Do you consider yourself to be “gifted”? The word is commonly used, but not always in a helpful way. Many schools assign high-performing children to programs or classes for the “gifted and talented.” While such programs may please some parents, they can cause others to feel distinctly ungifted, and may also sharpen racial and economic divides, leaving disadvantaged children behind. 

 

A problem of “giftedness” arose long ago in the city of Corinth, where many people were caught up in a pervasive “honor culture.” Evidence suggests that many Christians bought into the campaign for greater status, which could be gained through wealth or public association with prominent people. Apparently, some also sought honor through the display of certain spiritual gifts. [DD] Their spiritual pride led people with less obvious giftedness or prestige to think of themselves as second class Christians. 

 

Paul was alerted to the issues by people from Corinth who visited him in Ephesus, as well as by a letter from the church. His response is found in the epistle we call 1 Corinthians, though it was probably not his first correspondence with the church. 

 

 

 

Paul had an up-and-down relationship with the Corinthian church that extended over many years. [DD] In earlier chapters of the book, Paul dealt with a variety of problems, including factionalism, immorality, settling grievances, family life, slave holding, and eating food that had been offered to idols. 

 

In chapters 12-14, Paul moved to the hot-button topic of “spiritual gifts.” While some considered speaking in tongues to be an essential marker of faith, Paul argued that the primary evidence of  Christian spirituality is not glossolalia, but loving service. [DD] [DD]

 

Paul’s serious concerns suggest that a misunderstanding or overemphasis on tongues had led to division in the church. Some apparently insisted that speaking in tongues was a necessary sign of the Spirit’s presence. Today, some Pentecostal groups still do.

 

Paul disagreed. He insisted that the manifestation of tongues was not proof of the Spirit, and reminded his readers that many of them had once worshiped idols, which were incapable of speech (v. 2). Some of the pagan cults and mystery religions also practiced glossolalia: one can experience religious ecstasy and speak in tongues without knowing the true god. [DD] One can also fake it, mimicking what they heard and claiming to have the gift.  

 

The proper test of one’s speech—or at, least, the source of one’s speech—lies in its content. Thus, Paul turned to another argument: no one claiming to have the Spirit of God would curse the name of Jesus, but would rather confess Jesus as Lord (v. 3). The point is not that Christians are incapable of mouthing the words “Jesus is cursed”—Paul spoke them as he dictated the letter—but that one inspired by the Spirit of God would not (indeed, could not) wish Jesus to be cursed. (See “The Hardest Question” online for more on this.)

 

 

 

The issue of spiritual gifts had caused division and strife at Corinth, but Paul knew the Spirit promotes harmony rather than discord. He wrote: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (vv. 4-7). [DD]

 

Note the emphasis on a common source and a common purpose for spiritual gifts—to b exercised for the benefit of all.

 

In vv. 8-11, Paul lists several activities associated with spiritual gifts. Other lists of spiritual gifts also appear in scripture (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:27-28). All of them are different, and none of them are exhaustive. 

 

In this context, Paul speaks to nine areas of “giftedness.” Although some apparently thought of glossolalia as the most prestigious gift, Paul named it last. 

 

The first two “gifts” are closely related: the ability to speak with wisdom (sophía) and knowledge (gnōsis). Paul had pointed (sometimes sarcastically) to the Corinthians’ love of wisdom in chapters 1-4, contrasting their love of earthly eloquence with the deep wisdom that comes from God. 

 

Literally, Paul speaks of the “word” (logos) of wisdom and of knowledge. Since the context has to do with speaking, however, Paul’s intent is probably the “utterance” (NRSV) or “message” (NET) of wisdom and knowledge spoken by Spirit-empowered believers. 

 

Whether Paul meant to suggest different things by “wisdom” and “knowledge,” or simply doubled up the same thought for emphasis, is not clear. Typically, we think of wisdom as reflecting the mature and insightful use of knowledge. While knowledge may indicate no more than the accumulation of information, wisdom suggests the ability to employ knowledge in appropriate ways and at the proper time.

 

“Faith” in v. 9 is not faith that leads to salvation, for Paul is speaking to persons who are already believers. Rather, he speaks of the kind of faith that stands firm in times of crisis, enables the believer to give spiritual service in all circumstances, and inspires others with its staying power. 

 

The pairing of “faith” with the gift of “healing” does not necessarily imply “faith healing,” or the notion that healing is always available for those who have sufficient faith. Jesus healed people who had expressed no faith at all, and his disciples who had faith were not always able to effect healing. 

 

Paul clearly believed that God had blessed some persons with gifts of healing that went beyond ordinary medical skills. Paul had demonstrated that gift in his own life (Acts 20:9-10, 28:9)—but he also struggled with a personal “thorn in the flesh,” and his colleague Epaphroditus nearly died before “God had mercy on him” (2 Cor. 12:7; Phil. 2:25-27). 

 

Modern believers sometimes claim to have experienced miraculous healing, too, but this has never been the norm. Christians should not doubt their faith if they pray for healing and do not receive it.

 

The term translated “miracles” (v. 10) is dunameis, the root word of “dynamite.” It can also be translated as “mighty works.” We can only guess what such displays might have been, but some believers thought of them as signs of God’s new age breaking in upon the world. 

 

“Prophecy,” a gift attributed to persons such as Agabus (Acts 11:28; 21:10f) and the daughters of Phillip (Acts 21:9), was thought of as the ability to declare the word of God for a given situation—not just the ability to predict the future. 

 

Paul’s readers believed that demonic spirits could also inspire prophetic speech, however. Acts 16:16 speaks of a slave girl Paul had met in Philippi. A “spirit of divination” would reportedly prompt her to prophesy, a “gift” that her owners exploited, charging fees for her services as a fortuneteller.

 

For this reason, along with the possibility that some might fake prophetic gifts for the attention, it was important that some persons be gifted with the “discernment of spirits” so that the church could determine if a would-be prophet’s words came from God or from some other source.

 

The gifts listed in vv. 9-10 are all things that contribute to the welfare of the community, so we may expect Paul’s concluding mention of “various kinds of tongues” and “the interpretation of tongues” to be understood in a similar context: they were for the benefit of the community, not the speaker.

 

By “various kinds of tongues,” Paul may have meant the ability to speak actual languages not previously known to the speaker (as in Acts 2:6ff), or the kind of ecstatic utterances that required the presence of one with the gift for “interpretation of tongues.” 

 

If everyone with the “gift of tongues” spoke in the same way, others could learn the language, but that’s not how it worked: people apparently spoke in different ways. 

 

In any case, it is notable that Paul listed “various kinds of tongues” last on the list, perhaps suggesting that they were the least helpful in building community. 

 

No matter what the outer manifestation, Paul concluded, there is one Spirit at work to energize all believers with the presence and the power of God’s grace gifts. The gifts are allotted “to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses,” but their purpose is communal, to build up the church in unity and love. [DD]

 

Paul’s message is not complicated. All who trust in Christ are gifted by the Spirit of Christ, and all such gifts are for the benefit of the community, not just the individual. All gifts and all people should contribute to the health and growth of the body of Christ, which Paul addressed directly in v. 12—where we will begin next week’s lesson. 

 

In the meantime, we would do well to ponder the areas in which we believe the Spirit has gifted us. Do we allow them to flourish in our lives, leading us to be faithful not only in our personal walk, but in building community and blessing others as well?