1 Corinthians 12-14

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 12:28

Text: (NA27):

Καὶ οὓς μὲν ἔθετο ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ πρῶτον ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον προφήτας, τρίτον διδασκάλους, ἔπειτα δυνάμεις, ἔπειτα χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, ἀντιλήμψεις, κυβερνήσεις, γένη γλωσσῶν.

Transliteration (Accordance):

Kai hous men etheto ho theos en tȩ̄ ekklēsia̧ prōton apostolous, deuteron prophētas, triton didaskalous, epeita dynameis, epeita charismata iamatōn, antilēmpseis, kybernēseis, genē glōssōn.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

And God has placed in the church, first, some who are apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then effective deeds of power, then gifts of healing, various kinds of administrative support, ability to formulate strategies, various kinds of tongues.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

οὓς μέν : some.
ἔθετο : aorist middle of τίθημι put, place, middle connoting "for his own purposes".
δεύτερος : second, neuter as adverb.
τρίτος : third.
διδάσκαλος : teacher.
ἔπειτα : then.
δυνάμεις : nominative and accusative plural of δύναμις power, normally denotes the activity, in verse 29 seems to denote the persons endowed with the gift.
χάρισμα : gift from God for the service of the community, the variety of gifts not effacing their unity which is grounded in the one God.
ἴαμα : (< ἰάομαι heal, cure) cure, healing.
ἀντίλημψις : helping (others), denotes the corporal works of mercy.
κυβέρνησις : guidance, administration.
γένη γλωσσῶν : kinds of tongues.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 12:29

Text: (NA27):

μὴ πάντες ἀπόστολοι; μὴ πάντες προφῆται; μὴ πάντες διδάσκαλοι; μὴ πάντες δυνάμεις;

Transliteration (Accordance):

mē pantes apostoloi? mē pantes prophētai? mē pantes didaskaloi? mē pantes dynameis?

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

All are not apostles, are they? Surely all are not prophets? Could all be teachers? Do all perform effective deeds of power?

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

μή : interrogative expecting a negative answer, not all are apostles, are they?

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 12:30

Text: (NA27):

μὴ πάντες χαρίσματα ἔχουσιν ἰαμάτων; μὴ πάντες γλώσσαις λαλοῦσιν; μὴ πάντες διερμηνεύουσιν;

Transliteration (Accordance):

μὴ πάντες χαρίσματα ἔχουσιν ἰαμάτων; μὴ πάντες γλώσσαις λαλοῦσιν; μὴ πάντες διερμηνεύουσιν;

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

Does everyone have gifts to heal in various ways? Surely all do not speak in tongues, do they? Do all put the deepest spiritual things into articular speech?

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

μή : interrogative expecting a negative answer, not all are apostles, are they?
διερμηνεύω : interpret. See here.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 12:31

Text: (NA27):

ζηλοῦτε δὲ τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ μείζονα.
Καὶ ἔτι καθ᾿ ὑπερβολὴν ὁδὸν ὑμῖν δείκνυμι.

Transliteration (Accordance):

zēloute de ta charismata ta meizona.
Kai eti kath’ hyperbolēn hodon hymin deiknymi.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

Continue to be zealously concerned about the "greatest" gifts.
Yet, an even greater way still I am going to show you.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

ζηλοῦτε : imperative of ζηλόω (τι) be zealous/eager for (something).
μείζων -ζονος : comparative of μέγας great.
ἔτι : yet, still.
ὑπερβολή : (< ὑπερβάλλω go beyond, surpass) preeminence, κα ὑπερβολήν French par excellence, and incomparable way, a way better than any.

Comment by Gordon D. Fee in the first edition of his NICNT commentary (I have the second edition; however it is not in Accordance as is the first edition, which is easier for me to quote here ― copy and paste rather than transcribe). The second edition is more fulsome and refined, but the first contains the basic exegesis. All his many footnotes are omitted from this post.

31 After the argument of vv. 4–30 and especially after the rhetoric of vv. 29–30, the imperative with which this verse begins, “But eagerly desire the greater gifts,” is a puzzle. It is not so for many, of course, since it is common to read v. 28 as ranking the various ministries and gifts, so that Paul might place tongues as the last and least of the gifts. This imperative is then read as urging them to seek the gifts at the top of the list as opposed to those at the bottom, which the argument in chap. 14 is seen to support (prophecy as the “greater” and tongues as the “least”). The difficulties with this view, however, are simply too many to make it viable; indeed, it must finally be rejected as contradictory both to the spirit and the intent of the preceding argument. But if so, then what does one do with this imperative, which likewise seems contradictory to what has preceded? Three alternatives have been offered.

(1) Some have suggested that this is a citation from the Corinthian letter, as though Paul were saying, “But ‘earnestly desire the greater gifts,’ you say; well, I will show you a way far superior to that.” This is supported not only by the fact that in previous places Paul seems to cite their letter, but by the language of 14:12 as well: “Since you are zealots for ‘spirits.’ ” The difficulty with this option is the lack of signals at this point in the argument that would suggest either that Paul is quoting them or that what follows is a qualification of the kind found, for example, in 6:13–14; 7:2; or 8:2–3.

(2) It is possible to read the verb as an indicative (cf. NIV margin). Thus Paul, after arguing for diversity against their own singular enthusiasm for tongues as the premier evidence of being “spiritual,” has remonstrated, “But you are seeking the so-called greater gifts. Rather I will show you a ‘more excellent way.’ ” He then proceeds to urge the pursuit of love, and that in that context they eagerly desire not “greater gifts,” but simply “spiritual gifts.” And when one does both pursues love and desires spiritual gifts he or she will seek an intelligible gift such as prophecy (or others listed in 14:6), for only what is intelligible will edify the community. This is supported further, as with the prior option, by Paul’s statement to this effect in 14:12. What basically stands against this option is the appearance of the same verb form in 14:1 and 39, where it can only be an imperative and not an indicative.

(3) Despite some attractive features to this second option, the more likely alternative is that the verb is an imperative, as in 14:1, but that it is not intended to be in contrast to 12:4–30, nor to the preceding listings of gifts. Rather, the preceding argument has concluded with the rhetoric of vv. 29–30. With these words Paul is about to launch on his next argument, namely 14:1–25 and the need for intelligibility in the community; and in the community all the intelligible gifts are “greater” than tongues because they can edify while tongues without interpretation cannot. But before he gets to that point, Paul interrupts himself to give the proper framework in which the “greater gifts” are to function ― love. In this view 14:1 is resumptive. “Pursue love,” he commands, “and in that context eagerly desire the things of the Spirit, especially those gifts that are intelligible and will thus edify the community.”

If this is the correct view of things, then the words “and now I will show you the most excellent way” serve to interrupt the argument in order to put the entire discussion into a different framework altogether. It is often suggested that Paul is setting forth love as the greatest of all the gifts, and therefore the “greater gift” that all should pursue. But this is not quite precise. Not only does Paul not call love a gift, either here or elsewhere, but this clause stands in contrast to the immediately preceding imperative, not as its proper complement. What Paul is about to embark on is a description of what he calls “a way that is beyond comparison.” The way they are going is basically destructive to the church as a community; the way they are being called to is one that seeks the good of others before oneself. It is the way of edifying the church (14:1–5), of seeking the common good (12:7). In that context one will still earnestly desire the things of the Spirit (14:1), but precisely so that others will be edified. Thus it is not “love versus gifts” that Paul has in mind, but “love as the only context for gifts”; for without the former, the latter have no usefulness at all but then neither does much of anything else in the Christian life.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:1

Text: (NA27):

Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν ἢ κύμβαλον ἀλαλάζον.

Transliteration (Accordance):

Ean tais glōssais tōn anthrōpōn lalō kai tōn aggelōn, agapēn de mē echō, gegona chalkos ēchōn ē kymbalon alalazon.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

If I were to speak with human or angelic tongues, but if I had not love, I would have become only a resonating jar or a reverberating cymbal.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

γλῶσσα : language, tongue, γλώσσαις τῶν ἀγγέλων the way in which angels are thought to express their adoration.
ἐάν ... λαλῶ : (present subjunctive) a possible condition.
ἔχω : present subjunctive.
γέγονα : perfect of γίνομαι, in perfect be.
χαλκός : brass, copper.
ἠχῶν : participle of ἠχέω make a sound or noise.
κύμβαλον : cymbal,
ἀλαλάζον : participle of ἀλαλάζω wail loudly (Mk 5:38) ; of a cymbal, clang.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:2

Text: (NA27):

καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω προφητείαν καὶ εἰδῶ τὰ μυστήρια πάντα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν ὥστε ὄρη μεθιστάναι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐθέν εἰμι.

Transliteration (Accordance):

kai ean echō prophēteian kai eidō ta mystēria panta kai pasan tēn gnōsin kai ean echō pasan tēn pistin hōste orē methistanai, agapēn de mē echō, outhen eimi.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

And if I should have the gift of prophecy, and if I penetrate all the depths too profound for mere human discovery, and have all "knowledge," and if I possess the gifts of every kind of faith sufficient to remove mountains―but after all, may lack love, I am nothing.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

προφητεία : (gift of) prophecy.
εἰδῶ : subjunctive of οἶδα (perfect-present) know.
μυστήριον : (< μυέω initiate) secret rite ; in NT the secret mystery of the divine plan.
γνῶσις : knowledge.
μεθιστάναι : infinitive of μεθίστημί τι move, remove something elsewhere.
οὐθέν = οὐδέν : nothing.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:3

Text: (NA27):

κἂν ψωμίσω πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου καὶ ἐὰν παραδῶ τὸ σῶμά μου ἵνα καυχήσωμαι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦμαι.

Transliteration (Accordance):

kan psōmisō panta ta hyparchonta mou kai ean paradō to sōma mou hina kauchēsōmai, agapēn de mē echō, ouden ōpheloumai.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

Even if I should divide up all my possessions to feed the needy, and if I hand over my body that I may glory, but have not love, it counts for nothing.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

ψωμίσω : aorist subjunctive of ψωμίζω dole out so as to feed.
ὑπάρχοντα : participle of ὑπάρχω ; ὑπάρχω τινί belong to one, τὰ ὑπάρχοντα possessions.
παραδῶ : aorist subjunctive of παραδίδωμι hand over, give (over), deliver.
καυχήσωμαι : aorist subjunctive of καυχάομαι boast.
οὐδέν : in no way.
ὠφελοῦμαι : passive of ὠφελέω help, be profitable or good ; passive be helped/benefited.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:4

Text: (NA27):

Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται [ἡ ἀγάπη], οὐ ζηλοῖ, ἡ ἀγάπη] οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται

Transliteration (Accordance):

hĒ agapē makrothymei, chrēsteuetai [hē agapē], ou zēloi, hē agapē] ou perpereuetai, ou physioutai

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

Love waits patiently; love shows kindness, love does not burn with envy; love does not brag ― it is not inflated with its own importance.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

μακροθυμέω : (adjective μακρόθυμος long-tempored) be slow to anger, be patient.
χρηστεύομαι : be kind (χρηστός).
ζηλόω : be zealous, or envious.
περπερεύομαι : put oneself forward, colloquial "show off".
φυσιοῦμαι : passive of φυσιόω inflate ; passive be full of one's own importance.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:5

Text: (NA27):

οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν

Transliteration (Accordance):

ouk aschēmonei, ou zētei ta heautēs, ou paroxynetai, ou logizetai to kakon

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

It does not behave with ill-mannered impropriety; it is not preoccupied with the interests of the self; does not become exasperated into pique; does not keep a reckoning up of evil.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

ἀσχημονέω : behave dishonorably or deceitfully.
τὰ ἑαυτῆς : "what are its own", i.e. its own interests.
παροξύνομαι : (< ὀξύς sharp) : be hot-tempered.
λογίζομαι : put down to one's account ; reason ; consider ; brood over.
κακόν : evil ; injury.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:6

Text: (NA27):

οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, συγχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ

Transliteration (Accordance):

ou chairei epi tȩ̄ adikia̧, sygchairei de tȩ̄ alētheia̧

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

Love does not take pleasure in wrongdoing, but joyfully celebrates truth.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

ἀδικία : unrighteousness, wrongdoing.
συγχαίρω τινί : rejoice with.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:7

Text: (NA27):

πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει.

Transliteration (Accordance):

panta stegei, panta pisteuei, panta elpizei, panta hypomenei.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

It never tires of support, never loses faith, never exhausts hope, never gives up.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

στέγω : bear.
ἐλπίζω : hope.
ὑπομένω : endure.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:8

Text: (NA27):

Ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε πίπτει· εἴτε δὲ προφητεῖαι, καταργηθήσονται· εἴτε γλῶσσαι, παύσονται· εἴτε γνῶσις, καταργηθήσεται.

Transliteration (Accordance):

hĒ agapē oudepote piptei; eite de prophēteiai, katargēthēsontai; eite glōssai, pausontai; eite gnōsis, katargēthēsetai.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

Love never falls apart. Whether there are prophecies, these will be brought to an end; or if it be tongues, these will stop; if it be "knowledge," this will be rendered obsolete.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

οὐδέποτε : never.
πίπτω : metaphorical fail.
εἴτε ... εἴτε : whether (it be)...or...
προφητεία : prophecy.
καταργηθήσονται : (first time) future passive of καταργέω bring to nothing (ἄ-εργος, idle, inoperative).
γλῶσσα : language ; tongue.
παύσονται : future middle of παύω restrain ; middle cease.
γνῶσις : knowledge.
καταργηθήσεται : translate will be superseded

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:9

Text: (NA27):

ἐκ μέρους γὰρ γινώσκομεν καὶ ἐκ μέρους προφητεύομεν

Transliteration (Accordance):

ek merous gar ginōskomen kai ek merous prophēteuomen

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

For we know in fragmentary ways, and we prophesy part by part.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

μέρος : part, ἐκ μέρους partially, in part.
προφητεύω : prophesy.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:10

Text: (NA27):

ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ τέλειον, τὸ ἐκ μέρους καταργηθήσεται.

Transliteration (Accordance):

hotan de elthȩ̄ to teleion, to ek merous katargēthēsetai.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

When the completed whole comes, what is piece by piece shall be done away.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

ἔλθῃ : aorist subjunctive of ἔρχομαι come.
τέλειος : complete ; perfect.
τὸ ἐκ μέρους : what is partial/incomplete ; what is imperfect.

Comment from the first edition of The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT: Eerdmans, 1987), by Gordon D. Fee (via Accordance):

9–10 Paul now sets out to explain what he has asserted in verse 8. He does so by using the language “in part” to describe the “for now only” nature of the gifts (repeating the verb “pass away” from verse 8 to indicate what happens to them) and “the perfect/complete” to describe the time when what is “in part” will come to an end. The use of the substantive “the perfect/complete,” which sometimes can mean “mature,” plus the ambiguity of the first analogy (childhood and adulthood), has led some to think that the contrast is between “immaturity” and “maturity.” But that will hardly do since the contrast has to do with the gifts’ being “partial,” not the believers themselves. Furthermore, that is to give the analogy, which is ambiguous at best, precedence over the argument as a whole and the plain statement of verse 12b, where Paul repeats verbatim the first clause of verse 9, “we know in part,” in a context that can only be eschatological. Convoluted as the argument may appear, Paul’s distinctions are between “now” and “then,” between what is incomplete (though perfectly appropriate to the church’s present existence) and what is complete (when its final destiny in Christ has been reached and “we see face to face” and “know as we are known”).

That means that the phrase “in part” refers to what is not complete, or at least not complete in itself. The phrase by itself does not carry the connotation of “temporary” or “relative”; that comes from the context and the language “now … then” in verse 12. But the implication is there. It is “partial” because it belongs only to this age, which is but the beginning, not the completion, of the End. These gifts have to do with the edification of the church as it “eagerly awaits our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1:7). The nature of the eschatological language in verse 12 further implies that the term “the perfect” has to do with the Eschaton itself, not some form of “perfection” in the present age. It is not so much that the End itself is “the perfect,” language that does not make tolerably good sense; rather, it is what happens at the End, when the goal has been reached (see n.22*). At the coming of Christ the final purpose of God’s saving work in Christ will have been reached; at that point those gifts now necessary for the building up of the church in the present age will disappear, because “the complete” will have come. To cite Barth’s marvelous imagery: “Because the sun rises all lights are extinguished.”

*22. Greek τὸ τέλειον; cf. 2:7. This is the adjective of the verb τελειόω. Both mean to “bring to an end, to complete” something, although they also carry the further sense of “making” or “being perfect.” That is, the completing of something is the perfecting of it. God may thus be described as τέλειος (Matt. 5:48), which can only mean “perfect.” The meaning in the present instance is determined by its being the final goal of what is ἐκ μέρους, “partial.” Thus its root sense of “having attained the end or purpose” (BAGD), hence “complete,” seems to be the nuance here.

[John Reece]

1 Corinthians 13:11

Text: (NA27):

ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος· ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου.

Transliteration (Accordance):

hote ēmēn nēpios, elaloun hōs nēpios, ephronoun hōs nēpios, elogizomēn hōs nēpios; hote gegona anēr, katērgēka ta tou nēpiou.

Translation (Thiselton 2006):

When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, form opinions like a child, count values like a child; when I reached adulthood, I turned my back on the things of childhood.

Grammatical Analysis (Zerwick/BDAG, meanings in this context):

ἤμην : imperfect of εἰμί be.
νήπιος : infant ; child.
ἐλάλουν : imperfect of λαλέω talk, speak.
ἐφρόνουν : imperfect of φρονέω think.
ἐλογιζόμην : λογίζομαι (verse 5) reckon, calculate, reason, consider, brood over.
γέγονα : (verse 1) perfect of γίνομαι become, be
ὅτε γέγονα : since I became or preferably now I am.
κατήργηκα : perfect of καταργέω here, have finished/done with.
τὰ τοῦ νηπίου : the things of childhood.

Comment from the first edition of The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT: Eerdmans, 1987), by Gordon D. Fee (via Accordance):

11 Picking up the themes of “in part” and “the complete,” plus the verb “pass away” from verse 10, Paul proceeds to express the point of verses 9–10 by way of analogy. The analogy itself is commonplace. The adult does not continue to “talk” or “think” or “reason” like a child. Because of the use of the verb “talk,” which elsewhere in this section is used with tongues, and the contrast in 14:20 between thinking like children and adults, it is common to see this analogy as referring to speaking in tongues, which is then also considered “childish” behavior that the Corinthians are now being urged to set aside in favor of love. Such a view flies full in the face of the argument itself, both here and in 12:4–11 and 14:1–40.

Paul’s point in context does not have to do with “childishness” and “growing up,” but with the difference between the present and the future. He is illustrating that there will come a time when the gifts will pass away. The analogy, therefore, says that behavior from one period in one’s life is not appropriate to the other; the one is “done away with” when the other comes. So shall it be at the Eschaton. The behavior of the child is in fact appropriate to childhood. The gifts, by analogy, are appropriate to the present life of the church, especially so since from Paul’s point of view they are the active work of the Spirit in the church’s corporate life. On the other hand, the gifts are equally inappropriate to the church’s final existence because then, as he will go on to argue in verse 12, “I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Hence the implicit contrast with love, which will never come to an end. Love does not eliminate the gifts in the present; rather, it is absolutely essential to Christian life both now and forever. The gifts, on the other hand, are not forever; they are to help build up the body but only in the present, when such edification is needed.