1 Coríntios 12
R.C.H. Lenski · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 12
Lenski - The majority of the Corinthians had been Gentiles. The first basic fact which these former Gentiles must bear in mind in connection with the subject of spiritual gifts and their proper use is that in their former life all spiritual manifestations were utterly unknown to them. All they knew were “the dumb idols.” Paul places “dumb” in contrast with the Holy Spirit, who not only himself speaks but makes us speak what no man could ever say on his own initiative. He makes it possible for us to confess Christ as Lord, yea, he enables us to speak “the word of wisdom” and “the word of knowledge,” v. 8, and even divine “prophecy,” 1 Cor 14:1. (Commentary) You were (continually being) led astray to the mute idols, however you were (present tense - continually) led - NRSV has "you were enticed and led astray." NAB = "you were constantly attracted and led away to mute idols." NJB = "you were irresistibly drawn to inarticulate heathen gods." As has been said God made man with a "God shaped vacuum" and if it is not filled with the true God it will be filled with false gods. Were led astray is in the present tense and passive voice (influence or power from without, could be their fallen flesh or demonic influences) indicating these pagans were continually being led into false worship of gods what were no gods and behind which were demonic spirits (1 Cor 10:20+). Were led (apago) has the idea of being led away by force rather than by persuasion and was often used to describe prisoners being taken away to prison or execution! Talk about the bondage and futility of the godless people of this world (and that's our lost family, neighbors, friends, etc) who were in essence captives of sin and of Satan (cf 2 Ti 2:25-26+)! Their lives before they were brought by the Spirit to Christ were (are for our unsaved associates) tragically nothing but "vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun." (Eccl 2:11) Formerly most of these Gentile saints had eaten "things sacrificed to idols" as an act of worship. (1 Cor 8:4+). However you were led conveys the idea that they had no choice in the matter. Lenski on however you were led - helplessly led at any time by those who had you in hand....By leading the Corinthians to the dumb idols their religion led them away, i.e., misled them. Instead of receiving anything from these dumb and lifeless idols they were miserably cheated....The question is raised: “By whom were the Corinthians thus led and misled?” The answer then names either Satan and his evil spirits or the pagan priests. The better observation is that in this connection Paul lays no stress at all upon the agents; he intends that the Corinthians should think only of the dumb idols to which they were led. (Commentary)
1 Coríntios 12
Lenski explains it this way writing that "On this first fact (Previous verse - you were led astray to the mute idols 1 Cor 12:2) rests the second fact which Paul wants the Corinthians to bear in mind when they are considering the subject of spiritual gifts. “Therefore” links the two facts together: “Because it is true that you were once misled and cheated by your old religion, for this very reason I want you to know that in the Christian religion everything is entirely different.” In what way? In the church the Holy Spirit is active. The Spirit is twice mentioned with emphasis. (Commentary) (Bolding added) I (present tense - continually) make known to you that (absolutely) no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed" - NLT = "no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus." By the Spirit is literally "in the Spirit" (see locative of sphere), in the sphere of, power of or influence of the Spirit. In other words it appears that they were saying "Jesus is accursed" (anathema - severe condemnation) and attributing this to the fact that they were doing so by the Spirit of God! This is interesting for frequently today we hear Jesus' great Name used as curse word, indicating clearly the source is not the Spirit of Christ, Who has been sent to glorify Christ, not denigrate Him (Jn 16:14). Although Paul will deal extensively with "tongues" the utterances he refers to in this verse were not necessarily tongues because they appear to have been spoken in the language known to all. Conceivably it is possible they were "tongues" that had been interpreted by others. Whatever the source of the utterance clearly it was ANOTHER SPIRIT, almost certainly an evil spirit and clearly not the Holy Spirit Who prompted these blasphemous utterances! Ronald Trail asks " What is the point of this verse? What marks something as spiritual is not that it is an inspired utterance, but that its content is intelligible and able to stand the test of the Lordship of Jesus [NIC2]. Ecstasy does not indicate the working of the Spirit. It is the declaration that Jesus is Lord that indicates it [Herm, NCBC]. The confession that Jesus is Lord is the critical test of spiritual gifts [Ed]. (Exegetical Summary) MacArthur on "Jesus is accursed - Nothing should have been more logical and obvious, but the Corinthians had come to judge the nature and use of gifts on the basis of experience rather than content. The more impressive, showy, unusual, and bizarre, the more a practice was accepted and respected. They had fallen back so deeply into ecstasy and enthusiasm that their judgment was completely warped. As long as it took place in the church and was presented by someone who claimed to be a Christian, any teaching or practice was accepted without question. Content was ignored, even to the extent of disregarding that which was obviously immoral and blasphemous. (MNTC- 1 Cor)
1 Coríntios 12
Lenski - From the gifts and their connection with God Paul advances to the persons who are endowed with these gifts. (Commentary) Gordon Fee - Having grounded his appeal for diversity in the Triune God Himself, Paul proceeds to articulate how that diversity is worked out in the life of the church. This sentence states his thesis, which is then illustrated by the representative examples in vv. 8–10 and concluded in v. 11 by a restatement of the concern of this sentence, but with a slightly different emphasis. (NICNT- 1 Cor) But - Term of contrast. To each one is given the manifestation (clearly seen operations) of the Spirit for the common good - Each one means each and every believer, so no believer is left out. Note the fact that each one is involved stresses diversity because the believers are different personalities. Don't miss the word given indicating that these are gifts we receive, not gifts we merit, earn or deserve. They are gifts of God's amazing grace. Given is in the passive voice which reflects the divine passive. And while it does not specifically state it here, clearly these gifts in effect cannot be refused. We can refuse to exercise them or we can misuse them but when we become believers we are given these gifts. At the end of this verse Paul explains why the gifts were given to each one and that is for the spiritual benefit of all believers. Manifestation of the Spirit indicates He gives particular manifestations to each and every believer. In context, the manifestations are virtually synonymous with His gifts. The idea is that each gift possessed by each one is a manifestation or an evidencing, a making known of the Spirit's activity in and through the individual believer. And all of this is done for the common good of everyone, of all the believers in the body. The idea of common good is for the spiritual benefit or profit of all. Paul will go on to enumerate the gifts in 1 Cor 12:8-10. Common good is a Greek word (sumphero) which literally means to bring together, which is a beautiful picture of the various "parts" of the body of Christ brought together for the benefit the whole! Looked at from another way "our differences are to help us be brought together into a united whole." (Staton 1 Corinthians)