Spiritual gifts and harmony

1 With respect to spiritual gifts, I will remind you of the following.

2 When you were still pagans, you were irresistably drawn to your dumb idols.

3 I tell you that nobody inspired by the Spirit of God may say, ¡°A curse on Jesus,¡± as no one can say, ¡°Jesus is the Lord,¡± except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There is diversity of gifts, but the Spirit is the same.

5 There is diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same.

6 There is diversity of works, but the same God works in all.

7 The Spirit reveals his presence in each one with a gift that is also a service.

8 One is to speak with wisdom, through the Spirit. Another teaches according to the same Spirit.

9 To another is given faith, in which the Spirit acts; to another the gift of healing, and it is the same Spirit.

10 Another works miracles, another is a prophet, another recognizes what comes from the good or evil spirit; another speaks in tongues, and still another interprets what has been said in tongues.

11 And all of this is the work of the one and only Spirit, who gives to each one as he so desires.


Comparison with the body

12 As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ.

13 All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptized in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit.

14 The body has not just one member, but many.

15 If the foot should say, ¡°I do not belong to the body for I am not a hand,¡± it would be wrong: it is part of the body!

16 Even though the ear says, ¡°I do not belong to the body for I am not an eye,¡± it is part of the body.

17 If all the body were eye, how would we hear? And if all the body were ear, how would we smell?

18 God has arranged all the members, placing each part of the body as he pleased.

19 If all were the same part where would the body be?

20 But there are many members and one body.

21 The eye cannot tell the hand, ¡°I do not need you,¡± nor the head tell the feet, ¡°I do not need you.¡±

22 Still more, the parts of our body that we most need are those that seem to be the weakest;

23 the parts that we consider lower are treated with much care,

24 and we cover them with more modesty because they are less presentable, whereas the others do not need such attention.

25 God himself arranged the body in this way, giving more honor to those parts that need it, so that the body may not be divided, but rather each member may care for the others.

26 When one suffers, all of them suffer, and when one receives honor, all rejoice together.

27 Now, you are the body of Christ and each of you individually is a member of it.

28 So God has appointed us in the Church. First apos tles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of ton gues.

29 Are all apostles? Are all pro phets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles,

30 or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in ton gues?

31 Be that as it may, set your hearts on the most precious gifts, and I will show you a much better way.

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Comments 1 Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12

• 12.1 Let us notice the order followed by Paul: the Spirit comes after the Word, the Son. The spiritual gifts distributed in our days are the fruit of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

In the Church of Corinth the Holy Spirit reveals his presence by giving many believers spiritual gifts. All marvel when some of them, touched by the Spirit, begin praising God with words understood by no one. They feel still more the presence of God when a prophet reveals to some of them what is on their conscience or gives to some one a special message from God.

Paul intervenes in two ways. First to establish order. Pagans went wild in the frenzied celebration of their feasts, while the Spirit makes everyone more responsible. When a frenzied individual cried out something senseless or scandalous, it was proof that he was not inspired.

Paul reminds us that the gifts of the Spirit (sometimes called charisms) have several as pects. They are gifts, especially evident in miracles. But they are also mi nis tries (v. 5), that is services, as is evident in the leading of a community. These should also be called works, because in them a person must not praise himself, but all must be seen as the work of God.

If Paul said that these services come from Christ, people might think that most important in the Church is the authority of those who govern in the name of Christ and at times are considered his ¡°vicars.¡± Yet these gifts and ministries are also related to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit blows where he pleases and multiplies, among believers of simple heart, gifts and initiatives that renew the church. The mission of the ministers (bishops, priests or lay ministers) is not only to govern and command the Church, but also to recognize the true work of the Spirit in the community.

Who gives to each one as he so desires (v. 11). The Spirit gives the Church what it needs at the right place and the right time. These paragraphs reveal the concerns of the Church of that time, very different from ours today. Now the Spirit reminds the Church of its mission in the world. Many believers possess gifts that, without being apparent in miracles, inspire their exemplary and fruitful lives. Whereas, in those early times, the newly converted Christians discovered that God was among them. Through gifts of prophecy, wisdom, teaching, the Church unfolded day by day the innumerable consequences of the death and resurrection of Christ.

Words of wisdom that indicate an attitude to adopt. Words of knowledge that reveal something that is hidden, or what God is about to do. Faith (not in the meaning we usually give it, but as in Mk 11:22) that means certitude that God wishes to do something and urges us to ask for a miracle. Thus, it was that the Church discovered God¡¯s presence within herself as well as the power issuing from the death and resurrection of Christ.

The same Spirit¡­ the same Lord¡­ the same God. God is the fountain of the various gifts granted to the Church and God is also the model of how diversity may be coupled with unity.

• 12. A detailed comparison with the body helps us to understand what the Church is, showing at the same time how we must complement and respect each other.

We cannot have a true community unless each of us shares in its life, placing our talents at the service of others. Even the least gifted may have riches that will be revealed at the right time. Even the misfortunes of someone may become the riches of the group that welcomes him/her. As soon as one is really committed to a Christian life, the spirit awakens in him new and sometimes unsuspected capabilities. If we pay attention to the riches of our brothers and sisters and awaken in them the consciousness of their dignity and responsibility, we shall see a new resurgence in the Church, fruit of the Spirit. It would take too long to recall the harm done to the Church in some places because of the passivity of Christians in a clericalized church.

At the end of the paragraph Paul lists the various gifts according to their importance. First, not what appears more miraculous, but what is most constructive for the Church. That is why apostles occupy the first place. These are not only the twelve chosen by Jesus, but also those who, like them and accepted by them, are founding new communities and governing those already existing. Then, in second place, come the prophets, who not only announce words of God, but also strengthen the community with the gifts of faith and wisdom that inspire their preaching.

In the last place are those who receive the gift of speaking in tongues, although in Corinth it was as if they had already reached Heaven.