God Loves Variety

Reading:  1 Corinthians 12:1-11
    
    In the next three chapters, Paul will address the problem in Corinth with “spiritual gifts”(1 Cor 12:1), special abilities granted to Christians in this time by the Spirit.  Some of the Corinthians disdained others who had “lesser” gifts, reinforcing the already present divisions there.  Knowing that many of the Corinthians have a Gentile background (1 Cor 12:2), Paul wants to teach them what following God’s true Spirit is like.  “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit”(1 Cor 12:3).  What is notable here is that we discern messages by evaluating the content of the message rather than the emotional power of the delivery; only messages that reflect submission to Jesus should be accepted.

    One striking feature of the spiritual gifts is their diversity.  “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone”(1 Cor 12:4-6).  The actions look different, but the source is the same; they all come from a variety-loving God.  Paul gives a list of the types of gifts he is describing (v. 8-10), stressing that each is a gift (rather than something innate in the person) given by the Spirit.  “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills”(1 Cor 12:11).  It all comes from God, so there is no room for boasting or condescension.

    God loves variety.  No two people have precisely the same personality or appearance.  God did not make just one kind of animal or plant.  There are multitudes of food flavors and musical varieties.  When we want everyone to be the same—especially because we are jealous of what others have—we are going against the grain of God’s love of variety.  A better path is to celebrate the multitude of expressions of God’s gift alive in such wildly different people.

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One Thing to Think About:  How does variety show God’s goodness and power?

One Thing to Pray For:  Eyes to see the beauty of God’s gifts to others—and myself
 

Self-Examination

Reading:  1 Corinthians 11:27-34
    
    Paul is concerned about how the Corinthians have turned the Lord’s Supper into a regular meal, robbing it of its powerful spiritual and communal meaning.  These are not casual matters.  “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord”(1 Cor 11:27).  Because Jesus has invested these symbols with meaning (v. 24, 25), we cannot take them lightly or else we bring the guilt of Jesus’ death upon ourselves.  “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself”(1 Cor 11:28-29).  Even though the Lord’s Supper is a communal act, we each have an individual role (“let a person examine himself”).  Only I can examine my own motives as I partake.  Paul urges us to “(discern) the body,” which I take to be a reference to the local church which is united in remembrance.  We cannot remember Jesus’ death and simultaneously ignore the divisions we are causing in the body.  

    But when we fail to examine ourselves, disaster ensues.  He states that this “is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (probably referring to spiritual weakness and death) and that “if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged”(1 Cor 11:30, 31).  The Lord’s Supper is a time in which we check ourselves and look out for one another.  Without this regular examination, our spiritual state can go south quickly.  We get stale, sin accumulates and hardens, and distance grows between us and our brothers.  

    “Let a person examine himself.”  God wants us to look within.  Do I really remember Jesus?  Am I really thinking about my brothers?  Are we partaking as one unified, faithful group?  How am I doing spiritually?  Do spiritual acts make me feel like a hypocrite?  This process is essential to ongoing Christian growth.

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One Thing to Think About:  How regularly do I examine myself?  Why is this process unpleasant?

One Thing to Pray For:  The ability to “discern the body” as I partake of this special meal
 

When Worship Does Damage

Reading:  1 Corinthians 11:17-26
    
    Paul has some strong words for the Corinthians:  “But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse”(1 Cor 11:17).  They are gathering for worship and leaving worse than when they came.  “For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you”(1 Cor 11:18).  The fractures within the group that we have already noticed (see 1:10-13 and 3:1-4) also show up in their observance of the Lord’s Supper.  Each group eats the Supper with its own little clique (1 Cor 11:21).  This practice excludes those who are not in the “in group,” shames the poor, and reinforces divisions and resentments.  “What!  Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?  Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?”(1 Cor 11:22).   If all we are doing is enjoying a meal with friends, we can do that anywhere.  The Lord’s Supper is about something different.

    Paul asserts that the Lord’s Supper is communal (eaten by the entire group together) and commemorative (bringing to mind the body and blood offered for us).  He recounts the story of Jesus giving thanks for the Passover emblems and relabeling them as his own body and blood.  “Do this in remembrance of me”(1 Cor 11:24, 25).  The connection to Jesus’ death makes this meal holy and unique—not goofing around with our friends.  “For as often as you eat this bead and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”(1 Cor 11:26).  Together, with one voice, we remind each other and the watching world that we still believe in Jesus and await his return.

    Worship has both vertical and horizontal dimensions.  When we forget or neglect God’s will for worship—when we fail to esteem his will properly—it makes us worse.  Meanwhile, when we overlook or directly harm our brother—reinforcing division and exclusion—it makes us (and them) worse.  But when we honor God together, we build one another up and glorify him.

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One Thing to Think About:  Has worship ever made me worse?  Have I ever made others worse?

One Thing to Pray For:  Awareness of how I contribute to unity or division
 

We Need Each Other

Reading:  1 Corinthians 11:11-16
    
    It is possible to read Paul’s first section on the covering (1 Cor 11:2-10) as asserting that men are superior to women.  Paul is thinking about the creation story when he argues that “man was not made from woman, but woman from man.  Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man”(1 Cor 11:8-9).  He seems to be aware that these thoughts can be misunderstood, so he qualifies himself:  “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man now is born of woman.  And all things are of God”(1 Cor 11:11-12).  Just as much as the creation story tells us that “woman was made from man,” so current experience tells us that “man now is born of woman.”  None of us is independent of the other.  We stand or fall together.  We need each other.

    Paul continues to argue for the importance of a covering for women praying or prophesying.  As in other places, he urges the Corinthians to “judge for yourselves”(1 Cor 11:13, 10:15) because he believes his logic is self-evident.  “Is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered?  Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?  For her hair is given to her for a covering”(1 Cor 11:13-15).  The covering is about propriety (what people consider appropriate) and nature (how God orders the world).  Paul does not want Christian women worshiping in a way that implies that they will not submit to others.

    Gender debates are sadly polarized.  Men and women turn against one another and denigrate the virtues of the other, struggling for power and rights.  The risk here is that we forget that we need one another.  God did not create men and women to be on opposing teams; this is especially true for Christians.  “In the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman.”  We depend on each other for life, work together, and sharpen each other.  We need each other.  

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One Thing to Think About:  Do I respect the other gender’s unique contributions and gifts?

One Thing to Pray For:  A local church that blends gifts and authority to honor Jesus
 

We All Submit

Reading:  1 Corinthians 11:2-10
    
     This is a challenging text for a number of reasons:  the exact nature of the covering is not clear, the role of broader culture in determining what is disgraceful is not fully explained, and the text itself can be confusing.  Paul appears to be addressing women who are praying or prophesying in a way that does not show proper respect for the divine order.  “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.  But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God”(1 Cor 11:2-3).  The word “wife” is “woman,” which can mean either wife or unmarried woman.  Paul contends that there are unique roles and layers of submission in God’s service—and that these must be respected.

     The way Paul wants this order respected is through a covering.  “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven”(1 Cor 11:4-5).  Two of his comments about this covering seem, in my judgment, to relate to the contemporary culture:  “it is the same as if her head were shaven”(v. 5) and  “since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head”(v. 6).  Paul’s emphasis on the covering is all about submission and order.  He wants it to remain clear that women are in submission, even as they pray and prophesy.

     I find it interesting that even in such a difficult text, there is an expectation that all of us submit.  There is no shame in such submission.  Jesus submits to the Father.  Men submit to Jesus.  Women submit to men.  And in many ways men submit to women as well (see Eph 5:21).  If we are going to live as Christians, we must embrace the fact that “you are not your own”(1 Cor 6:19) and that this will mean surrendering our will to God and to others—no matter our gender. 

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One Thing to Think About:  Why does the idea of submission bother us?

One Thing to Pray For:  A heart to yield to Jesus—and to others