This section of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church is about unity in diversity, serving the common good together, and being instruments of God’s grace by His Spirit at work to heal, to teach and to build up. The overall message is that God is in control. It is His church not yours or mine; and they are always His gifts for the common good, gifts given for service. He gives them as He determines (12:11), and he gives them primarily for the benefit of others! Too often people talk about, “My gift, my ministry, my vision.” It is a dangerous path to start on, because verse 7 is clear: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (12:7).
What gifts has the Lord given to us? I believe He has given us all of the gifts! Are we using His gifts for the common good? Or are we – like the disobedient servant in one of Jesus’s parables – are we burying the gifts and not putting them to use?
The Holy Spirit is not a theory. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, living in perfect community with the Father and the Son. So what follows is not theory. This is present day reality to be experienced among us for the common good. The Holy Spirit is to be made manifest, seen, heard, and experienced at work in every Christian for the common good. Hence we pray, “Come Holy Spirit!”
When the Archdeacon sends me money towards a family holiday I’m not meant to put it in a savings account for a rainy day, or to spend it on expensive aftershave. No. It is to be used for the common good - for the family; and so it is with gifts of the Spirit. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom (12:8). You know in our 21st century world of Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia and instant news and information there is lots and lots of opinion, fact, fiction, gossip and spin available for us to consume; …what’s often lacking is wisdom. Holy Spirit wisdom!
The Greek phrase is ‘logos sophias’. It means a word of wisdom. It can be spoken by someone (e.g. Phil Hylton) who has learned (Proverbs 3: 5-6) to lean not on their own understanding, but to live in the fear of the Lord; but we need to be clear that a word of wisdom – or indeed any gift - is not given as a reward for how good a Christian someone is or is not. No. It is God’s wisdom to unravel a confused situation or to shed light. Solomon was given such wisdom when two women came to him claiming to be the mother of a baby. Solomon ordered the baby be divided and half given to each; but the natural mother insisted the baby be given to the other - thus revealing her to be the genuine mother. Solomon received a word of wisdom for the common good; but Solomon was not indispensable; and neither are we! Jesus, only Jesus, is Lord of the church and the head of the body.
To another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit (12:8): The phrase is ‘logos gnoseos’.
It literally means ‘word of knowledge’; and Paul’s use of the word gnoseos is important because a Corinthian heresy was the belief that special knowledge, gnosis, was available to those who achieve certain higher levels of study or devotion; but Paul is having none of that. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, miraculous powers, prophecy, & speaking in tongues are gifts of the Spirit given as He determines for the common good. They are not rewards for length of service or quality of life – although our openness to use these gifts is important. In short, there is no place for either superiority or inferiority in the church.
The Spirit gives a word of knowledge with the aim of Jesus being or becoming Lord of someone’s life. The word is a fact or a piece of information that could not otherwise have been known. So If the Spirit gives me a word of knowledge for someone, it is given so that person knows God is on their case. He knows them, cares for them and wants the best for them.
Jesus had a word of knowledge (John 4) for the woman at the well; as did Peter when dealing with Ananias and Sapphira; and as with all gifts this must be used in humility and in love. See 1 Corinthians 13. The greatest gift is love; and if the Spirit gives a word of knowledge that is sensitive information it must be used lovingly. Jesus got it right 100% of the time but I don’t and we won’t. So handle with love and care!
To another [is given] faith by the same Spirit (12:9). This is not saving faith, not optimism, and not the faithfulness that grows as the fruit of the Spirit. Nor is it a defiant assertion against the facts; such as an old colleague saying he’d been healed of deafness in his ear. He was deaf but insisted he was healed. 20 years later he is still deaf as far as I am aware. That sort of faith insists that pain has gone when clearly and painfully it has not gone! No, the gift of faith looks beyond the current situation to the promises of God; and I think now of my friends Graham and Louise.
I believe God gave them the gift of faith through 5 years of distress during which one daughter was terribly ill and another went through a painful divorce.
Jesus had the gift of faith at the grave of Lazarus who was already dead and he called him out. For us as a church the gift of faith is often given to bring courage and hope if we are flagging or downcast; or at a moment of crucial decision making; and I love this little eastern proverb: “Faith is the bird that knows the dawn and sings while it is still dark.”
To another [is given] gifts of healing by that one Spirit (12:9). When we are sick, ill, in pain or in need of healing to whom do we turn first of all? This gift is not given to bring healing to the one exercising the gift. As with all the gifts it is given for the common good, to bring healing to others in Jesus’ name. One such example is in Acts 3 when Peter healed the man who had been unable to walk since birth.
I don’t have time to unpack every aspect of the gifts of the Spirit but St. Paul goes on to say that we need each other, every single one, everyone included.
Who are the gifts given to? They’re given to every believer so that between us all of the gifts are available. Who are the gifts for? They are for the common good; but we must not think they are gifts simply for the church. They are not. We get to practice using them here in order to be effective for Him out there – on the streets, in the office, on the train, in the pub, at the park, over lunch …
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8); but what good is a car if it stays in the garage? A car is made for the road; and as David Pytches often says, “The meeting place is the training place for the market place.” So let’s stand to pray.
