1 Corinthians 12 Historical Context

The historical context of chapter 12 is also the greater literary context of Paul's letter.  He had several purposes in writing to the Corinthian church:

1. Praising the church's giftedness in all speech and all knowledge
2. Discouraging disunity, jealousy, and immoral living
3. Defending his apostleship
4. Addressing sexual immorality in the church and disputes among believers
5. Encouraging marriage due to lust, and encouraging singleness for those who are capable
6. Discussing food sacrificed to idols, the consciences of "weak" and "strong" believers, the importance of denying one's rights for the sake of the gospel and the consciences of others, and not being mastered by any idol
7. Head coverings and hair length in promotion of orderly worship services and biblical marriage roles

The Corinthian church appears to have enjoyed great giftedness (1:4-5) and were commended for following traditions that Paul passed on to them (11:2). Even though there was carnality, misapprehension of doctrine, and immaturity in the congregation, Paul referred to them as saints (1:2). One must ask why Paul went to such lengths to give detailed accounts of doctrine in two canonical letters of Scripture, as well as two letters that have been lost to us (see http://evidenceforchristianity.org/did-paul-write-other-letters-what-about-3rd-corinthians/). There is no need to provide detailed doctrine to those who know it well. But as Paul states,

"I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?" (3:1-3).

Infants need to be informed regularly so they can grow and mature in understanding. No parent wants his or her child to remain youthfully minded forever; it is important that the child grow into an adult, capable of correct apprehension of subjects and the ability to navigate through life. One earmark of the carnal mind, Paul seems to be saying, is "strife and jealousy." He does not want the Corinthians to be at odds with one another, but unified. It is this thread that carries through his obvious frustration over their lawsuits with other believers in 1 Corinthians 6 ("To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you" [v.7]).

By the time we reach 1 Corinthians 11, Paul commends the believers for adhering to the traditions of husband-and-wife conduct in the church. But just as he is later adamant that believers understand why they are taking the Lord's Supper (11:27-29), he is here adamant that the husbands in the church understand why they are not wearing head coverings or growing out their hair, and that the wives in the church understand why they are wearing head coverings and maintaining long hair. Moral and biblical conduct are critical, but Paul wants his hearers to be informed of why they do what they do, and unified in doing it.

If it is true, then, that Paul wants the recipients of his letter to be informed and unified, then this is the lens we must look through while analyzing 1 Corinthians 12. And the chapter does, in fact, begin with Paul saying, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed" (12:1). This is a topic about which it is easy to be misinformed. So he will explain to them the nature of spiritual gifts and God's intended function for them. It as if Paul is saying, "You are blessed with spiritual gifts. But I want you to understand why you have these gifts, and I want you to be unified in exercising them."

Now that we have examined the literary and historical context, we will begin the exposition of the text.