We know that the
church of Corinth was a conflicted church. Paul starts his letter to them with
a frank statement of their conflict. Here is what he says:
10 I
appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no
divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and
thought. 11 My brothers and
sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels
among you. 12 What I mean is this:
one of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I
follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
They were divided into
factions that fought bitterly with each other, so that news of their conflicts
spread all the way to Paul where he was staying in Ephesus. He had founded the
Corinthian church in the first place, and now he heard that they were divided
against each other. He names the divisions by the people each faction claimed
to follow, but he blames all of the factions equally – even those who said they
were following Christ!
Clearly, division and
schism are – at least in Paul’s mind – the great denial of Christ’s death and
resurrection. Paul is ready enough to talk about issues. In 1 Corinthians, he
deals clearly with sexuality and marriage (chapters 5-7), Christian liberty
concerning issues of the Law (chapters 8-10), and the way that Christians
practice their worship, including use of spiritual gifts (chapters 12 to 14).
But dealing with issues in Christian life does not justify division and schism.
We see this truth
clearly in chapters 12 and 13, which deal with worship issues, and also apply
the basic insight that unity in love is greater than our need to be right in
the issues we argue about. Let’s look together at chapters 12 and 13.
1 Corinthians 12
Paul is discussing
order in worship in general, and here he brings that conversation to the use of
spiritual gifts within worship. The Corinthians evidently were fascinated with
the way that some people were able to channel spirits and exercise powerful
gifts – possibly a holdover from the spiritual cults they had known before
their conversion. [Clearly, they were not Mennonites! We tend to look at such
people with suspicion.] Paul discusses the use of tongues in chapter 14, but
here he sets up the discussion by looking at the underlying unity we have as brothers
and sisters in Christ.
Paul uses this unity
to answer the question they seem to have had: “How do we know when someone’s
spiritual gifts are really evidence of the presence of God?” He says, “I want
you to know 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.”
If someone tries to
set Jesus aside, they know that person does not belong to God. If someone
exalts Jesus as Lord, they know that person belongs to God. This is the point
that I have made before – that the core of the gospel is to embrace the
affirmation, “Jesus is Lord.” Our faith begins with Jesus. Our faith is built
on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, we cannot be part of the
Christian Church.
This principle applies
not only in discussions about spiritual gifts, but it also applies in all of
our conversations – from marriage matters to how to use our offerings. [These
two are the matters Paul discusses before this section on spiritual gifts.]
You notice that the
text states that all of this takes place through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Different churches describe the work of the Holy Spirit in different ways. Here
is how The Confession of Faith in
Mennonite Perspective puts it:
The Holy Spirit
calls people to repentance, convicts them of sin, and leads into the way of
righteousness all those who open themselves to the working of the Spirit.
Scripture urges us to yield to the Spirit, and not to resist or quench the
Spirit. By water and the Spirit, we are born anew into the family of God. The
Spirit dwells in each child of God, bringing us into relationship with God.
Through the indwelling of the Spirit, we are made heirs together with Christ,
if we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. The Spirit teaches
us, reminds us of Jesus’ word, guides us into all truth, and empowers us to
speak the word of God with boldness. The Holy Spirit enables our life in
Christian community, comforts us in suffering, is present with us in time of
persecution, intercedes for us in our weakness, guarantees the redemption of
our bodies, and assures the future redemption of creation.
The Holy Spirit is the
presence of God in our lives. We come to faith through the work of the Spirit.
We learn and grow as followers of Jesus through the Spirit. We learn how to
live with each other through the Spirit. We learn to love one another through
the Spirit. We learn how to work together as sisters and brothers in the church
through the Spirit.
Therefore, Paul refers
to the work of the Holy Spirit making us one body in Christ. The church is a
living organism in which we all play a part – as the Holy Spirit lives in us
and gives each one what the whole body needs. “There are different kinds of
gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of
service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of
them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” Note the succession of titles:
… the same Spirit; … the same Lord; … the same God. The presence and work of
the Holy Spirit in our lives is the very presence of God as God. Our unity,
then, is the unity of the Spirit, which shows itself in the differences of the
gifts given to us to serve the whole body.
Paul continues, “Now
to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To
one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message
of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit,
to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers,
to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another
speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation
of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he
distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
Different gifts – One
Spirit. Diversity and difference are visible in the unity of the Spirit. Paul
lists a series of gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy,
naming the spirits, and tongues. Each of these takes a variety of forms within
the church, and in the Corinthian Church they had become a source of conflict
and division. Let me do some guessing, going beyond what the text tells us, but
I hope consistent with the text.
- Some have a message of knowledge – They talk about the words Jesus spoke and the miracles Jesus did. They know. They call themselves “the party of Christ”.
- Some have a message of wisdom – They talk about the way that the first church dug deeply into the words and actions of Jesus. They have learned wisdom. They call themselves “the party of James”.
- Some have great faith – They are able to trust God in all kinds of situations. They call themselves “the part of Peter”.
- Some perform healings, just as Jesus did. They also are “the party of Jesus”. Those who do miracles are the same.
- There are some prophets, who speak words that God has given them. They call themselves “the party of Paul”.
- Scattered among the parties are some who speak in tongues and some who interpret tongues.
The Place of Love (How Love Works)
The basic point in 1
Corinthians 12 is clear: Differences and disagreements in the church are
normal. They are not a problem. The fact that we have different gifts and
abilities and ideas and understandings is not itself a problem – if these
differences are a part of our larger unity. We are the body of Christ, and we
differ from each other as the different parts of the body differ. But there
remains a basic question. How do we experience the unity of the Spirit? How do
we become “one body”, the body of Christ? The answer of course is through the
greatest gift of all.
I have often heard 1
Corinthians 13 read at weddings. That is good, although Paul did not write it
for weddings. He wrote this chapter for you and me when we are in conflict in
the church. Using the passage at a wedding is good. I hope that this kind of
love characterizes our marriage relationships! I encourage applying the passage
to family life, but Paul is talking about the church. We are the family of God,
and the Spirit gives one special gift to all of us: God’s love. Consider the
qualities of love that we find in the “love chapter”. Love:
- Is patient and kind.
- Does not envy or boast.
- Is not proud and honours others.
- Does not seek its own benefit.
- Does not get angry easily or remember past wrongs.
- Rejoices in what is true [that is, it avoids what is not true].
- Protects and trust the other.
- Hopes for God’s best and perseveres when loving is not easy.
- Never gives up.
It is a remarkable
list! It is also an impossible list. I can honour others just fine, provided
that I’m getting lots of honour too. I’m not proud, unless I start to feel as
though people don’t care about me. I don’t envy others, at least if someone is
envying me. I protect others provided they are also protecting me. I can keep
my temper, so long as no one provokes me. I don’t remember past wrongs, but
then I don’t remember lots of things from the past.
In short, I can do
most of these as long as life is going well and I feel good about myself. That
doesn’t take the Holy Spirit! A reasonably nice person will get a lot of these
right on a good day. The problem comes when we find ourselves in conflict with
other people, especially when the people we are supposed to love are the people
we are in conflict with. How do I trust the other and hope for God’s best in
their lives when we belong to two different factions?
That’s when love
becomes the greatest gift that the Holy Spirit gives us. I can persevere and
never give up in love only if the Holy Spirit is at work in my life. I can seek
the benefit of those I disagree with only if the Holy Spirit is leading me. I
can forget [really forget] the wrongs someone does to me only if the Holy
Spirit clears my mind for me. [My mental computer has trouble clearing the
trash folder properly!]
Humanly speaking, we
require complete agreement in order to be in the unity of the Spirit, but that
is not what Paul describes. Paul describes a unity based on love, which applies
when we agree and when we disagree. My church of origin – the Brethren in
Christ – has sometimes loved well and sometimes not. Our church historian,
Morris Sider, tells a story that shows us at our best [Stories and Scenes from a Brethren in Christ Heritage].
Jacob Ginder had been Bishop of the Manheim District in Pennsylvania for
many years. In his retirement and during the years of significant change in the
church, he had retained his strongly conservative views on church doctrine and
practice. Henry asked his father to accompany to the General Conference held at
Manhattan, Kansas in 1951. Jacob declined, saying that the conference would be
discussing making significant changes in church practice, and he would be
distressed by what he heard. But Henry, by promising to drive to Kansas,
persuaded his father to go with him. One the way home, Henry asked Jacob, “How
did you like the conference?” Jacob replied, “Oh, I didn’t like what I heard,
but I trust the brethren.”
The BICs, like the
Mennonites have their faults, but they and we are learning and re-learning the
lesson of love – to trust each other even when we disagree. Such love and trust
really are possible only through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives
individually and corporately. As we meet together this morning, we confess our
lack of love, and we ask God for the fullness of God’s Spirit, and we worship
and adore the Lord who gave his life for us on the cross. The real focus of our
worship is always God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God,
who alone makes us one and enables us to live together as one body with all of
our unique gifts. Amen!
Steinbach Mennonite Church
10 February 2019
Texts
1 Corinthians 12: 1-14, 27-31
Concerning spiritual gifts
12 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and
sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other
you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. 3 Therefore I want you to
know 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.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but
the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same
Lord. 6 There
are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the
same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of
wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous
powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to
another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the
interpretation of tongues.11 All
these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each
one, just as he determines.
Unity and diversity in the body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many
parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptised
by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles,
slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 And so the body is not
made up of one part but of many.
1 Corinthians 12: 31b – 13:13
Love
is indispensable
And
yet I will show you the most excellent way.
13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do
not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not
have love, I am nothing. 3 If
I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may
boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love
is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. 5 It does not dishonour
others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. 6 Love does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
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. 9 For we know in part and
we prophesy in part, 10 but
when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a
child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of
childhood behind me. 12 For
now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love.
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