Cove PCC and CVG Away Day 18 October 2008
Teaching Session on 1 Corinthians 11-15
‘The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Church’
By Rev Steve Stewart
Introduction
1 Corinthians is nothing if it’s not a letter about being ‘the body of Christ’: the metaphor of the church as a ‘body’ runs through the whole letter. The use of the term ‘body’ has an ironic touch to it...
Corinth, by Paul’s day a seat of Roman rule, was populated by temples and statues of worship to the great adopted Greek gods, Apollo and Athena: images of physical perfection and gods held to be great bringers of divine gifts, wisdom and power. For example, Apollo was thought to be a god of prophecy and of healing –as was his son, Asklepius, whilst Athena was supposedly a bringer of victory, as well as a goddess of ‘wisdom’. Such is the backdrop to 1 Corinthians and some its key themes!
And Corinth had become the home of the hugely prestigious and ancient Isthmian games, held every two years at Corinth in Paul’s day. The athletes were the great heroes, and the perfection of their physical body was practically worshipped at Corinth. These athletes embodied the spirit of the Corinthian age: to win at all costs, to be first, the greatest, the most admired, the most powerful –a spirit which had come to permeate all areas of life from philosophy to art to commerce. Corinth had become a true ‘me first’ society!
And so to the Corinthians this idea of "the body" was the metaphor of personal glory, of status, the thing which others should worship: an icon of individualism. If this was not obvious enough to the Corinthian church (or to us if it comes to that!), Paul makes the irony of his metaphor obvious in chapter 9 as he writes:
1 Corinthians 9:25-26 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Yet, how ironic that Paul takes the body as his metaphor, turns it on its head (no pun intended), and he uses it to instruct the Corinthian church members in what it really means to be ‘church’! Not a bunch of people seeking personal aggrandisement and high status, but serving one another in love, always recognizing the value of others in the church family and submitting to each other out of reverence for God.
It is in this context that Paul brings in teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit: words of knowledge, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, healing, etc. One thing I find fascinating about Paul talking to the Corinthian church about gifts of the Holy Spirit is Paul's expectation as to why they have Spiritual gifts at all. Is it that Corinth is a particularly charismatic church, or that they have a particular holiness about them or a very specific spiritual need? No. Paul seems to assume that the church at Corinth has Spiritual gifts for no other reason than that they are a Christian church!
The problem at Corinth was not Spiritual gifts per se, but that the Spiritual gifts were being used in the manner of the Corinthian ideal of the athletes: for personal gain and for gaining high status -- the exact opposite of their intention, of the intention of the Holy Spirit. This is where Spiritual gifts can really be misunderstood: some think that if we avoid Spiritual gifts altogether, that we will avoid falling into the trap of the Corinthians -- that life will be a lot easier without them. How foolish! For the very purpose of these gifts from God is to build up the church, to unite us in Christ.
Yes, Spiritual gifts are powerful -- they come from God! -- but they are powerful for a reason: and that reason is that God uses them to build his churches and to make them effective as they preach the gospel.
You see, I could avoid injury by not using spades and shovels, chainsaws, pneumatic drills and heavy weights (and yes, even walking up and down stairs) -- but would I ever build a house?
We at St Christopher's, St John's and Southwood are also churches -- therefore, we also should desire and expect to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For Paul it is a given that a church which has received the gospel -- as we certainly have -- will also receive gifts of the Holy Spirit: they are what God gives to Christians. As Paul says to the Galatian churches (the question is rhetorical):
It is in this context that Paul brings in teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit: words of knowledge, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, healing, etc. One thing I find fascinating about Paul talking to the Corinthian church about gifts of the Holy Spirit is Paul's expectation as to why they have Spiritual gifts at all. Is it that Corinth is a particularly charismatic church, or that they have a particular holiness about them or a very specific spiritual need? No. Paul seems to assume that the church at Corinth has Spiritual gifts for no other reason than that they are a Christian church!
The problem at Corinth was not Spiritual gifts per se, but that the Spiritual gifts were being used in the manner of the Corinthian ideal of the athletes: for personal gain and for gaining high status -
Yes, Spiritual gifts are powerful -
You see, I could avoid injury by not using spades and shovels, chainsaws, pneumatic drills and heavy weights (and yes, even walking up and down stairs) -
We at St Christopher's, St John's and Southwood are also churches -
Galatians 3:5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
-- if the church is made up of believers, it receives Spiritual gifts.
We might ask why the church in Corinth had Spiritual gifts in the first place -- and the answer is clearly given in 1 Corinthians: it is not that they were a first century church, with the Apostles still alive, and that's when "that sort of thing" happened. No. Neither is it because they were the sort of church that could only have their problems sorted out through the use of gifts of the Holy Spirit. No. The reason the church in Corinth had Spiritual gifts is given in the very first chapter:
We might ask why the church in Corinth had Spiritual gifts in the first place -
1 Corinthians 1:5-7 ...you have been enriched in every way... because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any Spiritual gift
In other words, the Corinthians heard the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead (Paul knew no other gospel when he came to Corinth, as he says at the beginning of chapter 2), received it, were transformed by it -- the evidence that they had become Christians -- and for that and no other reason, they begin to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit!
Gospel, growth, gifts -- it is that simple! As in Galatia so in Corinth -- a pattern also reflected in the letter to the Hebrews, as we read in Hebrews chapter 2:
Gospel, growth, gifts -
Hebrews 2:3-4 This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
And like any gifts, they sometimes arrive on the doorstep, whether we want them or not. And because they come from God, we cannot just hand them back: no, we need to find out how to use them in a way that pleases God.
To do this, we are not going to look only at that famous chapter, 1 Corinthians 12, where it speaks about the gifts of the Spirit, but look at the whole of 1 Corinthians 11 through to 15 to understand the full context in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are being spoken about and taught about by Paul.
To do this, we are not going to look only at that famous chapter, 1 Corinthians 12, where it speaks about the gifts of the Spirit, but look at the whole of 1 Corinthians 11 through to 15 to understand the full context in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are being spoken about and taught about by Paul.
1 Corinthians -- The Book of Love
Before we start thinking about the metaphor of church as "the body", or waxing lyrical about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we must grasp the fact that 1 Corinthians is a book about love. Corinth was becoming a ‘me first’ type church, full of divisions, arguments, sexual immorality, and even believers getting drunk during the Lord's supper and pushing others out of the way.
Paul was desperate to restore that great fruit of the gospel to the Corinthian church -
1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 8:1 We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:1 And now I will show you the most excellent way. 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.
1 Corinthians 8:1 We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Corinthians 12:31 -
Unless it is love that is driving and influencing the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then they are best not used at all -- and what a tragedy for the kingdom that would be: to receive something so wonderful from God, and then dismiss it as unimportant or too difficult to handle.
Let's see how this relates to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, if you would like to have that open.
Chapter 11 is all about, what happens when a group of Christians meet together as church. In fact, Chapter 11 defines for us, what it means to be the body of Christ -- in Paul's mind the body of Christ does not seem to be the church worldwide, or diocese, or even a team ministry, but those with whom you partake of the Lord's supper: those with whom you regularly share the bread and the cup.
Put simply, the ‘body of Christ’ is those Christians with whom I regularly worship, and as such here in Cove, we might say -- without pushing things too far -- that we have three separate bodies.
Let's see how this relates to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, if you would like to have that open.
Chapter 11 is all about, what happens when a group of Christians meet together as church. In fact, Chapter 11 defines for us, what it means to be the body of Christ -
Put simply, the ‘body of Christ’ is those Christians with whom I regularly worship, and as such here in Cove, we might say -
1 Corinthians -- The Book of The Body
In some ways, Chapter 11 is the climax of all the teaching on godly living that Paul has already given in the first 10 chapters. This is because the sharing of communion is so representative, so symbolic, so important to what we are as members of the body to one another, that what happens at communion can define what we really are as ‘the body of Christ and its members’ to one another.
Look at the state of communion in Corinth:
1 Corinthians 11:20-21 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
Yet as we share communion with one another, it is the very place in which we should recognize the body of Christ: recognizing his body on the cross, given over for our salvation, and also recognizing the body of Christ, which we are to one another. As it says in Chapter 11, verse 24:
1 Corinthians 11:24 "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
-- and made plain in chapter 10 verses 16 and 17:
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 ...is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
So, sharing the Lord's supper as we worship together, should be, quite literally, the embodiment of what it means to be church: an environment not of self-promotion, or ambition, or greed, but a place of love and humility and recognition of one another and gentleness. As Paul says to those who are abusing the Lord's supper:
1 Corinthians 11:21-22 One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?
1 Corinthians -- The Book of Gifts
Loving recognition of those with whom we worship, of gentleness and humility to one another is the context in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given and ministered -- or at least it should be! It is no coincidence that 1 Corinthians 12, which is all about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, follows 1 Corinthians 11, which is all about the Lord's supper and loving worship.
We don't have to look too far into chapter 12 to recognize that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are ministered through the power of the Spirit of Jesus to the other members of the body of Christ -
1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
And again in verse 12:
1 Corinthians 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.
The gifts are to be used with humility for the blessing of one another, and nobody is excluded from this business of Spiritual gifts. Look at verse 21:
1 Corinthians 12:21 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!"
And again at verse 27:
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
If God chooses to pour out Spiritual gifts on certain members of our church family, we must not despise this, for we risk despising the Spirit of God! Neither can we remain indifferent: rather we must positively desire and long for Spiritual gifts among us. Chapter 14, I think, forms something of a short essay written by Paul to explain particular things about prophecy and speaking in tongues -- wonderful gifts, but must be used correctly and responsibly in worship (and Paul gives very clear guidelines on this, which maybe we could talk about later). But, with regards to whether we should want gifts or not want gifts, he gives very clear instruction:
1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire Spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:39-40 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
1 Corinthians 14:39-
I am afraid that there really is no opt out clause as far as gifts of the Holy Spirit are concerned!
What I do find surprising about 1 Corinthians is that, even though it is certainly a book about gifts of the Holy Spirit, that it is actually fairly light on describing and giving a biblical theology of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For example, Paul gives us no information whatsoever as to what he means by "the message of knowledge" (12:7), or even "wisdom", or "distinguishing between spirits". It is as though God wants us to use them more than he wants us to technically understand them. I want to speculate that this is possibly because God is far more concerned with us enjoying the blessings of Spiritual gifts, and knows that if we see our job as to endlessly analyse them, we might never get as far as eagerly desiring them, never mind actually using them!
With regards to Spiritual gifts, our job, possibly even our challenge, in the first instance is not to theologise, but to eagerly desire.
What I do find surprising about 1 Corinthians is that, even though it is certainly a book about gifts of the Holy Spirit, that it is actually fairly light on describing and giving a biblical theology of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For example, Paul gives us no information whatsoever as to what he means by "the message of knowledge" (12:7), or even "wisdom", or "distinguishing between spirits". It is as though God wants us to use them more than he wants us to technically understand them. I want to speculate that this is possibly because God is far more concerned with us enjoying the blessings of Spiritual gifts, and knows that if we see our job as to endlessly analyse them, we might never get as far as eagerly desiring them, never mind actually using them!
With regards to Spiritual gifts, our job, possibly even our challenge, in the first instance is not to theologise, but to eagerly desire.
1 Corinthians chapter 13 -- Love Again
So, chapter 12 is all about Spiritual gifts, the desiring of them, their different types, and all for the blessing of ‘the body’, the church. And at the end of chapter 12, we find a most critical statement from Paul: "and now I will show you the most excellent way". In this incredibly famous chapter -- renowned for use in weddings, not to mention Lady Diana's funeral -- Paul reminds us that all Spiritual gifts are subject to something greater: Love!
The first verse of chapter 13 sums it up:
1 Corinthians 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.
But why is love greater than the Spiritual gifts? The reason Paul gives is that Spiritual gifts are only temporary.
There is a verse in chapter 13, which in all our excitement about love, we can too easily brush over. It is verse 10, and it is a really important verse:
There is a verse in chapter 13, which in all our excitement about love, we can too easily brush over. It is verse 10, and it is a really important verse:
1 Corinthians 13:10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
But what is perfect and what is imperfect? In the context of 1 Corinthians 13, sandwiched between 12, 14 and 15, we cannot but conclude that the imperfect is our mortal bodies, but also the gifts of the Holy Spirit themselves. They are imperfect. They are temporary. Look at verse 8:
1 Corinthians 13:8 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.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit are something that is associated with this age, the age of the sinful nature, the age when the perfect has not yet appeared.. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are by definition to be ministered by and into imperfect churches -- churches like Corinth, churches like us! If you want to wait until everything is perfect, before we start ministering the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then we will be waiting until the second coming of Christ -- when we won’t need them anyway!
This also, by the way, gives us an answer as to during which period Spiritual gifts are appropriate. Was it just for the early church, when the apostles were alive?
No, gifts of the Holy Spirit are there until perfection comes -- until Jesus Christ comes again. Gifts of the Holy Spirit are for imperfect churches during this present age. And in the age to come they will disappear.
After all, who needs the gift of healing when Jesus has come again and restored and made perfect all things, has revealed all things, and when, as it says in the book of Revelation:
This also, by the way, gives us an answer as to during which period Spiritual gifts are appropriate. Was it just for the early church, when the apostles were alive?
No, gifts of the Holy Spirit are there until perfection comes -
After all, who needs the gift of healing when Jesus has come again and restored and made perfect all things, has revealed all things, and when, as it says in the book of Revelation:
Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
We should eagerly desire the gift of prophecy now because, as it says in verse 12, "Now we see but a poor reflection in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face " -- when all things are revealed and laid bare by God, there will no longer be any need for the gift of prophecy.
And this temporary nature of the gifts should really add to our humility. When we desire and seek to minister gifts of the Holy Spirit: they are imperfect things being ministered into imperfect churches by imperfect people for the sake of the kingdom of God. They should bring no glory or honour or higher status, but be driven by love for the brothers and sisters in our worshipping communion.
And this temporary nature of the gifts should really add to our humility. When we desire and seek to minister gifts of the Holy Spirit: they are imperfect things being ministered into imperfect churches by imperfect people for the sake of the kingdom of God. They should bring no glory or honour or higher status, but be driven by love for the brothers and sisters in our worshipping communion.
1 Corinthians -- The Book of Resurrection
And to the temporary nature of Spiritual gifts in chapter 13, with its accompanying eternal nature of love, it is no surprise that we find chapter 15 -- a chapter dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, to the perfect resurrection body of the believers to be raised up at the second coming of Christ: when the perfect appears!
1 Corinthians 15:42-43 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power...
and finally, hear Paul's exhortation in chapter 15 verse 58:
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Chapter 15 is both a corrective to those who think that Spiritual gifts are the be all and end all of church life, but also a wonderful encouragement to eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit because they strengthen the church for the great hope that lies ahead!
Questions to consider:
Questions to consider:
1. How do you feel about gifts of the Holy Spirit being used in your church?
2. Are there some Spiritual gifts which you feel comfortable with, and others that worry you? Which are they? (You may want to look at the lists in 1 Corinthians 12, and also in Romans 12)
3. Would you say that you eagerly desire Spiritual gifts, or resist them? (Do you desire them for yourself, or for other members of the church in general?)
4. Have you had any good or bad experience of use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit before?
5. What would be your reasons for resisting or welcoming gifts of the Holy Spirit?
Rev Steve Stewart © 2008
*Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a member of the Hodder Headline Group. All rights reserved. "NIV" is a trade mark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.