1 CORINTHIANS 12-13
The purpose and proper use of “Charismata” (Spiritual Gifts) is critical to fulfilling the mandate of the gospel. We are opposed by extreme spiritual forces that cannot be overcome with carnal weapons. Only the power of God administered by the Holy Spirit and operating through the church can overthrow the rulers of the darkness of this age and bring the light of the gospel to those who need it most.
One of the greatest accomplishments of our enemy has been to convince generations of Christians that the gifts are a relic of the apostolic age or only for a handful of “super” ministers and of no value to the ordinary believer in the pew. Imagine Hitler convincing the allies that they really didn’t need their guns or bombs to defeat him. Just let them take what they want and hope they don’t come for you is not an effective strategy against evil.
God has placed the full might of the heavenly arsenal at the disposal of the church with the intention that we should follow the example of Christ and “go about doing good and healing all who are oppressed of the devil”.
12:1-3 – the abuse of the gifts was typical of the carnal and immature believers of Corinth. Their intense pride led them to compete to see who could be the most “spiritual” and opened the door to wretched excesses that bordered on blasphemy. Only the fact that they acted in ignorance kept them under the umbrella of grace. The revelation that Jesus is Lord comes only from the influence of the Spirit. In all manifestations of the Spirit there is an unmistakable presence of Jesus; He is the giver of the Spirit, the one whom the Spirit glorifies and reveals. The reason the Spirit operates through the church is because it is the “body of Christ”.
12:4-11 – there are several common misunderstandings regarding the “charismata”. Some see the gifts as representing different “powers” or spiritual forces at work; others that the gifts were the possession of the church or individual to be used at will. Paul’s emphasis is on the gifts being the property of the Holy Spirit and that they are manifested at His discretion. When a gift is in operation, it is the Holy Spirit acting through the individual who is manifesting the gift. We must distinguish between natural talents that can be used for God and the charismata in which God is using us.
Considering that the chief strategy of the enemy is deception it is no wonder that the majority of the gifts mentioned in this passage deal with information. Words of Wisdom and Knowledge, Prophecy, Discernment of Spirits, Tongues and Interpretation all address the core issues of affirming, revealing and defending the truth. (John 16:13). The other 3 gifts mentioned (Faith, Healing and Miracles) all can be seen as the application of truth of Christ’s lordship to specific circumstances.
12:12-27 – the revelation that the church is a single organism (body) is just as radical today as it was in Corinth. We are connected at the root (Calvary), have the same DNA (Christ’s), are dependent on the same source (Holy Spirit) and are called to the same mission (Gospel). There can be no “Lone Rangers” or “Rambo’s” in the church. No individual believer, no matter how gifted, can win the war against Satan all by themselves. For no one individual will have all the gifts necessary to overcome the enemy. Unless we learn to work in unity we will never be able to break through the barriers of demonic opposition.
Our place in the body is chosen by God, there is no personal glory in your gifting, God generally chooses the least talented or appreciated to make the biggest impact specifically so that no one can claim superiority. The totally useless usually end up as pastors just because they aren’t any good for anything else. (I’m partially kidding) This is not just at the local church level; we must realize that whatever artificial distinctions we choose to use (Pentecostals, Baptists, Church of God, Church of Christ…etc.) are meaningless to Christ. He is building one church and one church only, His church!
12:27-31 – the list of rhetorical questions is intended to reaffirm the need for unity. Since no one operates every gift of ministry, the body has to learn to work together. The phrase “Do all speak with tongues?” is often misinterpreted to suggest that speaking in tongues is not the only initial evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, however the context is clearly limited to ministry gifts and should be read “Do all minister in tongues or have a ministry of speaking in tongues”.
Another issue is the ranking of the gifts; in this list leadership gifts such as Apostle, Prophet and Teacher are prioritized higher than the more spectacular gifts of healings and miracles. This is not meant to devalue those gifts but to illustrate that the impact of a gift is not always measured by the attention it draws. It is not how many we heal, but how many we lead to Jesus that matters. Hell will be filled with people who experienced the “miraculous” but never submitted to the one who authorized it! The greatest miracle remains the salvation of the damned by the love of Christ.
The exhortation to desire the best gifts is intended to challenge us to get out of our comfort zones and realize that souls are in the balance; whatever hang-ups we have about letting the Spirit use us must not be allowed to excuse doing nothing while the world slips ever farther into darkness!
13:1-13 – THE MORE EXCELLENT WAY. Like a refreshing rainfall on a hot summer day this “interruption” of Paul’s train of thought concerning the Charismata revives and restores us. Some of the greatest words ever written about love are in this section, but there is one thing we need to clear up before we go there. Some say that as long as you have love you do not need to operate any of gifts; this is certainly not the response the Apostle intended (14:1).
Love is not a substitute for the gifts; it is the “secret ingredient” that makes the gifts potent and profitable. Unless we are motivated by love for the lost and bound, we will derive no personal benefit from the Charismata. Without love our motivations are corrupt. We may feed the hungry, but it will not be out of compassion, we may heal the sick, but it will not be from sympathy; our only desire will be for others to admire or be jealous of us. This will ultimately do more harm to the cause of Christ than good. As in all else, Christ is our example; though He operated in all phases of the Charismata His greatest miracle would have been impossible without love. It was LOVE that led Him to the cross, LOVE that persuaded Him to take our place! We saved because of His love, not His gifts. LOVE never fails!
In heaven (that which is perfect) there will be no need for prophecy for all will have come to pass, no need for healing for no sickness will be there, no need for knowledge or tongues for we will know even as we are known. Our time here on earth is comparable to childhood, we must be guided and directed by those who know better (for the Spirit knows the deep things of God) and we see only shadows of the coming reality (as in a dark mirror) but when we get there we will have no need or desire for our childhood things. The fullness of glory will be ours! How silly we are to worry about “what we can take with us”. Nothing of this world will seem worthy to be compared to what is prepared for us. The only gifts that will transfer from this life to there will be Faith, Hope and Love!
