Spiritual Gifts and Giving

I Corinthians 12:1-2  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

Our Epistle selection for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity continues with the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. It comes right on the heels of our lesson from last week, which, if you’ll recall, dealt with idolatry and evil lusts, among other issues. In the intervening chapter between chapters 10 and 12, Paul admonished the Corinthian Church for their abuse of the Lord’s Supper. You will recall that many Corinthians were treating the Eucharist similarly to the pagan dinners offered to the Greek Pantheon. Some would get drunk, while others would eat before all the members of the congregation had arrived. It had degenerated into something other than what the Holy Communion had been designed, namely to worshipfully remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us, as well as the ingesting of divine Grace.

In our Epistle for the day, Paul confronts another phenomenon confronting the Corinthians. This time it was the use (and misuse) of divine gifts being liberally poured out on it by the Holy Spirit. Matthew Henry tells us, “This church was rich in gifts, but there were many things scandalously out of order in it” (view source). Indeed there was, even while the Holy Spirit was pouring out manifestations of power among the various groups of Corinthian congregations. We must remember that one of the problems of the church in Corinth was growth. Thus, when we speak of the “Church at Corinth,” we aren’t talking about a single large congregation, like the modern mega-church. Instead, we are referring to several, perhaps many, house churches scattered all over the city. This was one reason why Paul entreats the church to be followers of him and to avoid breaking into several different groups, each following their own charismatic leader. The danger here, of course, as with all schisms, was that each group would begin to modify or even corrupt Paul’s apostolic teaching.

As he begins this section of teaching, Paul wastes no time in reminding the Corinthians of their former state. They were Gentiles, led away to idol worship and idolatry. Their old religion, he wants them to understand, was human-made, false, and ultimately destructive. It had no root in divinity, but was rooted in the fanciful imagination of the Greeks. While we recognize that the Greek Pantheon was a brilliant conception, we also realize that it was myth, legend, and folk story all rolled into one.

As the Greeks and the Romans themselves learned when confronted by the Truth in Jesus Christ, their old system could not save. It could only celebrate and propagate various fancies and superstitions, without any root in true reality. In this it was similar, yet perhaps not as sinister, as the Canaanite religions which God so heartily despised. As we would see from history, the old pagan religious structure eventually crumbled under the true cornerstone of truth in Jesus Christ. In true prophetic style, Jesus related this when He confronted the Pharisees in Luke 20: “And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” (Luke 20:17-18). In so saying this, Christ was paraphrasing and amplifying Isaiah 28:16, that wonderful prophesy concerning Himself: “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation…’’

Thus, by reminding the Corinthians of their former Gentile past, Paul is bringing forth here one of the penultimate themes of the New Testament, salvation by grace. He is saying to them that even though they were formerly pagans and idolaters, through the munificence of God, grace has been poured out on them by the Holy Ghost. This grace had taken the form of various manifestations of the Spirit and because of this, Paul took pains to point out that the origin of these gifts was divine. Thus, it cannot be a source of arrogance or pride. Furthermore, Paul tells us that no can speak ill of Christ if he is under the Spirit, just as one cannot affirm that Christ is Lord without the influence of the Holy Spirit. Similarly, enemies of Christ cannot be under the Spirit, just as believers cannot praise Jesus as Lord without the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

This is both comforting and dangerous. It is comforting for those who look with doubt or uncertainty in their own souls for the presence of the Holy Spirit, as this priest once did as a young man. It is comforting to know that when one says the Creed with conviction, it is by the power of the Holy Ghost, or when one says, “Jesus is Lord,” it is not without spiritual impetus. I suppose a committed atheist or agnostic might be able, physically, to say “Jesus is Lord” if one used coercive force, but it would never happen spontaneously or freely, as when a Christian praises God. In short, being able to affirm, with love and force, that Jesus Christ is Lord takes something beyond oneself. It takes the glorious grace of God. In first-century Corinth, something was the matter, so much so that St. Paul found it necessary to instruct the church as to the origin and uses of spiritual gifts. First, he tells them that there are many types of gifts, but it is the same Spirit of God giving them. Also, there are various types of service (ministries) that these gifts encourage, but it is still the same Lord providing all of them. Finally, there are different kinds of ways these gifts are worked out, but it is the same God “working all things in all” [I Corinthians 12:6 (MKJV)]

St. Paul’s point is plain: no matter the diverse types of gifts given to man, or how they are ministered to the Church, or even how they actually are presented, it is all God. He provides them to the Body for encouragement, for teaching, and most importantly, for His Glory.

Over-emphasis of spiritual gifts can also be dangerous or even destructive to the Church. Just as in Corinth, as some became “puffed up” because of their own particular receipt of spiritual gifts, so it is in some parts of the Church today. Some Christian groups, still regard glossothalia, the speaking in tongues, as being the sign of a “real” spirit-filled Christian. In their mind, there are two types of Christians: those who exhibit spiritual phenomena and those who don’t. Those who don’t just aren’t as “spirit-filled” as those who do. They are, in some sense, second-class Christians.

Without going any further, one can see how destructive this can be. It is even more dangerous when one considers that many scholars and commentators, including most Anglicans, think that the marvelous deeds done in Acts and referenced in today’s Epistle were outpourings of the Spirit meant specifically for the first-century Church. One commentator says, “What these gifts were is at large told us in the body of the chapter; namely, extraordinary offices and powers, bestowed on ministers and Christians in the first ages, for conviction of unbelievers, and propagation of the gospel” (source).They are gifts that are not in great abundance today in precisely the same form as when they appeared in the first century. For that very reason, to discriminate against or denigrate those who do not exhibit these specific gifts is erroneous, uncharitable, and unkind.

Let us return to the hopeful and positive aspects of this lesson in righteousness. The fact is, all of us have spiritual gifts born of the Holy Spirit. The very fact we are all gathered here today is evidence of that, for without the gift of faith, we wouldn’t be here at all. We would be doing something else. Yet, there is something that draws us here to worship. That willingness to be drawn by the Spirit and to do something that we know our souls need is a gift in itself. Instead of being lost sheep, wandering among the wolves of this life, we are led each Sunday to be fed by our Shepherd and to lie down in the green, restful pastures of worship with Him. This is also a wonderful gift.

All of us have other gifts as well. It may be the gift of wisdom, it may be the gift of helping, it may be the gift of knowledge. It may be the gift of a current or former occupation, now yielding fruit to the Church. In every way, for all of us, our gifts are merely the things God has given us and now we seek to return them to the Church in whatever way we can, but always for the purpose of God’s Glory, never for our own self-magnification.

Thus, continue to ask God how you can use your own gifts for His Glory. Meditate on it, give thanks for every gift, and then pray for direction. As you do this, our Lord will direct you, support you, and empower you to give back what He has given you. In the end, we find that our giving to Him does not diminish or deplete us, but instead is magnified and multiplied. We simply cannot out-give God.

Above all, as you consider your own individual gifts and calling of God, pray for one more thing. Pray that you may be gifted with joy in everything that you do. Pray that all you do is done joyfully, cheerfully, and with a glad heart. In the end, as you go about giving of yourself to the World and most importantly, to God, you may find that this is the greatest gift of all. AMEN.