Monday, March 27, 2023

Conflict Management - 1Corinthians 12:1-14:40 (Part 1)

 

Lesson 11: The Church’s Questions—Gifts

 

 The church, like society, is given to trends. Some issue will hold the attention of large numbers of Christians for a while. They will write books about it, hold seminars on it, split congregations over it. Then the issue will fade into the background, and another will come to the fore and replace it. In the late 60s and early to mid 70s, spiritual gifts were in vogue, and the charismatic movement took off, penetrating even mainline denominations. It was a frenzy at times as people tried either to discover their gift or to obtain a particular one. As with most fads, though, people got tired of it after a while. They had read enough, heard enough, agonized enough over the issue and wanted something else to occupy their attention. So, in the late 70s, discipleship because the new fad, with more books, more seminars, and so on until just about everybody, it seemed, was either discipling someone or being discipled by someone. All this to say that it seems the church has beaten to death the topic of spiritual gifts, to the point where we could almost skip it and move on to chapter 15, where Paul addresses next subject (resurrection).

           Apart from the fact that some in the congregation may not have been exposed to the issue, why is skipping it not a good idea?

         First, we need to review.

         We do not even remember some of what we studied last year let alone ten (or twenty) years ago.

         Second, we need to revise.

         A lot has happened to us in the interim. Our study and our experiences since then have filled in and broadened our view of God and the world, and it is important to adjust our understanding of “old” issues in the light of new information.

So we had better not jump ahead to chapter 15 just yet.

 Paul begins chapter 12 with a discussion of the Holy Spirit—his message, ministry, and manifestations.

 

              E. Gifts     12:1-14:40

 

1 Cor 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.  4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, [a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

 

                   1.    There is one Spirit (12:1-11).

a.     His message promotes the messiah.148

b.    His ministry dispenses the gifts.149

c.     His method advances the common good.

 

Comment: About “…led astray to mute idols” (12:2)

 In v. 2, Paul reminds gentiles in the congregation about their past involvement with idolatry.

1 Cor 12:2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

In some cults, the idols, though dumb, were thought to speak through certain worshippers by using an inspired and unintelligible speech. (Remember, idols are not gods, but they still may represent supernatural powers.150) In other words, speaking in tongues—which seems to be the specific problem in these chapters— was not limited to the Christian community. By reviewing their pagan past, Paul wants them to realize that people cannot appeal to such utterances as evidence of their spirituality. Being able to speak in tongues is not proof that a person possesses the Holy Spirit; it may indicate that a demon possesses him. Tongues that are the product of the Holy Spirit have specific content (Fee 1987:578).151

 

Query: How is a spiritual gift different from a natural talent or a practiced skill?152

         When does a believer acquire a gift? (Presumably upon conversion)

         Can a believer have more than one gift?153

         How long does a person retain a gift…for life?

         Does this suggest another answer to when a believer may acquire a gift?

         Should we be trying to identify our (current) spiritual gift(s)?

 

Query: Does a medical doctor have the gift of healing? …Probably not, because his success depends on natural means (e.g., drugs, surgery) rather than supernatural means.

 

           

 In some cases, spiritual gifts, such as (the working of) miracles, are easily distinguishable as such, because there is no natural cause or counterpart. In other cases, such as teaching, what distinguishes a spiritual gift may not be its designation but its implementation—its being enhanced by the Holy Spirit. This is the difference between a secular teacher and a sacred teacher. It is not his title or his technique but his augmented ability to comprehend and communicate spiritual information.

 While a spiritual gift may be an acquired skill, it is not necessarily fully developed when the believer receives it. He is responsible to develop whatever gift(s) the Holy Spirit has given him.154 It is also important for others to recognize, acknowledge, and encourage the spiritual gifts within the congregation.

 

Summary: Paul contrasts the former circumstances of the Corinthians who were once pagan with their present circumstances. There were many idols, and these idols represented different and often competing spirits and their interests. The situation with God is not the same.

         The Holy Spirit is God’s only representative, and his primary interest is to promote Jesus. Consequently, the Spirit will not send mixed signals, one time saying “Jesus is cursed” and another time saying “Jesus is Lord.”

         The Holy Spirit has a specific function within the Godhead. (Did you notice an allusion to the trinity in vv. 4-6?) The Spirit gives gifts. No other member of the Godhead has that assignment, nor is the distribution of gifts delegated to other (lesser) spirits (e.g., angels). It is the responsibility of the “same Spirit” whose interest is to promote Jesus (which should give us a clue as to the ultimate purpose of spiritual gifts).

         The Holy Spirit fulfills his assignment by giving to each believer a gift that contributes to the common good. It is at the Spirit’s discretion which gift(s) a believer receives.155 One person’s gift will probably be different from another’s, but the reason the gift is given is the same in all circumstances:

for the benefit of others.

 

 From the Spirit, Paul turns to the church, describing it by analogy with the physical body.

 

1 Cor 12:12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

             

 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

             And now I will show you the most excellent way.

 

                   2.    There is one body (12:12-31).156

a.     It is self-sufficient, because all parts are different.

b.    It is interdependent, because all parts are necessary.

 

Query:

         How is the list in vv. 8-10 different from the list in vv. 28-30? (Random vs. priority order)

         Are the lists complete? (No, cf. singleness in 7:7; exhorting, giving, and mercy in Rom 12:3-8; evangelism and pastoring in Eph 4:11)

         Is it necessary for a congregation to have all the gifts?

         How do we know what we have? (Observation, experience, confirmation)

         Are we missing any spiritual gifts in our church that we should have? In some cases, spiritual gifts (e.g., miracles) are easily distinguishable, because there is no natural counterpart as such. In other cases (e.g., teaching, what distinguishes a spiritual gift may not be its designation but its implementation— enhanced by the Holy Spirit.

 

Query: Does a medical doctor have the gift of healing?

 In most cases, no, because his success depends on natural means (e.g., drugs, surgery) not supernatural means.

 

Summary: Paul makes an analogy with the physical body to illustrate the composition of the spiritual body, the church.

         The physical body is a self-sufficient conglomerate of different organs, each of which makes its own contribution. If all were the same, you would have a specialized donor bank but no body, because the collection would not be diverse enough to be self-sufficient.

         The physical body is also an interdependent conglomerate of different organs, because the contribution of each is necessary to the viability of the whole. If a certain organ, no matter how minor its contribution, stops functioning, the loss in that area will eventually affect other areas. Likewise, when a certain organ performs its function well, it can relieve the strain on other organs.

So it is with the spiritual body. Each member has a different but necessary role to play in order for the church to function well. The church does not exist so that everyone can exercise the same gift but different gifts. Paul is arguing for diversity, not uniformity…and uniformity is not the same as unity. In fact, in the church “there is no such thing as true unity without diversity” (Fee 1987:602). Furthermore, diversity makes the church an extension of its Lord, for as Paul noted in that allusion to the trinity (vv. 4-6), “diversity within unity belongs to the character of God himself” (Fee 1987:583), because each member of the Godhead has a different role.

 

 In chapter 12, Paul sets up a direct link for the distribution of gifts between one giver (Spirit) and one recipient (body). Yet the exercise of gifts is in the believers’ relations with others. In chapter 13, Paul continues the oneness theme (one Spirit, one body) by saying that there is one way to control the exercise of gifts in a proper fashion (love).

 This is a familiar section, almost too familiar. For many Christians it has become an abstraction, a beautiful sentiment suitable for weddings and other occasions equally unrelated to its place in 1 Cor. Yes, everything Paul says here about love is true, but he did not write it for a wedding. We must bear in mind that the catalyst for this composition is negative not positive, the absence of love in the Corinthians’ exercise of gifts.

 

             

1 Cor 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

                13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

                   3.    There is one way (13:1-13).

a.     Love is more desirable than any gift (greater priority).157

b.    Love is more durable than any gift (greater permanence).

 

Comment: About “…the tongues…of angels” (13:1)

 Some in the Charismatic movement think the gift of tongues is a celestial dialect angels speak, but that view does not do justice to the context.158

Paul was making a hypothetical case, just as in the subsequent verse, where he speaks about knowing all mysteries and knowledge…giving all his possessions to the poor, and giving his body to be burned. Paul was speaking theoretically, suggesting that even if those things were true, without love they would be meaningless…. Besides, there is no evidence in Scripture that angels use a heavenly language. Whenever angels appear in Scripture, they communicate in normal human language…. (MacArthur 1992:226)

 

Comment: About “…when perfection comes” (13:10)

 Paul makes a cryptic statement in v. 10, referring to a time when perfection will replace imperfection.

NIV: …when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

NAS: …when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

KJV: …when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Commentators interpret this verse in two basic ways, depending on whether or not they think the Spirit still gives sign gifts (e.g., tongues, prophecy).159

         Those who believe sign gifts were temporary phenomena to help the Church get started, say that was the “imperfect” situation Paul had in mind. By the end of the Apostolic Age, the Church was well-established (i.e., the “perfect” had come) and no longer needed sign gifts. In other words, we are in that perfect era and only need non-sign gifts.160

         Those who believe sign gifts are inseparable from other gifts the Spirit gives to the Church say that the “imperfect” situation Paul has in mind is what will prevail until the Messianic Age (the “perfect”), when Jesus returns or, more likely, until the New Heaven and New Earth. In other words, we are still in that imperfect era and need all the gifts.161

The issue for the church today is that either all gifts are available now or only nonsign gifts are available now. What do you think?

 

Query: Is love a spiritual gift?162 What is the difference between gifts and fruit?

         They differ in their design.

         Fruit are primarily for our own good, for development of godly character.

         Gifts are primarily for another’s good, for service in the body of believers.

         They differ in their distribution.

         Fruit are standard equipment; every believer is to produce every fruit.

         Gifts are specialized equipment; every believer has (at least) one (but not every) gift.

         They differ in their duration.

         Fruit are permanent (forever).

         Gifts are temporary (for now).

 

Summary: As some physical organs are more prominent than others in the body, so some spiritual gifts are more prominent than others in the church. For those in positions of prominence, there is the danger of pride, of thinking or assuming that what you do is more important than what someone else does, more important than his or her gift. Speaking to those in Corinth who hold such an opinion, Paul informs them that love exceeds all spiritual gifts, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

 The most prominent gifts (see list in 12:28) are useless if love does not accompany them. Love is more valuable than any spiritual gift. Furthermore, all gifts, even the most prominent ones, will eventually because obsolete. Their usefulness is for a limited time only. Love, on the other hand, will never become obsolete. Love will be around longer than any spiritual gift.

 Notice also that love is the great equalizer among believers. It evens things out now, because the Holy Spirit produces fruit in all believers, so every believer has the same potential to excel in love. It will also even things out later, because the gifts of all believers will one day expire. In other words, in the end, every believer will end up with the same basket of fruit.

 

 Corinth is a gifted church. In fact, Paul states at the beginning of this letter that they “do not lack any spiritual gift” (1:7), but they are not using their gifts properly. They are forgetting:

         That there is one Holy Spirit at work, promoting Jesus by dispensing gifts to advance the common good;

         That the church is like one body, which is self-sufficient because it has different parts yet interdependent because all its parts are necessary to the proper working of the whole;

         That there is one way to govern the exercise of spiritual gifts, a way more desirable and more durable than any gift—love.

The Corinthians were viewing the gifts in isolation, as distinct and unrelated spiritual manifestations. Paul argues not only that gifts are related to each other but that they form part of a larger picture. With this corrective in place, Paul proceeds to a more specific treatment of certain gifts, prophecy and tongues, and to the way these gifts are affecting the most important church function: worship.

 

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Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs