Over the last 11 chapters we have seen Paul rattle off a list of grievances and answers concerning questions that give us a pretty poor impression of the Corinthians. In the previous chapter Paul had focused on the act of communion, it was not as unifying as it should have been! 

This church was falling apart at the seams. There seemed to be no unifying feature among them. The message of Jesus hadn’t pulled them together. Paul’s teachings had not kept them as one. It seems, even human decency could not keep them from being civil and courteous! So, what would pull them together?

What unifies us?

‘Now to each one of us the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the COMMON good’ (1 Corinthians 12:7). The power of the Holy Spirit was clearly at work in this community, the questions that Paul appears to be answering suggest that many may have been experiencing the physical impact of the Holy Spirit personally, and were just unsure how they were supposed to work out those gifts in the public forum. These confusions appeared to increase their separation, when in fact, Paul makes clear, the opposite was supposed to be the case!

We the Church, like the generations that have gone before and will come after us, are to be personally impacted by the truth of the Gospel and forever changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The next step is to bring that transformation and gifting to use alongside your peers for the common good. For the Corinthians Paul’s encouragement is that, as they are personally impacted, they will learn to be cooperatively strengthened. For us today there is little difference! Even if our churches are not visibly falling apart, they will still be massively and positively impacted by your personal prayerful experiences being brought together for the common good!

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Questions:

What spiritual and practical gifts has God given to me? How can I use them to strengthen the Body of Christ?

Prayer:

Father, let me experience your power and presence today and show me how I can use what gifts you have given me, so that I can play my part in your body, the Church. Amen.