1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 (NRSV)
Read 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Verse 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; Verse 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; Verse 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. Verse 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Verse 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, Verse 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, Verse 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. Verse 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Verse 12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. Verse 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Devotion
I have received many gifts over the years, but the one I remember best came from my parents during my junior year of college. I was heading to an overseas summer program, and they gifted me with a new sleeping bag, knowing I would be sleeping in youth hostels—and some even more primitive places—during those months. I used that bag all summer and for many years after. In fact, I wore it out! We tend to think of “gifts” as physical things, and specifically things we may have asked for or thought we needed. Paul tells us, though, that gifts from God may not be what we asked for, and are instead given to us for the “common good.” These gifts, activated by God in individuals, can be powerful. But when combined in all of us Christians, they are life-altering. And the good news is: They never wear out!
Prayer
Holy Spirit, activate in us the good gifts uniquely ours so that together we may bring wisdom, knowledge, healing, discernment, and more to the world. Amen.
Interested in digging deeper into today’s text?
Read more here.