"I'm not the difference I make, but the sameness I share."
“Jesus be cursed.” These words, written by the apostle Paul, are found in I Corinthians 12:3.
Chapters twelve through fourteen of I Corinthians are the result of Paul’s response to a question posed by the believers in the church at Corinth about spiritual gifts, especially the gift of tongues. Interestingly enough, he begins his answer by telling the believers in Corinth that no one who is speaking through the inspiration of God’s Spirit can say “Jesus be cursed.”
Duh. Tell me something I don’t know. Why would Paul even say such a thing? At face value, it appears ludicrous.
To begin with, it is highly unlikely that Paul is literally referring to Christians in the church publicly declaring “Jesus be cursed.” He is using this phrase in a more general sense to make the point that God’s Spirit will never lead His people to speak or act in a way that detracts from or diminishes the reality of the Lordship of Jesus.
This is where things get a bit tricky, and as I attempt to explain and apply what is said in these verses, I want you to keep in mind two things -
1st, we don’t actually know the question the Corinthians asked Paul. We do know that this letter is a response to several questions asked, as well as multiple problems in the church at Corinth.
2nd, the challenge of interpreting and explaining Scripture is that we are dealing with a language and culture over two thousand years removed from us today. Not only is the language and culture very different from ours, but for those of us in the West, it is on the opposite side of the world. If you have ever lived in an Eastern culture, you know how challenging this can be to our Western mindset.
Having said that, let me explain what Paul is saying and set forth a basic principle to guide us in our Christian lives, especially as we serve together in the church with other believers.
As I said, the question the Corinthians asked Paul clearly dealt with the issue of spiritual gifts, especially the gift of speaking in tongues. Take time to read chapters twelve through fourteen of I Corinthians, and this will become clear.
But behind everything Paul says in these chapters is the underlying principle that God’s people are to be guided by love and a desire to build up, not themselves as individuals, but the church and God’s people as a whole. Many in the church at Corinth were enamored with the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. Like many in the church in our day, tongues was elevated to a place and status that God never intended. And in elevating the gift to such a place, they were detracting from, rather than pointing to the Lordship of Jesus.
So yes, Paul is correcting an improper understanding and usage of the gift of tongues. But much deeper than this one issue, Paul is setting forth a principle that should guide each of us in our lives as followers of Jesus -
God desires to use each of us to build up His church and bring glory to the name of His Son and our Lord, Jesus.
That’s exactly what the apostle means, when in I Corinthians 12:7, he says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Sprit is given for the common good.”
This section of I Corinthians is not so much about the abuse of a particular spiritual gift as it is the importance of God’s people recognizing that it is only as we suppress our individual desires and hunger for recognition and work together that Christ is glorified.
As Henri Nouwen has said, “I’m not the difference I make, but the sameness I share.” (Henri Nouwen, Community, p. 87)
Anytime God’s people seek place, position, and recognition that sets them apart, for whatever reason, the church and our witness of the Good News is perverted, distorted, and ultimately rejected by those we need to reach. The announcement of the angel to the shepherds in the fields concerning the birth of Messiah was “I bring you good news for all people.”
Colossians 3:11 says, “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (NIV)
I love Eugene Peterson’s rendering of this verse - “Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is identified by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.”
There are no superstars, no spiritual elites found in Christ Jesus, just needy, broken people healed and healing by God’s grace.
In Christ,
Dan
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