1Cor 12:7 Cross References

1 Corinthians 12:7

7: A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.

God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.
Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen.

God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you.
If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.
If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

But in a church meeting I would much rather speak five understandable words that will help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

Since you are so eager to have spiritual gifts, ask God for those that will be of real help to the whole church.

However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.
That is why the Scriptures say, "When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people."
Notice that it says "he ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live.
The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe.
He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers.
Even so, if unbelievers or people who don't understand these things come into your meeting and hear everyone talking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy.
But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don't understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin, and they will be condemned by what you say.
As they listen, their secret thoughts will be laid bare, and they will fall down on their knees and worship God, declaring, "God is really here among you."
Well, my brothers and sisters, let's summarize what I am saying. When you meet, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in an unknown language, while another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must be useful to all and build them up in the Lord.

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a trip. He called together his servants and gave them money to invest for him while he was gone.
He gave five bags of gold to one, two bags of gold to another, and one bag of gold to the last--dividing it in proportion to their abilities--and then left on his trip.
The servant who received the five bags of gold began immediately to invest the money and soon doubled it.
The servant with two bags of gold also went right to work and doubled the money.
But the servant who received the one bag of gold dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money for safekeeping.

I wish you all had the gift of speaking in tongues, but even more I wish you were all able to prophesy. For prophecy is a greater and more useful gift than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church can get some good out of it.

You will be giving thanks very nicely, no doubt, but it doesn't help the other people present.

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