PODCAST
Spiritual Gifts In Christian Community
November 6th, 2017
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
The city of Corinth was a prominent, wealthy trading center on the Mediterranean. As Paul wrote to the young Corinthian church, there were glaring internal problems. Fundamentally, the believers in this fellowship had a hard time behaving differently from their sinful environment. The church in Corinth sounds very much like many present-day churches in sinful societies all over the world.
The apostle Paul offers a long list of corrective measures that need implementation through the power of the Holy Spirit (the Paraclete, Counselor, and Helper of Christ’s church).
One problem for the Corinthian church was a misunderstanding surrounding spiritual gifts. So many believers in the Corinthian congregation had their own unwise ideas as to the relevance, significance, and use of spiritual gifts. Within the Christian community at Corinth, people attributed spiritual prominence to those who seemed to have particular types of gifts. Paul was clear in teaching that the Holy Spirit is the final authority in distributing God’s gifts for God’s work. Human beings do not determine spiritual gifts; they are the prerogative of the Holy Spirit.
Author: Rudy Morgan
