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1 Coríntios 12

BLIVRE · Chapter 12/16

1E quanto aos [dons] espirituais, irmãos, não quero que sejais ignorantes.

2Vós sabeis que éreis gentios, vós vos desviáveis para os ídolos mudos, conforme éreis guiados.

3Por isso eu vos deixo claro que ninguém que fala pelo Espírito de Deus chama a Jesus de maldito; e ninguém pode dizer [que] Jesus [é] o Senhor, a não ser pelo Espírito Santo.

4E há variedade de dons, mas o Espírito é o mesmo.

5E há variedade de trabalhos [na Igreja] ,mas o Senhor é o mesmo.

6E há variedade de operações, mas é o mesmo Deus que opera tudo em todos.

7Mas a cada um é dada a manifestação do Espírito, para o que for conveniente.

8Porque a um é dada, pelo Espírito, palavra de sabedoria; e a outro palavra de conhecimento, pelo mesmo Espírito.

9e a outro fé pelo mesmo Espírito; e a outro dons de curas, pelo mesmo Espírito.

10E a outro operações de milagres; e a outro profecia; e a outro o [dom de] discernir aos espíritos; e a outro variedade de línguas; e a outro interpretação de línguas.

11Mas todas estas coisas [quem] opera [é] um e o mesmo Espírito, repartindo particularmente a cada um como quer.

12Porque assim como o corpo é um, e tem muitos membros, e todos os membros deste único corpo, sendo muitos, compõem um só corpo; assim também é Cristo.

13Porque também todos nós somos batizados em um [só] Espírito, para um [só] corpo, quer judeus, quer gregos, quer servos, quer livres; e para todos nós foi dado de beber um [só] Espírito.

14Porque também o corpo não é um [só] membro, mas muitos.

15Se o pé disser: Por eu não ser mão, não sou do corpo;Por isso, ele não é do corpo?

16E se a orelha disser: Por eu não ser olho, não sou do corpo;Por isso, ela não é do corpo?

17Se todo o corpo fosse olho, onde [estaria] o ouvido? Se [fosse] todo ouvido, onde [estaria] o olfato?

18Mas agora Deus pôs os membros no corpo, a cada qual deles como ele quis.

19Porque se todos fossem um [só] membro, onde [estaria] o corpo?

20Mas há agora muitos membros, porém um [só] corpo.

21E o olho não pode dizer à mão: Não tenho necessidade de ti;Nem a cabeça aos pés: Não tenho necessidade de vós;

22Antes até os membros do corpo que [nos] parecem ser os mais fracos, são muito mais necessários.

23E os que pensamos serem os menos honrados do corpo, a esses muito mais honramos; e os nossos mais desprezíveis têm muito mais respeito.

24Porém os nosso mais respeitáveis não têm [tanta] necessidade; mas [assim] Deus juntou o corpo, dando muito mais honra ao que tinha falta [dela] .

25Para que não haja divisão no corpo, mas que os membros tenham igual cuidado uns com os outros.

26E seja que, [caso] um membro sofra, [também] os membros sofrem juntos; e [caso] um membro seja honrado, todos os membros se alegram juntos.

27E vós sois o corpo de Cristo, e membros em particular.

28E Deus pôs a uns na Igreja: em primeiro lugar apóstolos, em segundo profetas, em terceiro mestres; depois milagres, dons de curas, socorros, lideranças, variedades de línguas.

29Por acaso são todos apóstolos? São todos profetas? São todos mestres? São todos com dons de milagres?

30Tem todos dons de curas? Falam todos [várias] línguas? Interpretam todos?

31Porém desejai com zelo pelos melhores dons; e eu vos mostro um caminho ainda mais excelente.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul teaches about the various spiritual gifts given by the same Spirit for the common good of the church. He uses the image of the human body, with its many different parts yet one unity, to show how every gift and every person has value.

Explanation

Facing possible disputes in Corinth over which spiritual gifts were more important or prestigious, Paul teaches that all of them come from the same Spirit and serve the same purpose: the good of the whole church. The body metaphor is powerful and simple: just as a body needs eyes, hands, feet, and ears, each with a different function, the church needs the diversity of gifts working together. No member can say it doesn't need another, and the members that seem 'weaker' actually receive special honor. Today's lesson is to value the diversity of talents within a community of faith, without artificial hierarchies of importance among different ways of serving.

Fun facts

  • The list of spiritual gifts mentioned here (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation) is one of the most complete in the New Testament, though Paul makes clear that this list is not exhaustive.
  • The statement 'no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit' (v.3) likely responds to some confusion in Corinth between genuine and false spiritual manifestations, helping the community discern one from the other.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Coríntios 12:1Paul introduces an important new topic for the church: spiritual gifts, which stirred up plenty of confusion and status rivalry among the Corinthians, as the following chapters show.
  2. 1 Coríntios 12:2Before discussing the gifts, Paul reminds them where the Corinthians came from: they were pagans, dragged along by mute idols, with no discernment of their own — a contrast with the real discernment the Spirit now gives.
  3. 1 Coríntios 12:3“Jesus accursed” may have been an actual phrase spoken by someone in a trance during the Corinthian gatherings, perhaps thinking they were speaking by inspiration. Paul gives a simple test: no one speaking by the Spirit of God would curse Jesus, which helps tell a genuine manifestation from a false one.
  4. 1 Coríntios 12:4The first of three statements that open the chapter: believers have different gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit — diversity isn’t a reason for rivalry, it’s part of the plan.
  5. 1 Coríntios 12:5Second statement: there are different functions (ministries) in the church, but they all serve the same Lord.
  6. 1 Coríntios 12:6Third statement: there are different ways these gifts operate, but it’s the same God working in all of them — three ways of saying the same thing, building the case for unity within diversity.
  7. 1 Coríntios 12:7Sums up the purpose of every spiritual gift: it isn’t personal status, it’s usefulness for the community — each manifestation of the Spirit serves the common good, not individual display.
  8. 1 Coríntios 12:8Begins a list of examples of gifts: a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge, both given by the same Spirit, but in different ways.
  9. 1 Coríntios 12:9The list continues: faith, in the sense of extraordinary confidence, and gifts of healing, also coming from the same Spirit.
  10. 1 Coríntios 12:10The list ends with the gifts that were most visible and most fought over in Corinth: miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, strange tongues, and interpretation — the same themes chapters 13-14 go on to sort out.
  11. 1 Coríntios 12:11Closes the list by repeating the central point: it’s the same Spirit distributing each gift, according to His own will — no one chooses or earns a “better” gift on their own.
  12. 1 Coríntios 12:12Introduces the chapter’s central image: just as a body has many parts but is still one body, the church, the body of Christ, is also one unity made up of different parts.
  13. 1 Coríntios 12:13Paul lists pairs that marked sharp social division in the ancient world — Jew and Greek, slave and free — to say that, within the church, baptized in the same Spirit, these differences in status no longer separate anyone.
  14. 1 Coríntios 12:14Reinforces the image before spelling it out: a real body is never made of just one part, it’s made of many — setting up the examples that follow about the foot, hand, eye, and ear.
  15. 1 Coríntios 12:15First example: if the foot wanted to feel excluded from the body just because it isn’t a hand, that wouldn’t change the fact that it’s still part of the body.
  16. 1 Coríntios 12:16Same example with the ear and the eye: envying another function doesn’t remove a person, or a gift, from the body it belongs to.
  17. 1 Coríntios 12:17A question that shows the absurdity of uniformity: if the whole body were just an eye, hearing would be missing; if it were just an ear, smell would be missing — each function matters precisely because it’s different.
  18. 1 Coríntios 12:18Corrects the envious reasoning of the previous verses: it was God who arranged each part in the body, exactly as He wanted — it’s not an accident or an injustice, it’s a design.
  19. 1 Coríntios 12:19Reinforces: if all the parts were the same, there wouldn’t even be a real “body,” just one piece repeated with no combined function.
  20. 1 Coríntios 12:20Sums up the resolution of the tension between unity and diversity: many members, but one body — the two sides coexist, they don’t cancel each other out.
  21. 1 Coríntios 12:21On the opposite side from envy comes arrogance: the eye can’t despise the hand, and the head can’t dismiss the feet — every gift depends on the others to work well.
  22. 1 Coríntios 12:22Turns the argument around: the parts of the body that seem weaker, perhaps the less flashy gifts, are actually necessary — not disposable.
  23. 1 Coríntios 12:23Continues: the parts of the body that culture considers less honorable actually receive more care and covering in practice — Paul uses this to affirm those in the church whose gifts are less showy.
  24. 1 Coríntios 12:24Explains the reason for that extra care: the parts that are already naturally honorable don’t need reinforcement, but God gave more honor precisely to the ones that had less — correcting imbalances of status.
  25. 1 Coríntios 12:25The goal of all this is to prevent division within the body, the church, so that each part cares equally for the others, with no hierarchy of importance.
  26. 1 Coríntios 12:26A practical consequence of unity: one member’s pain affects the whole body, and one member’s joy also spreads to everyone else — no one suffers or is honored alone in the community.
  27. 1 Coríntios 12:27Applies the whole metaphor directly to the Corinthians: you, as a church, are the body of Christ, and each person is a specific part of that body.
  28. 1 Coríntios 12:28The list of functions — apostles, prophets, teachers, gifts of healing, tongues — shows how the early church organized itself without fixed offices like today. Each function served the whole body, and not everyone has the same gift, which sets up the praise of love in the next chapter.
  29. 1 Coríntios 12:29After the list of functions in verse 28, Paul asks obvious questions: not everyone is an apostle, not everyone a prophet, not everyone works miracles — the gifts are distributed, not universal in every person.
  30. 1 Coríntios 12:30Continues the same logic with gifts of healing, tongues, and interpretation — no one has every gift alone, which should already put an end to the status rivalry among the Corinthians.
  31. 1 Coríntios 12:31Closes the chapter by encouraging them to seek the “best gifts,” but announces that he’s about to show them “a more excellent way” — the direct bridge to the hymn of love in chapter 13.

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