Reflections on 1 Corinthians 12

The thesis of the chapter is: proper use of the gifts of the Spirit in the body of believers. The antithesis presented in the chapter is: wrong definition, presumptuous use, and human preoccupation with the personal benefit expected from the possession of the gifts.

Proper understanding is needed to truly allow the existence of these gifts to fulfill the reasons for which they were bestowed for the common good of all in the body. To discern when they are bestowed by the Holy Spirit one must pay attention to the insight received from God. The Spirit that recognizes and acknowledges Jesus as Lord is certainly from God the Father, for the Holy Spirit is given to exalt Christ and to show us of things truly given by Him (John 16:13-15; 1 Corinthians 12:1-3). Whatever spirit does not glorify Christ is not of Christ, nor of God.

These gifts properly defined are tools for the effective implementation of the divine task of reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). We are therefore made ambassadors to our world with the word of reconciliation.

Spiritual gifts are not marks of spiritual achievement, growth, divine endorsement, or reward. The gifts of God are without repentance – i.e. regret due to human failure (Romans 11:29). Their use cannot be presumed; it must measure up to the divine standard. Therefore, it is not for self-benefit, but for the building of the body and ultimately the acknowledgement of the Lordship of Christ that they are employed.

Proper understanding is to see these nine gifts as tools for the effective expression of the ministry gifts give to the church as a whole alluded to in verses 28-29 of the chapter, and mentioned explicitly in Ephesians 4:7-13:

1. Apostle

2. Prophet

3. Evangelist Five-fold ministry gifts

4. Pastor

5. Teacher

If these ministry gifts are not endowed with the nine tool gifts in this chapter, the effort of the five-fold ministry gifts will be based on human effort seeking to achieve known results.

Since all humans are principally influenced from outside to act in certain ways, we must have a way to determine the source of our influence. Here we must never be ignorant. If Christ is not exalted and the body edified, we have a problem: it is not from the Holy Spirit of God, for the Spirit is given primarily to exalt Christ.

All service falls into three distinct areas. These are knowledge, power or strength, and utterance or communication. The nine tool gifts are divided as follows:

1. Word of wisdom

2. Word of knowledge Gifts of knowledge

3. Discerning of spirits

4. Faith

5. Healing Power or strength

6. Miracles

7. Prophecy

7. Tongues Utterance or communication

8. Interpretation of tongues

These tool gifts are bestowed on the individual believer wherewith to build the body. It is imperative that their expression is collaborative rather than in competition. This will ensure that the gifts are not placed above the Giver (Romans 12:3-11; Romans 15:7). Any shift from the Giver to the gifts or to the person upon whom the gift is bestowed will result in the sectarianism for which Paul rebuked the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Dr. T. Cyprian Kia

Real Christianity is an All Out Commitment to Christ

An all-out commitment to Christ is the only sure path to becoming all that we can be in life. It is a chance only fools can afford to lose. Opportunities in life are of very little use if we neglect to take full advantage of them. Hence, it is stated that the important thing in life is not opportunities we have but the ones we take full advantage of in the end (Colossians 2:6,7).

When we turn our lives over to Christ to manage, we enter into an unbroken relationship meant to be intimate and complete, a relationship that draws out of us bowed hearts and lives before Him. He then opens up His heart to welcome us. In fact, He opens up all His divine fullness of life and love to us in fellowship with the ultimate purpose of making us wholly one with Himself.

So there is a depth of life in Him we cannot realize until we lay all on the altar. It takes trusting, depending and truly letting go of ourselves upon His person. Our achievements, religious activities, our sense of self-worth, and other objects demanding our allegiance will no longer be of any appeal to us. They cease to be of any lasting value to us when we let go of ourselves. So,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace. (Helen H. Lemmel)

So we have a timely reminder in John Flavel’s essay Christ Altogether Lovely that: "The beauty and loveliness of all other things are fading and perishing; but the loveliness of Christ is fresh for all eternity. The sweetness of the best created thing is a fading flower, if not before, yet at death it must fade away. Job 4:21: ‘Doth not their excellency which is in them, go away?’ Yes, yes, whether they are the natural excellencies of the body, acquired endowments of the mind, lovely features, graceful qualities, or anything else we find attractive, all these like pleasant flowers are withered, faded, and destroyed by death. 'But Christ is still the same, yesterday, today, and forever' (Hebrews 13:8).”

Therefore, we “count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…to be found in Him as not having my own righteousness” (Philippians 3:8,9).

In reality we know that all that God bestows on us needs time to become fully our own. It must be held fast, assimilated and appropriated into our inmost being. Without this, not even Christ’s giving can make it our own in full experience and enjoyment. Therefore, an all-out commitment to Christ involves a student’s heart, yielding ourselves to the training of Christ by submitting all things to His will. Our whole life is allowed to become one with His in a conscious walk.

It is not an act of pulling one’s self up by one’s boot straps. It is not about human will power and doing. Our doing and working are but the fruit of Christ’s work in us (Ephesians 2:8-10). When our soul becomes utterly passive, looking and resting on what Christ is doing, its energies are stirred to their highest activity. We work most effectively because we know that He works in us (Philippians 3:12). His mighty energies of love reach out after us to have us and hold us, enabling all the strength of our will to rise to abide in Him (Isaiah 26:12).

He does not ask us to abide with Him but to abide in Him. He saved us so that we can be all-out committed to His person. In His hands we receive beauty, are made fruitful, rejoiced over (Isaiah 62:3-5; John 15:1-2,5). While we wait on Him we become honored (Proverbs 27:18). We wait on Him out of love for Him because He first loved us (I Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4). This we demonstrate through an all-out commitment to His person, surrendered life, a humble and contrite spirit, trembling at the Word (Isaiah 66:2).

Israel’s history and her relationship with God the Father were failed all-out-commitment to Him. This was amply demonstrated by her leadership that did not tremble at His Word. Consequently, the nation and her leadership were only willing to abide with Him as subjects not in Him as His people. As His subjects they had the option to be loyal or disloyal at will. The classic example in King Jehoiakim who was disloyal to God and did not tremble at His Word. He brought disaster to the nation (Jeremiah 26:21; 36:20-26). On the other hand, his father, King Josiah, was all-out-committed to God and trembled at His word (II Kings 22:19-20; II Chronicles 34:31-33). He became everything Israel had dreamed of a king and brought revival to the land.

An all-out Christian is an overcomer and a giant, a man or a woman who receives a vision from God and refuses to let it go. Therefore, diligence to your calling is a virtue to be highly prized. In Christ one must see everything in global terms and from God’s perspective refusing to accept sin. Willingly we accept personal responsibility to become an agent of change.

All-out commitment is what J. W. Van DeVenter had in mind when he wrote:

All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give.

I would ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.

I surrender all. I surrender all.

All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

As believers the opportunity to be all we can be is before us. Seize the moment by an all-out commitment to the person of Christ. Then from the heart we can sing these lyrics:

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to thee.

Fill me with thy love and power. Let thy blessing fall on me.

Surrender all and prove His goodness.

Dr. T. Cyprian Kia

Feb. 26, 2002

Highland Park, CA

Submission and Obedience: The Essence of Our Relationship with Christ

The eleventh chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians reminds us all that the essence of our relationship with Christ is submission and obedience. Just as our Being is made manifest by conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), and our Walk is by faith, so our Relationship is made manifest by submission and obedience. Submission and obedience affect the way we live.

Prayer is one occasion where we consciously come before God in submission. Thus, prayer in itself is symbolically an act of submission to Christ, our great High Priest, sympathetic to our weaknesses. We submit in our weaknesses to Him and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). When we submit to Him we come under His protection and receive the strength to engage in Doing, even to the point of resisting the devil so he flees from us (James 4:7).

In approaching the Lord in prayer, particularly in the Assembly of God’s people, we are asked to demonstrate our submission. For the male, this is an uncovered head, and for the female, this is a covered head. Both submit to the authority of Christ by symbolically enacting their respective roles as defined in scripture (I Corinthians 11:7-12). The female represents humanity, for she is the glory of man. Her head must be covered, for man’s glory must be veiled in God’s presence. The male represents Christ, for he is the image and glory of God. His head must be uncovered, for God’s glory must never be veiled. In so enacting their respective roles for the benefit of the angelic audience, they both symbolically submit to Christ.

Every act of obedience in our relationship with the Lord should be preceded by a heart preparation. Jehoshaphat, one of the few godly kings in Israel’s history, obeyed God because “he prepared his heart to seek Him” (II Chronicles 19:3). During the exile, Ezra, a descendant of the priestly line, determined in his heart to obey God’s law. God’s expectation of His priests is that knowledge should be kept by their lips and people should seek the law from their mouth (Malachi 2:7). He, therefore, first prepared his heart to Seek the law of the Lord, to Do it, and to Teach it (Ezra 7:10).

Since coming to the Lord’s Supper is an act of obedience, we should come to it with a prepared heart. We do so by self-examination before the Lord. This is necessary because the Lord holds everyone at His table accountable, and observing it unworthily has consequences (I Corinthians 11:27-29; II Chronicles 30:18-20).

When we partake of the emblems, we are acting in obedience. This requires knowledge and clear understanding of what we are doing. In this chapter, although the Corinthians were involved in an act of obedience, they demonstrated lack of clear understanding. Throughout the Scripture God spends a great deal of time explaining His mind to us. True obedience only occurs when we do things His way. In Israel’s relationship with God, His delight was always earned when they did as He commanded them (Exodus 39:43). To make sure they knew what they were doing, Paul explained in full detail the source and essence of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Lord’s Supper is centrally important to every believer because it brings us back to the cross, the price that was paid for our redemption. Besides, it is a command from the Lord (Luke 22:19; I Corinthians 11:23). Our observation is a verbal reenactment of the death of Christ for our salvation. The regular nature of this observance must never be the ground for familiarity and contempt (I Corinthians 11:24-26). Rather, it should be the true expression of our worship, in Spirit and in Truth. It is what God wants of us (John 4:23,24).

When we see the head uncovered and covered as the issue, per se, it robs us of the meaning which these forms seek to teach us. The meanings of these symbols (submission to the authority of Christ, and indirectly to His delegated authority) are valuable lessons toward a submissive walk with the Lord if gladly practiced. When we submit, God deals with us directly and intimately, as the men and women in the Bible knew. This was captured beautifully in John H. Sammis’ song,

When we walk with the Lord, In the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way.

While we do His good will He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Our confession is centered upon the fact that Christ is the essence of our Being, faith the essence of our Walk, and submission and obedience the essence of our Relationship. In our redemption we take on His life (I Corinthians 5:7). In our daily relationship with Him, we joyfully submit and obey. We allow Him, the Truth, to guide us, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

Along with knowledge is the need to clearly understand that our response is not a form of activity to service our relationship with Christ. It is an act of loving response in submission and obedience. God asked David to provide the blueprint and materials for the temple Solomon was to build. He responded willingly far and above what he was asked to do (I Chronicles 29:2,3).

Obedience to the Lord provides a clear conscience to approach God in time of need. “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (I John 3:21, 22).

Dr. T. Cyprian Kia

January 26, 2002

Our Son John weds Grace