Today I have been reading two very well known chapters of the Bible. Well, to be more specific one chapter that is very well known for those who are a part of the church and the next chapter which is will be well known by anyone whether they’ve been in a church or not. It’s Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth where he discusses spiritual gifts (chapter 12) and the topic of love (chapter 13).
I’m not going to say a lot here that you don’t already know but I was struck once again by the simplicity of these passages.
One of the challenges of living in the west is how focused we are on the individual. The more families have spread, divided, sometimes broken down, coupled with increased commuting, career climbing and singleness, the more we have taken our focus off the wider community to become more self focused. We have become increasingly self centred (in the truest sense of the word) and therefore less concerned about others welfare. Often we think that is something that is unique to our time but as we read throughout history we see that these things tend to raise their head at certain moments over the years. From reading Paul’s letter to some believers in Ancient Greece it sounds like they weren’t a whole lot different than we are today when it comes to their self-centring.
Let’s do a bit of revision before we get to Paul’s words.
I’ve said it many times in this blog, but when God created us He created us each with different DNA meaning we are unique. I am similar to you and you to me, but we are not the same. I believe the reason that God created us with these differences is that it best represents His image. I represent His image, yes, but when both of us are together we better representation of His image than if we are alone. Now, these differences between us wouldn’t be a problem if we understood our true identity in God and weren’t wrestling with our sinful nature. If that were the case we would celebrate who we are and who someone else is in equal measure. We wouldn’t be threatened by another’s gifts and abilities nor would we feel inadequate as we compare ourselves to someone else. We would see their strengths as complementary to our own and together we would work together to create something better than we could do on our own.
That is why Paul is writing this part of the letter to the church in question. He has clearly heard that there has been some division around this issue when it comes to the gifts of the spirit. People were becoming jealous of one another and he knew this jealousy has the ability to destroy the new church established there. So Paul writes to them and take the time to describe how the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts. He explains that while the gifts will be different it is the same spirit that sends them, so if each gift is from the same source then each one is of the same important, even though they’ll look different. He’s trying to quell any hierarchy that people had imposed on their gifts. We all do that right?
He then uses the analogy of the human body to explain the struggle. He talks how each part of the body relies on the others or else the whole system falls apart. A finger is useless without a hand, and the hand is useless without an arm, the arm need the shoulder and on and on we go. Paul is saying “and so it is with the ‘body’ of God, the church”. We need each other to be truly useful. Paul makes it clear that God made no mistake when He created us uniquely and distributed different gifts.
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 1 Cor 12:18
The simple rule is this; if God wanted it that way we would be smart not to alter that. We can try to elevate one part above the other, we can try to exclude the parts we don’t agree with or we could try to make them all the same in their function but it isn’t going to work. In fact I have watched the western church try to do all of these things and it just never works when it comes to the Kingdom assignment. We can’t make one more important because God made them all dependant on one another. We can’t exclude certain parts because they make us uncomfortable as God designed and placed them there and we can’t try and pretend that they are all the same either because they aren’t. Whilst each of us are created in equal importance in Christ we aren’t created in exact design. We need to learn to live with those truths.
Paul thinks the same;
…..there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 1 Cor 12:25
The underpinning of all of this chat about gifting comes in the next chapter. So often we think that the gifting of an individual is the pinnacle of their existence. We have phrases like “reaching our full potential” or “climbing to the top of the ladder” which all communicate that the goal of our lives is to become external recognition for the internal skills we possess. It’s often why we will excuse rudeness if someone is brilliant. Again, this was likely a cultural component in Greek culture as well which leads Paul to write these words about love.
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. 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. 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. 1 Cor 13:1-3
After this Paul famously writes those lines read at nearly every wedding I have attended; “love is patient, love is kind…”
Basically what Paul is saying is that love is at the centre of it all.
Why? Because God is love. John says this;
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them 1 John 4:16
God must be at the centre of all our stuff. Any gift we receive from Him must continue to centred on Him. That means that it will always be sourced in love. When we prophecy from love we release something more than an accurate word. When we evangelise from love we will see a deeper transformation than a few responses to Jesus. When we teach from love we will see more then a great talk and on and on we can go. The reality is that if we truly were to source our gifting in God we would never experience any of the jealousy that Paul addresses earlier in chapter 12.
I’m sure we all have many gifts that God has given us. I wonder if we might take some time to submit them back to Him and ask Him to teach us what it is to operate from a place of love, from a place of His presence. How might that change how we operate in those giftings? How might that change how we observe other peoples giftings?
How is our body image today?
Is it sourced in love? Does it seek to raise or downplay its image? Is it jealous? Is it self seeking or understanding that it is part of a bigger picture?