1 Cor. 12:10. To another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits.
That is, the ability to know who is spiritual and who is unspiritual, who is a prophet and who is a deceiver.
1 Cor. 12:10. To another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
The gift of tongues among the Corinthians was in abundance; it was by this gift that they were most puffed up, since it was the first given to the apostles and therefore was considered the most important of all. But this is not so. For the gift of teaching is more important, and the interpretation of tongues is more important than the gift of simply speaking in tongues.
1 Cor. 12:11. But all these things are produced by one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one individually, as He wills.
Again he proposes the same consolation, that is, that one and the same Spirit produces all things. And he especially shuts the mouth of the one who is not satisfied with his own lot; for he says: as He wills, so He acts. Who then are you to be dissatisfied? Note this saying also against those who have risen up against the Spirit. For He acts not as He is commanded, but as He wills. Therefore He is Master and God. And He acts just as the Father also, who produces all things in all (above, 1 Cor. 12:6).
1 Cor. 12:12. For just as the body is one, but has many members, and all the members of the one body, though they are many, constitute one body, – so also is Christ.
And by the example of the body he comforts the one grieving over a lesser gift, proving to him that he is not deprived. For just as the body is both one and many, because it has members, so also the members are many, and yet one, because together they all compose one body. Where then is the distinction? Where is the greater? Where is the lesser? For all are one. "So," he says, "also Christ," that is, the Church of Christ. Since Christ is the head of the Church, he called the Church by the name of the head. For just as the body and the head are one person, so too, knowing that the Church and Christ, as body and head, are one, he put the name of Christ in place of the Church. Thus, he says, in the Church, although it is composed of different members, we all constitute something one.
1 Cor. 12:13. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free.
Now he shows how the Church is like the example of one body, and says: we all, including myself, Paul, were baptized by one and the same Spirit into one body, that is, so as to be one body. For we were not baptized by one Spirit—you by one and I by another—but by one and the same. Therefore I too have nothing greater in comparison with you. For we were baptized into one body, that is, so that Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, might be one body. And if the Spirit united those who were so far apart, how much more, after we have become one, should we not grieve, even though there is some distinction among us.
1 Cor. 12:13. And all have been made to drink of one Spirit.
It seems he is speaking of the spiritual meal, of bread and wine; for by the words "the Spirit that gave us drink," he indicated both: the Blood and the Flesh. However, closer to the truth, he is speaking here of the coming of the Spirit upon us, which took place at the time of baptism, before the partaking of the Holy Mysteries. He said "were given to drink," borrowing the image from trees watered by one and the same spring. Thus, one Spirit gave us drink and watered us, and made us one body.
1 Cor. 12:14. For the body is not one member, but many.
Do not be amazed, he says, that being so many we are one body; for in the human body too, with its many members, one can find one body.
1 Cor. 12:15-16. If the foot says: I do not belong to the body, because I am not the hand, does it therefore not belong to the body? And if the ear says: I do not belong to the body, because I am not the eye, does it therefore not belong to the body?
He presents the members of the body as speaking and murmuring that they are diminished before the other members, in order that, having demonstrated the senselessness of the murmuring of the members, he might expose those who in the Church murmur that there are some greater than them. He puts forward two extreme members, the foot and the ear, and presents the foot as speaking not with the eye, but with the hand, which has a slight advantage over it. And the ear he presents as speaking with the eye: for we always envy usually not those who greatly surpass us, but those who are a little above us. So then, he says, if the foot should say that I am not part of the body because I do not occupy the middle place like the hand, but am below all, is it really for this reason, that is, because it is not a hand, that it does not belong to the body? For whether or not it is a member of the body depends not on its position, but on whether it is joined or not joined to the body. Likewise, if the ear should say: "since I am not an eye, I refuse entirely to be a part and member of the body," it will all the same remain in the place appointed to it from the beginning, and will fulfill its purpose. So you also, who have received, in your opinion, a lesser gift, do not murmur. For you are a member of the Church of Christ, even though you have received a lower place. But when you yourself separate from the Church and break your union with her, then you will no longer be a member. Therefore, if you wish to be a member of the Church, preserve unity with her...
1 Cor. 12:17. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
Since he mentioned the eye and the foot, the ear and the hand, and presented them as reasoning about elevation and degradation, and through this the Corinthians would naturally again come to grief rather than consolation, he now shows that it is useful and necessary for the gifts to be diverse. For if the whole body were one member, where would the rest of the members be? Are you not ashamed to reject so many members and exalt only yourself?
1 Cor. 12:18. But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body as it pleased Him.
With great force he shuts their mouths when he says that God willed it, and appointed to each individual member its proper place (for this is what "arranged" means). Neither should the foot, which occupies the lower place, grieve, for so it pleased God, and it is beneficial for it precisely to be placed below. Nor should the head, which is above, be puffed up, for this is from God and not its own doing. So also in the Church, God placed one person low, which is beneficial for him, and set another person high; the first should be content, and the last should not be puffed up.
1 Cor. 12:19-20. But if all were one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, yet one body.
Note the wisdom: he shuts their mouths by the very thing that seemed to produce faintheartedness, that is, by the fact that the gifts are diverse and unequal in honor. For if there were not diverse members, there would not be one body; and if there were not one body, there would not be equal honor. But as it is, all have equal honor, precisely because all are united into one body. From the fact that there are diverse members, one body is composed; and from the fact that the body is one, equal honor belongs to them all, for the very reason that they serve the fullness of one body. For he says: there are many members, but one body.
1 Cor. 12:21. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or likewise the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
Having subdued those who have lesser gifts, he now turns his speech to those who have greater gifts and exalt themselves over those who do not have them. For, he says, just as the eye cannot say to the other members, "I have no need of you" (for when one member is lacking, the whole body is imperfect), so also those who have received greater gifts cannot exalt themselves over those who have received lesser gifts. For the former need the latter, since they alone by themselves cannot build up the Church. He said well, "cannot"; for one may desire even much, but in reality it will not be so.
1 Cor. 12:22-24. On the contrary, the members of the body which seem to be weaker are much more necessary, and those which we think to be less honorable in the body, upon these we bestow more abundant care; and our uncomely parts are more abundantly covered.