Last Sunday we began a new series called The Body of Christ: Learning & Re-Learning How to Be a Christian that started with the baptism of Jesus and now turns to Paul’s correspondence with the church in Corinth. Paul’s prose is extraordinary even when we read in English, and Greek scholars note incredible beauty in the original text.
Just as we began last week at the beginning (with Baptism and Holy Communion), our first section of Paul’s letter starts with the Holy Spirit. Before we can talk about how we’re connected, before we can talk about the importance of love, before we can talk about what we bring to our faith community, we must first explore what connects and empowers us: the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (CEB)
1 Brothers and sisters, I don’t want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. 2 You know that when you were Gentiles you were often misled by false gods that can’t even speak.3 So I want to make it clear to you that no one says, “Jesus is cursed!” when speaking by God’s Spirit, and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; 5 and there are different ministries and the same Lord; 6 and there are different activities but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7 A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. 8 A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, 9 faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, 10 performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another. 11 All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person.
Consider these questions:
- Count the number of times the word “Spirit” is used in the passage. What do you think this might this reveal about the emphasis of this passage?
- Read Ephesians 4:11-13 and Romans 12:6-8. What do you think these other lists of gifts suggest about the number of spiritual gifts? What other gifts would you add that are not listed?
- Who benefits the most when we are operating out of our giftedness? Us? Others? Both?
- Do you think our spiritual gifts can change over time?
- How do you think we over-focus on our spiritual gifts in such a way that practicing them is self-centered as opposed to being for the “common good?”
- Consider time when you acted out of your giftedness and/or when you had to do something you weren’t gifted to do. Is it always wrong to do only what we’re gifted for?