Spiritual Gifts - 1 Corinthians 12

The topic of spiritual gifts is central to being a Christian.  “About spiritual gifts,” Paul writes, “I do not want you to be ignorant.” (Verse 1) He believes that an active relationship with the Holy Spirit is essential to faith in Jesus. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (Verse 3) That is why this is such a foundational thing for you to learn and include in your spiritual life.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different approaches to Christian work, but the same God works through all of them.” (Verses 4-6) Already in the First Century there was conflict among people in the church using different methods. Unfortunately the church today still has the same kind of conflicts, despite the fact that the Bible clearly says in this passage that the Holy Spirit intends for there to be different approaches.

Again, as in Romans 12, Paul illustrates this principle by giving several examples of spiritual gifts—wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, languages—that are all bestowed by the same Holy Spirit. (Verses 7-10) “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each person, just as he determines.” (Verse 11) All these different methods of implementing the grace of Christ in the world are given for the same purpose. “To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (Verse 7) The mission of Jesus in the world is the supreme focus of all truly Christian activities. The Holy Spirit focuses the variety of different approaches toward the central goal that Christ is working to achieve.

Paul uses the human body as a metaphor to explain the unity of a fellowship of Christian believers, a congregation. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one living organism. So it is with Christ.” (Verse 12) He goes on to illustrate how foolish it is for church members to back off or stay away because their gifts do not seem to be needed. “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.” (Verse 15) He uses an ear and an eye in verse 16 to repeat his point.

He then describes how absurd it is for some church members to claim that their method or their approach is the one and only true way to follow Jesus. “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?” (Verse 17) If you imagine a number of eyeballs rolling into church for worship, you can see that Paul is making a joke here in order to get across the importance of a key spiritual truth. The church needs many different kinds of people with different abilities, interests and approaches because God made it a diverse organism just as He made the human body a wonderfully complex thing that depends on many different kinds of tissues, organs, cells, etc. If you ever feel like you don’t fit in, remember it is God who made you that way. His body needs you precisely because you are different.

“But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (Verse 18) When we look upon another person in the church as odd or unnecessary because of their unique personality or approach to religion, remember we are condemning God’s creative decisions. He made us to be different. He does not intend for us to all be the same. Unity in the church does not equal uniformity of behavior or thought. “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!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (Verses 21-22) Remember this text the next time someone gets up in church and says, “such-and-such is the real work of the church,” implying that other activities are not really necessary or a waste of time, money and energy.

“God has combined the members of the body … so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (Verses 24-25) Seventh-day Adventists believe in a holistic approach to the mission of Christ. This includes both evangelism and community service, both outreach and nurture, and both teaching Bible truth and social action to demonstrate the compassion of Christ in practical ways. Christian education is just as important to the mission of Christ as are media ministries and public campaigns, community service centers and health ministries. Those who try to play one o" against the other or claim that their favorite approach deserves a larger piece of the pie than the others are not biblical in their claims.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (Verse 27) Because every believer—including you—has a specific “gift” from the Holy Spirit, each believer—including you—is organically connected with the body of Christ. Together we make up the body of Christ in this place. If each part of the body plays the role that God expects of him or her, then we—together, as a congregation—are able to be fully functional in the mission of Christ.