1 Corinthians 2:11-16
Who knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that God not only knows what they’re thinking, but lets us in on it as well. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that are given us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what Spirit is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.
Last week we talked about the coming of the Holy Spirit among the Jesus followers left behind here after Jesus’ return to heaven, how that presence happened, and how it affected their lives from then on. I read somewhere that there were perhaps 120 disciples gathered in Jerusalem after the Ascension—I don’t know where that figure came from--but 120 is certainly not a large crowd to base a world-changing movement on.
The day after Pentecost, they were still the same people they had been before—nothing had changed externally. The difference lay in the fact that they shared a deep conviction that something momentous had changed in their world and in themselves. And they began to live differently.
As described in the Book of Acts:
They continued to worship in the temple as they had always done, but now they shared everything. What really changed was that they lived and acted in true community, in one Spirit.
The reading with which we began today comes, not from Acts, but from 1 Corinthians – Paul’s first letter to the church he had gathered and founded in the city of Corinth in southern Greece, around the year 50—fifteen to twenty years after the death of Jesus, and this letter was written several years after the formation of this Christ-community—say, 25 years. Though we call it First Corinthians it actually is not the first letter Paul sent to them—it is the first we have available to us today. This letter refers to a previous letter but that one has been lost to history.
Paul hasn’t visited here for at the very least two years and now he is hearing that there are divisions appearing among them—divisions as to who they “belong to” with claims that one belongs to Paul, another to Apollos, even some claiming directly that they belong to Christ. Another division exists between the rich and everyone else.
But the one we are addressing today concerns the spiritual gifts and which ones are more “valuable” than others. Apparently, the more “showy” gifts such as speaking in tongues gain more respect than the simpler gifts, such as hospitality or caring for the sick.
When it comes to the Spiritual gifts, we don’t have to argue or make guesses as to which matter the most. They all matter, because they are given to each of us by the Spirit—and who are we to call the Spirit wrong?
Quoting again from our scripture reading, we hear Paul reminding us that:
In times long past, God spoke to the people through dreams, casting lots and reading omens.. Later God spoke through the leadership in the Temple and through the prophets. Then, for one human lifespan, God spoke to us through Jesus, himself.
Now, God’s own Spirit speaks to us directly, to the Spirit which resides within each of us—no intermediary is needed, God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion, as Paul puts it.
Spirit is with us—always with us—always guiding and teaching us. The problem here is that we humans can be remarkably oblivious when it comes to the Spirit’s leading. I know from my own experience that I do hear the Spirit’s leading, but more often than not I recognize it long after the fact. Sometimes years later I will look back and be surprised to find that what I thought at the time was an accident or a random choice was the Spirit, all along.
Sometimes we try to argue—“Who me? No, you must mean someone else.” Other times, we get it right away. We say, “Really? OK, thank you,” and go where the Spirit says ‘go.’
Spirit speaks to us through strangers, through children, through dreams, through casual remarks that just won’t let go, through other people’s wisdom, through chance encounters – any way that will reach us. So pay attention—listen. Pray, and listen. Spirit is speaking.
The day after Pentecost, they were still the same people they had been before—nothing had changed externally. The difference lay in the fact that they shared a deep conviction that something momentous had changed in their world and in themselves. And they began to live differently.
As described in the Book of Acts:
- All the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.
- They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added to those who were saved. (Acts 2:44-47)
They continued to worship in the temple as they had always done, but now they shared everything. What really changed was that they lived and acted in true community, in one Spirit.
The reading with which we began today comes, not from Acts, but from 1 Corinthians – Paul’s first letter to the church he had gathered and founded in the city of Corinth in southern Greece, around the year 50—fifteen to twenty years after the death of Jesus, and this letter was written several years after the formation of this Christ-community—say, 25 years. Though we call it First Corinthians it actually is not the first letter Paul sent to them—it is the first we have available to us today. This letter refers to a previous letter but that one has been lost to history.
Paul hasn’t visited here for at the very least two years and now he is hearing that there are divisions appearing among them—divisions as to who they “belong to” with claims that one belongs to Paul, another to Apollos, even some claiming directly that they belong to Christ. Another division exists between the rich and everyone else.
But the one we are addressing today concerns the spiritual gifts and which ones are more “valuable” than others. Apparently, the more “showy” gifts such as speaking in tongues gain more respect than the simpler gifts, such as hospitality or caring for the sick.
When it comes to the Spiritual gifts, we don’t have to argue or make guesses as to which matter the most. They all matter, because they are given to each of us by the Spirit—and who are we to call the Spirit wrong?
Quoting again from our scripture reading, we hear Paul reminding us that:
- God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that are given us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
In times long past, God spoke to the people through dreams, casting lots and reading omens.. Later God spoke through the leadership in the Temple and through the prophets. Then, for one human lifespan, God spoke to us through Jesus, himself.
Now, God’s own Spirit speaks to us directly, to the Spirit which resides within each of us—no intermediary is needed, God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion, as Paul puts it.
Spirit is with us—always with us—always guiding and teaching us. The problem here is that we humans can be remarkably oblivious when it comes to the Spirit’s leading. I know from my own experience that I do hear the Spirit’s leading, but more often than not I recognize it long after the fact. Sometimes years later I will look back and be surprised to find that what I thought at the time was an accident or a random choice was the Spirit, all along.
Sometimes we try to argue—“Who me? No, you must mean someone else.” Other times, we get it right away. We say, “Really? OK, thank you,” and go where the Spirit says ‘go.’
Spirit speaks to us through strangers, through children, through dreams, through casual remarks that just won’t let go, through other people’s wisdom, through chance encounters – any way that will reach us. So pay attention—listen. Pray, and listen. Spirit is speaking.
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