1 Corinthians 12:1-6 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 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. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Paul prefaces his teaching on spiritual gifts in the body of Christ by indicating God is one God and there are no other gods. He tells the Corinthians that once they were under the domain of the demonic world when they worshipped mute idols. These idols and the spirits that inhabited their worship were not of God nor of the heavenly realm. Those who lifted up these gods or idols led people astray with their words, making the worshippers slaves to the false gods and to the world. But Paul presents Jesus Christ, the valid God, the true Lord, the one who separates people from sin and slavery to this wicked world. People can know him only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit who penetrates man's heart, revealing the one true God and Father of us all and his Son, Jesus. No other spirit can point us to the living God. Only by the guidance of the Spirit of God can we say with an honest and believing heart that Jesus is Lord. Only by the Spirit can we make the confession of faith Peter made in answer to Jesus: But what about you?” he (Jesus) asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17) And, as Paul remarks, if the Spirit of God rests in you and is speaking through you, you will not speak anything negative about Jesus Christ such as, Jesus be cursed. With this understanding that the Spirit elevates Christ and his teaching in our lives, Paul can now address the gifts God places in the body of Christ, gifts that work for the benefit of Christ and his revelation of God to the church. Paul emphasizes the oneness of God and the purpose of the Holy Spirit within the church by stating, There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. The Spirit removes divisions within the functioning body of Christ as He speaks with one voice to the brothers and sisters, encouraging the whole church to walk in Christ's love and to reveal Christ. All the different kinds of gifts and different kinds of service are for that one purpose, to edify the church and to display to the world the working of God and his love for people.
We can better understand the body of Christ by considering our human bodies that are made up of many wonderful parts. The various parts in our biological bodies must function harmoniously to ensure good health: the brain, the circulation, the digestive system, all the major organs, and so on. When we take in food, the nutrients in the food must move from one part of the body to all the other areas. If anything breaks down in the total system, if nutrients are denied to a part of the body, that part will become unhealthy, and disease might eventually harm the whole body. Similarly, in the body of Christ, this process of disease also can happen in one small area and spread elsewhere. When Paul asks the Galatians how they have been led away from the truth of the gospel, he says they should know that, “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” (Galatians 5:9) If any one of us is not functioning appropriately, the purpose of the body of Christ on Earth will be harmed; God and his glory will not be revealed effectively to people. When the body malfunctions, the world sees a distorted view of God, and the gospel might not go forward because Christians failed to function well. Consequently, the church should be healthy by allowing the Holy Spirit to work freely. Each member must understand he or she is an integral part of the body of Christ on Earth. The responsibility of having a healthy church as a true testimony of God and his love rests at the feet of each Christian in the body of Christ. If we fail to take our responsibility in the body of Christ seriously, his gifts will not flow through us. If we function without faith, believing others should carry us, the church will lack our unique contributions. Rather than being active members of a local community of believers, we become consumers of religion, always testing the temperature of churches, whether they meet our test of spirituality. Consumer Christianity is somewhat like picking out a grocery store where you like to shop. We are not consumers but active members of our local Christian communities, bringing our part of Christ to the church, displaying God's love to all people, supporting activities of the church, providing our necessary part to the body as a whole. A little later in this letter, we will see that Paul tells the church that no part of the body is more important than another, and each part needs the others. He states this important reality: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
If we do not gather together with other believers in community, the things of the world can easily deceive us. We might never grow into the maturity God desires for us as his dearly beloved children. The Bible says, to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. . . It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:7, 11-16) When believers come together, we should come with the fruit of the Spirit evident in our lives. We should be loving, joyful, peaceable, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled, believing the best in others, rather than criticizing and finding fault with others. We should desire to fulfill our responsibility to the church, laying down our need for recognition and praise. We should fit in as servants, not as rulers and controllers. Our place should be one of humility and praise to God. All of these characteristics reflect our Lord, and of course his reflection in us will be displayed through the body of Christ. When our lives reflect the Holy Spirit living in us and we know Christ as Lord, our actions will reveal God in a healthy way to the world. As we have said in previous breakfasts, Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. When the body of Christ is healthy, people will understand that Christ died for them. As the spiritual gifts operate in the body, individuals will know the love of God has come to them. This love will transform their lives and also our lives as we work for the Lord. We will attain maturity in the Lord, building ourselves up in love.
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