Maybe Paul knew we were not going to get along with each other. Maybe he knew we, as humans, are competitive by nature. No matter what we are doing there always has to be a winner and a loser. Someone has to be on top and be better than someone else. In the church we are certainly no better. In the midst of our competitiveness Paul wades deep into murky waters and attempts to address spiritual gifts. In his letter to the people of the ancient city of Corinth he begins to lay a foundation teaching us four things:
1. Your spiritual gifts are just that gifts.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given . . .” (1 Corinthians 12:7).
The gifts we have, whether they be wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, or healing are not earned by you and I, and therefore we have no reason to be proud of them. We may have a picture on our wall of a state championship earned in high school. This is good, we should be proud of the accomplishments we worked hard for. But spiritual gifts are different, there are no plaques on our walls. No pictures of glory days to look back on. They come from God at his discretion.
2 . . . . but they aren’t for you.
“. . . for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7).
To be a Christian is to live and share in community. We are spiritual gift Pony Express riders. We have been given the satchel of gifts to carry for our designated time until we can pass it on to the next rider and ultimately see it emptied out for the community to enjoy what is inside.
3. We need each other.
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form on body” (12:12).
As much as we may be tempted to go it alone our gifts are worthless on their own. The gifts God gives to each one of us only have value when they are combined with each other’s. Attempting to go it alone makes us look like a chicken with its head cut off. The show is fun to watch for a little while, people may even chase you around, but eventually inevitable death will come.
4. There is an even better way.
“And now I will show you the most excellent way” (12:31).
The way is love. It is rare to hear 1 Corinthians 13 read outside of the context of a wedding ceremony, but when Paul shares these words he is not standing in a chapel wearing an Elvis costume he is describing the “most excellent way” for the church. This is what the church should look like. This is how we should treat each other. This is what using our spiritual gifts should be. So “follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts” (14:1) because . . .
Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable,
Love keeps no record of being wronged.
Love does not rejoice about injustice
Love rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up
Love never loses faith
Love is always hopeful
Love endures through every circumstance.
Now that is the kind of church I want to be part of!
Pastor Stephen