PODCAST
Unity and Diversity
August 31st, 2024
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
In a popular story from my upbringing, a trio of heroes would shout, “All for one, and one for all!” In 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul insists we need understanding about unity in diversity and diversity in unity—that there are “different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (v. 4).
The biggest threat to unity is idolatry (v. 2), where I can be “led astray” from the Lordship of Jesus by narrowing my focus to only what I think God is doing in me or people like me. I lose sight of the big picture. What do you find to be the biggest challenge to unity in the church? What narrow focus (fundamentalisms) can draw you away from seeing others as Jesus sees them?
God is a giver of gifts, not simply for the betterment of an individual or one group, but for “the common good” (v. 7). A God-gifted, diverse community of faith (vv. 8-10) will be wise, knowledgeable, full of faith, prophetic, a place of healing and miracles, and will speak (and interpret through the lens of) more than one language.
Author: Doug Hardy
