INTRODUCTION
Those who advocate for the doctrine of baptismal regeneration may use 1 Corinthians 12:13 as support. Dr. Jack Cottrell discusses 1 Corinthians 12:13 on pages 94-95 of his book entitled Baptism – Biblical Study (College Press Publishing, Joplin, MO (1989) 7th printing) [emphasis added]:
First Corinthians 12:13 teaches first of all that all Christians have been “baptized in the Spirit.” It is wrong to separate Spirit baptism from water baptism … Spirit baptism is a part of the same event as water baptism, it’s purpose is salvation; and it has been experienced by all Christians. There is only ONE baptism. … There is only one baptism, when we were immersed in water for the gift of the Spirit. … The second thing taught by this passage is that baptism is the doorway into the church; we were all “baptized into one body.”… The final point of this passage is that baptism is one important basis for unity of the church. … Thus the church is one because we all entered the one body in the same way, through the one baptism.
Post 31 reports the results of my observation of 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, as well as the larger literary context of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. The relevant takeaways from my observations are:
(1) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, in the larger context, Paul intended to convey to his audience that the church, i.e., the body of Christ, was one body with many members. God, not mankind, brought each member into the body of Christ. The members of the body must be different and carry their assigned functions for the whole body to successfully carry out its intended function.
(2) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, in the larger context, Paul intended to convey to his audience that there must be unity and mutual caring among the members of the body for the body to properly function.
(3) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul intended to convey to his audience that the common thread between the members of the body of Christ was salvation whereby each believer was indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
(4) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul intended to convey to his audience that a believer being immersed or placed into the body of Christ was an action carried out through the Holy Spirit.
(5) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul intended to convey to his audience that at the same time a believer was immersed or placed into the body of Christ through the Holy Spirit, the believer was imbued or indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
OBSERVATION OF THE TEXT
The Text – NASB95 & Wuest & Nestle-Arndt 28th Edition
1 Corinthians 12:12–13 (NASB95) reads [emphasis added]:
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
The Wuest translation of 1 Corinthians 12:12–13 (WUESTNT) reads [emphasis added]:
12 For even as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body being many, are one body, thus also is the Christ, for indeed by means of one Spirit we all were placed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free men. And we all were imbued with one Spirit.
The Hebrew Names Version of 1 Corinthians 12:13 reads [emphasis added]:
13 For in one Spirit we were all immersed into one body, whether Yehudim or Yevanim, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink into one Spirit.
The Complete Jewish Bible translation of 1 Corinthians 12:13 reads [emphasis added]:
13 For it was by one Spirit that we were all immersed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free; and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
1 Corinthians 12:13 in the Nestle-Arndt 28th edition reads [emphasis added]:
13 καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἐβαπτίσθημεν, εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι εἴτε Ἕλληνες εἴτε δοῦλοι εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ πάντες ἓν πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν.
The broader literary context of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 is in APPENDIX A.
Details of the Observation
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
1 Corinthians 12:13 resides in the larger literary context of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Johnson (J ohnson, A. F. (2004). 1 Corinthians (Vol. 7, pp. 229–230). IVP Academic) presents a general description of vv. 12-31 [boldfacing in the original]:
The Body of Christ Metaphor: The Functional Purpose of Gifts (12:12–31) Once before in this letter Paul clearly used the metaphor of the body to refer to the Christian community (10:17, “we who are many are one body”; possibly 6:15 also). Some two years later he used the same image briefly when writing to the Romans from Corinth (Rom 12:4–5). Later the body of Christ metaphor reappears in Ephesians (1:23; 4:4, 12; 5:23, 30) and Colossians (1:18; 2:17; 3:15). The image does not appear elsewhere in Paul or the rest of the New Testament; it is apparently limited to Paul and thus could be understood as his own live metaphor for the Christian community.
For our purpose, the main takeaways are first, that the church, i.e., the body of Christ, is one body with many members. 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14 (NET) reads:
12 For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body—though many—are one body, so too is Christ. … 14 For in fact the body is not a single member, but many.
Second, God, not mankind, brought each member into the body of Christ. God designed the members of body to be different, e.g., foot, hand, eyes, ears, nose, etc. 1 Corinthians 12:18 (NET) reads:
18 But as a matter of fact, God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided.
Third, the members of the body must be different and carry their assigned functions for the whole body to successfully carry out its intended function. 1 Corinthians 12:19 (NET) reads:
19 If they were all the same member, where would the body be?
Fourth, there must be unity and mutual caring among the members for the body to properly function. 1 Corinthians 12:24b–26 (NET) reads:
24b Instead, God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another. 26 If one member suffers, everyone suffers with it. If a member is honored, all rejoice with it.
Fifth, the common thread between all of the different members of the one body is salvation. More specifically, at some time in the past, every member exercised biblical saving faith so as to become a member of God’s family, i.e., the body of Christ, and be indwelled with the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NET) reads:
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.
Let’s take a closer look at verse 13.
1 Corinthians 12:13
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB95) reads:
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
In the Greek, verse 13 begins with καὶ, which the NASB95 does not translate. The conjunction καὶ is an emphatic conjunction which is used to show some form of stress—usually either by intensifying the force of a word or by expressing inclusion. See Lukaszewski, A. L. (2007). The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament Glossary. Lexham Press. The next conjunction is γὰρ which the NASB95 translates as “For,” and it functions as explanatory conjunction which is used to introduce an explanation of a previously mentioned sentential element. See Lukaszewski, Id. By his usage of the expression καὶ γὰρ, it appears that by vv. 13-31 Paul intended to intensely elaborate upon the broader principle of verse 12 (NASB95):
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Unity of believers accomplished by the Holy Spirit is an overarching lens through which to view v. 13.
Verse 13 continues with the prepositional phrase ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἓν σῶμα ἐβαπτίσθημεν, which the NASB95 translates as, “by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” The NASB95 translates the expression ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι as “by one Spirit” wherein the NASB95 translates the combination of the adjective ἑνὶ and πνεύματι as “one Spirit” with reference to the Holy Spirit. In reference to the above preposition ἐν, Thiselton (Thiselton, A. C. (2000). The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 997). W.B. Eerdmans), identifies a translation decision about the function:
A well-known decision which translators and interpreters are required to make is whether to understand ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι (v. 13) as locative indicating sphere in the one Spirit (NRSV, JB, Collins); in one Spirit (RV, REB, Barrett); or in a single Spirit (NJB); or as instrumental indicating agency: by one Spirit (AV/KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, Moffatt [although NIV adds a footnote, with or in]).
Logos 9 opines that the preposition ἐν is a preposition of means which Lukaszewski, Id. defines:
Use of a preposition to express the means of an action. It is to be noted that, in LSGNT, a distinction is drawn between this usage and the preposition of instrumentality. The former is not viewed as expressing agency but course, not the tool but the process.
Dr. Daniel Wallace opines on page 374 that the preposition ἐν is such that the Holy Spirit is the instrument by which Christ uses to baptize. Therefore, the translation of the preposition ἐν is “by.” See Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, (1996) Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. Note that Wallace points to a theological issue that supports the preposition ἐν being the agent [italics in the original]:
When is the prophecy of Mark 1:8 fulfilled? When would Christ baptize with the Holy Spirit?
In his book Prepositions and Theology, (Zondervan Academic, Grand Rapids, MI (2012)) on pages 230-231, Murray Harris opines that “in” is the better translation of the preposition ἐν in a locative sense that expresses the sphere or realm.
Prior to Jesus’ baptism, John the Baptizer prophesied:
Matthew 3:11 (NASB95) – 11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Mark 1:8 (NASB95) – 8 “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 3:16 (NASB95) – 16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John 1:33 (NASB95) – 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
In Acts 1:4–5 (NASB95), prior to His ascension, Jesus prophesied:
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Because this phrase (1 Corinthians 12:13) refers to Spirit baptism, John the Baptizer’s prophesy prior to Jesus’ baptism and Jesus’ pre-ascension prophesy seem to dictate that Christ baptizes a believer with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, “by” seems to be the better translation.
The NASB95 translates the expression ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἓν σῶμα as “we … all … into one body.” The NASB95 translates the preposition εἰς as “into,” and the adjective ἓν as “one.” The Greek noun σῶμα (“body”) refers to a church congregation or a body of believers.
The NASB95 translates the Greek verb ἐβαπτίσθημεν as “were … baptized.” According to BDAG (Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). In A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 164). University of Chicago Press) it means:
ⓒ of the Christian sacrament of initiation after Jesus’ death (freq. pass.; s. above 2a; Iren. 3, 12, 9 [Harv. II 63, 3]) Mk 16:16; Ac 2:41; 8:12f, 36, 38; 9:18; 10:47; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 22:16; 1 Cor 1:14–17; D 7 (where baptism by pouring is allowed in cases of necessity); ISm 8:2.—β. τινὰ εἰς (τὸ) ὄνομά τινος (s. ὄνομα 1dγב) baptize in or w. respect to the name of someone: (τοῦ) κυρίου Ac 8:16; 19:5; D 9:5; Hv 3, 7, 3. Cp. 1 Cor 1:13, 15. εἰς τ. ὄν. τ. πατρὸς καὶ τ. υἱοῦ καὶ τ. ἁγίου πνεύματος Mt 28:19.
The Greek verb ἐβαπτίσθημεν is aorist passive indicative first person plural finite verb, which refers to a definite act in the past done to a believer through the Holy Spirit.
The ἐβαπτίσθημεν refers to a Spirit baptism and not a water baptism. Spirit baptism and water baptism are not the same. Otherwise, the prophesies about baptism with the Holy Spirit would not make sense. Thus, in reference to the English translation of ἐβαπτίσθημεν, the Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek (pp. 374-375) contains the following exemplary definitions for ἐβαπτίσθημεν and related words: one who immerses; to immerse, dip, submerge; cause to sink; to be swallowed, drown; and dipped, dyed, tinted.
It seems reasonable to translate ἐβαπτίσθημεν as “immersed” consistent with The Complete Jewish Bible and the Hebrew Names Version. In the alternative, ἐβαπτίσθημεν could be translated as “placed” per the Wuest translation. Words like immersed and placed appear to be valid translations and do not possess the theological gloss of baptized that can result in an erroneous interpretation.
Tom Constable (Constable, T. (2003). Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (1 Co 12:13). Galaxie Software) explains Spirit baptism [emphasis added]:
The baptism of the Spirit took place initially on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:33; 11:16). Since then individual believers experience Spirit baptism when they personally trust Christ as their Savior (Acts 11:15–17; Rom. 8:9). … In Spirit baptism the Holy Spirit baptizes (Gr. baptidzo, lit. submerges) the believer into the body of Christ. He makes us a part of it. Water baptism simply illustrates this. Every believer experiences Spirit baptism regardless of his or her race or social status. We are now on equal footing in the sense that we are all members of the body of Christ.
The Jewish New Testament Commentary (Stern, D. H. (1996). Jewish New Testament Commentary : a companion volume to the Jewish New Testament (electronic ed., 1 Co 12:13). Jewish New Testament Publications) sees the preposition ἐν as one of instrumentality (“by”) [emphasis added]:
Whether Jews or Gentiles (literally, “Greeks”). See Ga 3:28&N for references to Sha’ul’s numerous other statements of the principle of Jewish-Gentile equality under the New Covenant, and a discussion of what this principle implies (and doesn’t imply) for Messianic Judaism. Here the basis of the equality is stated to be that both were immersed by the same Spirit into the same body.
For our purpose, possibly it is too fine a line to draw between Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit (Wallace) and the Holy Spirit baptizes (Constable). Suffice it to say that a believer being immersed or placed into the body of Christ is an action carried out through the Holy Spirit.
The NASB95 translates the Greek expression εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι εἴτε Ἕλληνες εἴτε δοῦλοι εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι as “whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free.” The NASB95 translates the conjunction εἴτε as “whether” or “or” and it functions as a correlative conjunction which occurs in set pairs in order to express a relationship between two sentential elements. See Lukaszewski, Id. This expression teaches the universal nature of the gospel call.
The Greek conjunction καὶ (“and”) functions as a logical connective which is a conjunction that connects an additional idea or grammatical element (word, phrase, clause) to a previous idea or grammatical element. See Heiser, M. S., & Setterholm, V. M. (2013; 2013). Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology. Lexham Press. As we will see, the additional idea is the indwelling of a believer by the Holy Spirit.
The NASB95 translates the expression πάντες ἓν πνεῦμα as “all … one Spirit.” Finally, the NASB95 translates the Greek verb ἐποτίσθημεν as “were … made to drink of,” and according to Louw et al. supra at Vol. 1, p. 252, it means, “to cause to drink—‘to give to drink.” The verb ἐποτίσθημεν is in aorist passive indicative first person plural finite verb. Robertson (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (1 Co 12:13). Broadman Press) teaches that “to drink of one Spirit” is a definite past act of a believer’s receipt of the Holy Spirit:
And were all made to drink of one Spirit (και παντες ἑν πνευμα ἐποτισθημεν [kai pantes hen pneuma epotisthēmen]). First aorist passive indicative of ποτιζω [potizō], old verb, to give to drink. The accusative ἑν πνευμα [hen pneuma] is retained in the passive as often with verbs that in the active take two accusatives. The reference is to a definite act in the past, probably to the inward experience of the Holy Spirit symbolized by the act of baptism.
Tom Constable (Id.) explains the expression of drinking one Spirit and its relation to be baptized (immersed or placed) into one body [emphasis added]:
The figure of drinking of one Spirit recalls John 7:37–39, where Jesus invited the thirsty to come and drink of Him to find refreshment. Baptism and drinking are both initiation experiences, and they take place at the same time. In the first figure the Spirit places the believer into Christ, and in the second figure the Spirit comes into the Christian. This is probably a case of Semitic parallelism in which both clauses make essentially the same point. We have come into the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit has come into us.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, my takeaways from my observation of 1 Corinthians 13:2 are:
(1) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, in the larger context, Paul intended to convey to his audience that the church, i.e., the body of Christ, was one body with many members. God, not mankind, brought each member into the body of Christ. The members of the body must be different and carry their assigned functions for the whole body to successfully carry out its intended function.
(2) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, in the larger context, Paul intended to convey to his audience that there must be unity and mutual caring among the members of the body for the body to properly function.
(3) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul intended to convey to his audience that the common thread between the members of the body of Christ was salvation whereby each believer was indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
(4) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul intended to convey to his audience that a believer being immersed or placed into the body of Christ was an action carried out through the Holy Spirit.
(5) By writing 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul intended to convey to his audience that at the same time a believer was immersed or placed into the body of Christ through the Holy Spirit, the believer was imbued or indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
Post 32 discusses the doctrine of analogy of faith with respect to 1 Corinthians 12:13. Post 32 presents the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12:13 and the application of 1 Corinthians 12:13, as properly interpreted, to determine the validity of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration.
VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU BELIEVE IN BAPTISMAL REGENERATION
Finally, let me quote gotquestions.org (link: https://www.gotquestions.org/baptism-Mark-16-16.html ):
If you believe in baptismal regeneration, you would do well to prayerfully consider whom or what you are really putting your trust in. Is your faith in a physical act (being baptized) or in the finished work of Christ on the cross? Whom or what are you trusting for salvation? Is it the shadow (baptism) or the substance (Jesus Christ)? Our faith must rest in Christ alone. “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Please read and take to heart what I write in the section entitled “IF YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN.”
IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT YOUR SALVATION
If you are unsure about your salvation, you need to check out my book The Salvation Meter: Biblical Self-Diagnostic Tests to Examine Your Salvation and Spiritual Growth (book link at Xulon Press: https://www.xulonpress.com/bookstore/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781662828638 ). At Amazon the book link is https://www.amazon.com/Salavation-Meter-Biblical-Self-Diagnostic-Spiritual/dp/1662828632 . I also have a website in which I am updating the content in the book. The link to my website for the book is https://thesalvationmeter.com .
IF YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN
… please (1) read through “God’s Plan of Salvation” so you can understand what God did for you through His only unique Son, Jesus Christ, and (2), from the bottom of your heart, pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” meaning every word. If you do, you will be reconciled to God – saved – through Jesus Christ.
God’s Plan of Salvation
In the beginning, God, who is holy, created the entire universe. As a part of His creative actions, He made humans in His image to know Him. For a while, everything was right between God and our ancestors, Adam and Eve. But Adam sinned, and his sin was passed down to all of humankind whereby we became separated from God. Nothing we could do on our own could bridge that separation so that without God’s intervention, hell would be our eternal destination.
Fortunately for us, in His great love and mercy God provided humankind with the only means of salvation, which is through Jesus Christ who is God’s only unique Son. While retaining His deity, God the Son became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law Himself and taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever repent and trust in Him for their salvation. Jesus rose from the dead, showing that God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice and that God’s wrath against us has been exhausted. He now calls us to repent of our sins and trust alone in what Christ did to save us.
If we repent of our sins and completely trust in Christ alone that He died for our sins and rose to life from the dead, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God.
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1, 27, 31; Habakkuk 1:13; Genesis 2:7, 18, 21-25; Genesis 3:1-7, 23-24; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:19-20, 23; 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 4:10; John 3:16-18; Mark 1:15; Romans 1:4; 4:25; John 3:5-8; 1 Peter 1:3.
“Sinner’s Prayer”
Lord, Jesus Christ, the only unique Son of God, thank You for Your free gift of eternal life. I know I’m a sinner who cannot save myself no matter what I do, and I deserve to spend eternity in hell. But, I know that because You loved me so much, You voluntarily died on the cross for me taking my sins upon Yourself, and You physically bodily rose from the grave showing that Your sacrificial death was sufficient payment to give me eternal life in Heaven. I now repent of my sins and trust alone in what You did for my eternal salvation. Please take control of my life as I now receive You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You so much for saving me. I am now Yours forever! (Scripture references: John 1:1-4, 11-14; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-26; Isaiah 53:4-6; Mark 1:15; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10, 13; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 10:27-29).
Upon your salvation, you must find a spiritually solid Bible-believing church that (1) teaches that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, (2) believes in the doctrine of the Trinity, which means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and each Person is fully God, and (3) teaches that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works (e.g., water baptism by immersion).
ONE CAUTIONARY POINT. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that once you become a Christian, your life will become easy. Most likely, it will become more difficult. God’s blessing of salvation and life’s difficulties are not mutually exclusive. Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” John 15:18 (NLT). Always keep in mind that you have an eternal home in heaven waiting for you per John 14:2–4 (NLT):
2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
1 Corinthians 12:12–31 (NASB95) reads [emphasis added]:
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:12–31 (WUESTNT)
12 For even as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body being many, are one body, thus also is the Christ, for indeed by means of one Spirit we all were placed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free men. And we all were imbued with one Spirit. For, indeed, the body is not one but many members. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were the hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God placed the members, each one of them, in the body even as He desired. But if all were one member, where would the body be? But now, indeed, they are many members, but one body. And the eye is not able to say to the hand, I do not have need of you, or again, the head to say to the feet, I do not have need of you. No, much rather, the members of the body which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. And the members of the body which seem to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor. And our uncomely members have more abundant comeliness. And our comely members have no need. But God compounded the body together, having given more abundant honor to the part which lacked, in order that there may not be division, but that the members should have the same solicitous concern about the welfare of one another. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. And as for you, you are Christ’s body and members individually. 28 And God indeed placed some for His own use in the Church, first apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then workers of miracles; then gifts of healing; also those whose ministry it is to help others; and administrators; and different languages. Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all are workers of miracles, are they? Not all have gifts of healing, do they? Not all speak in languages, do they? Not all interpret, do they? But be constantly zealous after the greater spiritual gifts. And yet I point out a superexcellent way.
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The Scriptures marked “NET” are quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked “GW” is taken from the God’s Word Bible that is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission.