1 Corinthians 12 1-31 Analysis

Spiritual Gifts and Unity in Christ from 1st Corinthians 12: 1-31 Paul’s words in his letter to the Corinthian church, lays an emphasis on the virtue and need for unity within these community of believers as it relates to the diverse operations of spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:1-31). This is because spiritual gifts and unity are interconnected and vital to their church experience and Christian life. According to him, our effectiveness as the church of Jesus Christ lies in our willingness to work together even as we recognise the different abilities bestowed on us by the Holy Spirit. In this section of the letter the apostle advocates for a more communal spirituality than an individualistic approach to living out one’s faith experience. He reiterates the fact that the Corinthians church was one body possessing different members (1 Corinthians 12: 20-27). He said, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (I Corinthians 12:20, New Living Translation-NLT). In this paper, I would be exploring Paul’s thought …show more content…
In these verses we see the spiritual and physical importance of members of the church at Corinth to appreciate the diversity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by working in unity of their faith (1st Corinthians 12: 1-6). According to the Meriam Webster English dictionary (2005) unity refers to “as an entity that is a complex or systematic whole” or “oneness”. I think Apostle Paul would hold on to this meaning because unity for him was not about similarity but diversity that brought together like different parts of the body of believers to create one functioning church in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). A church united in one purpose doing the will of God through the help of the Holy Spirit at work in each one believer and reconciled by Jesus