God’s building tools
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)
If you have ever watched Prime Minister’s Question Time or any other debates that take place in the House of Commons, you will have discovered that it can be a noisy and somewhat ill-disciplined place. You will have seen the Speaker of the House or his or her deputy barking out: Order! Order! in an effort to bring some sort of control to the chaos of members trying to speak all at once, interrupt, and even boo or cheer at times. The objective is good government, and in order to achieve it, it seems some effort is needed to impose some order on a meeting of diverse people with diverse views or questions that they believe should be heard.
Now consider the first letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians from which we have our heading scripture. Chapters 11 to 14 could be summed up with the same words: Order! Order! The Corinthians were squabbling amongst themselves, engaged in a battle over who was more spiritual, getting drunk as they ate together before communion, having noisy and chaotic services and misusing the gifts they had been given. In his letter Paul outlines the gifts that were given to them, and says that they were not given so they could feel superior, or even for their private spirituality, but given, as he says, for the common good, for encouragement and building each other up. He didn’t want the gifts squelched but, as he says in 1 Corinthians 14:12-31, to be used for building up the whole church.
Now back again to our times—we don’t generally have the same problems of the misuse of gifts and chaotic services upon which we have to shout: Order! Instead we now have a challenge of just how to use our gifts for ‘the common good’. We will have the challenge of starting to reconvene within the restrictions the government has imposed in an effort to control coronavirus. We all have to decide whether to attend services or not as they open up again. For some it would be unwise to return.
But it does seem that there are more than quite a few throughout the Christian world that are content to stay at home for the future. Throughout lockdown they have found their relationship with God was not diminished, which is a cause for celebration. But, as Paul had to point out to the Corinthians, we all have gifts given by the Spirit and they are not given for our private use, they are given so we can use them to build each other up. Our collective challenge is to find how to do so.
Prayer
Father, you have given us gifts to support and help each other. May we be able to see our way to contribute to each other using the gifts you have given us, within the restrictions we have right now.
Amen
Study by Hilary Buck
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Hilary Buck is an elder and pastors Grace Communion in Lewes.
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion in Lewes
The House of Friendship
208 High Street
LEWES
BN7 2NS
Meeting time:
Sunday 11:00am
Local congregational contact:
Hilary Buck
Email: lewes@gracecom.church
Contact: wordoflife@gracecom.church