Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Stop Desiring an Inferior Spiritual Gift

Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. (Berean Study Bible)

Context: 1 Corinthians 12

Paul begins this section by reminding us that all Christians are, collectively, the unified body of Christ, and individually, specialized members of it. 

In verse 28, “God has appointed” reminds us of the Father’s authority as architect, the Son’s authority as agent, and the Holy Spirit’s authority empowering the members with spiritual gifts. 

Here, Paul lists some offices or functions among the called-out (ekklesia, translated “church”). I’ve distributed the verb to make the structure more clear:

In the church, God indeed

1. First has appointed apostles
2. Second has appointed prophets
3. Third has appointed teachers
4. Then has appointed miracles
5. Then has appointed gifts of healing
6. Has appointed helping
7. Has appointed administrating
8. Has appointed various languages

Comparing this list with other lists in Romans and Ephesians, we know that it is a sample list. For example, it omits the role of martyr that required a spiritual gift of faith, the role of patron that required a gift of giving, and the role of guardian of doctrine and practice that required a gift of discerning of spirits.

The verb is the same verb used in verse 18. It is also used in Acts 12:4, where Herod sovereignly “placed” Peter in prison. Whatever your role, the Father designed it into the church; the Father appointed you to or placed you in that role; and the Holy Spirit determined and gave you the spiritual gifts that empower you in that role. 

The adverbs first, second, third, and then could mean either sequence or rank. We can rule out chronological sequence because in Acts, we read of the spiritual gift of languages before we read of miracles, healing, helping, or administrating. So the structure of the sentence places languages at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Note the irony that Pentecostals place “tongues” at the top of both sequence in a Christian’s life and at the top of the hierarchy as an indicator of salvation, whereas scripture places it last in importance and assigns it to only select members of the body.

Paul poses a series of rhetorical questions. That is, the pattern establishes that the answer to each is “no.” 

• Are all apostles? No.
• Are all prophets? No.
• Are all teachers? No.
• Do all work miracles? No.
• Do all have gifts of healing? No.
• Do all speak in tongues? No.
• Do all interpret? No.

In fact, the wording in the Greek is even less rhetorical. It reads literally, Not all apostles? Not all prophets? Not all teachers? Not all miracles? Not all have gifts of healing? Not all in tongues speak? Not all interpret?

The questions plainly establish for the nth time in this chapter that God does not assign any role, nor does the Holy Spirit consign any gift, to all members of the body. It is simply not God's plan to do so. The distribution of roles and gifts is not a matter of piety, pleading, or sacraments, but of God’s sovereign plan for the body of Christ. Any church or doctrine that imposes on all Christians a need for a particular gift such as “tongues” or even evangelism reflects either a disregard for scripture or an untrained method of interpretation that produces corrupt doctrines.

Paul told the Corinthians to eagerly desire the greater gifts. Individually and as a body, they had desired the least of gifts, "tongues" (or an imitation thereof), and had to be reminded to desire that the greater gifts be exercised in the body. 

Paul explains more about why tongues is a lesser gift and why the greater gifts should be exercised in the following chapters. Don’t skip over chapter 13. It bears directly on this issue. It reveals “the most excellent way” that the Corinthians had failed to follow in all their toleration of sin, personality cults, inequity, and misdirected “ministry.”

Copyright 2021, Richard Wheeler. Please give credit where credit is due. Permission granted for non-remunerated use.

 Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:18-26

Unity Reflects in Care and Empathy

Context: 1 Corinthianss 12

But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (Berean Study Bible)

This selection from 1 Corinthians repeats and expands on the message of the last passage. Applying the metaphors may be difficult due to differences between first century Greco-Judaic and modern western mindsets. Verse 18, discussed in the previous post, is repeated here because it overlaps and provides continuity between verses 19-26 to verses 12-7 and because its meaning connects to that of verse 24. 

Whereas the Greek verb in verse 18 focuses on how God places the members in the body, the verb in verse 24 focuses on how God combines the members into a single, united organism. Together, the verbs assert God’s authority and wisdom in the design of the church and in His placement of its members. That is, God has a design for the church and has already specially selected you for a unique role.

To place the members in the body of Christ means to assign the roles of the individuals and, referring to earlier in the chapter, to consign spiritual gifts in accordance with members’ individually assigned roles. Therefore, to lust after another member’s spiritual gift is to ignore one’s own role, question God’s authority, and second-guess the Holy Spirit’s wisdom. 

This passage repeats the idea that one-gift-for-all violates the wisdom of God’s design. If all members had the same role and accompanying spiritual gift, the body would comprise a monstrosity incapable of functioning as a whole, unable to fulfill God’s purposes, and unfit for the members who comprise it.

No member of the body of Christ has a right to denigrate the role or gifting of another member. 

To denigrate or ignore roles or gifts considered “lesser” by fleshly standards, or to elevate roles or gifts already considered “greater,” is to cause division within the body of Christ. That constitutes rejection of God’s plan and rebellion against God.

Denigrating some roles or gifts, as well as inordinately elevating others, runs counter to the unity and mutual care that God intended.

The passage divides body members among three criteria:

• Strength or durability versus weakness or vulnerability (arms, feet versus brain, lungs, heart)*
• Honorable versus less honorable (face, hands versus torso)*
• Tasteful versus less presentable (head versus private parts)*

(*The examples in parentheses are not defined in the scriptures; they are inferred from commentaries on the passage).

The illustration in verses 22-23 states that we give the weak and vulnerable members of our bodies greater protection because they perform valuable functions; we give greater honor to less-honorable members and render tasteful the less-presentable parts by how we adorn them. Thus, our care for our bodies elevates the status of the weak, the less honorable, and the less presentable parts.

Likewise, in the church, we should elevate the weak, less honorable, and less presentable members. For example, those with greater knowledge and wisdom should edify and guard those with less opportunity or aptitude for learning and discernment; and we should elevate those who serve the church in roles that are indispensable yet  considered hidden, unglamorous, and “menial” by the world. 

When we realize that certain roles considered hidden, unglamorous, and “menial” by the world actually fulfil indispensable service to the body of Christ, we value others regardless of their roles and value the roles and gifts we already have.

When the strong honor and edify the weak and less visible, the weaker and less visible members perform their roles with greater vigor and faithfulness, and the whole body is edified.

God has already given greater honor to the less honorable members of the body. 

Since God has already given greater honor to the less honorable members of the body, failing to acknowledge that honor demeans what God has done.

It is not necessary to actively reject the weaker, less honorable, or less presentable members of the body. The same can be accomplished through inordinate elevation of people, roles, and spiritual gifts that are already strong, honored, or presentable. 

When we value the roles and gifts we already have, we cease from wasting time trying to acquire or exercise gifts that the Holy Spirit has not consigned to us.

The success of the church is measured not by the fame or reward of its stronger, more visible members, but by the edification and fulfillment of the whole. Since the weaker, less honorable, and less presentable members make up the vast majority of the church, their edification and fulfillment comprises the primary metric.

The sorrows and joys of each member are the sorrows and joys of the whole and of every other member. 

If we value others, their roles, and their spiritual gifts, and if we recognize the unity of Christ’s body, we should empathize with their sorrows and joys, their losses and triumphs.

The mutual empathy (emotion) and care (action) of the unified body ties in to chapter 13.

Copyright 2021 Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use. Plagiarism is stealing. Thou shalt not plagiarize.

Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:14-18

Diversity By Sovereign Design

For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them, according to His design. (Berean Study Bible)

Context: 1 Corinthians 12

The collective body of all believers, while a unitary whole, has diverse members.

Differing parts depicts differing roles and, by extension, differing spiritual gifts to empower fulfillment of those roles. No part does all functions, and no ability is assigned to every part.

Lacking a certain spiritual gift does not make you any less a part of the body. The Pentecostal teaching that you must speak in tongues to be a full member of Christ’s body creates a schism between babblers and non-babblers.

When every member has the same role and accompanying gift, other roles go unfulfilled. If other roles go unfulfilled, then needs within the body go unmet. 

Obsessive interest in a single gift constitutes a failure to love the body.

Paul comes close to mocking the Corinthians. Imagine a going to someone’s door, and when it opens, you find yourself facing a 200-pound, 5’8” eyeball or ear. You would say, that poor person! He’s deformed! He’s a monster. Think of all the things he cannot do for himself.” 

Now imagine an eyeball marrying an ear; but after the honeymoon, the eyeball decides, “You are not an eyeball. Why did I marry you? I have no need of you.” (A lot of husbands and wives think that way.) The one who is not an eye can hear, but the eye denigrates the ear because it cannot see. Imagine how this hurts the ear. It pleads and begs God to make it an eyeball, but because God does not obey the requests, it gives up and leaves. So the body has lost its ability to hear, and the ear has lost having a body. That is how God sees the church that requires a single gift of all its members, whether that gift is evangelism, or giving, or tongues, or any other ability. 

God designs the body with differing functions performed by different members of the body. 

God designed the body.

God arranges every believer within the body -- according to His design. 

Pentecostalism, or any teaching that encourages every believer to seek a single gift, unintentionally denigrates God’s design, God’s assignment of the members. 

When we all travail in prayer to obtain a particular gift, we imply dissatisfaction with the roles that God has specially selected us to play and denigrate the gifts He has given us so that we could fulfill that role.

When we focus on a spiritual gift contrary to God’s design for us and the Spirit’s gifting to us, we become distracted from other matters such as learning, sanctification, and development of the gifts already given to us by the Holy Spirit. Even if the gift is a good thing, we miss ignore the best things that God has designed for us. 

Obsessive interest in a single spiritual gift constitutes a failure to love God’s plan, to love Christ’s church, to love ourselves. 

Travailing in prayer to acquire a role or spiritual gift not consigned to us constitutes correcting God's plan for us and His church, as well as correcting the Holy Spirit. This unintentionally insults God and elevates our desires above His ability and authority.  

Obsessive desire for any church role or spiritual gift unintentionally insults the Architect of the body. It becomes idolatry.

Copyright 2021 Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use. If used beyond Fair Use, please give credit where credit is due using appropriate bibliographic format.

Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Unity of the Christian Church...

...the Body of Christ, the Aggregate of All Genuine Christians

Context: 1 Corinthians 12

“The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.” (Berean Study Bible)

The body of Christ, which is the aggregate of all believers, is a single organism. 

The unity of the body of Christ crosses boundaries between regions, eras, denominations, roles, races, economic statuses, and personalities.

The members of one body benefit when the whole benefits. Therefore, the individual benefits from creating benefits for the whole and for other members.

The whole and the member suffer when other members suffer. 

To maximize benefit to the body and to oneself, the individual should contribute to competition or conflict within the body if and only if the activity will benefit other members or the whole. 

There is exactly one Holy Spirit.

All members of the body partake of the same Holy Spirit.

God immerses all members of the body into the single, united body of Christ.

Baptism in the Spirit is the same process that baptizes members into the body of Christ.

If God has not baptized a person in the Spirit, then that person is neither baptized into the body of Christ nor a member of the “all” who are. Pentecostals err when they allow that a person can be a member of the body of Christ but not baptized in the Spirit.

In biblical terminology, the Body of Christ has two meanings. 

• The biological body of Christ died on the Cross and was raised to everlasting life. 
• The body of Christ is the aggregate of all genuine believers.

Copyright 20201, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated us. Don't plagiarize. Provide proper citations when exceeding Fair Use.

 Biblogic Series: Tangent:

The Literal Body of Christ

Attention Catholics, Lutherans, and Anglicans:

Context: 1 Corinthians 15

The biological body of Christ was raised imperishable or incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:42) and immortal (1 Corinthians 15:53-54).

That which is imperishable cannot perish, and that which is immortal cannot die.

Since Christ's post-resurrection body is imperishable and immortal, it can neither die again nor continue in death.

If the Eucharist becomes dead or dying flesh, it cannot be the body of Christ continuing or repeating death. 

If the communion bread does not become the dying or dead flesh of Christ, it can only symbolize the body of Christ. 

If your priest cannot turn communion bread into the flesh of Christ, what other superpowers has he been faking?

If you worship (synonym: venerate) something that is not God as though it were God, technically, that’s called idolatry.

Copyright 2021, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use. Don't plagiarize; cite sources properly.

Holy Spirit: Uniquely-gifting Person of God

Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Did you read the verses and the context carefully?

Subtitle: The Holy Spirit: Intelligent, Volitional, Selective

Do you think having the same gift as the crowd makes you special? If you belong to Christ, you may underestimate just how unique and special you are.

Charismata: Spiritual Gifts

Verses 8-10 form a pattern. To one is given one gift. To another is given another gift. To another is given another gift. To another is given another gift. Et cetera. Based on these verses in isolation, nobody receives every gift.

Look again at the pattern in verses 8-10. None of the clauses indicate that any gift is given to everybody. Just the opposite. Based on these statements in isolation, each person receives a different gift. If there were ten million gifts and ten million members of the body of Christ, each member would receive a different gift. 

Based on a study of all the spiritual gifts, we know that there is a limited number of spiritual gifts. If everybody receives at least one spiritual gift (verses 4-7), then the Holy Spirit may consign a particular gift to multiple members of the body. This is confirmed by, for example, many people speaking in foreign languages at Pentecost and the existence of multiple prophets in apostolic times.

Comparing verses 8-10 to Romans 12, we know that this passage contains a partial list of spiritual gifts. They include:

• A message of wisdom
• A message of knowledge
• Faith
• Gifts of healing
• Energizings of power (miracles)
• Prophecy
• Distinguishing between spirits
• Kinds of tongues
• Interpretation of tongues.

Verses 8-11 indicate that the Holy Spirit is the source of all spiritual gifts.

In verses 4-6, notice the parallelism between “same Spirit,” “same Lord,” and “same God [the Father). The repetition of “same Spirit” and “one Spirit” in chapter 12 implies a need, in Corinth’s pagan, polytheistic culture, to prevent or correct a belief that different spirits would give different spiritual gifts. This stresses two conclusions:

• The same, singular Holy Spirit gives all spiritual gifts.
• There is exactly one Holy Spirit.

Verse 11 summarizes the idea, exemplified in verses 8-10, of diversity in how the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts. The verb ‘diairoun’, “dividing” or “apportioning,” is a word picture that depicts dividing something and distributing the pieces. 

The adjective ‘idia’ in verse 11 is the root word of ‘idiot.’ According to George E. Gardiner, author of The Corinthian Catastrophe (Kregel Press, 1985), to be ‘idia’ was originally complimentary. It meant you didn’t follow the herd; you were your own, unique individual. It was later that, in English, ‘idiot’ came to mean uniquely lacking in intelligence or wisdom. In verse 11, the adjective is usually translated as an adverb, “uniquely.” It means “uniquely one’s own.” Since, in the Greek, it modifies the noun translated “to each,” the phrase contrasts against a conformist, one-size-fits-all mentality. It stresses that each member’s gifts are specially selected for that member. This reinforces the message in verses 8-10 that no gift is given to all, and no member has all gifts.

Verse 11 ends with the verb ‘boulomai,’ “as He [the Holy Spirit] wills.” HELPS Word-studies says the word “is a strong term that underlines the predetermined (and determined) intention driving the planning....” It contrasts against another verb that focuses on desiring or wishing for a given outcome. In other words, the Holy Spirit plans and resolutely determines which gifts He divides among the members of the body.

If the Holy Spirit wills, resolutely determines, my gifting, does asking for different gifting indicate rebellion against God’s will and authority?

• If the Holy Spirit divides the spiritual gifts among the members of the body in accordance with a plan that He resolutely determines, then could asking for a gift that the Holy Spirit has not consigned to you imply that the Holy Spirit failed to plan for the gifts you would need? 
• Would that, in turn, imply a defect in God’s church architecture, which was the roadmap that the Holy Spirit used to choose your gifts? 
• Wouldn’t such errors imply a misalignment between the service that Christ performs through the members of the body and the determinations of the Father and the Spirit? 
• What would that then imply a failure of omniscience and a division between the Son and the Father and Spirit? 
• If the Father has designed the body and assigned your role, and the Spirit has determined what gifts to give you in accordance with the Father’s design, does asking for an additional gift imply ingratitude and rejection of God’s plan? 
• Does it imply that you think you see inadequacy in God’s planning and the Holy Spirit’s provision? 
• Since you think you see a defect in the Father’s design and the Holy Spirit’s determination, have you not elevated your wisdom above God’s?

Pneumatology: The Study of the Holy Spirit

Since the Holy Spirit determines the distribution of spiritual gifts in accordance with God's design of the body and assignment of its members to roles in the body, the Holy Spirit exercises intelligence.

Since the Holy Spirit determines to distribute spiritual gifts as He wills, He is volitional.

If the Holy Spirit is intelligent and volitional, the Holy Spirit must be a Person. An impersonal force would distribute gifts indiscriminately. 

Since there's no evidence that God delegates planning and decision-making to angels, the Holy Spirit must be divine.

Copyright 2021, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use, provided that this notice and standard bibliographic citation accompany the article.

Holy Spirit's Gifts, Common Good, and Authenticity

Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:7

Verse 7

Chapter 12

The Spirit manifests Himself through spiritual gifts given to all believers. 1 Corinthians 12:7

Only a minority of believers experience an alleged “second blessing” whereby they receive spiritual gifts.

• If the consignment of spiritual gifts were a second blessing conferred on only some, then the second blessing and the gifts it conveys would not be given to all believers.
• This would contradict the Holy Spirit’s words in the scriptures.
• Consigning spiritual gifts to all believers would require consignment at the time of conversion.
• If the Spirit speaks truth through the scriptures, then the Spirit must consign spiritual gifts at the time of conversion. 

The manifestation of the Spirit through spiritual gifts serves the common good of the body of Christ. 

• “Common good” implies that exercising spiritual gifts serves multiple members, not just the person exercising a gift. 
• Privately exercising a gift to “edify” oneself does not serve the common good. 
• Therefore, private exercise abuses the gift by violating its purpose.
• Privacy merely emphasizes that that particular usage does not edify others. Therefore, anybody exercising a spiritual gift for their own edification abuses the gift.
• One apparent exception might be gifts required for teaching, exhortation, and encouragement to build oneself up in knowledge. However, the end goal of such an exercise is -- obviously! -- to prepare oneself for teaching, exhortation, and encouragement. Knowledge for its own sake puffs up the ego and leads to injuring fellow believers (1 Corinthians 8:1). So it holds that exercising a spiritual gift for one's own edification is a selfish abuse of the gift.

Any imitation of a spiritual gift attempts to imitate the Holy Spirit, Himself.

• Any counterfeit manifestation of the Holy Spirit would constitute "bearing false witness" about God.
• Any counterfeit manifestation of the Holy Spirit that conveys error (for example, an unbiblical teaching or a prophecy that goes unfulfilled) assigns the error to the Spirit. 
• Assigning error to God the Holy Spirit through counterfeit manifestations is a form of blasphemy. 
• Counterfeit prophecies in the Holy Spirit's name render the speaker a blasphemer and a false prophet. Due to the blasphemy and the damage done by misleading hearers, the sin of counterfeiting this gift of the Spirit was dealt with very severely in the Mosaic Law. 

Copyright 2021, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use, provided that this notice and bibliographic citation accompany the article. 

Unity of Trinity in Consigning Spiritual Gifts

Biblogic Series: 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

 
(Hint: When scripture mentions God in proximity to mentions of the Son or Spirit, it means the Father.)
 
(Hint 2: You might want to read the verses, read the whole chapter, and then read the verses again, before reading the rest of this post.)
 
God the Father determines various activities of the church and composes the body, like Beethoven with a gazillion-piece orchestra, only infinitely better. (See also verses 11, 18, and 24) (or is it 25?)
 
Activities of the Father are carried out by services of the Son in members (believers) of His body (the small-c church). Think of a corporation with different divisions working on different projects or operations in different markets, and each employee working on a facet of the business. 
 
The Holy Spirit assigns spiritual gifts that correspond to and empower the services to be performed by each believer.
 
If spiritual gifts are consigned only in accordance with the Father's design* and the Son's services, then:
 

• Spiritual gifts must vary from believer to believer.
• If no believer is involved in all services, then the Spirit will not consign all gifts to any believer.
• If not all believers are involved in a particular service, then the Spirit will not consign any gift to all believers.
• If not all believers receive a particular gift, then that gift cannot be a confirmation that a believer is saved.
• If each believer has an assigned service to fulfill some activity of the body, then every believer will be enabled by at least one gift.

 
(* This does not deny the possibility that the Holy Spirit would consign a gift in response to a request, provided that the motive for the request aligns with criteria in chapter 13. The motives for such requests usually don't.)
 
If some activities of the body are needed in one place but not in another, then the services and gifts will vary accordingly.
 
If some activities of the body are needed at one time but not at another, then the services and gifts will vary over time.
 
If services and gifts vary by place or over time, then the offices will also vary.

If manifestations of the Spirit are given for the common good, then the exercise of any spiritual gift should benefit the whole church, not just the one with the gift. 1 Corinthians 12:7. 

If the Spirit gives to one, one gift, to another, another gift, and to another, yet another gift (etc.), then nobody receives all gifts, and no gift is given to all. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10

If the Spirit individually consigns gifts, then we should view the gifts we have as special, like a gift that was personally chosen and crafted, just for you. 1 Corinthians 12:11

If the Spirit individually determines your gift, then demanding a different gift implies questioning the sufficiency of your gift for your life as well as the Spirit’s wisdom and authority. 1 Corinthians 12:11

If the Spirit individually determines your gift based on the place in the body to which the Father assigned you, then demanding a different gift implies questioning the Father’s design, wisdom, and authority. 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 18, 25

Copyright 2021, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use, provided that this notice and accepted bibliographic citation accompany the article.