May 20, 2016  1 Corinthians 12:18-13-3

Two obstacles (at least) confront an inductive study of this passage.  First, the passage is (for many Christians) relatively familiar.  Sermons or books or Sunday School classes have provided some understanding (or at least “hearsay impressions”) of how spiritual gifts fit into the life of a church.  Familiarity often (maybe not always) makes inductive study more difficult.  If we already know what the passage says (or think we do) we focus on those truths and may miss new insights from the text.  The second obstacle is the popularity of the topic.  Most people are very interested in spiritual gifts, and their focus is naturally drawn to the list of gifts, what the gifts are, how they are exercised, etc.  Once again we might miss other details of the passage.  How do we get past those potential obstacles?

One of the first comments in our discussion was that the gifts seem like “building blocks” in the church.  We looked at the passage like bricks and mortar.  If the specific gifts that are listed are the bricks of the passage, what is the mortar in the passage?  What is in between the bricks that holds them together?  Hopefully that approach will help us see overlooked details in the text.  (Our discussion necessarily took us back to earlier statements Paul made, starting at verse 11.)

Several members (immediate application!) of our group suggested the components of the mortar.  Earlier in the passage (verse 7) Paul introduced his discussion of spiritual gifts with the statement that they were given “for the common good.”  The importance of every member for that common good depends on what one person described as “God’s big picture” which includes feet as well as hands, ears as well as eyes (vv. 14-6).  We overstate the importance of our own gifts when we lose sight of “God’s big picture” and think that we can get along without the other parts (v. 17).  The diversity of the body that consists of a variety of members is exactly what God planned (v. 11, 12, 14, 18).  As someone pointed out those components, the ingredients of the mortar, combine to display the loving relationships that provide the strength to hold the bricks together.  That relational strength is exactly where Paul takes the discussion, into “the more excellent way” (v. 31b) introducing 1 Corinthians 13.

One person asked about what seems to be missing in most modern churches.  We discussed the fact that in some settings certain gifts were not allowed by church policies.  In other circumstances there may not be opportunity to exercise certain gifts.  Ultimately the Spirit is the one who decides how the gifts are distributed (vv. 11, 18).  Carrying on with the bricks and mortar metaphor, perhaps the mortar is not strong enough to hold the bricks together.  Without the strength of the relational bonds (and perhaps with a frequent over-emphasis on the gifts themselves) the result will not be the common good intended in verse 7.

One problem we considered was the assortment of agendas within most churches.  Men’s ministries, women’s ministries, youth ministries, children’s ministries, outreach ministries, ______ (fill in the blank with your favorite ministry) are all popular and usually helpful.  The potential problem arises when the proponents of particular ministries lose sight of the whole, the sense of “God’s big picture” for the church.  The agenda of a particular program or activity can obscure that vision for the whole.  Jesus was very explicit about God’s big picture:  “Make disciples” (Matthew 28:19).  Knowing what a disciple looks like (as specifically and as practically as possible) is essential for us to use our gifts for the common good within the mission of the church.

Decades ago, South Fellowship had what were usually called the three priorities:  Growing in our love for God, growing in our love for God’s people (the church), growing in our love for God’s world.  Another description that is helpful is to think of the three priorities as the image of a tree.  The roots are our devotional life, drawing nourishment.  The strong trunk is our relational life, participating in the fellowship of the church.  The branches are our incarnational life, living out our faith and displaying the character of Jesus in the fruit being produced.  South’s current mission statement reflects those priorities:  “South Fellowship Church exists to glorify God by making disciples through: Gospel Transformation, Life-giving Community, and Visible Faith.”  The three priorities, the mission statement, the tree image all suggest a practical starting point for channeling our gifts into the process of making disciples in the pursuit of God’s big picture.