1 Corinthians 12:1-6 (NIV)
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Another question that arose in the letter from Corinth was about spiritual gifts. There were Spirit-filled Christians in Corinth, and they were working in the power of the Holy Spirit. But instead of acting as a unifying force, the Corinthians were being divided by their gifts.
In the pagan religion practiced among the citizens of the Roman empire, devotion to one or more of the Greek or Roman gods was a key feature. And the people divided up their devotion based on what they did for a living or based on a skill they wanted to develop. Each of the artistic guilds had their own god who was expected to endow them with certain skills, or to help them to be successful. Poets, for example, were devoted to the Muse Erato. Philosophers were devoted to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. Farmers sought the favor of Ceres to ensure the success of their crops.
The same mindset was working itself into the Church as well. Some were seeking specific aspects of God as they sought these specific gifts that they desired, praying to Him as the God of wisdom, or calling Him the God of prophecy. The effect of this was to divide the Church not only by categories of spiritual gifts, but to divide up God Himself, in effect resulting in each sect worshipping God only in particular aspects of His being, each group worshiping a slightly different God with powers and attributes slanted or emphasized for their particular gifting. That is why in this section of his letter on spiritual gifts, Paul’s main emphasis is on unity, and on how any real spiritual gifting will end encourage and support that unity.
In this introductory section Paul points out that, no matter what spiritual gifts someone may exhibit, there will be a unity of thought around Jesus. Two people who are filled with God’s Spirit and operating within that filling will be completely united in their opinion of Jesus. It would be impossible for the same Spirit to have two opposing views of the One who sent that Spirit. Paul uses polar opposites to make his point: one person saying, “Jesus is cursed”, and the other, “Jesus is Lord”.
Paul then emphasizes that no matter how diverse the gifts that are manifested, no matter how diverse the acts of service that are empowered, no matter how many different kinds of work are enabled and performed in the Church, they are all the result of one, and only one, Holy Spirit, who glorifies one, and only one, Lord, and who reflects the character in power of one, and only one, God. Thus, they should never be a source of division, but a source of powerful unity.
Father, thank You for this clarity regarding an issue that can still cause divisions in the Church today. In these various gifts, graces, and empowerments, no matter how different they may appear to us or to outsiders, they are all from You, and all reflect aspects of You, so that we, all together, reflect Your perfect wholeness. You are the source of all of them. Help us, Lord, to not seek so much Your gifts and Your power, but to simply seek You, one God, overall. Amen.