Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 12
God was working powerfully in the church at Corinth. There was evidence of that fact in the wonderful gifts he had given them by his Spirit (12:8-10).
However, the Christians in Corinth were not yet mature in their relationship with God. That was clear from their constant arguments with each other (3:1-3). Probably they argued about which of them had received the best gifts from the Holy Spirit.
Such problems are not unusual. Even Jesus had to deal with these problems among his disciples (special students). On several occasions they had argued about who was the greatest among them (Mark 9:33-37; Mark 10:41-45).
Jesus told his disciples that the greatest among them must serve everyone else (Mark 9:35). In the same manner, Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth that they had all received their gifts from the Holy Spirit. The purpose of those different gifts was so that they all could help each other. All those gifts were the work of the same Holy Spirit; God was working in their lives.
When Christians are mature, they do not still argue about their own importance. Instead, they show love to other people (John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians chapter 13). They use their gifts to help weaker Christians.
In order to explain that, Paul used a word-picture about a body. A body has many different parts, but they all belong to the body. In the same way, there are many different Christians, but they all belong to Christ. They all need each other, so they all should love each other. God wants them to help each other and to take care of each other.
Next part: How the Holy Spirit works in the lives of God’s people (1 Corinthians 12:13)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.