X11. 1–11. Spiritual gifts.

The background of this chapter is the spiritual excitement, accompanied by ecstasy, that marked the gatherings of Christians in these early days. See 14:1 and cp. Acts 2:3–13, 10:46, 19:6 . The Corinthians had consulted Paul primarily on the gift of tongues, which he puts on a wider background.

1f. spiritual gifts. The Greek is "spiritual . . . ", the noun being left to be supplied, "gifts" or, less probably, "persons". Paul refers to the Gentile past; led by faction, you tried one cult after another, influenced by demons.

dumb. Not appropriate to the context of v.3; taken from the language of Jewish propaganda, e.g. Ps. 115:5.

Jesus is anathema. Only a Jew would say this (cp. Gal. 3:13 ) and he would not attend the Church meeting. As this was held near the synagogue (Acts 18:7), the cry may have greeted Christians on their arrival. Perhaps it is put as the exact opposite of what follows, which takes the initial confession of Jesus as itself the gift of the Spirit. The Jewish convert said "Jesus is the Christ", the Greek "Jesus is the Lord".

4f. gifts. The Greek word is charismata, the various gifts and graces which prove that grace (charis) is present. Our word “gifts" goes back to a time when everyone recognised that they come from God.

diversities. Literally "'divisions". No one man can appropriate all that the Spirit offers.

ministrations, workings. The gifts as they function and become effective in all (believers).

Spirit, Lord, God. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, though not yet formulated, appears here. Cp. 2 Cor. 3:17, "the Lord is the Spirit".

to profit withal. To be used for the common good.

faith. In the characteristic Pauline sense, the foundation of the whole Christian life; here it seems to be associated with miraculous powers.

miracles after will refer to casting out demons.

prophecy. Inspired utterance, perhaps ecstatic, but coherent, whereas tongues are incoherent. See 1 Sam. 10:10 for the early Hebrew conception of prophecy.

discerning. Between the Holy Spirit and demons; there is a clear case in v.3 . Another example is seen in 2 Th. 2:2, where, without Paul's guidance, an utterance declaring that the Day of the Lord has begun would be wrongly attributed to the Spirit.

12–31. The figure of the body. The Greeks thought of the State as a body and developed the implications of the idea much as Paul does here. The novelty is his conception of the glorified Body of Christ, which gives substance to the mystical Body which is the Church. The old Hebrew conception of corporate personality lies behind the teaching. For Paul it was truth, not a mere parable. See Eph. 4:15, where Christ is the Head, and Jn. 15 (the Vine).

13. made to drink. A vivid metaphor; cp. Jn. 7:38.