HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  12.4 Gifts. The Greek term here (and in 1.7; 7.7; 12.9, 28, 30, 31; Rom 1.11; 12.6) is charisma, not the one rendered spiritual gifts in v. 1. A charisma is a benefit with which one has been “graced.”

  12.5 Services, or “ministries,” listed in v. 28; see also Rom 12.7. The same Lord, Christ; see also 8.6.

  12.6 On God, who activates, or works, in everyone, see also Gal 2.8; Phil 2.13; 1 Thess 2.13; Eph 1.11.

  12.7 The common good, or “the benefit of all,” a major concern in this Letter; see 6.12; 7.35; 10.23, 33.

  12.8–10 Similar (but not identical) lists of spiritual gifts appear in vv. 28, 29–30; Rom 12.6–8; see also Eph 4.11; 1 Pet 4.10–11.

  12.8 Utterance, or “word” (an intelligible utterance). Wisdom. See 2.6–16. Knowledge. See 1.5; 8.1; 13.2, 8.

  12.9 Faith, here the special ability, granted only to some believers, to do extraordinary things (see 13.2); not to be confused with the kind of faithfulness that is fundamental to the Christian life (see, e.g., 2.5; 16.13). Healings are attributed to Paul himself in Acts (e.g., 14.8–10).

  12.10 The working of miracles, apparently regarded as a more comprehensive gift than those of “faith” and “healing” see also v. 28; 2 Cor 12.12; Gal 3.5. Prophecy. See 11.4–5; 13.2, 8; ch. 14; 1 Thess 5.20. Discernment of spirits, perhaps the ability to distinguish between true and false prophecy, as in 14.29; 1 Thess 5.19–21; but see Acts 16.16–18; 1 Jn 4.1. Tongues, unintelligible utterance (in contrast to prophecy and the kinds of speech mentioned in v. 8); see 13.1, 8; ch. 14; Acts 10.46; 19.6. In Acts 2.4, 11 the same word is properly translated as “languages.” Interpretation of tongues. See 14.5, 13, 26–28.

  12.11 Activated. See v. 6. As the Spirit chooses expresses the sovereignty of divine grace; see also v. 18.

  12.12–31 Paul now introduces (vv. 12–13) and elaborates (vv. 14–31) his metaphor of the church as Christ’s body. Along with ch. 13, this provides a foundation for the more specific counsels that follow in ch. 14.

  12.12–13 Like certain other ancient writers, Paul regards the human body as illustrating the point that unity and diversity are not incompatible (see also vv. 14–16). Applying this to the church, conceived as Christ’s body (see v. 27), he alludes to an early Christian affirmation about the meaning of baptism into Christ; see also Gal 3.27–28; Col 3.11. Jews or Greeks. See 7.18–19; also 1.22, 24. Slaves or free. See 7.21–23. Made to drink of one Spirit may suggest that new believers become suffused with the Spirit at their baptism (cf. 10.3–4).

  12.14–16 Paul stresses the diversity, thus interdependence, of the body’s members; see also vv. 12, 20, 27; Rom 12.4–5; Eph 4.25; 5.30.

  12.17–21 The body’s diversity in unity is God’s own doing (see also vv. 24, 28; cf. 15.38).

  12.22 The members…that seem to be weaker, probably an allusion to the vulnerable but vital internal organs of a human body, thus by analogy the most vulnerable yet vital members of a Christian congregation. See also 8.7, 9–12; 9.22; 1 Thess 5.14.

  12.23 Less honorable…less respectable members, the genitals, which in many cultures are covered to avoid shame (see Gen 3.7–10); by analogy the members of lower standing in society, who are nonetheless important to the congregation.

  12.24 More respectable members, the parts of the body left uncovered; by analogy the congregational members of higher standing in society. The inferior member, perhaps better “the needy member,” which would include the weaker, the less honorable, and the less respectable (vv. 22–23).

  12.25 No dissension. See also 1.10. Care for one another. See also 11.33.

  12.26 Paul’s conception of Christian community as sharing in the sufferings (e.g., 2 Cor 1.7; 11.28–29) and joys (e.g., 2 Cor 2.3; 7.13) of others departs from the ancient Greek and Roman ideal of dispassionate self-sufficiency; see also Rom 12.15; 15.1; Gal 6.2.

  12.27 This description of the Corinthian church as the body of Christ makes explicit what seems implicit in v. 12 (if not already in 1.13; 6.15; 10.17). See also Rom 12.4–5. The metaphor is developed further in Colossians (e.g., 1.18, 24; 2.19; 3.15) and Ephesians (e.g., 4.4, 12; 5.23, 29–30).

  12.28 See also the list of gifts in vv. 8–10. Apostles. See 1.1. Teachers. See 4.17; also Acts 13.1; Rom 12.7. Deeds of power, miracles, as in vv. 10, 29. Assistance, perhaps helpful deeds in general (see Rom 12.8; also 1 Tim 5.10). Leadership. The same Greek term is used in the Septuagint to refer to offering wise counsel (Prov 1.5; 11.14; 24.6).

  12.30 Do all interpret? alludes to those who are able to interpret tongues; see 14.5, 13, 26–28.

  12.31 But strive for the greater gifts, or “Do you strive for the greater gifts?” The greater gifts are, in Paul’s view, those that build up the congregation; see 14.4–5. A still more excellent way than any spiritual gift is the kind of love described in ch. 13.

  1 Corinthians 13

  The Gift of Love

  1If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,a but do not have love, I gain nothing.

  4Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

  8Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly,b but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

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  a Other ancient authorities read body to be burned

  b Gk in a riddle

  13.1–13 This chapter has been introduced by the last sentence of ch. 12. Although there is nothing explicitly theological here, Paul presupposes what he has already said about love in 8.1–3. Thus, along with ch. 12 this chapter lays the theological foundation for the counsels in ch. 14.

  13.1 I, in this chapter either “anyone” or Paul himself. If the latter, the apostle is lifting up his own situation as exemplary. The tongues of mortals and of angels. The whole phrase may refer to the ecstatic utterance of those who speak in tongues, or else a distinction is intended between ordinary speech and tongues (“angelic” speech).

  13.2 Mysteries. See 4.1; 14.2. Faith…to remove mountains. See 12.9; also Mk 11.22–23; Mt 21.21; Mt 17.20; also Isa 54.10.

  13.3 Giving away…possessions. See Mt 6.2. Elsewhere Paul boasts in his weaknesses and sufferings; see 2 Cor 11.30; 12.5, 9–10.

  13.4–7 Love’s actions, as Paul identifies them here, stand in striking contrast to the prevailing pattern of conduct in the Corinthian congregation, of which he has been critical in earlier chapters. This description of love’s way (12.31) matches his understanding of both God’s love as disclosed in Christ (e.g., Rom 5.6, 8; 15.3, 7–8; 2 Cor 8.9; Phil 2.6–11) and what constitutes appropriate conduct for those who are in Christ (10.24, 32–33; Rom 15.1–2; 2 Cor 5.14–15; Phil 2.3–4). See also Rom 12.9–21; 13.8–10; Gal 5.13–14.

  13.7 The declaration that love believes all things, hopes all things anticipates v. 13.

  13.8–10 In emphasizing the limitations of prophecies, tongues, and knowledge, Paul seeks to correct the Corinthians’ inflated claims about these; see also 8.1; 13.2, 12–13.

  13.8 Paul regards God’s love as the ultimate and only enduring rea
lity. See also v. 13; cf. 8.1–3; Rom 5.5; 8.35, 37–39.

  13.10 The complete, an allusion to the promised eschatological fulfillment of salvation (see 1.7–8).

  13.11–12 I. See note on 13.1. Childish ways. See also 3.1–4; 14.20.

  13.12 Now…then distinguishes the present age from the age to come. Ancient mirrors were made of bronze, and those of Corinthian manufacture were noted for their excellence. Dimly perhaps describes the indirect, thus defective, view that one has of a mirrored object; see also 2 Cor 5.7. Face to face. See Ex 33.11 (also Deut 34.10); Num 12.8. As I have been fully known, by God; see 8.3; Gal 4.9.

  13.13 Faith, hope, and love. This triad is also visible in v. 7; Rom 5.1–5; Gal 5.5–6; Col 1.4–5; 1 Thess 1.3; 5.8; Heb 10.22–24; 1 Pet 1.21–22. The greatest. According to 12.31b, love is a still more excellent way than even the greatest spiritual gifts.

  1 Corinthians 14

  Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

  1Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2For those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit. 3On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church. 5Now I would like all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. One who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

  6Now, brothers and sisters,a if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played? 8And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9So with yourselves; if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10There are doubtless many different kinds of sounds in the world, and nothing is without sound. 11If then I do not know the meaning of a sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.

  13Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. 15What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. 16Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying? 17For you may give thanks well enough, but the other person is not built up. 18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

  20Brothers and sisters,b do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. 21In the law it is written,

  “By people of strange tongues

  and by the lips of foreigners

  I will speak to this people;

  yet even then they will not listen to me,”

  says the Lord. 22Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. 25After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, “God is really among you.”

  Orderly Worship

  26What should be done then, my friends?c When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. 28But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. 32And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

  (As in all the churches of the saints, 34women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. 35If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.d 36Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?)

  37Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. 38Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. 39So, my friends,e be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; 40but all things should be done decently and in order.

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  a Gk brothers

  b Gk brothers

  c Gk brothers

  d Other ancient authorities put verses 34-35 after verse 40

  e Gk my brothers

  14.1–25 The instructions about spiritual gifts offered in this chapter are based on what has been said in ch. 12 about Christ’s body and on the teaching about love in 8.1–3 and ch. 13.

  14.1 Because love is what matters most (ch. 13), those spiritual gifts (see 12.1) that build up the congregation are to be particularly valued (14.2–5); see 8.1; 14.12, 26; 16.14.

  14.2 Mysteries. See 4.1; 13.2 (not the gospel, as in 2.1).

  14.4 Build up the church, a special theme of this chapter; see also vv. 12, 17, 19, 26; cf. 8.7–11; 10.33–11.1.

  14.5 Even more to prophesy. See also Num 11.29. Interprets. See vv. 13, 26–28.

  14.9 See vv. 2–5. Into the air, to no effect (cf. 9.26).

  14.12 Strive to excel. See also 12.31; 14.1–5.

  14.13 The power to interpret, a paraphrase of the Greek; perhaps better “the gift to interpret” (see 12.10, 30).

  14.15 With the spirit…with the mind contrasts ordinary, intelligible speech with ecstatic utterances; see also Eph 5.18–19.

  14.16 Outsider. Whether Paul means a nonbeliever or another Christian is unclear; see also vv. 23–24. The “Amen,” the traditional congregational response to prayer, whereby it is affirmed; see also 2 Cor 1.20.

  14.18–19 Paul reformulates his primary appeal (vv. 1, 5) as a statement of personal resolve.

  14.20 Do not be children. See also 3.1–4; 13.11.

  14.21 Isa 28.11–12.

  14.22 Tongues…are…for unbelievers, prophecy is…for believers, evidently because tongues do not edify while prophesying does (see vv. 23–25), but the exact point is unclear and scholarly interpretations differ.

  14.23 Outsiders or unbelievers. Whether Paul is using these terms synonymously is uncertain; see also v. 16.

  14.25 Secrets…disclosed. See also 4.5; 2 Cor 4.2. Bow down…and worship. See Isa 45.14. God is really among you. See Zech 8.23.

  14.26–40 Paul gives directives about what should happen when the congregation is assembled for worship. Who, if anyone, presided over the proceedings is unknown.

  14.26 Hymn, lit. “psalm.” Lesson, lit. “teaching” (probably not a “lesson” from scripture). Revelation…tongue…interpretation. See 12.7–10. Let all things be done for building up, another way of appealing for love (see v. 1; 16.14); see also 10.23; 14.12; Rom 14.19; 15.2; 2 Cor 12.19; Eph 4.12; 1 Thess 5.11.

  14.29 Let the others weigh what is said. Ever
y prophet’s utterances are subject to critical analysis and evaluation (see also v. 32; 1 Thess 5.19–21). It is unclear whether others refers to all of the others present or only to the other prophets.

  14.32 The spirits of prophets. See also Rev 22.6.

  14.33 God…of peace. See also Rom 15.33; 16.20; 2 Cor 13.11; Phil 4.9; 1 Thess 5.23; 2 Thess 3.16; Heb 13.20. As in all the churches of the saints, sometimes seen as the closing phrase of the preceding sentence.

  14.34–35 Some interpreters regard the instruction for women to be silent in churches as a later, non-Pauline addition to the Letter, more in keeping with the viewpoint of the Pastoral Letters (see 1 Tim 2.11–12; Titus 2.5) than of the certainly Pauline Letters. See also Eph 5.22–24; Col 3.18; 1 Pet 3.1–6.

  14.36 Some interpreters who view vv. 34–35 as a non-Pauline addition include this verse as well.

  14.37 A command of the Lord, not a reference to some specific saying of Jesus (as in 7.10; 9.14), but to all that Paul has said, as an apostle of Christ, about spiritual gifts.

  14.38 Not to be recognized. See also Mt 7.23; 25.12; Mk 8.38.

  14.40 Underlying this directive is the one in v. 26, and underlying both is the appeal to follow the more excellent way of love (12.31; 14.1; 16.14).

  1 Corinthians 15

  The Resurrection of Christ

  1Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters,a of the good newsb that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

  3For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sistersc at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.d 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.