Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:4 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES The design for which he refers to these various endowments is evidently to show those whom he addressed, that since they are all produced by the same Holy Spirit, have all the same Divine origin, and are all intended to answer some important purpose and end in the Christian church, that therefore none are to be despised; nor is one man to regard himself as authorized to treat another with contempt. The Spirit has divided and conferred those gifts according to his sovereign will; and his arrangements should be regarded with submission, and the favours which he confers should be received with thankfulness.

Sunday, May 7 The Church As a Body
Why should the church function as a whole?
1 Corinthians 12:7-25 Holman “7 A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: 8 to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages. 11 But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each one as He wills. 12 ¶ For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body––so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body––whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free––and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 So the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 Now there are many parts, yet one body. 21 So the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” nor again the head to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, all the more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. 24 But our presentable parts have no need /of clothing/. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, 25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.”
1 Corinthians 12:12 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN Unity, not unvarying uniformity, is the law of God in the world of grace, as in that of nature. As the many members of the body compose an organic whole and none can be dispensed with as needless, so those variously gifted by the Spirit, compose a spiritual organic whole, the body of Christ, into which all are baptized by the one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:20 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY God’s hand is over all, and the individual Christian can rejoice that he is considered worthy of a part, be it ever so small, in the grand work of bringing to a glorious close the plan of redemption.

Monday, May 8 Wisdom and Knowledge
Some gifts were given for learning.
1 Corinthians 12:8-9 NKJV “8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,”
1 Corinthians 12:8 ROBERTSON’S NT WORD PICTURES Wisdom is intelligence, then practical action in accord with it. Here it is speech full of God's wisdom (1Co 2:7) under the impulse of the Spirit of God.
2 Timothy 3:7 NRSV “who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”
2 Timothy 3:7 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY The religious dabblers possess only scraps of truth mixed with various errors.
1 Corinthians 2:5-7 NRSV “5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. 6 ¶ Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7 But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.”

Tuesday, May 9 Miracles and Healings
Some gifts were simply miraculous.
1 Corinthians 12:10 ESV “to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 12:10 COMMENTARY BY BARNES It is evident that the apostle there refers to the power of working miracles in healing inveterate and violent diseases…It is possible that it may denote what the Saviour had reference to in Mr 16:18, where he said they should take up serpents, and if they drank any deadly thing it should not hurt them; and possibly also to the power of raising up the dead. That this power was possessed by the apostles is well known; and it is possible that it was possessed by others also of the early Christians.

Wednesday, May 10 Prophecy and Government
Note the gifts given for the organization and unity of the church.
Romans 12:6-8 Holman “6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of faith; 7 if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.”
1 Corinthians 12:10,28 Holman “12 to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages. 28 And God has placed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next, miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages.”
1 Corinthians 12:28 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE As God has made evident distinctions among the members of the human body, so that some occupy a more eminent place than others, so has he in the Church. And to prove this, the apostle numerates the principal offices, and in the order in which they should stand…Apostles - Persons immediately designated by Christ, and sent by him to preach the Gospel to all mankind…Teachers - persons whose chief business it was to instruct the people in the elements of the Christian religion, and their duty to each other.
Ephesians 4:11 Holman “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,”
Ephesians 4:11 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Prophets were expounders and explainers of the will of God that had been made known to them by supernatural means. They are mentioned along with apostles in Eph. 2:20; 3:5. The idea of foretelling is not essential to the meaning of the word, nor is the predictive element found in all prophetic utterances (Acts 15:32; 1 Cor. 14:3). The prophetic gift was indispensable to the founding of the church in NT times, and is the appointed guide of the remnant church (Rev. 19:10)… The ministry of the evangelists appears to have been directed chiefly to the heathen, whereas the pastors and teachers served the local congregations…Any effective ministry is a teaching ministry.
Acts 9:10-17 God’s Word to the Nations “10 ¶ A disciple named Ananias lived in the city of Damascus. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias!" Ananias answered, "Yes, Lord." 11 The Lord told him, "Get up! Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street, and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He’s praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias place his hands on him to restore his sight." 13 Ananias replied, "Lord, I’ve heard a lot of people tell about the many evil things this man has done to your people in Jerusalem. 14 Saul has come here to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to put anyone who calls on your name in prison." 15 The Lord told Ananias, "Go! I’ve chosen this man to bring my name to nations, to kings, and to the people of Israel. 16 I’ll show him how much he has to suffer for the sake of my name." 17 Ananias left and entered Judas’ house. After he placed his hands on Saul, Ananias said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way to Damascus, sent me to you. He wants you to see again and to be filled with the Holy Spirit."”
Acts 13:1-3 God’s Word “1 ¶ Barnabas, Simeon (called the Black), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (a close friend of Herod since childhood), and Saul were prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me. I want them to do the work for which I called them." 3 After fasting and praying, Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul, and released them from their work in Antioch.”

Thursday, May 11 Tongues (revisited)
Why was the gift of tongues so important and why spoke in tongues the most?
Matthew 28:19-20 KJ21 “19 Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Amen.”
Matthew 28:19 COMMENTARY FAMILY BIBLE NOTES The making of all nations the disciples of Christ should be the great object of all. Some should labor for it in one way, and some in another, as the Lord shall call them. But all should strive together that the Scriptures may be translated into every tongue, and the gospel be preached to every creature.
Mark 16:15 KJ21 “And He said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.”
Romans 1:8 KJ21 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”
1 Corinthians 14:18 KJ21 “I thank my God that I speak with tongues more than ye all.”
1 Corinthians 14:18 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE He understood more languages than any of them did: and this was indispensably necessary, as he was the apostle of the Gentiles in general, and had to preach to different provinces where different dialects, if not languages, were used. In the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, and Latin, he was undoubtedly well skilled from his education; and how many he might understand by miraculous gift we cannot tell. But, even literally understood, it is very probable that he knew more languages than any man in the Church of Corinth.