1 Corinthians 12

Introduction

In chapter 12, Paul turns to a new topic that the Corinthians had raised in their letter to him: spiritual gifts. The phrase "now concerning" (peri de) signals a shift to a new subject from their written questions, the same formula he used when addressing marriage (7:1), food offered to idols (8:1), and the collection (16:1). The Corinthian church was richly gifted -- Paul had already acknowledged this in 1:7 -- but their use of spiritual gifts had become a source of division and pride rather than unity and mutual edification. Some believers, likely those who spoke in tongues, appear to have regarded their particular gift as evidence of superior spirituality, while others felt inferior or excluded. Paul's response is both theological and pastoral: he grounds the diversity of gifts in the unity of the triune God (vv. 4-6), insists that every gift is a manifestation of the one Spirit given for the common good (v. 7), and then develops the extended analogy of the human body to demonstrate that diversity and unity are not in tension but are both essential to the church's identity as the body of Christ.

The chapter unfolds in a carefully constructed argument. Paul begins with a foundational test for distinguishing genuine Spirit-inspired speech from its counterfeits (vv. 1-3), then catalogs the variety of gifts while anchoring them all in one Spirit, one Lord, and one God (vv. 4-11). The body analogy occupies the center of the chapter (vv. 12-26), first addressing those who feel they do not belong because their gifts seem less impressive (vv. 14-20), then rebuking those who dismiss others as unnecessary (vv. 21-26). Paul concludes by applying the analogy directly to the church: "you are the body of Christ" (v. 27), listing the roles God has appointed, and closing with a series of rhetorical questions that drive home the point that no one person has all the gifts. The chapter ends with a transitional verse (v. 31) that sets up the famous "love chapter" (ch. 13), which Paul will present as "the most excellent way" -- the indispensable context in which all gifts must operate.

The Test of the Spirit (vv. 1-3)

BSB

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I inform 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.

Translation

Now concerning spiritual things, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were Gentiles, you were carried away to mute idols, led along however you happened to be led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed," and no one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

Notes

• πνευματικῶν (pneumatikōn, "spiritual things/gifts") -- The word is a neuter plural adjective used substantively, and its meaning is ambiguous: it could refer to "spiritual gifts" (supplying charismata), "spiritual persons" (supplying anthrōpōn), or simply "spiritual matters" in general. The BSB supplies "gifts," which is reasonable given the context, but Paul may have deliberately left it open. The broader term allows him to address not just the gifts themselves but the entire mindset the Corinthians had about what it means to be "spiritual." Paul will use the more specific term charismata ("grace-gifts") beginning in verse 4. The distinction matters: pneumatikon emphasizes the spiritual quality, while charisma emphasizes the gracious, unmerited origin of the gift.

• ἔθνη (ethnē, "Gentiles/pagans") -- Paul reminds the Corinthians of their pre-Christian past. The word ethnos (plural ethnē) means "nation, people" and was used by Jews to refer to non-Jewish peoples. In a religious context, it carried the connotation of pagans -- those outside the covenant community. Paul's point is that the Corinthians have experience with ecstatic religious phenomena from their pagan past; Corinth was home to temples of Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus, and other deities whose worship included frenzied, ecstatic states. The Corinthians must not assume that all ecstatic utterance is from the Holy Spirit -- they know firsthand that pagan worship produced similar-seeming experiences.

• εἴδωλα τὰ ἄφωνα (eidōla ta aphōna, "mute idols") -- The adjective aphōnos means "voiceless, mute, without speech." The irony is sharp: the Corinthians were carried away to idols that could not even speak, yet now they have access to the living God who speaks through his Spirit. The contrast sets up the rest of the chapter: the question is not whether a supernatural experience is happening but who is speaking through it. In the Old Testament, the muteness of idols is a recurring polemic (Ps 115:5, 135:16; Hab 2:18-19). An idol is, by definition, a god who cannot communicate -- the opposite of the God who reveals himself by his Spirit.

• ἀπαγόμενοι (apagomenoi, "being led away") -- This passive participle suggests being carried along by an external force, even dragged away. It was used of prisoners being led to execution or of animals being driven. Combined with the main verb ēgesthe ("you were led"), Paul paints a picture of helpless compulsion: in their pagan past, the Corinthians were swept along by forces they could not control toward gods who could not speak. The double expression of being led emphasizes the passivity and lack of discernment that characterized their former worship. By contrast, the Holy Spirit produces the clear, intelligible confession "Jesus is Lord."

• Ἀνάθεμα Ἰησοῦς (Anathema Iēsous, "Jesus is accursed") -- The word anathema in the Septuagint translates the Hebrew cherem, meaning something devoted to destruction, placed under a divine ban. Paul uses it in Romans 9:3 and Galatians 1:8-9 with the force of a solemn curse. Whether anyone was actually saying "Jesus is accursed" in the Corinthian assembly is debated. Some suggest it arose during ecstatic utterances, others that it reflects Jewish opposition (cf. Acts 18:6), and still others that Paul is using a hypothetical extreme to establish a principle. The point is clear regardless: the content of what is said matters, and the Holy Spirit will never inspire speech that curses the one he came to glorify.

• Κύριος Ἰησοῦς (Kyrios Iēsous, "Jesus is Lord") -- This is the earliest and most fundamental Christian confession (cf. Rom 10:9; Phil 2:11). The title Kyrios ("Lord") is loaded with significance: in the Septuagint, it translates the divine name YHWH. To confess "Jesus is Lord" is therefore to ascribe to Jesus the authority and identity of Israel's God -- a claim that no one could make sincerely apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Paul's test is deceptively simple: the mark of the Spirit is not ecstatic experience, spectacular gifts, or elevated feelings, but the genuine acknowledgment of Jesus' lordship. This confession will shape everything that follows about gifts, because if Jesus is Lord, then gifts serve his body rather than the individual's status.

Diversity of Gifts, One God (vv. 4-11)

BSB

There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines.

Translation

Now there are varieties of grace-gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but the same God who activates all of them in everyone.

To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the purpose of mutual benefit. For to one is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, and to another a message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings by the one Spirit, to another workings of powers, to another prophecy, to another discernment of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit activates all these things, distributing to each person individually just as he wills.

Notes

• διαιρέσεις (diaireseis, "varieties, distributions, apportionments") -- This word appears three times in verses 4-6, creating a carefully structured triad. It derives from diaireō ("to divide, distribute, apportion") and means "varieties" or "distributions." The same root reappears in verse 11 as diairoun ("distributing"), forming an inclusio around the passage. Paul's emphasis is not merely that gifts are different but that they are distributed -- they come from a source outside the individual. No one chose their gift; the diversity is by design. The word subtly counters any temptation to boast: variety is the result of the Spirit's distribution, not human achievement.

• χαρισμάτων ... διακονιῶν ... ἐνεργημάτων (charismatōn ... diakoniōn ... energēmatōn, "grace-gifts ... services ... activities") -- Paul constructs a remarkable trinitarian framework. The charismata ("gifts of grace") are linked to the Spirit, the diakoniai ("forms of service") to the Lord (Jesus), and the energēmata ("workings, effects") to God (the Father). The triad is not a rigid classification -- Paul does not mean that some gifts come from the Spirit while others come from the Lord. Rather, the same reality can be viewed from three angles: as a gracious endowment (Spirit), as a mode of service (Lord Jesus), and as a divine operation (God the Father). The trinitarian pattern, while not yet formalized into creedal language, shows the early church's instinctive understanding that Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct yet inseparable in their work.

• φανέρωσις τοῦ Πνεύματος (phanerōsis tou Pneumatos, "manifestation of the Spirit") -- The word phanerōsis appears only here and in 2 Corinthians 4:2 in the New Testament. It means "disclosure, making visible, manifestation." A spiritual gift is not a hidden, private possession; it is a visible disclosure of the Spirit's presence and activity. The genitive tou Pneumatos is likely a genitive of source: the Spirit is the one who manifests himself through the gift. Each believer's gift, then, is a window through which the invisible Spirit becomes visible to the community.

• πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον (pros to sympheron, "for the common good, for mutual benefit") -- The verb sympherō means "to bring together, to be advantageous, to benefit." The neuter participle to sympheron denotes "that which is beneficial" or "the common advantage." This phrase is the theological key to the entire chapter: gifts are not given for the recipient's personal status, spiritual enjoyment, or self-expression. They are given for the benefit of the whole community. Any exercise of a gift that builds up the individual while tearing down the community is a misuse of the gift. Paul will develop this principle extensively in chapter 14 with respect to tongues and prophecy.

• λόγος σοφίας ... λόγος γνώσεως (logos sophias ... logos gnōseōs, "message of wisdom ... message of knowledge") -- These two gifts head the list and recall the themes of chapters 1-3, where Paul extensively discussed wisdom and knowledge. The logos sophias is likely a Spirit-given ability to articulate God's wisdom, particularly the wisdom of the cross. The logos gnōseōs may refer to Spirit-illuminated insight into divine truth. The genitive could be appositional ("a word that is wisdom") or objective ("a word about wisdom"). Paul's list of nine gifts is representative, not exhaustive -- other lists in Romans 12:6-8 and Ephesians 4:11 include different gifts, and no two lists are identical.

• γένη γλωσσῶν (genē glōssōn, "kinds of tongues") -- The word genos (plural genē) means "kind, type, family, species." Its use here suggests that tongues-speaking was not monolithic but came in different varieties. The glōssa ("tongue") can refer to the physical organ of speech, a language, or an ecstatic utterance. In Acts 2, tongues appear as recognizable foreign languages; here in 1 Corinthians, the phenomenon seems to involve speech that requires interpretation (v. 10b) and is unintelligible without it (cf. 14:2, 9, 13-19). Notably, Paul places tongues and their interpretation last in the list -- a deliberate positioning that counters the Corinthians' tendency to elevate tongues above all other gifts.

• βούλεται (bouletai, "he wills, he determines") -- The verb boulomai denotes deliberate, purposeful willing -- not mere desire but sovereign intention and decision. The Spirit's distribution of gifts is not random or arbitrary; it is according to his own deliberate purpose. This verb emphasizes the Spirit's personhood and sovereignty: the Spirit is not an impersonal force that believers tap into but a personal agent who acts with intention. The fact that the Spirit distributes "to each one individually" (idia hekastō) means that every believer receives something, and no one receives everything. Both facts -- universal distribution and individual particularity -- are grounds for both humility and confidence.

One Body, Many Members (vv. 12-20)

BSB

The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

Translation

For just as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, though many, are one body -- so also is Christ. For indeed, in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

For indeed the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body," it is not for that reason any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body," it is not for that reason any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

But as it is, God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as he purposed. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many members, yet one body.

Notes

• οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστός (houtōs kai ho Christos, "so also is Christ") -- This is one of the most striking phrases in the passage. Paul does not say "so also is the church" but "so also is Christ." The identification is breathtaking: the church is not merely like a body; the church is Christ's body. Christ and his people are so united that Paul can use the name "Christ" to refer to the entire organism of head and members together. This is not a mere metaphor or illustration but a theological claim about the real union between Christ and believers. The same identification underlies Paul's Damascus road encounter, where Jesus asked, "Why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4) -- to persecute the church is to persecute Christ himself.

• ἐβαπτίσθημεν ... ἐποτίσθημεν (ebaptisthēmen ... epotisthēmen, "we were baptized ... we were made to drink") -- Two aorist passive verbs describe the foundational experience that united all believers. Baptizō ("to immerse, baptize") here refers to the Spirit's work of incorporating believers into the body of Christ, an event that occurred at conversion and is marked by water baptism. The second verb, potizō ("to give to drink, to water"), is more unusual in this context. It could refer to the Lord's Supper (drinking the cup) or, more likely, to being inwardly saturated with the Spirit -- drenched from without (baptism) and filled from within (drinking). Both verbs are in the passive voice, emphasizing that this is something done to believers, not something they accomplish.

• εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι εἴτε Ἕλληνες, εἴτε δοῦλοι εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι (eite Ioudaioi eite Hellēnes, eite douloi eite eleutheroi, "whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free") -- Paul lists two pairs of social divisions that the Spirit has transcended. The first pair (Jew/Greek) represents the fundamental religious-ethnic divide of the ancient world. The second pair (slave/free) represents the fundamental socioeconomic divide. A parallel list in Galatians 3:28 adds "male and female." Paul is not erasing these distinctions in the sociological sense but declaring that they are irrelevant to one's status in the body. In Corinth, with its diverse population of Jews, Greeks, Romans, freedmen, and slaves, this teaching had explosive practical implications -- in the assembly, the slave and the master drink the same Spirit.

• ὁ Θεὸς ἔθετο τὰ μέλη (ho Theos etheto ta melē, "God placed the members") -- The verb tithēmi ("to place, set, appoint") in the middle voice emphasizes God's deliberate, personal act of arrangement. The same verb will reappear in verse 28 when Paul says God "appointed" roles in the church. God is the architect of the body's design; the diversity of members is not accidental but the product of divine intention. The phrase καθὼς ἠθέλησεν (kathōs ēthelēsen, "just as he willed/purposed") reinforces the point: the arrangement of the body reflects God's sovereign will. No member can claim to have earned their position, and no member can dismiss their position as a cosmic accident.

• πούς ... χείρ ... οὖς ... ὀφθαλμός (pous ... cheir ... ous ... ophthalmos, "foot ... hand ... ear ... eye") -- Paul's use of body parts to illustrate social relationships was not entirely original; Stoic philosophers, most famously Menenius Agrippa in his speech to the Roman plebs (recorded by Livy), used a similar analogy to argue for social harmony. However, Paul transforms the analogy in a critical way. In the Greco-Roman version, the analogy was typically used by the elite to tell the lower classes to accept their place and keep serving. Paul inverts this: he addresses the "lesser" members first (vv. 15-16) to assure them they do belong, and then turns to the "greater" members (vv. 21-25) to tell them they cannot do without the lesser ones. The fable is the same, but the moral is reversed.

• ποῦ ἡ ἀκοή ... ποῦ ἡ ὄσφρησις (pou hē akoē ... pou hē osphrēsis, "where would the hearing be ... where would the sense of smell be") -- The word osphrēsis ("sense of smell") appears only here in the New Testament. Paul uses reductio ad absurdum: a body that was entirely one organ would not be a body at all. A church in which everyone had the same gift would not be a church. The absurdity of the hypothetical drives home the theological point: diversity is not a problem to be solved but a design feature to be celebrated. The Corinthians' desire for everyone to speak in tongues would be like wishing the entire body were a mouth.

The Indispensability of Every Member (vv. 21-26)

BSB

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you." Nor can the head say to the feet, "I do not need you." On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, whereas our presentable parts have no such need.

But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Translation

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are far more necessary, and the parts of the body that we consider less honorable -- on these we bestow greater honor, and our unpresentable parts receive a greater propriety, which our presentable parts do not need.

But God has composed the body together, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, so that there may be no division in the body, but rather the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer together; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice together.

Notes

• ἀσθενέστερα ... ἀναγκαῖά ἐστιν (asthenestera ... anankaia estin, "seem weaker ... are indispensable") -- The comparative adjective asthenesteros ("weaker") echoes Paul's earlier language about weakness (cf. 1:25, 27; 4:10). The adjective anagkaios ("necessary, indispensable") is emphatic: not merely useful but essential. Paul is likely thinking of internal organs -- the heart, lungs, liver -- which are hidden, seemingly fragile, and certainly not impressive to look at, yet without which the body dies. The theological application is direct: the members of the church who seem least impressive, whose gifts attract no attention, are often the ones without whom the community could not function. The paradox of strength in weakness, central to Paul's entire theology of the cross, finds concrete expression in the body analogy.

• ἀτιμότερα ... τιμὴν περισσοτέραν περιτίθεμεν (atimōtera ... timēn perissoteran peritithemen, "less honorable ... we bestow greater honor") -- The verb peritithēmi means "to place around, to clothe, to bestow." The image is of clothing the body: we dress the parts we consider less honorable with greater care and attention. The word ἀσχήμονα (aschēmona, "unpresentable, indecent") refers to the private parts of the body, which we cover not because they are less important but because they require a different kind of honor -- the honor of modesty and protection. Paul's analogy is earthy and practical: every human being instinctively treats different body parts with different kinds of honor, and no one concludes that the covered parts are therefore dispensable.

• συνεκέρασεν (synekerasen, "has composed, blended together") -- This verb appears only here and in Hebrews 4:2 in the New Testament. It means "to mix together, to blend, to compose" and was used for mixing wine or compounding medicines. God did not merely assemble the body from discrete parts; he blended it into an integrated whole. The prefix syn- ("together with") emphasizes the interpenetration and mutual dependence of the parts. A blend is not a collection of separate items placed side by side; it is a new unity in which each element is inseparable from the whole. This is a stronger claim than mere cooperation -- it is organic integration.

• σχίσμα (schisma, "division, tear, split") -- The same word Paul used in 1:10 to describe the factions in the Corinthian church. It literally means a tear or rip in fabric. By returning to this word here, Paul connects the body analogy directly back to the practical problem he has been addressing throughout the letter: the Corinthians' divisions. The purpose clause (ἵνα μὴ ᾖ σχίσμα, "so that there may be no division") reveals that the body's design is against division. When the Corinthians form factions around gifts, they are working against the very architecture God has built into the body.

• μεριμνῶσιν (merimōsin, "should have concern, should care") -- The verb merimnaō usually carries a negative sense in the New Testament, meaning "to be anxious, to worry" (cf. Matt 6:25, 34; Phil 4:6). Here, however, it is positive: the members should worry about each other, should be preoccupied with one another's welfare. Paul takes a word normally associated with the unhealthy anxiety he tells believers to avoid and repurposes it: there is a kind of concern that is not sinful anxiety but godly attentiveness. The phrase τὸ αὐτὸ ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων ("the same for one another") specifies that this concern must be mutual, reciprocal, and equal -- not condescending charity from the strong to the weak.

• συμπάσχει ... συνχαίρει (sympascheī ... synchairei, "suffers together ... rejoices together") -- Two compound verbs with the prefix syn- ("together with") describe the organic interconnectedness of the body. When one member suffers, the pain radiates through the entire organism; when one member is honored (literally "glorified," doxazetai), the joy is shared by all. This is not a command -- Paul does not say "you should suffer together" -- but a statement of fact about how a healthy body works. If the Corinthians do not feel the pain of their weaker members or rejoice in their honor, it is a sign that the body is dysfunctional, not that the principle is wrong. The verb synchairō ("to rejoice together") will reappear in 13:6, where love "rejoices with the truth."

Appointed Roles and the Greater Gifts (vv. 27-31)

BSB

Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

And now I will show you the most excellent way.

Translation

Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, acts of helping, acts of guidance, kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all perform miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

And I will show you a still more surpassing way.

Notes

• μέλη ἐκ μέρους (melē ek merous, "members individually, members in part") -- The phrase ek merous literally means "from a part" or "in part." Paul is saying that each individual Corinthian is a member in particular -- each one constitutes a specific part of the whole. No single person is the whole body, and no person is without a role. The phrase also carries a subtle reminder of limitation: each member is only a part, not the whole. This anticipates 13:9-12, where Paul will use the same phrase (ek merous) to describe the partial nature of present knowledge and prophecy.

• ἔθετο ὁ Θεός (etheto ho Theos, "God has appointed") -- The same verb tithēmi from verse 18, now applied directly to the church rather than the physical body. The numbered sequence -- prōton ("first"), deuteron ("second"), triton ("third"), then epeita ("then") repeated -- establishes a priority of function, not necessarily of value. Apostles, prophets, and teachers are listed first because they are foundational to the church's existence: apostles established churches, prophets delivered God's word, and teachers instructed the community in it. The shift from ordinal numbers to the vaguer epeita ("then") after the first three suggests that the remaining gifts are not ranked in strict order.

• ἀντιλήμψεις (antilēmpseis, "acts of helping, deeds of assistance") -- This word appears only here in the New Testament. It derives from antilambanō ("to take hold of, to support, to help") and refers to concrete acts of assistance and support for those in need. It is a broad, unglamorous category -- the kind of practical service that keeps a community functioning: caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, supporting the poor. Its placement alongside tongues and miracles is itself a statement: helping others is as much a gift of the Spirit as speaking in tongues. The Corinthians may have been overlooking these everyday gifts in their fascination with the spectacular.

• κυβερνήσεις (kybernēseis, "acts of guidance, administration") -- Also found only here in the New Testament, this word derives from kybernētēs ("helmsman, pilot"), the person who steers a ship. The English word "govern" comes from the same root through Latin gubernare. In the church context, it refers to the gift of wise leadership, organization, and direction -- steering the community through practical decisions and challenges. Like antilēmpseis, it is an unglamorous gift that the Corinthians may have undervalued in comparison with tongues and prophecy, yet without it the church drifts aimlessly.

• μὴ πάντες ἀπόστολοι; (mē pantes apostoloi?, "Are all apostles?") -- The Greek particle mē at the beginning of a question expects the answer "no." Paul fires off seven rapid rhetorical questions, each expecting a negative answer: No, not all are apostles. No, not all are prophets. No, not all speak in tongues. The staccato rhythm drives the point home with relentless force. The implication is devastating to the Corinthian position: if not everyone speaks in tongues, then tongues cannot be the universal mark of Spirit-baptism or the supreme spiritual gift. Each gift is given to some, not to all. The diversity is by design, not by deficiency.

• ζηλοῦτε δὲ τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ μείζονα (zēloute de ta charismata ta meizona, "but earnestly desire the greater gifts") -- The verb zēloō means "to be zealous for, to earnestly desire, to be eager for." It can also mean "to be jealous," and Paul may be deliberately reclaiming a word that described the Corinthians' competitive jealousy (cf. 3:3, where zēlos is listed alongside strife). The comparative adjective μείζονα (meizona, "greater") raises the question: greater by what standard? Paul does not answer here but immediately transitions to chapter 13, where love is presented as the "most surpassing way" (kath' hyperbolēn hodon). The phrase καθ᾽ ὑπερβολήν (kath' hyperbolēn, "beyond all measure, surpassingly") is one of Paul's characteristic expressions of superlative degree (cf. 2 Cor 4:17). The "way" (hodos) he is about to show them is not another gift but the manner in which all gifts must be exercised -- the way of love.

• ὁδὸν ὑμῖν δείκνυμι (hodon hymin deiknymi, "I will show you a way") -- The word hodos ("way, road, path") is the same word used in 4:17 for Paul's "ways in Christ Jesus." Here it introduces chapter 13 not as a standalone hymn to love but as the indispensable context for the proper exercise of spiritual gifts. Without love, even the greatest gifts are worthless (13:1-3). The "way" is not an alternative to gifts but the path along which gifts must travel to reach their intended destination: the building up of the body. This transitional verse is often overlooked, but it is crucial: chapter 13 is not a digression from the discussion of gifts but its theological climax.