In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul addresses the problem of division in the community of Corinth. The divisions brought about by a misdirected appreciation of the evangelists who worked among them is related to the way the members of the Corinthian community look at spiritual gifts. In other words, because some Corinthians regard an evangelist as more gifted than another, they associate themselves with this one, thus leading to a situation where Paul can accuse them of creating cliques:
I mean that each of you is saying, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
1 Cor. 1:12-13
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul explains to the community that the gifts of the Spirit are given to each one for the building up of the Church. The gifts of the Spirit are then desirable, but among these many gifts, the Corinthians should strive for the most excellent one: charity. This latter is the subject matter of 1 Corinthians 13. In chapter 14, Paul points out the function of the gifts that the members of the Corinthian community have received: the building-up of the Church.
The beginning and end of 1 Corinthians 12 is clearly marked in 12:1 and in 12:31b. In 12:1 Paul is clearly moving to a new subject ("Now in regard to..."). In 12:31b, Paul prepares to move to a new topic ("But I shall show you a more excellent way."). In between these beginning and ending statements, Paul explains the variety of spiritual gifts and their unity in source and goal. The discourse can be outlined thus:
- 1-2. Introduction
- 3. The Spirit Does Not Say: "Accursed be Jesus."
- 4-11. Diversity of gifts, One Spirit that Gives Them All
- 12-31a. The Body of Christ and the Diversity of Functions
- 31b. Transition to the Hymn to Charity (1 Cor. 13).
Paul's remark at the beginning of the discourse sets the tone of the section. Before this, Paul had emphatically told his audience that they are the temple of God and that the Spirit dwells in them (3:16). Here, he makes it clear that the same Spirit makes it possible for them to confess Jesus as Lord (12:3). The whole point of this opening remark is that if the Corinthians have the Spirit of God, then no one among them will curse the other for it would be the same as cursing the Lord. This becomes clearer in the following verses1.
In verses 4-11, Paul describes the gifts each one has received in terms of diversity. But no matter how diverse, all the gifts are from the one Spirit which makes it possible for them to make their confession of faith (see verse 3). In 1 Cor. 12:12-31a, we find Paul explaining how the diversity of gifts should not lead to division but to unity. This prepares for the discourse on the building-up of the Body of Christ in 1 Cor. 142. In this section, verses 14-26 are framed by verses 12-13 on the one hand and verses 27-31a on the other. The emphasis in verses 14-26 is the mutual dependence of the members on one another and the mutual care that each should have for the other in view of their being the Body of Christ (12:13.27). Earlier in the letter, Paul pointed out the "unspiritual" situation of the Corinthians: the division that exists among them. Here, Paul underscores the unity that they should have, their unity in Christ as His Body3. Each one has received a gift from the Spirit, and through this gift contribute to the support of the community, as a whole and, in the light of chapter 14, in its members.
Note for the Feast of Pentecost (A)
In Year A, the selection from Paul is taken from 1 Cor. 12:3b-7.12-13. The emphasis in this choice is on the diversity of the gifts that the one Spirit brings (vv. 4-7). There is a diversity of gifts because of the diversity of functions within the Church. But the diversity is ordered towards a unity since the source of the gifts is one and the goal of the gifts is also one: the Church, the Body of Christ (vv. 12-13)
- 1. Some scholars say that here Paul is addressing a problem that has arisen among the Corinthians who have misinterpreted Paul's teaching about freedom. Since the Spirit brings about freedom, then anyone speaking in the Spirit can say anything he wants, like "accursed be Jesus". My only problem with this interpretation is that if there was such a problem, then Paul would have dedicated more lines to it. I would understand 12:3 in the light of what follows: if each one is a member of the Body of Christ, then no one can say to the other "I don't need you" nor "Be accursed!"
- 2. In 1 Cor. 14, Paul gives some guidelines for the way the gifts of the Spirit are to be exercised in the community: this especially as regards to prophecy and tongues. The whole gist of his directives is that the gift of tongues can lead to division; prophecy on the other hand, because it is about communication, builds bridges.
- 3. In pointing out that the Corinthian community is the Body of Christ, Paul draws his idea from the corporate mentality of Jews. The Jewish household is a body with the pater familiae as the head. No member is seen as someone independent from the whole. Rather each member draws his blessings, even his curse, from the household. The Gospels and the Acts allude to this corporate mentality. In Matthew 25: 31-46, the King identifies himself with the "least of my brothers" in such a way as what was done and not done to them was also done and not done to him. In Acts 9:1-19, we find the story of Paul's conversion. On his way to arrest the Christians, Paul was blinded along the way by a great light and heard a voice saying: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" When Paul asks for the identity of the speaker, the response came back: "I am Jesus the one you are persecuting (Acts 9:5b)." The mentality behind these New Testament texts are at the basis of the conviction that Christ is the Head of His Body, the Church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23)
