1 Corinthians 12:1-11 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, ..."

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses" (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).

Question:

I belonged to a Unity Church in Minneapolis before moving up to Northern Minnesota. Now I am attending the most "liberal" or "flexible" church in this little town. This is the Scripture of the New Testament that is to be read Sunday, the 15th. Several of us are trying to make sense of it metaphysically. We wish there were a Unity Church up here.

Comment:

It sounds to me like there is, indeed, a Unity Church up there—or a Unity Center, at least. After all, "when two or more are gathered in my name ..." There is certainly an abundance of support available from Unity to assist you in "trying to make sense of it metaphysically."   Paul is writing his first letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus, where he had gone after spending some 18 months in Corinth establishing a ministry there in alignment with his understanding of the message of Jesus Christ. But Corinth was a notoriously wild place, with a wide range of religious practices, and the congregation quickly fell into factions and disagreements about the teachings themselves and the forms they should take. Word of these disputes has reached Paul, and he is anxious to calm things down.   Apparently a central issue was that some people, practicing certain specific spiritual gifts, felt that they were more important than others. In this passage Paul is affirming "diversity in unity." "Spirit"—the Christ Presence of God that is the true identity of each person—will express in a variety of ways. But there is no hierarchy of importance—there is only the Christ, equally present in all. The only important question is whether one affirms and embraces that Christ energy—as embodied and taught by Jesus Christ. If so, then the expression of that energy is to be trusted—in whatever form it may take.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed