Then Paul proceeded to say, "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" (v. 28). Notice that Paul did not say "fourthly." After speaking of teachers, he discontinues the numerical sequence. This indicates that the first three—the apostles, the prophets, and the teachers—are the most important. Only these three are worthy of being numbered. After that, nothing else is worth numbering. The three that are numbered are all related to speaking. Moreover, none of these functions is miraculous. Some may say that a miraculous element is involved in prophesying. If you have this concept, it is an indication that you do not know the meaning of prophecy in the New Testament. In the New Testament to prophesy means to speak forth or to speak for; it does not mainly mean to predict. Primarily, to prophesy is to speak forth something of God, to speak something for Christ. The function of apostles, prophets, and teachers is not miraculous, but is related to speaking.

We need to read verse 28 carefully, not in a superficial way, in order to get into Paul's thought. Why did Paul use the word "first" before apostles and then speak of prophets and teachers as being second and third? And why did he not mention the other items in numerical sequence? The reason is that even in Paul's time there was confusion in the Christian gathering caused by speaking in tongues. One of the reasons Paul wrote this Epistle was to correct the misuse of tongues and the confusion caused by the over-emphasis on speaking in tongues. In writing this Epistle Paul used words carefully. Every word conveyed a great deal. Therefore, it is significant that in this verse Paul numbered some of the items and not others. According to Paul's listing, speaking in tongues did not mean that much to him. Because the Corinthians were uplifting the matter of speaking in tongues, Paul minimized its importance.

We need to read 1 Corinthians 12 in a very careful way. When reading the book of Ephesians, we realize that we are dealing with profound ideas. However, we may have the concept that we can read 1 Corinthians 12 in a light way, perhaps even skipping over certain verses; we may think that Paul's talk about the eye and the foot is a mere childish illustration. In order to know the Body, I have spent a good deal of time on this chapter. The more time I spend on it, the more I discover the crucial points it contains. Have you ever seen the inferiority complex and the superiority complex revealed in this chapter? Have you ever understood the uncomely parts as being the feet? In this chapter we have the practical way to have the Body. In no other chapter do we see this secret. By listing the various gifts, Paul is tempering the Body. Today the matter of speaking in tongues has been uplifted. Christians have exaggerated speaking in tongues until it has become a monstrosity. The problem with speaking in tongues today is much worse than at the time 1 Corinthians was written. We may need a dozen epistles like 1 Corinthians today.

Paul asked the question, "Are all apostles?" Suppose everyone in a particular gathering were an apostle. Such a gathering would not be a meeting of the Body; instead, it would be a gathering of shoulders. Consider your body and all the variety it contains. Your body is beautiful in its variety. But if all the members were shoulders, there would be no beauty at all. In order for the body to be beautiful, it must have a variety of different parts. This is the body. You need to be impressed with the fact that you are very precious in the eyes of the Lord. You need to drop your inferiority complex. Furthermore, those who have a superiority complex must give it up.