1When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the rulers of this world who are coming to nothing. 7But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory, 8which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. 9But as it is written,
“Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear,
which didn’t enter into the heart of man,
these God has prepared for those who love him.”
10But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except God’s Spirit. 12But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God. 13We also speak these things, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. 14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him; and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is to be judged by no one. 16“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.
| Gift | Description | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prophecy Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 14:29-32 | Speaking truth directly revealed from God | Understanding mystery, 1 Cor 13:2 | Timothy, 1 Tim 4:14 Daughters of Philip, Acts 21:8-9 |
| Service, helping Rom 12:7 | Aiding others to do God’s work; giving practical assistance to needy members of the church | Serving the church and the needy, Acts 6:1 | Onesiphorus, 2 Tim 1:16 |
| Teaching Rom 12:7; 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11 | Communicating the truth and application of Scripture | Understanding the word of God, Acts 18:26 | Priscilla and Aquila, Acts 18:26 Apollos, Acts 18:27-28 Paul, Acts 18:11 |
| Encouraging Rom 12:8 | Urging one to pursue proper conduct or offering consolation | Encouragement, Acts 18:26 | Barnabas, Acts 4:36 |
| Giving Rom 12:8 | Liberally and cheerfully imparting substance to God’s work | Meeting physical needs, Acts 9:36 | Dorcas, Acts 9:36 |
| Leadership Rom 12:8 | Organizing and administering the work of the ministry | Order, Titus 1:5 | Titus, Titus 1:5 |
| Showing mercy Rom 12:8 | Giving undeserved aid to others | Sympathy and compassion toward the undeserving | Barnabas, Acts 9:27 |
| Apostleship 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11 | Being an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ and speaking authoritatively about faith and practice | Setting forth God’s precepts for the church, 1 Cor 14:37 | Paul, Gal 1:1 Peter, 1 Pet 1:1 |
| Evangelism Eph 4:11 | Presenting the gospel with clarity and with a burden for the unsaved | Understanding the gospel | Philip, Acts 21:8 |
| Pastor-teacher Rom 12:7; Eph 4:11 | Shepherding and teaching the church | Care and godly instruction, Acts 20:28-31 | Paul, 1 Thess 2:7-12 |
| Message of wisdom 1 Cor 12:8 | Perceiving and presenting the truth of God; applying God’s word or wisdom to specific situations | Ability to grasp and apply the revelation given, 1 Cor 1:18 | John, 1 John 1:1-3 |
| Message of knowledge 1 Cor 12:8 | Understanding and exhibiting wisdom from God and revelation from God about people, circumstances, or biblical truth | Truth understood in its spiritual sense, 1 Cor 2:6-12 | Paul, Col 2:2-3 |