1st Corinthians 12:12-31
By now, I think we all understand what’s going on in the Corinthian church. There was division all over the place; arrogance, mistreatment of one another, a misunderstanding of how the church was meant to function in a healthy way. This morning, we get to a really familiar passage to most, but knowing the context of this letter really helps us to understand the motivation behind it. Paul is trying to teach them what it looks like to be united in their gifts, while at the same time expressing the beauty of diversity.
1. Unity of the Body (12-13)
Read 1st Corinthians 12:12-13
Paul says in verse 13 that “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” Paul is not talking about water baptism here, but instead is referencing Spirit baptism. John the Baptist predicted that this would happen in the gospel of Mark: “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus reiterated this truth shortly before His ascension into heaven in Acts 1:5, “in just a few days you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.” This happens on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended onto the disciples and filled them, and now happens for everyone who places their faith in Jesus.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is synonymous with salvation. One commentator said that it may be defined as “that work whereby the Spirit of God places the believer into union with Christ and into union with other believers in the body of Christ at the moment of salvation.” Therefore, every believer has been baptized by the Holy Spirit. The moment we confess Jesus and receive the gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit enacts the New Covenant in our lives. The Holy Spirit fills us, indwells us, at the same time we experience regeneration, which means being born again. We are made new, washed of our sins by the blood of Jesus. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the moment of cleansing in which we move from darkness to light, from death to life.
Because this is true for every believer, we find unity in this. The same thing can be said for all of us, across the world, across history. This is why Paul brings together Jews, Greeks, slaves and free. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what your upbringing is, who you were previously. We are all united in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We are united as one body, the body of Christ. And while there is unity in the Spirit, there is also a necessary diversity.
2. DIversity of the Body (14-20)
Read 1st Corinthians 12:14-20
So what was happening in the church at Corinth is that some believers were thinking that they weren’t as important to the work of the church as others. “Well the hands, I mean, they do everything! I’m just a foot. The hands are visible. They set everything up. They play the guitar. They serve coffee. They shake other hands in a spirit of welcome.
Same thing with the ear! “I mean, sure I’m an ear, but I’m no eye!” But imagine, Paul says, if the body were just an eye! You wouldn’t be able to smell anything or taste anything. Imagine if the whole body were an ear! I mean that’s just a ridiculous prospect. The point is this, there is no part of the body that is any less important than the next. Paul was addressing a specific issue in the church. Nobody is any less important than anyone else. You all have worth. You all have a place. You all are integral to the health of the body.
The danger of this mindset, that our gifts aren’t as good as so-and-so’s, is that we can become crippled and sideline ourselves instead of utilizing the gifts that God HAS given us. When we believe the lie that we don’t have anything to offer, we are robbing the church of its full effectiveness! As we learned last week, every Christian has been gifted by the Holy Spirit. And every Christian has the responsibility of serving the Church with those gifts. But we can’t do it alone!
3. Interdependence of the Body (21-26)
Read 1st Corinthians 12:21-26
At the same time that this was going on, some were considering themselves better, or more important than others. This is why in verse 21 Paul says, “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you.” Nor the head to the feet. It seems that some had categorized certain positions as more necessary than others, and had potentially belittled others along the way.
The danger here is that we can become arrogant, because “my gift serves a ‘more important’ aspect of the church.”
What Paul does out of response to this is elevates those who have been believing that they aren’t as important. And he continues with the comparison to the human body. The parts of the body that SEEM to be weaker, not that they are, but the ones that can sometimes be perceived as weaker, less honorable, those are the ones that we treat with greater respect, with greater modesty. We cover them up. We treat them with dignity.
So the proper view that we are looking for is this: that there is no serving position that is more important than another. There is no part of the body that is more important than another. There is no gifting that is any less important than any other gifting. Paul tells us that those that are visible and most often naturally celebrated… “man you guys did a great job singing today,” or, “my kids really love having you as a teacher…” are important, and just as important are the behind the scenes jobs that sometimes can feel thankless. When’s the last time anyone encouraged our sound guys because the music mix was well blended? When’s the last time you thanked the volunteer running the slides for keeping up with the lyrics and message slides? ALL are important and ALL should be celebrated.
What is the reason that we honor and celebrate all giftings equally? The reason we do that, Paul says, is to avoid disunity. “That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”
When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. When one part of the body is honored, we all celebrate together. We are in this together! Our mission is to “be a family committed to making disciples for the kingdom and glory of God.” The way that we do that is by banding together in unity behind this goal. Every unique gift being utilized to drive this mission forward.
Maybe you're gifted in Outreach and want to help with our local partnerships. Maybe you're passionate about Global Missions and want to be a liaison between us and our global partners. I mean there is so much that can be done to serve the mission of Family Church which is serving the mission of God’s Global Church and that is the Great Commission, to go and make disciples.
Listen if you are sitting out there and thinking, “yea Adam this all sounds great, but I really don’t have anything to offer,” that’s NOT true! There is a place and space for every part of the body to serve. Maybe you’re serving in a ministry area and you’re feeling like your gifts are being utilized in the best way possible. That’s ok. We had a season where a lot of people were serving out of a necessity, but we don’t have to think that way anymore. Let’s be in this together. Let’s continue to trust and follow the Lord as He leads us forward in His faithful growing of His church.
4. Final Charge (27-31)
Read 1st Corinthians 12:27-31
You, Christian, are the body of Christ. Everything that Paul just said, is true of you. And this is important when it comes to the health of the church. In order for a church to be effective in raising up the next generation, in being a light in a dark world, in finding unity in mission, vision and purpose, we all need to be exercising the gifts that the Spirit has bestowed upon us.
While it would seem here that Paul does rank the gifts, that’s not what he is doing. The gifts as listed here could be in order of prominence, bust most likely have to do with how much it benefits the church. The apostles, without whom the church would not exist. Those who prophecy, or proclaim the Word of God to the whole congregation. Those who teach, who equip the Christians for gospel work. And so on down the list.
And when he mentions to desire the “higher gifts,” what he is saying is that all should aspire to do that which is most beneficial to the church. Desire to be a proclaimer of the gospel. Desire to be a teacher of the Scriptures. Not in a selfish way, but because the more the gospel is proclaimed, the more the lost will hear it. The more the gospel is proclaimed, the more the people of God will flourish!
And this very last line, “I will show you a more excellent way,” is a transition into the next chapter. Paul has just laid out all these giftings of the Spirit, gifts which the Corinthian church had confused and abused. And then he lays them out in a structure that seems to be based on benefit. But, even so, Paul will show us something greater. And this is where we are next week. Chapter 13, the chapter on Christian love. Greater than all of these gifts, is sacrificial love. It’s an incredible chapter, and I think it will be really cool to see it not as a standalone marriage ceremony passage, but as a passage that fits so perfectly into the whole context of this letter to the church at Corinth.
