1 Corinthians 12 Round Two: How About Them Tongues?

Controversy meets clarity as we explore 1 Corinthians 12 and ask a sharper question than “Which gifts are for today?”—namely, “Who gets the glory?” We walk through Paul’s practical blueprint for spiritual gifts: one Spirit, many manifestations, and a single goal—the common good. Along the way, we unpack the tension between spectacle and service and rediscover why the healthiest church life feels less like a talent show and more like a body moving in sync.

I share a simple filter that cuts through confusion: if a moment points to Jesus as Lord, it aligns with the Spirit’s work. If it spotlights the performer, it’s time to pause. We talk through wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation as tools the Spirit selects for real needs—like a builder choosing the right tool from a belt. We reflect on Paul’s body metaphor and why unseen parts often carry weighty honor, reminding us to cherish quiet gifts like helps and leadership as deeply Spirit-filled.

We also address hot-button debates—cessationism versus continuationism—while focusing on Paul’s pastoral aim: desire the most helpful gifts and pursue what strengthens the church. Abuse and showmanship are real, but they are reasons for discernment, not dismissal. Our posture becomes simple and courageous: seek the Giver, not the gift; pray bold prayers; and step through open doors with humility and love. By the end, you’ll have a grounded framework for practicing gifts in a way that brings unity, clarity, and hope.

If this conversation serves you, subscribe, share with a friend who’s wrestling with spiritual gifts, and leave a review to help more listeners find the Bible Breakdown Podcast. What gift have you seen used well—and how did it point you to Jesus?

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Today’s Focus
• 0:52 Community Updates And Callouts
• 1:38 The Tool Belt Analogy
• 2:22 Setting Context For Corinth
• 3:30 Reading: What The Spirit Gives
• 5:21 One Body Many Parts
• 7:33 Roles Appointed In The Church
• 8:47 Cessationism vs Continuationism
• 10:10 Don’t Glorify Gifts Over Jesus
• 12:05 Seek The Giver Not The Gifts
• 14:10 Prayer And Closing Reminder

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the BibleBreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's Word together. Well, hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon, today, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And we're going to call this one How about Them Tongues? This is one of the most controversial scriptures or chapters in the entire Bible because of the controversy surrounding it. And that is the gifts of the Spirit. I found that most people don't give two cents about gifts of the Spirit. They're fine with it most of the time. It's really one or two that they have a problem with. And so we're just going to go there. We're just going to see what God's Word has to say. We're not going to add any more to it, but we're just going to see what His Word has to say and see how we can grow together. Okay. But before we do that, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share, and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Also leave us a five-star review on the podcast. Make sure you are going to the Bible breakdown discussion on the Facebook page because our Facebook group, because man, the more we dig, the more we find. I cannot wait to hear what they do with the rest of 1 Corinthians because it is just so full. Like as we're reading this together, there's so many pieces of this I don't even touch because it would be like an hour podcast per chapter. So I'm leaving a lot for them because, man, the more we dig, the more we find. And I want to hear from you. I want you to go to the Bible breakdown discussion. And when you see the devotions they put up, I want you to interact with us and let us know what you're finding as you dig into God's Word. Because once again, the more we dig, the more we find. So if you got your Bibles with me, you want to open them up to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. You know, I know this guy. And if I were to say his name, if you're part of our church, you'd know exactly who I'm talking about. And we were doing this renovation together on the church. And he was just the guy you went to when you needed something. And it was so amazing to watch him because I would see people who would come up to him and they would need this or they would need that. And he had this massive tool belt on. And when he had this tool belt on, whatever it is they needed, he would say, Well, hang on a second. He'd reach over to a pocket over here. Hang on a second, reach into that pocket over there. And he didn't seem like he was just ready for whatever they needed. Well, when we look at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, I want you to keep that mental image in your mind. Because as we can see what Paul is doing, remember, we almost think of this as like a family therapy session, right? There's all this division going on in the Las Vegas of the first century Rome, right? The church at Corinth, man, there's it looks like a big party on the outside, but on the inside, there's all this different division that's happening. And so Paul starts with saying, hey, man, we're all in this together. I'm your spiritual father. And so I'm about to get on to everybody. And so he does. He just starts laying waste to everything. And then yesterday he was talking about, man, this ain't no buffet. We're here to worship. It's going to be all right. Well, now, since he has laid this foundation about when we do life together, we're not doing life for us or for ourselves. We're doing life for us as a group. Then he's saying, okay, well, now when you're going to want to do life together, the wonderful thing is, is the Holy Spirit wants to partner with you so that you can make a difference in the lives of others. And so we're going to look at how he does this. And then we're going to get even deeper on how he wants to move through us to one another. So you ready? First Corinthians chapter 12. Some of you have been saying you've been looking forward to this chapter. Well, we'll see. All right, here we go. Verse one. Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities that the Spirit gives us, I want you to, I don't want you to misunderstand this. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. So other words, he's saying, first things first. You want to know how you can tell if someone's of God or not? Who are they glorifying? Are they glorifying themselves or are they bringing all glory to God? The first way you can tell if God is moving through somebody is who are they bringing glory to? Verse 4. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so that we can help each other. To one person, the spirit gives the ability to give wise advice. To another, the same spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same spirit gives great faith to another. To someone else, the spirit gives the gift of healing. The gift uh he gives one person the power to perform miracles and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or another spirit. All right. Still, another person is given the ability to speak in an unknown language, also known as speaking in tongues, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is one, it is the one and only the spirit who distributes all of these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. All right. So I want you to remember again the idea of my friend who had the tool belt on. Now, my friend, he is the one who was empowered. He had the knowledge, he had the ability, and it was just a matter of what tool was needed to get the job done. That's what Paul is saying. The gift that we have to bless one another is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the gift that we have, but the way he moves through us is based on what is needed in the moment. The Holy Spirit is in charge of the gifts. The Holy Spirit has these different things. And then he gives us these and uses them through us in order to make a difference. Verse 12 says this as we keep going. The human body has many parts, but many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we all have been baptized into one body by one spirit. We all share the same spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, I'm not part of the body because I'm not a hand, that does not make it any less part of the body. If it were to say, if the ear said, I am not part of the body because I'm not an eye, would that make it any less part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, who would do the smelling? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body it would be if it only had one part. Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, I don't need you. The head can't say to the feet, I don't need you. In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts that we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts that do not require the special care, while other parts do not require the special care. And we all know what Paul's talking about, okay? We ain't gonna go there. We know we know what he's saying, all right? I wonder who the armpit of the body of Christ is, by the way. You ever wondered that? Who's the pinky toe? I don't I don't know, but I digress. Let's keep moving before it gets weird. So God has put many body, put the body together as such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. Praise the Lord. If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it. And if one part is honor, all parts are glad. All of you together are Christ's body. Each of you are part of it. Here are some of the parts that God has appointed for the church. First apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who help others, those who have the gift of leadership, and those who speak in unknown languages. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Well, of course not. You should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you the way of life that is best of all. So it was a lot there. Let me break this down. There are some people who are called cessationists. That means they believe that the gifts of the spirit that Paul talked about very clearly right there, that they ended at the end of the early church. There are those who are called continuationists, those who say that the gifts of the spirit that Paul laid out there and in Romans are continuing even until today. Can I tell you, I cannot find a single scripture in the Bible that says that the gifts of the Spirit ever ended. Because the church is still here, that's me and you, that means the gift of the Spirit are still here because the Spirit is still with us. But we can't get twisted on this. Most people who don't believe, quote unquote, in the gifts of the Spirit actually don't have a problem with us helping one another. Matter of fact, they love the idea of helping one another. They don't like the bad PR, the bad reputation that the gifts of the Spirit have gotten because of what Paul said at the very beginning. And that is, you want to know how you can tell if somebody is really on the same page with God or not by who they glorify. And a lot of times, people don't glorify God. They don't glorify the spirit, they glorify the gifts of the spirit so that it brings them cloud. That's what people who use all these different titles of apostle this or a prophet this or teacher this, some do it very well. Because I'm not trying to criticize everybody, but some people use these titles for clout. Some people say, Well, I speak in tongues, therefore I'm better than somebody else, or I have the gift of healing. No, you don't. You don't have any of those things. You have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in you, and then he uses those gifts through you. Does that make sense? So we should always be careful to say, I have the gift of prophecy, I have the gift of miracles, I have the gift of leadership. I know what you're saying, but it is a slippery slope. So we should always be careful to say, I have the Spirit of God living in me, and the Spirit of God living through me. And as he speaks through me, sometimes I speak in tongues. Sometimes God uses me to lead someone toward healing. Or he uses me to do miracles. He uses me to teach, he uses me in all these different ways. But we have to be careful to remember that the gift is not the thing that we do. The gift is the spirit. And just like my friend who had this tool belt, what we do is, is when we go into a situation, God has gifted us as his children. And so we earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. And so when someone comes up to us and they need healing, you know what, Holy Spirit, if you want to use me in this, I don't have to have the gift of healing, because I already have the gift that is the Holy Spirit. And so I'm going to pray for you and we're going to see if God will use us in this gift. You know, situation where you need to speak in an unknown language, you need to speak in tongues. You know what? I have the Holy Spirit. And so if he wants to use me in that, he will. The gift of interpreting an unknown language. Then we can do that. So the the lesson here is don't seek after the gifts, seek after the the spirit to use you. And the gifts specifically will come. Now, Paul's going to say later, earnestly desire to prophesy. So he's saying, desire to be used in the gifts, but don't desire the gifts, desire the giver of the gifts. And if you do that, then God will use you. And this may be challenging for some of us. Maybe you grew up in an environment where, number one, they didn't believe in it. They didn't do it. I want you to ask yourself the question, why? Was it because they had never read 1 Corinthians 12? Maybe they hadn't. Maybe they believed that the gifts of the Spirit ceased at the end of the first century. Ask yourself the question, why? Why would the Holy Spirit stop empowering believers to minister to one another? Maybe you don't necessarily not believe in the gifts of the Spirit, but you don't pursue them because people are weird. Do you know what happens when weird people become Christians? Nothing. They stay weird. No. Weird Christians were weird before they found Jesus, okay? That's just the way that goes. And then hopefully they mature out of that somewhat. But I grew up in an environment where some people would be used in the gifts of the Spirit, and I got to see beautiful things. I got to see people get healed. I got to see people speak to others in an unknown language, and it was a beautiful thing. It was awesome. I also saw people who were insecure, people who felt unseen and unheard. And when they would do these certain things, they felt like they were finally seen and heard. And so they manipulated the appearance of these gifts for their own pleasure and their own gain. And that's how you could tell that it wasn't the Lord, because it didn't point back to Jesus, it pointed to themselves. And so maybe you were in that environment. And because things were abused, now you want nothing to do with it. What can I tell you? Don't blame God for something somebody else did. And so do this. Pray and say, God, if these gifts are real, and if these gifts are for today, do it to me. And if you truly do that, trust the Lord. And if God doesn't use you in any spiritual gifts, well, that's okay. Seek the giver, not the gift, and let God do what he wants. But then if he opens the door, step through that door, and you know what's amazing? It's not even that he will use you in the gift, but that he will use you to be helpful to somebody else. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you for your goodness and your mercy. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you empower us so that we can make a difference in the lives of others. Lord, I'm praying that some people listening to this, watching this today, they're gonna pray a bold prayer. They're gonna say, God, if it's real and if it's you, do it to me. And Lord, I pray you will. I pray just like I've experienced your gifts in my own life, I pray they'll experience it in their life. Because we don't experience spiritual gifts so that we can be known and seen, but it's because we've been known and seen by you that then we can step into that place and say, God, use me to be a difference maker for somebody else. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, family therapy session over for today for the church at Gorith. Don't forget God's word says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, whatever you do, whether you're eating or you're drinking or you're using in the spiritual gifts, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for 1 Corinthians chapter 13.