Wednesday 22 May 2013
- Bible Book:
- 1 Corinthians
“To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” (vv. 8-12)
Background
It seems odd that church members should fallout or be jealous over the gifts that the Holy Spirit pours out onone congregation. But, alas that is an accurate picture of theChristian community inCorinth! One month they had rival leaders.The next month they had rival gifts! Paul lists nine gifts of theSpirit off the top of his head: wise words; deep knowledge;believing faith; healing; miracles; inspired prophecy; discernment;ecstatic utterance; the gift of interpretation. Many gifts - butone Spirit! It cannot be any other way. There is only oneSpirit. There is only one Christ. The vocation of the Church is tobe one community in Christ - to be a sign of unity to theworld.
To Ponder
- Jealousy and rivalry among a team in the changing rooms or onthe sports field spells disaster. Jealousy and rivalry within afamily should be unnecessary. Jealousy and rivalry are constantfactors in the history of Christianity and in other worldfaiths.
- The Japanese Christian leader Kagawa said that to his ear thepronunciation of 'denomination' and 'damnation' sounded pretty muchthe same.
- How do you deal with jealously and rivalry in your church?
- And how do you deal with its effects and the damage it cancause?