1 Corinthians 12:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit" (v. 4). First of all he admonishes the one who received a lesser gift and grieves because of it.

Why do you grieve, he says? Is it because you did not receive as much as another? But remember that this is a gift, not a debt, and you will receive comfort in your grief.

Therefore he directly expressed himself in this way: "There are diversities of gifts." He did not say "signs" or "miracles," but "gifts." By the name of gift he persuades the man not only not to grieve, but also to be thankful.

At the same time, he says, consider this. Although you received a gift of lesser measure, you were counted worthy to receive it from the same source as the one who received more. Therefore you have equal honor with him.

After showing the difference between a prophet and a false prophet, he also speaks about gifts, in order to correct those who were falling into division because of them. First he heals the one who received a lesser gift and therefore grieves. Why are you offended that you did not receive as much as another? It is not something owed, but mercy and a gift. Therefore be thankful that God, who owes you nothing, has given you something. Besides, the same God gave both to you and to him. It was not an angel who gave to you and God who gave to him. Rather, the one and same Spirit gave to both of you.

Although, he says, there are divisions of gifts of grace, ministries, and powers among you, and although there is a distinction between grace and grace, nevertheless the Spirit is one and the same.

Therefore this does not refer either to the fullness of the Spirit or to a part of Him, since man cannot comprehend the fullness of God by the mind, nor is God divided into parts. But He pours out the gift of the grace of the Spirit, in whom God is also worshiped, just as He is worshiped in truth. For no one worships God unless he piously takes into himself the truth of His Divinity.

In these words the Apostle clearly disclosed the purpose of what he had said. He showed that the gifts bestowed are numerous and diverse, but their source is one.

The same thing, he says, is given by the all-holy Spirit, by the Lord, and by God the Father.

For he called the same gifts "gifts," "ministries," and "operations." They are called gifts because they are given according to God's generosity. They are called ministries because they were bestowed through people appointed to this sacred ministry.

Thus in the Epistle to the Romans the Apostle said, "Inasmuch then as I am an Apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry" (Rom 11:13).

In one place he writes to Timothy, "Fulfill your ministry" (2 Tim 4:5). In another he says, "I remind you to stir up the gift of God" (2 Tim 1:6).

The Holy Spirit acts according to each person. Being among us, He sees the character of each, sees thought and conscience, and knows what we say, what we ponder, and what we believe.

Just as the powers of the human body remain unrealized when no causes bring them into action, so also does the soul.

The eyes will not perform their work if there is no light or brightness of day. The ears will not fulfill their task if no voice or sound is heard. The nostrils will not render their service if no odor is present.

All this happens not because the capacity has been lost, but because the occasion is absent. For a capacity to be realized, a cause is necessary.

So it is with the human soul. If the soul has not breathed in the gift of the Spirit through faith, then even though it has the capacity for understanding, it will not obtain the light of knowledge.

"Diversities of gifts." A gift is the same as a talent or capacity proper to the various members of the Church.

The Apostle compares the Church to a body. As he observes various capacities and functions in the body, so he observes the same in the Church (Rom 12:6).

He called them gifts because they are given according to God's generosity.

By pointing to the origin of the various gifts from one source, the Holy Spirit, the Apostle wishes to humble those who exalt themselves over these gifts. He also wishes to calm the envious desires of those who do not have them.

If some have more gifts, they should not think that others have none at all. Those others, in turn, should not complain that they have no gifts.

The very confession of Jesus as the Son of God is already a gift of the Spirit of God. It shows that the Spirit of God is active in such a person.

By these words of the Apostle the truth is not removed that among Christians there are both pastors and flock, those who govern and those who are subject. For although all who truly believe in Jesus Christ as Lord show through this that they have the Holy Spirit (v. 3), nevertheless the activities of the Spirit are very diverse, and His gifts are manifold (vv. 4-5). Some gifts belong to the flock and to those under authority, while others belong to pastors and leaders.

"There are diversities of gifts, but the Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, is the same. And there are diversities of ministries, for which the gifts are given, according to Chrysostom, but the Lord, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is the same.

And there are diversities of operations, that is, the fruits or consequences of the gifts, but God, the first person of the Holy Trinity, is the same, who works all things in all."

By these words, according to Blessed Theodoret's explanation, the Apostle showed that the Holy Trinity is the giver of the same gifts, only under different names.

By this he comforts those who had received what seemed to them lesser gifts. He teaches that both kinds of gifts are bestowed from one and the same source.

Speaking of the diversity of spiritual gifts, the Apostle first points to the basis of this diversity. It lies in the diversity of ecclesial needs, for the satisfaction of which the gifts are revealed.

Then he shows that this diversity is united in the single source of these gifts, the Holy Spirit. It is also united in the unity of the body of the Church.

In relation to the Church, all the different bearers of gifts are like the different organs in the body. Together they constitute the whole body, and from various sides they all serve the common benefit of the whole body.

According to Saint John Chrysostom, "The Apostle first of all admonishes here the one who received a lesser gift and therefore grieves."

"In these words the Apostle has shown that, although the gifts are numerous and diverse, their source is one. The same thing, he says, is given by the all-holy Spirit, by the Lord, and by God the Father.

For he called the same gifts 'gifts,' 'ministries,' and 'operations.' They are called gifts because they are given according to God's generosity. They are called ministries because they were bestowed through people appointed to this sacred ministry, that is, appointed for service to others.

He also called the gifts operations because they receive their efficacy from the divine nature.