Letter from the Church Council
The church members in Corinth asked Paul a number of questions, and Paul responded in the letter we know as 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Paul comments on how God works in different ways in different people. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work”. Paul uses “gifts, “service”, and “working” as roughly equivalent. The three terms are not distinct categories, but they highlight different aspects of the same phenomena:
o That the abilities are given, not something we can take credit for ourselves,
o They are given for service, to help others,
o They work, they produce results in our lives.
Verse 7 says, it is for the common good. When we have different gifts, when no one has all the abilities, then we need to work together, and that in itself is good for us. Spiritual gifts are not for a person’s private benefit, they are to help the church as a whole. By dividing the skills, God encourages church members to work with and help one another.
God is the author of variety, and he wants the variety to have harmony and unit. God calls out on us to use our gifts that we have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace. As a church, to pool our varied gifts and get connected with each other, for collective witnessing and evangelizing for the glory of God.
Eliel Gideon
Council Member