1 Corinthians 12: Thinking "We" Instead of "Me"

Introduction

1 Corinthians 12 has stirred up a lot of intrigue, enthusiasm, misunderstanding and speculation. Yet for Josh Johnston, who preaches this Sunday evening at The Tron Church in Glasgow, pausing the series on 2 Peter, the message of the chapter is quite simple: "The Spirit leads us to confess Jesus as Lord and gives every member for the common good. No Christian can say either 'I don't belong' or 'I don't need you.'"

The dominant image of the chapter is the Church as a body. It is a familiar picture, but the preacher warns that we are shaped by a deeply individualistic culture. Even in church life, we instinctively think "I" rather than "we." That way of thinking cannot be reconciled with the body Paul describes.

The message follows the text in three movements: see the Spirit where Jesus is confessed (verses 1 to 3), give everything God has given you for the common good (verses 4 to 11), and never say "I don't belong" or "I don't need you" (verses 12 to 26).

Outline of the Message

1. A Divided Church That Lacked No Gift

From chapter 1, Paul writes to the Corinthians that they do not lack any gift as they wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:7). The Church, together, has received everything it needs.
The problem: Corinth is a divided church. Some think of themselves as powerful, wise and impressive, and look down on those they consider weak, foolish or without honor.
These "powerful" people prize spectacular speech. By chapter 14, it becomes clear that speaking in tongues had become the mark of a higher spiritual status.
Paul measures things very differently: not by what makes an individual impressive, but by what serves the common good and builds up the whole Church.
In verse 1, the word "gifts" is not in the Greek. The footnote in the ESV suggests "spiritual people," literally "the spirituals." That is the Corinthians' question: what makes someone truly spiritual?
Paul answers by talking about gifts, grace, what God has given. Everything has been received. So the chapter is not first of all an invitation to consult a list to find "your" gift. "There is, in fact, no category of 'spiritual gifts' in the Bible." The chapter shows that God has given us to one another.

2. See the Spirit Where Jesus Is Confessed (Verses 1 to 3)

Not everything spiritual is good. In verse 2, Paul reminds the Corinthians of their past: they were led astray to mute idols. In chapter 10, he says that an idol is nothing, but that demons stand behind it (1 Corinthians 10:19-20). As the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold.
The work of the Spirit is to draw people to Jesus. He opens blind eyes and dead hearts to see, love and confess that Jesus is Lord.
The preacher quotes James Philip, who wonders whether some Corinthians, in their desire to appear "super spiritual," were unknowingly saying what verse 3 mentions: "Jesus is accursed."
What marks someone as truly spiritual is far simpler than a spectacular act: sincerely confessing that Jesus is Lord. It seems more ordinary than speaking the tongues of angels, "but it is far more miraculous."
What else can turn a heart of stone into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), open blind eyes, give life to the dead? No doctor, magician or medium can bring a cold body back to life. The Spirit of God performs this miracle in everyone who trusts in Jesus.
It will take a miracle to keep saying "Jesus is Lord" when your career is threatened, when your children or grandchildren find doors closed that were open to us, when someone is trying to get you fired, when your life seems to be falling apart and the shadow of death hangs over you or someone you love. And it will also take a miracle when your life overflows with abundance and everything tells you that you can be and do whatever you want.

3. God Does Not Give Abstract Gifts, He Gives People (Verses 4 to 7)

The Spirit who brings us under one Lord does not make us all identical. He works in each member differently, for the good of the whole Church.
God did not simply give the Church "the gift of preaching" in the abstract: he gave preachers, whole persons. He did not just give "music": he gave musicians who play and who give themselves. He did not just give "hospitality": he gave brothers and sisters who welcome newcomers and put everything they are at the service of the Church.
A noteworthy detail. Verse 4: the same Spirit. Verse 5: the same Lord. Verse 6: the same God. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are at work to build the Church. "The Holy Spirit does not hand out gifts as a lone ranger."
Paul keeps repeating "all" and "each." There is no gifted elite and then everyone else. We often use the word "gifted" in the Corinthian way, to describe someone remarkable. But God's work in each person has a single purpose, in verse 7: "But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all."
The preacher asks: is serving your church family really a priority? In the list of things that get you out of bed in the morning, where does the flourishing of this body stand? Do you think "me, not us" or "us, not me"?
This can shape major decisions: who you marry, where you live, what job you choose, and what will mark your years of study.

4. A List With a Corinthian Flavor, for the Common Good (Verses 8 to 11)

These verses are sometimes read as the list of eight or nine "spiritual gifts." Josh Johnston owns a technical commentary that devotes 53 pages to these three verses. Conclusion: we cannot be certain what exactly Paul means, "but we don't need to be."
The list has a Corinthian flavor: it begins with wisdom and knowledge, words dear to the "powerful" of Corinth (see chapter 4), and ends with prophecy and tongues, since the Church loved impressive speech.
If you read this list thinking "I don't fit any of this," it does not mean something is missing in you. The list is not exhaustive.
Verse 11 says that it is the same Spirit who distributes to each person as he wills. Our abilities are not meant to shine, nor to serve ourselves.
It would be a perversion to use a musical talent only for your own glory, or your gift of hospitality only for your career or social standing. If you know how to lead, do you use it only to advance professionally? If you have a clear grasp of the gospel and the gift of teaching, have you seriously considered a Bible teaching ministry?
Other abilities have no name: the art of gathering those who cannot find their place, the sense of knowing when to put an arm around someone's shoulders, the faithfulness of a friend, an aunt or a grandparent who supports those who need help. "God has not given isolated gifts to isolated Christians."

5. To the Weak: Do Not Say "I Don't Belong" (Verses 12 to 20)

We are not trying to become a body in Christ: we are one. The question is how this body functions. A body with a fragile back, knees that need replacing, failing eyesight? Or a body in perfect health, ready to run?
Paul uses the image of the body to encourage the weak and rebuke the powerful. The weak say: "Nobody needs me, I don't have much to give."
It is no accident that Paul picks the foot as his example (verse 15). Nobody wants to be a foot: dirty, sweaty, smelly. But where would the body be without feet? They get worn precisely because they let us move forward. Try going a day without using them.
The ear (verse 16) could complain: it does not even look ahead. People fall in love because of eyes, not ears. But seeming less useful does not make you any less a member of the body. A Church where everyone was the same would be a monstrosity, like a body covered in eyes straight out of Frankenstein's laboratory (verse 17).
It is easy to dream of being something else: "I would be more useful if I played the piano, if I taught the Bible well, if I loved meeting people." But verse 18 says that God has placed each of the members in the body as he wanted. "You are not here to be someone else, or to do what you cannot do."
The Church is the showcase of God's glory in the cosmos. Your presence, your friendships, your faithful prayer for a person or a ministry no one notices, a smile on Sunday, a message sent to someone who is struggling, a phone call, your patience when you are let down or hurt, your faithfulness Sunday after Sunday when everything is falling apart: "it is not nothing."
The preacher recalls a sister who is now with the Lord. She stood up at every prayer meeting to faithfully bring before God topics and people that others forgot. She also served the elderly women of the church, often isolated or widowed, who in turn, thanks to her, encouraged others. She had no title or position, and her ministry does not appear in verses 8 to 10. She simply gave what she had.

6. To the Powerful: Do Not Say "I Don't Need You" (Verses 21 to 26)

Behind this attitude lies a thought: "I have important gifts, everything should be organized so that I can flourish." But the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need for you" (verse 21).
In every church, some services are more highly valued: preaching, teaching, visible roles, leading teams. Those who carry them out can quickly look down on the service of others, expect everyone to think like them, or believe they are exempt from the ordinary responsibilities of the Christian life. Whatever your role, you remain the servant of others.
For those who lead teams: leadership is not an opportunity to promote yourself or to flourish at the expense of the team.
The Church is full of "interesting" people, in all their diversity and quirkiness. There may be people who irritate you because they are so different from you. God, in his infinite wisdom, has placed them there. They may be a gift to shape your heart into the image of Jesus, who bears with all kinds of broken people.
God overturns our scales of importance: the members that seem weaker are necessary (verse 22), and those we consider less honorable receive greater honor, just as we surround the private parts of the body with modesty (verses 23 and 24). God has composed the body so that there may be no division.
Verse 26: if one member suffers, all suffer with it. The preacher remembers prayer meetings where brothers and sisters carried heavy burdens, and where not an eye stayed dry. "That is healthy. It is a beautiful picture of who we are."
Saying "I don't know him, it's not my business" is like saying, "The blood gushing from a wound in my leg is no concern of mine." An arm cut off from the body dies, and the body is diminished.
Refusing to rejoice in another's blessing is like a player who refuses to lift the trophy because he did not score the winning goal. When the friend you have been praying for over the years comes to faith, we all rejoice. When you carry the flag of Jesus at school or lose friends or a job because of him, we suffer with you.

Key Takeaways

What makes someone truly spiritual is confessing that Jesus is Lord, and only the Spirit can produce and sustain this miracle.
God does not give isolated gifts to isolated Christians: he gives whole persons, to one another, for the common good.
The list in verses 8 to 10 is not exhaustive. If you do not see yourself in it, it does not mean something is missing in you.
No one can say "I don't belong": God placed you in the body as he wanted, and your small acts of grace are not nothing.
No one can say "I don't need you": everyone's sufferings and joys belong to the whole body.

Personal Application

In your church life, do you tend to think "me, not us" or "us, not me"?
Where does the flourishing of your church stand among the things that guide your choices: your work, where you live, your schedule?
What ability have you received that you mostly use for yourself, and how could it serve your church?
Do you sometimes tell yourself "nobody needs me"? What does verse 18 change for you?
Is there someone in your church you find hard to put up with, and whom God may have placed there to make you more like Jesus?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12?

For Josh Johnston, the Bible has no category of "spiritual gifts." In verse 1, the Greek speaks rather of "the spirituals." Verses 8 to 10 are not a complete list: they have a Corinthian flavor. If you do not see yourself in them, it does not mean something is missing in you.

What makes someone truly spiritual according to 1 Corinthians 12:3?

It is not a spectacular act, but sincerely confessing that Jesus is Lord. That seems simpler than speaking in tongues, but it is more miraculous: only the Spirit can change a heart of stone and make this confession hold in hardship as well as in abundance.

What does "if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it" mean?

The Church is one body. Saying of a suffering brother "it's not my business" is like ignoring the blood flowing from a wound in your own leg. And refusing to rejoice in another's happiness is like a player who refuses the trophy because he did not score the winning goal.