The words of our title were written to a rip-roaring charismatic church.  A God-sent, authentic apostle had pioneered that church some years earlier during an eighteen-month stay in their city (1 Corinthians 14:12, Acts 18:11).  The phrase ‘building up’ is used several times in the letter written several years later by Paul.  In this epistle he also tells them, “I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.  And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still in the flesh” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).  Both when he was with them, and now, years later, apparently they were babes, immature and unspiritual.  It is quite appropriate to be a babe when we begin, but later?  How sad Paul was, his father heart was grieved when he heard news of their still undeveloped immature state, it was perilous and tragic.  They were misrepresenting God in the world and doing damage to their own souls, and to each other in addition.  Perhaps this musing will touch on things primarily relevant to those who attend and are part of the charismatic churches of the twenty-first century though those who are members of ‘non-charismatic’ churches and reject charismatic things because of the excesses and stupidities that masquerade as spiritual life and ministry in some quarters, should also read on for there will be something in this short musing for them too.  We all need to humbly learn of God, there is no other way to go forward.  Where we need to correct our abuse of God’s gifts we must do so and where we need to embrace what we have rejected because of a withering prejudice we must do that too for it is all too easy to reject some of the gifts of God because of the patent misuse evident in some churches instead of receiving and entering into the variety and bounty of the gracegifts with which Christ by the Holy Spirit desires to equip and enable the members of His body to build each other up and also be the body of Christ through whom He speaks to the world.

In one way we should thank the Lord that the Corinthian church was in such a confused mess.  If it had not occurred we would not have received this inspired letter from God.  It is the only one where we find Divine instruction concerning the way the church is to conduct its meetings and what those meetings should contain (For instance, 1 Corinthians 14:26-33).  It is the letter par-excellence defining what it means to be true spiritual people and properly exercise the spiritual(gifts)s.  Because this church was behaving in the flesh Paul was at pains to lovingly and firmly correct them so that they would purge out their unruly practices and engage in the blessedness of what God intended to be the life and meetings experienced by His people.  Sadly, they thought that noise was power and that plenty of rattling away in tongues together was a sign of spirituality (1 Corinthians 14:23).  They did not understand the sobering truth that what has its rise in the soul of man (no matter how well intentioned) only feeds the soul of others and never reaches their spirit.  They had their priorities all twisted up.  When God birthed His church in Corinth they were bountifully blessed by Him; for, in their case, (it may not be true of every church), they did not lack in any spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 1:7).  He had bestowed every one of the spirituals amongst them and probably, for a time, they had used them in a proper manner to their mutual edification and the glory of God.  Without doubt Paul has in mind many gifts including the list of nine he particularly mentions in chapter twelve (1 Corinthians 12:7-10).  Once God has given gifts they cannot be lost, they can be misused, and sometimes, where understanding is lacking it is possible to get   them out of perspective by neglecting and diminishing one gift as another is overly emphasized so that the ‘body’ of gifts becomes misshapen and ugly instead of being in the perfect symmetry and balance that facilitates true expression of the Life of Jesus Who is the Head of the body and He Who animates that same body, the Holy Spirit.  Without doubt the church in Corinth was corrupted by foolishness.  They just did not understand.  There was an excess of tongues, unregulated and noisy, it led to the visitors who came to observe proceedings concluding that they were mad (1 Corinthians 14:23)!  Paul had to correct such abuse; in fact, the whole letter of first Corinthians in every chapter is full of wonderful correction, in it Paul lavishly pours out the mind of the Lord as to church life and ministry.  Just consider the way he begins putting Christ and Him crucified as the foundation of everything (1 Corinthians 1:17&18).  This church had become fleshly and carnal in virtually everyway because they were not living lives crucified with Christ.  As a result of this they tolerated immorality amongst themselves, they also indulged in prideful attitudes and an arrogant party spirit emerged.  Some said, “I am of Paul, others, “I am of Apollos,” such speech is a symptom of grave immaturity and the only answer is the cross (1 Corinthians 1:12-17).   The gifts of the Spirit had become opportunities on the part of those who had them, to display and prove that they were truly ‘spiritual’ and had more power than those who did not possess them.  Absence of wisdom (Paul uses the words wise and wisdom at least twenty six times in this letter) resulted in a church, the life of which was a travesty of the truth and their meetings did them more harm than good (1 Corinthians 11:17).  Better not to meet together at all if it results in that which promotes fleshly manifestations that, in their turn, become the accepted measure of spirituality.  The outcome of this state of affairs is an inoculation against the true manifestations of God’s Spirit.

It is vital to note the subject matter that precedes chapters twelve to fourteen.  If the things Paul writes there are not in place in our lives, carnal use of the gifts is a certainty and even the demoniacal can possibly emerge masquerading as the Spirit of God.  There can be no proper use of gifts and church gatherings that truly edify, unless the Headship and order of Christ of which Paul speaks is in place (1 Corinthians 11:2-16).  It is not by chance or whim that the inspired apostle emphasizes Headship, authority and submission in these verses.  Secondly he writes of the communion with Christ as our personal, regular way of life and with each other including particular mention of the self-judgment that is part of that communion (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).  These are the preliminary basics, the essential elements that make up the bedrock that must be present in those exercising the gifts of God’s Spirit.  If the Headship, authority and mind of the Lord Jesus and appropriate order between male and female is rejected, even in ignorance, being replaced by the opinions and preferences of the human heart (including the incipient feminism subtly invading today’s church), there will be no way in which the gifts and ministries God has given will convey His life if they are used because the persons exercising them are themselves out of proper order.  In like manner, it is impossible that these will be means of imparting His grace (they are named ‘grace-gifts’) if the person endeavoring to practice them is not living in daily fellowship of heart and soul with Jesus.  We should all desire earnestly the gifts of God and the best gifts also and use them in such a way that they fulfill that for which they were originally given, namely as manifestations of His Spirit, concrete expressions of His love and grace and demonstrations of His power.  Instead, the Corinthian Christians had fallen into a state where they were up in the pride of their own hearts.  They were not under the mind of Christ and receiving counsel from His headship, instead of humility of heart there was arrogant pride and the result was that their use of the gifts of God had become mere selfish display, and even operations in which manipulation and abuse of others was taking place, for such is the inevitable, sad outcome with all the damage to souls that will bring.  The gift of discernment of spirits is corrupted and becomes the operation of psychic power, the word of knowledge becomes at best someone exercising extra sensory familiar powers and at worst an evil spirit of the ‘familiar’ kind functions in that soul and the word of wisdom descends into the wisdom of man, that is foolishness with God (1 Corinthians 1:20-30).  Every gift if used, will partake of this dreadful decay; prophecy, tongues and interpretations rising from a human soul will become carnal prognostications over the lives of individuals and churches and if that practice continues will degenerate further in that a demonic spirit will inspire them.

We must emphasize that the whole thrust of the letter Paul wrote shows that it is the person using the gift who is more important than the gift itself.  If the person is living a life crucified with Christ, under His headship and mind, and in right communion with the Lord Jesus and His brethren and rightly judging himself, then any gift that that person might use will have the power to edify.  It will rise from that place of communion with the Lord and bless the church for which it is intended.  Every gift will be a means of conveying the grace of Christ in some form or other.  If the gifted persons are not walking the way of the cross or nurturing a life of inward communion with Christ and rejoicing in His Headship they will be carnal, arrogant and self assertive; it is inevitable.  Their use of the gift(s) will come from their soul (at best) or from an evil spirit (at worst) and anyone who appears to be blessed and affected by the ministration of a gift coming from that source will, in fact, have only been blessed in their soul, not their spirit.  It has been soul-to-soul; carnal to carnal, flesh-to-flesh, nothing more, and will fade away.  In ways this resembles drug use, as the blessing and excitement they felt is something like a ‘high’ which then recedes and needs to be renewed by yet another experience of a similar kind and as the effects of repeated experiences die away the frustrated, disappointed soul pursues some other spiritual experience which may satisfy.

We should magnify and thank God for the bountiful supply of gifts He has given to His church.  We must desire them all, rejecting none.  We must become men and women of understanding who walk crucified lives with Christ so that these gifts might work among us properly.  Only then will the church build itself up as it should and thereby fulfill its calling in the world.  Paul captures these things in these words saying, “until we attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed around…” (Ephesians 4:12-16).  Note particularly the way these verses flow from the fact that Christ has filled all things and given gifts (Ephesians 4:8&11).  He has given gifts and the result is up building and growth.  Here is the unchangeable truth, that a multitude of gifts are given from the Head to the body through which He might manifest Himself in the church and to the world.  Let us not come behind in any of these things.  Let us be mature in our understanding about these matters.  Instead of going on our merry way in carnal practice of these gifts (as some of us may be doing), or alternatively rejecting them out right, let the churches examine themselves and receive from the Bountiful Giver the full equipment for church life and ministry to the world He desires to give.