1 Corinthians 12:27-31

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

-1 Corinthians 12:27-31

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Spiritual pride is dangerous for the Christian.  The reason why the Apostle Paul is reminding the believers in Corinth that they need one another is because there are some who think they are better than others because they have certain types of spiritual gifts that make them better.  One of those gifts for example is the ability to speak in tongues—it’s the ability to speak the language of angels that humans cannot understand.

To be able to speak in tongues was seen as a sign that you must be godly so everyone wanted to have this gift.  It good comparison today would be like people at church wanting to be on the praise team because it makes them look godly or they get to be the center of attention.  That’s what’s happening with this speaking of tongues thing.  It’s not about God anymore, it’s a selfish desire to make yourself look better than others.

So Paul is reminding them and us that each member of our faith community is important.  Every job is important, not just the praise team playing music, but also the people who fold the chairs after church is over.  I would argue that folding chairs and cleaning up away from the spotlight can be more godly than being up front on the praise team.

In the end the most important gift we should all strive to have is the gift of love.  That’s going to be the next thing Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13, but this whole section is leading up to that.  People are fighting over who has the better spiritual gift but instead they are lacking the most important gift—love.

Are you struggling with spiritual pride?  Do you have a desire to serve God and to serve others in any position?  Would you clean bathrooms for Jesus?  Or do you pick how you served based upon how it will improve your social standing or status?

1 Corinthians 12:21-26

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. -1 Corinthians 12:21-26

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Our understanding of what it means to be part of God’s people is revealed by the way we treat our “weakest” or least popular member.  It’s easy to be friends at church or even at Harvesters with the most amiable, kind, nicest member.  But what if there is someone at your church who’s just super difficult to get along with?  What if there is someone at Harvesters who happens to be going through rough time faith-wise and perhaps even making unwise choices in his or her life?

Part of being the body means that we go out of our way to help, assist, and honor every member of our spiritual family—even the ones that are hard to honor.  I’ll be candid with you, as a Young Life leader, I’m human, too.  And just like everyone else, there are students I get along famously with and there are others that are much harder for me to connect with.  But God has called me to love everyone.  Every student, regardless of my own personal chemistry with him or her, is valuable in God’s sight and so I serve them in whatever capacity I can given my relationship with them.

I’m a sinner and I’m not perfect so there are definitely times when I fall short of this.  But God doesn’t give up on me.  Even though I’ve failed Him and failed the “body of Christ” over and over again, He still picks up and helps me to continue to seek Him.  This is what God wants us to help others to do.

Do you care about every member at church or at Harvesters OR do you only care about who is in your clique?  God calls us to do our best in loving each and every person that’s part of our faith community.

1 Corinthians 11:12-19

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 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? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

-1 Corinthians 11:12-19

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Some of you are talented at sports.  Others are really good at specific academic subjects.  Some of you have wonderful musical abilities.  Others have the gift of compassion.  Some of you are blessed with material and financial abundance.  The list can go on and on.  The point though is that there isn’t a single person who is good at everything and has everything.  We were made to be interdependent on each other.  

This is why the Apostle Paul compares us to different parts of the human body.  Just like how every organ is required for the whole human to survive and thrive, the same is true for the church—the Christian community.  We need each other.

Our society tells us that we need to be self-sufficient and self-reliant.  Even our movie heroes like James Bond  speaks to self-sufficiency.  James Bond works alone and has enough talent, wit, sexual attraction and athleticism to stand against global villains wanting to destroy the world.  That’s pure fiction.  No spy program in the world has just one agent who does it all.  The CIA or MI-5 have thousands of agents all working together to defend their respective nations.

Self-sufficiency and self-reliance is one of the greatest spiritual lies of all time.  That’s why Adam & Eve ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden.  Satan promised them self-sufficiency.  “Eat this and you will be like God.”  Which means, they won’t need God anymore because they can be self-sufficient.

Don’t fall into the trap of self-sufficiency.  We need our faith community and our faith community needs us.

Are you depending on your faith community?  Are you allowing your faith community to depend on you?

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

-1 Corinthians 12:4-11

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The purpose of God’s gifts to us is to be a blessing to our community.  We live in such an individualistic and capitalistic world that we have been conditioned to think selfishly of our gifts—spiritual, material, or otherwise.  The common selfish mindset is always, “How can this benefit me?”

So when we pray, we pray often for ourselves in mind and not for others in mind.  For example, we oftentimes pray, “God help me to get into a good college” because we want to get into a good school and get a good job and make good money for ourselves.  There are very few people, even Christians, who pray, “God help me to get into a good college so I can be a blessing to others.”  I’m not sure I’ve even heard that prayer prayed out loud before.

As Christians, we can’t see our gifts as only for us.  The sole purpose of God’s to us is always to benefit the community.  Think of all the gifts God has given you.  Start asking Him, “God, how can I use this for the community?  What do you want me to do?”

1 Corinthians 12:1-3

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 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. -1 Corinthians 12:1-3

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Faith itself is a miracle.  Left up to our own human devices, we would always turn away from God.  The Bible actually tells us that no one seeks God, not even one.  And here, in this passage the Apostle Paul shares that anyone who even accepts Jesus as God can only do so because their hearts and minds have been touched by the Holy Spirit.

If you believe in Jesus, that’s because the Holy Spirit has touched your heart.  If you’re struggling to believe, it’s because the Holy Spirit is working on your heart helping you to even want to believe.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, let us give thanks to God and His Holy Spirit for touching our hearts.  We can’t even have faith without the Holy Spirit’s help.

1 Corinthians 11:27-34

27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

And when I come I will give further directions.

-1 Corinthians 11:27-34

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As we shared yesterday, the ritual of Communion connect us with other Christians present, past, and future.  When the Apostle Paul warns against partaking Communion in an unworthy manner he was specifically addressed the situation in Corinth where wealthy Christians have basically shunned the poorer Christians.  So when Paul tells us to examine ourselves before we take Communion, he is asking us to look at our relationship with the church and with the members of the church.  Are we doing anything to hinder those relationships?  Are we trying our best to live as brothers and sisters in Christ?

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. -1 Corinthians 11:23-26

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Traditions are an important part of a person’s heritage and upbringing.  They remind us of what is important and connect with us to all those in the past who practice those same exact traditions.  This passage talks about a super important tradition in Christianity called Communion, or sometimes known as the Eucharist.

At church the believer would be given a piece of bread or cracker and also some grape juice.  They are to eat the piece of bread and drink the juice as a reminder that Jesus allowed his body to be broken and his blood to be shed for our sins.  The Apostle Paul who wrote this letter to the Corinthians practiced this tradition and just this past Sunday, I did so, too.  Due to the pandemic, we had to do it at home via Zoom.  But Maria and I watched a dozen of our church members all eat the bread and drink the juice together.

It symbolizes our connection to each other, to believers in the past, and to God.  It reminds us that we’re all in the same boat.  We were all spiritual lost and far from God and now we’ve all been saved no matter who we are.  This is why Communion is so significant.

The next time you partake in Communion, think about your connection to the Apostle Paul, think about your connection to other brothers and sisters in Christ, and think about your connection with Jesus.