Corinthians' former pagan background? Probably to remind them of their tendency to be led astray by the practices of pagan cults. Pagan cults are often very "religious," that is, they often have extreme practices that those unaware will mistake for holiness. See for example 1 Kings 18:28-29, where the prophets of the Baal cult frantically slashed themselves with swords to gain the attention of the "gods." The Corinthians, though believers, were still attracted to such religious ecstasy. Paul points out that it would be a mistake for them to ignore the more ordinary practices of Christians as true workings of God. Today, we also tend to be attracted to one form of religion or another, to the exclusion of other workings of God. Those who seek only those churches that speak in tongues, for example, could be missing out on other fine churches where God is surely working powerfully. Paul's point is that true "spirituality" takes on a vast variety of forms.
(3) What does this verse have to do with spiritual gifts? It means that a spiritual gift should be judged not merely by the intensity of the experience (which was the error of the Corinthians) but by the content of its message, the message that Jesus is Lord. In other words, a believer's abilities are truly from God (true spiritual gifts) if they exalt Jesus Christ as Lord. This was Paul's criterion for discerning spiritual gifts. The mark of a true spiritual gift has nothing to do with how supernatural the ability seems, nor how emotionally intense it feels. Paul gave only one criterion, which is why in the next couple of verses he says that these spiritual gifts take on much more variety than we think.
(8) What is a "message of wisdom"? In light of 1 Cor. 2:6-16, where "wisdom" is the message of Christ crucified, a "message of wisdom" is therefore a believer's God-given ability to explain the story of Jesus Christ's work to others in a clear, insightful way.
(8) What is a "message of knowledge"? Scholars are unsure because there is little mention of this term in other parts of Scripture. Some Christians believe it is a form of clairvoyance, i.e. the supernatural ability to gather information apart from ordinary means. But such a conclusion would be speculative because of the lack of Scriptural evidence.
(9) Why is "faith" listed as a spiritual gift when every Christian is supposed to have it? This verse is not referring to "saving faith," which all true believers have, but rather "working faith," the kind that "moves mountains," cf. 1 Cor. 13:2. God gives a few Christians such extraordinary faith that extraordinary things happen.
(10) What is the gift of "prophecy"? It is the ability to communicate a revelation from God. It includes the supernatural ability to foretell the future (as did the Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of Christ), as well as the ability to explain and apply Scripture, which is itself a revelation from God. Acts 2:17-18 indicates that all Christians have this ability to some extent (e.g. we should all be able to explain Jesus Christ to our kids). But some have this ability in greater measure than others.
(10) What is "speaking in tongues" like? It is the praying or speaking in a language that the speaker has not known prior to the utterance, nor do listeners understand. It sounds like foreign language that no one understands, except for a few. These few are said to have the gift of "interpretation."
Insights
The Bottom Line
Use your spiritual gift, no matter how different it is. Jesus Christ died on a cross not only to earn for us the forgiveness of sins, but also the many blessings of salvation. God gives all these blessings to all those who believe in the story of Jesus Christ. Those blessings include spiritual gifts, i.e. the special abilities given by the Holy Spirit to each and every believer so that he can serve others. These gifts are sometimes not immediately recognized as useful by others, yet God encourages us to use them for His glory. The musician, for example, who is able to compose God-exalting music for the electric guitar, might not find immediate acceptance at a traditional pipe-organ-style church. Yet God wants such a believer to find ways to use his gift, perhaps elsewhere if need be. Also, the church as a whole needs to create more opportunities for Christians to exercise their gifts, even though they may seem unconventional at first.