The Holy Spirit and the Southern Baptist Convention Today (XXIV): “A ‘Big Picture’ Understanding and Application of 1 Corinthians 12-14″

This is the area I have wanted to get to ever since I started this blog last Summer.  But, I got side-tracked on other subjects related to the SBC–all worthy of consideration, yes.  However, with the occasional short break for something VERY significant, I plan to stay in 1 Corinthians 12-14 (and parallel passages) for some time.

Why am I doing this?  First, I have only really become a continuationist–at least “both feet in”–within the last year.  So, this is my first time to explore these key chapters since finally making that major change theologically.  And, I want to be very careful in thinking through the issues here (i.e., I am, and intend to remain, a highly cautious continuationist.

Second, I am preaching through 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings and have just gotten through chapter 9.  Thus, whatever I do here will help me do a better job of expounding this difficult material to my congregation.  And, since we have both continuationists and cessationists sitting in our church services every Sunday, that is no small thing.  They all deserve the very best treatment of God’s Word that I can give them, not just some “party line” theologically that I’ve always heard or adhered to for whatever reason.

Third, even with all that has flown around in the Southern Baptist Convention about this section in the last couple of years or so because of the “apocryphal” doctrinal actions of the trustees for the International Mission Board and Southwestern Seminary, I don’t think that anything close to “the last word” has been said on the issues that cluster in 1 Corinthians 12-14.  Frankly, it is my considered opinion that we are still not much past “the first word,” at least where truly prayerful and in-depth thoughtful consideration is concerned.

Because I have taken a long and winding road to get to this point, it will not be surprising to you to realize that I actually started this focus with my post on 12:4-6 last Wednesday.  Frankly, I had not thought things out as much as I have since, so I simply ask your forgiveness for that “false start” of a sort.

However, that spontanaeity may well reappear in future posts.  I am trusting the Spirit to lead me in what I deal with.  Warning: I do not have this laid out like writing a dissertation or a book!  So, I am not sure how long it is going to take me to get through all the issues or what my conclusions are going to be as I wade through things.  In other words, I expect to be as surprised as some of you at what I will say at many junctures.

Thus, if nothing else, writing the posts for these next weeks–possibly several months–is going to be both instructional (including to me!) and exciting.  And, I certainly hope that my journey will also minister to you!

As I begin this overview of chapters 12-14, I must say that is hard to improve on F.F. Bruce’s generation old one-sentence summary of this section (in I & II Corinthians, New Century Bible [Eerdmans, 1971): “The primary token of the indwelling Spirit, the indispensable evidence that one is truly ’spiritual,’ is not glossalalia, but love” (p. 117).

Since Bruce had no ax to grind against continuationists, all of us in the SBC do well to heed his point.  Biblically, there is no spiritual gift or amount of theological knowledge (see 1 Cor. 8:1-3) that makes any of us ’spiritual.’  It is only when those factors are combined with the love described in 13:4-7 that we can truly be considered spiritual.  Otherwise, we are simply swelled heads (8:1) or worthless religious exhibitionists (13:1-3).  God is totally unimpressed with our giftedness alone, only our loving use of the gifts he has chosen to place in the lives of each believer.

Now, to get on with the “big picture” of chapters 12-14:

- Paul begins by pointing out that the most important things about the “spiritual things” (Gk. pneumatikoi) operating in their midst are what their source is and who they glorify (12:1-3)

- As we saw last Wednesday, no believer, even if they theoretically had the exact same spiritual gifts and ministry job description (12:4-5), could take anyone else’s place in the church.  Why?  Because they cannnot produce the same effects/impact (12:6).  Every Christian is as unique as a snowflake in that respect.

- There is a wide variety of spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has chosen to give to individual Christians (12:7-11).

- But, the great diversity of gifts does not override the unity of the Body of Christ.  Also, the truth of the Body means that those with less spectacular giftings are just as important for the proper functioning of the Body (the church) as are any golden-tongued orator or other kind of leader (12:12-26).

- Still, some of the gifts are more important to the spiritual health and growth of the Body than others (12:27-31).

- The use of spectacular spiritual gifts without true God-like love is futile in the Lord’s eyes.  Others may be greatly impressed, but, to Him (and He is the One who matters most!), it is completely unprofitable spiritually (13:1-3).

- The kind of love that should be energizing every Christian’s use of his or her spiritual gifts is selfless and forgiving–the opposite of being a proud know-it-all (13:4-7).

- Besides, all spiritual gifts are temporary, while love will last eternally (13:8-13).

- “Public” spiritual gifts should be exercised for the purpose of the edification of the wider Body–or, if evangelistically, so that the gospel can be best understood, not primarily for self-edification (14:1-25).

- And, all spiritual gifts must be exercised “decently and in order” in church services (14:26-40) because “God is not a God of disorder” (14:33a, HCSB).

This is what we are going to be looking at together for the foreseeable future.  As I hope you can see from this overview summary, there is a great deal here that all of us in the SBC need to hear individually, in our congregations and as a corporate denomination.

What do you think?

Coming Wednesday: “What are ‘Spiritual Things’ (1 Cor. 12:1) and ‘Gifts of Grace?’”