Paul starts his twelfth chapter in 1 Corinthians by saying he doesn’t want us to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. This can mean two different things: 1) we may simply not know anything about these gifts of the Spirit and are therefore ignorant about them. Or 2) as in the case of the Corinthian church, we may have the gifts of the Spirit operating abundantly in our lives and think we know all there is to know about them, but in reality, we know very little about their true purpose, value, and use.

So let’s not be ignorant but instead let’s take a closer look at these nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Right after Paul tells the people at Corinth to not be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts, he reminds them of their past in order to make a point. They were ignorant of the gifts of the Holy Spirit because before they came to Christ any mute idol was able to influence them and lead them astray. They had many misconceptions concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit so Paul sets them straight by illustrating the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.

It is a good thing to ask ourselves questions along this same line. Am I giving full control of my life to the Lord? Is the Holy Spirit able to influence me and lead me according to the Father’s will or am I allowing other things to have that influence over me?

As I mentioned earlier, there are nine spiritual gifts listed here in 1 Corinthians but that doesn’t mean each one is controlled by it’s own spirit or authority. (For example, the “spirit” of prophecy.) No. All of these gifts are from the Holy Spirit and Paul illustrates this by explaining how there are different kinds of Christian service and different kinds of Christian works but they are all under the direction of the Lord. In fact, the very ability to perform them comes from the Lord (verse 6 and also John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.)

Another reason why these introductory verses (1-6) are important to the topic of spiritual gifts is because it confirms for us that these nine miraculous operations are from God and NOT from any other unclean/evil spirit. This may be a minor point for some people but I can say from experience that it is a major reason why many Christians will not trust the Lord in this area. All of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus have trusted Him with our lives, for our very salvation, and we did this based on what the Bible said. So I ask why should we not trust in the Lord with this portion of Scripture also?

One last point that Paul makes before mentioning the individual gifts is the fact that all of the gifts are given for the good of every person involved, for the “common good” according to verse 7. This phrase in the Greek conveys the idea to banding together to contribute and help each other. So when the Holy Spirit allows a gift to manifest in our lives He bands together with us for the purpose of encouraging and strengthening the body of Christ. The gifts are not given so that some people will appear more spiritual than another, which could potentially cause division. Instead they should bring about a strengthening-together among believers.

Paul lists the nine gifts in verses 8-10 and does not separate them into categories. But for the purpose of studying them, it helps to break them into three groups of three.

There are the Revealing gifts which include:

• Message of Wisdom
• Message of Knowledge
• Distinguishing between spirits

There are the Spoken gifts which include:

• Prophecy
• Speaking in different kinds of tongues
• Interpretation of tongues

And there are the Action gifts which include:

• Faith
• Gifts of healing
• Miraculous powers

As the names of the categories suggest, the revealing gifts bring divine understanding to the believer, the spoken gifts require the believer to trust the Lord to utter words, and the action gifts perform a task through the believer that’s in line with God’s will.

This is part 1 of a 4 part study on the gifts of the Spirit.

The other sections are…

• Part 1: Concerning Spiritual Gifts
• Part 2: The Revealing Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 3: The Spoken Gifts of the Spirit
• Part 4: The Action Gifts of the Spirit