1 Corinthians 12:9

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

1 Corinthians 12:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 12:9

To another faith by the same Spirit
Not the grace of faith, which is common to all believers, though given by the same Spirit: but rather the doctrine of faith, and ability to preach it, and boldness and intrepidity of spirit to assert and defend it in the face of all opposition; all which are from the Spirit of God, and are more or less given to pastors and teachers, the third office in the church. Though generally this is understood of a faith of working miracles, as in ( 1 Corinthians 13:2 ) but the working of miracles is mentioned afterwards as distinct, unless it can be thought that this is the general name for miracles, and the rest that follow the particulars of them.

To another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
of healing all manner of sicknesses and diseases: this power Christ gave his disciples, when he first sent them out to preach the Gospel, and which he repeated when he renewed and enlarged their commission after his resurrection; and which was exercised with effect, sometimes only by overshadowing the sick with their shadows, as by Peter, ( Acts 5:15 Acts 5:16 ) sometimes by, laying hands on them, as the father of Publius, and others, were healed by Paul, ( Acts 28:8 Acts 28:9 ) and sometimes by anointing with oil, ( James 5:14 ) . Now these gifts were bestowed in common, by the Spirit, on apostles, prophets, and pastors, or elders of the church, in those early times: the Alexandrian copy, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "by one Spirit".

1 Corinthians 12:9 In-Context

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is beneficial [to all].
8 For to one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another a word of knowledge by the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 to another {miraculous powers}, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues.
11 But in all these [things] one and the same Spirit is at work, distributing to each one individually just as he wishes.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Some manuscripts have "and to another"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.