Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers?
Parallel Translations
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Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers?
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Are all Apostles? Are all Prophetes? Are all teachers? Are all doars of miracles?
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Are all Apostles? are all Prophetes? are all teachers?
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 12:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages. But the one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing to each one separately as he desires.
- 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot would say, “Because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body,” it is not therefore not part of the body. If the ear would say, “Because I’m not the eye, I’m not part of the body,” it’s not therefore not part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now they are many members, but one body.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 29. Are all Apostles? It may indeed have happened,…
29. Are all Apostles? It may indeed have happened, that one individual was endowed with many gifts, and sustained two of the offices which he has enumerated; nor was there in this any inconsistency. Paul’s object, however, is to show in the first place, that no one has such a fullness in everything as to have a sufficiency within himself, and not require the aid of others; and secondly, that offices as well as gifts are distributed in such a manner that no one member constitutes the whole body, but each contributing his portion to the common advantage, they then altogether constitute an entire and perfect body. For Paul means here to take away every occasion of proud boasting, base envyings, haughtiness, and contempt of the brethren, malignity, ambition, and everything of that nature.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all…
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
Ver. 29. Are all teachers?] Yes, some would have it so, as in Alcibiades’ army all were leaders, no learners.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That is, all are not, nor can be, any…
That is, all are not, nor can be, any more than all the body can be an ear, or an eye, or a hand, or a foot: you cannot expect, that in a governed body all should be governors; and you see by experience, that all cannot work miracles, prophesy, speak with tongues, or heal those that are sick.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain The force of the apostle’s argument lies thus: As…
The force of the apostle’s argument lies thus: As the natural body, to which he had before alluded, cannot be all eye, nor all ear, nor all hand, nor all foot; in like manner in the mystical body, the church, all cannot govern, prophesy, teach, work miracles, heal diseases; but one has this gift, and another that; one has this office in the church, and another that; all which are to be employed and improved for the common good of the church, and mutual benefit of each other.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Are all apostles?.... No some are prophets, as distinct…
Are all apostles?.... No some are prophets, as distinct from apostles; and some are teachers, as distinct from them both, and some are neither:
are all prophets? no; some are apostles, above them, and some are teachers, inferior to them; and but very few there were who had that peculiar character and gift:
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are all teachers? no; the far greater part of the members of churches are hearers, or persons that are taught in the word; are neither in the office of teaching, nor have they the qualifications for it.
Are all workers of miracles? no; in those early times, when the gift of doing miracles was bestowed, it was not given to all, only to some; and now there are none that are possessed of it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Are all apostles, c.] That is: All…
Verse 29. Are all apostles, c.] That is: All are not apostles, all are not prophets, c. God has distributed his various gifts among various persons, each of whom is necessary for the complete edification of the body of Christ. On these subjects see the notes on 1Co 12:7-10.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Are all apostles? ... - These questions imply, with…
Are all apostles? ... - These questions imply, with strong emphasis, that it could not be, and ought not to be, that there should be perfect equality of endowment. It was not a matter of fact that all were equal, or that all were qualified for the offices which others sustained. Whether the arrangement was approved of or not, it was a simple matter of fact that some were qualified to perform offices which others were not; that some were endowed with the abilities requisite to the apostolic office, and others not; that some were endowed with prophetic gifts, and others were not; that some had the gift of healing, or the talent of speaking different languages, or of interpreting and that others had not.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Are all?--Surely not.
Are all?--Surely not.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. Are all apostles?] The common priesthood of every…
29. Are all apostles?] The common priesthood of every Christian (1Pe_2:5; 1Pe_2:9) no more precludes the existence of special offices of authority in the Christian Church than the common priesthood of the Jewish people (Exo_19:6) precluded the existence of a special order of men appointed to minister to God in holy things. The Apostle appeals to it as a notorious fact that all were not apostles or prophets, but only those who were called to those offices. Accordingly there is scarcely any sect of Christians which has not set apart a body of men to minister in holy things and to expound the word of God. “Were all teachers,” says Estius, “where were the learners?” The question here, however, is, rather of gifts than of the offices to which those gifts lead.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Are all apostles? etc. It is God"s providence which…
Are all apostles? etc. It is God"s providence which "has appointed divers orders in his Church," and has "ordained and constituted the services of angels and of men in a wonderful order."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 29. Are all apostles? Only a few had this…
29. Are all apostles? Only a few had this office given them, and so of each of the other gifts.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 29. “Whether are all apostles?” Of course the answer…
DIVERSITIES OF GIFTS
29. “Whether are all apostles?” Of course the answer is in the negative. No age of Christendom has ever needed a very great number of pioneer’s to explore and plant the work in new fields, as it would be fruitless unless those fields are immediately occupied and permanently utilized. If God has not made you a pioneer, it does not follow that He has not called you into the work and has not for you a crown of glory waiting to greet you on the mount of victory. Sanctification kills out all your ambitions so you are as willing to be a most humble worker as the very “chief of the apostles.” If any one thinks that the apostolic office, in its original and literal signification as a pioneer, is not still a happy verity in God’s kingdom, read Eph 4:10-12. “Are all prophets?” i. e., Spirit-filled preachers of the gospel, evangelists and pastors? The answer is in the negative. As in the preceding exegesis, you see there is a symmetry in the body of Christ homogeneous to that in the human body, which would be ruined if it were all eye, or all ear, or all nose, or all foot, or all trunk, and no members. In a similar manner the Omniscient Creator of the body of Christ, which includes all the saints, has beautifully, symmetrically and proportionately supplied it with all the diversified members and infinitesimal constituencies of the infinitely diversified organism. Well has the human body been denominated “a harp with a thousand strings,” on which Jehovah alone can play and He alone keep it in tune. How prominently, even elaborately, in this chapter does the Holy Ghost specify the different members of the body constituting a mysterious unity and beautifully illustrating the mystical unity amid illimitable variety and diversity characterizing the body of Christ. How deplorably do the fallen churches illustrate the sad discomfiture of this Divine arrangement, and their deplorable deficiency of many organs which are indispensable not only to the efficiency, but even the life, of the body. These organs, however, the devil is prompt to supply, which makes the matter infinitely worse than the deficiencies. Of course we are not all “prophets,” i. e., fire-baptized evangelists and pastors. But that is no reason why we should conclude that we have been left out of the catalogue. The Holy Ghost honors and utilizes all the members of the body. He has no deadbeats. The devil supplies them. “Whether are all teachers?” James (Jas 3:1) commands us, “Be not many teacher’s,” E.V., “masters,” in harmony with the old style of calling a schoolteacher a schoolmaster. The Greek is didaskaloi, the very word we have here. Hence we find that “teacher’s” are not many, but few. I have spent years in other capacities of gospel work, but for’ some years have been used as a teacher in the school of Christ. Of this office I feel very unworthy, yet I must be true to the Holy Ghost by the grace of God. The cause of God in all ages, as abundantly and sadly illustrative ever and anon in the present Holiness Movement, has suffered much from incompetent teacher’s, propagating dangerous and damaging errors. Thousands of true saints, who could be eminently useful if they would go out in the office of prophet, i. e., edifying, exhorting and comforting the people (ch. 1Co 14:3), could win platoons for God and weave a crown of glory for their own brows in the coming eternity by reading the Word of God, proclaiming it to the people, exhorting them to receive it and prepare for death and judgment, and everywhere comforting the brokenhearted by reading and repeating the precious promises, at the same time corroborating all by their own happy experiences. Meanwhile, if they undertake to go down into the profundities of exegesis for which they are utterly incompetent, they will actually, though innocently, run into sad mistakes and propagate all sorts of errors which the enemy will use to break our heads, prejudice the people against sanctification and lead them down to Hell. While teaching is so exceedingly important and indispensable, we must admit that education, especially in the Greek and Hebrew, which form the inspired original Scriptures, is of infinite value. The saints of the Lord should move slowly, carefully, prayerfully and judiciously on the line of exegesis, and at the same time be bold as lions, everywhere ringing out the plain Word of God extemporaneously if you have a good memory, but if you do not remember and have the Word at your tongue’s end, praise the Lord! He has given you good eyes and your precious and infallible Bible, which shall judge you and all the people with whom you deal in the interests of their souls, consequently you are left without excuse. You can read God’s Word to the people, exhort them to obey it and comfort them with the precious promises, thus enjoying the honorable office of “prophet” if not that of teacher. The word prophesy means to “overflow.” So you can go around overflowing the Word of God as you read it in your Bible, and exhorting the people to obey it, at the same time reading and repeating the precious promises to the brokenhearted. “He that prophesieth speaketh to the people edification, exhortation and comfort” (ch. 1Co 14:3). Be sure you never lose sight of this definition of prophecy given by the Holy Ghost. It is so simple, easy and practical that by the help of the blessed Spirit you certainly can reach it. “Oh! I am so sorry I can not read the Scriptures in Greek and Hebrew!” Do not please the enemy by talking that way. But shout aloud because you can read your Bible in one language. You are wonderfully fortunate. Five hundred years ago not one person in five hundred could read it. N. B. — You will not be judged by Greek nor Hebrew, but by the plain English Bible, when you stand before the great white throne, so rest easy and press the battle for souls. If you are not prepared to be a teacher, shout the louder because God has given you the more felicitous office of an exhorter and comforter. “Whether are all dynamiters?” i. e., the honored participants of the fifth gift of the Spirit, as they stand in the preceding catalogue, denominated in E.V. “the working of miracles.” Perhaps God does not especially need you in that line. He has for you a fade less diadem in your own calling. Be true, and “ready to stand in your lot at the end of the days.” The church imperatively needs these dynamiters, to go around with their sharp, New Jerusalem steel drills and ponderous mallets, patiently drilling through the devil’s profound flinty strata, putting down the dynamite, igniting it with heavenly electricity, and blowing up the devil’s mountains. But remember, a few dynamite blasts will burst out rock enough to work in a year. Then what a grand open field for a regiment of stone sledgers to come, knock off the asperites, give each piece its requisite shape and dimension, and patiently chisel it out, preparatory to the occupancy of its necessary position in the grand superstructure of God’s temple. In Jerusalem they use neither wood nor brick, but build all the houses out of stone and calcareous cement, which quickly consolidate into a rock. When I was there a number of very magnificent edifices were in process of erection. As I passed along I saw many brown sons of Esau sitting around, each with a rock, hammer and chisel, diligently and patiently preparing his piece for the superstructure. So do not get blue if God has not made you a dynamiter. But shout the louder, because he has honored you with the privilege of dressing the rocks, blown up by his dynamiters, and locating them in the celestial temple to abide forever, the admiration of angels. I have seen much of this beautiful, Divine order manifested; some hard-fisted, clubfooted old dynamiter in a few lightning blasts blow up rock enough to keep a hundred Christian worker’s diligently employed for days and weeks.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers?…
Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:29-30 These rhetorical questions all expect the answer, Of…
12:29-30 These rhetorical questions all expect the answer, Of course not! Paul gently rebukes those who are jealous of others. Believers are to gratefully accept the gifts God has given them, and not to envy other gifts or elevate any gifts as more important than others (but see 12:31).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.