1 Corinthians 12

These chapters all have so much to say and so much to discuss!
In this chapter, Paul is discussing spiritual gifts with the church in Corinth. On of his main points that he is making is that the gifts of the Spirit should not cause divisions or separations in the church because they all come from the same Spirit (v 4). Paul says that different people in the body of Christ are given different gifts but they are all given for the good of all, not just the for the good of the person receiving the gift (v 7).
An interesting point is that Paul says that there are different kinds of gifts, service and workings. This reminds me that God's working in our lives and thus our spiritual work includes not just spiritual gifts, but also service (to God and others) as well as other types of work. We see this echoed in the end of the chapter where he lists offices or callings (such as apostles, prophets, teachers) as well as gifts (healing) along with gifts of helping others and gifts of administration (v 28). So when we look at the overall plans that God has for our lives, he has equipped us with what we may think of as natural gifts and spiritual gifts. Both of them are from God and a part of how he made us to accomplish his purposes in the body of Christ.

Often we think of spiritual gifts much like a child thinks about presents at Christmas time. We excitedly ask "What did I get?". And when we receive the gift we treat it selfishly - "This is mine" and "Think about how great this will make me look to others". Instead Paul is wanting us to keep our focus and recognize that while it is great to be excited, and in fact we should even eagerly desire the greater gifts (v 31), we need to always recognize that our perspective should be "How can I use this gift to help others and build the body of Christ?" The answer to that of course comes as we ask God to direct us and obey his leading.

Sometimes we may feel like we don't fit into a body (church) that God has put us into, but in fact as Paul points out, the differences that exist don't mean that we don't belong to the body (v 15). Rather it is the differences that strengthen the body IF each different part keeps doing its part.

Wherever we are at, let us pray that God will help us to see what our gifts are and what our place is in his body and in his kingdom, and may we work to use our gifts and abilities to the benefit of others and the body of Christ!