1 Corinthians Lesson 6
First Corinthians
Lesson 6 - Chapter 11-12
By Cindy Ketron
On The Edge of Eternity
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Chapter 11 gets into some controversial territory. It shouldn’t be controversial because it is Scriptural. But in today’s culture where “you have your truth and I have my truth” and where women have gotten deep in the trenches of what used to be called the women’s lib movement, the same old problems that existed in Paul’s day exist in ours. The word submission is often a nasty word because it goes against the cultural bias. There is a principle that Paul works off of in this chapter. He elaborates on it in more depth in the books of Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. That principle is something referred to as headship. It is also called federal headship.
In a very generic way, the head of something is the source of something. But the word head in chapter 11 also has to do with authority. It is with our heads that we think and make decisions, both good and bad. How many times have we used phrases like, “Get your head out of the sand!” and “What were you thinking? Where was your head!” Paul lays down an order for life in this chapter and that order is this:
God the Father is the head of Christ
Christ is the head of man
Man is the head of woman
There are many organizations who get into trouble when they are top heavy. That means that there are too many in upper management and not enough in the working force. In another sense, there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians!
Go ahead and read 1 Cor. 11:1-16. What was the reason Paul praised this church?
I think we can all agree that God is a God of order. All we have to do to figure that out is to go back to the creation account in the book of Genesis. Next week, when we look at chapter 14, we’ll discover a deeper association with this concept.
2. What does 1 Cor. 14:33 say?
I will admit this and if you know me well, you know that I am not the greatest housekeeper in the world. That said, I cannot stand things to be unorderly. I have my closet arranged according to colors. I even have the money in my purse arranged lowest to highest and all facing in the same direction. Things run much more efficiently when there is order. When I study and write, I have an order in which I do things. If my thinking and writing were reflective of a chaotic brain, I’m not sure I could ever communicate effectively through my teaching. In the first 7 verses of chapter 11, list the directions for head coverings.
Is Paul saying in these verses that we need to walk around with our heads covered? Absolutely not! Something we must understand here is that in 1st Century Corinth, any woman who was unveiled was a prostitute ... .and there were a lot of prostitutes! We don’t get that information from this chapter. We get it from historical data. This bit of information alone causes much of the rest to make a little more sense. Ok, we get that, but what about the men covering their heads? Where in the world did such a thought originate?
During Paul’s day, the Jewish rabbis taught that the reason men were to cover their head was found in an incident that had been misinterpreted regarding Moses.
3. Read 2 Cor. 3:13. What did you discover?
Back in the book of Exodus when Moses goes up to Mt. Sinai to receive the law, he comes back down to read it to the people and discovers that they are worshipping a golden calf. In his anger, he smashed the 10 commandments that God had written on the stone tablets. After God dealt with the people, Moses goes back up the mountain to receive another set of tablets except this time, he was up there with God for 40 days.
4. What did Moses not know as he descended that mountain in Exodus 34:29?
It scared the people to death. It even scared his brother, Aaron, the high priest to death! And because everyone was afraid, Moses wore a veil over his face to shroud the glory that was shown upon his face. When we spend a long time in the presence of God, it will be evident to others. Moses had a glow about him. We have no idea how long Moses wore that veil. What was fading away in 2 Cor. 3:13? When we get over to our study in 2 Corinthians, we’ll look more deeply into this incident. For our study this week, the important thing to note is that God never instructed men to wear a head covering.
5. And by continuing to wear these, what did Paul say they were doing?
So why do you think he told the women to continue wearing their head covering? Many of the female prostitutes in 1st century Corinth shaved their heads. They were the vestal virgins of that day in Corinth who were the temple prostitutes. They were far from being virgins. In 1967, a very beautiful song came out by Procol Harum called, A Whiter Shade of Pale. One of the lines from that song sings, “But I wandered through my playing cards, would not let her be, one of 16 vestal virgins, we’re leaving for the coast.” I never really knew what a vestal virgin was until I started studying for this book. Up until our current time in America, the only women who were bald were women who had either lost their hair or those who might be undergoing chemotherapy. Now, there’s a female newscaster who has a shaved head. There’s a female member of Congress who has a shaved head. I am seeing women with shaved heads everywhere. We are living in modern day Corinth in more ways than 1! The thing that jumps off the page to me in v. 5 is that there were apparently women who were praying and teaching publicly. The Bible does not say that women cannot pray and teach as some would have you think. Let me ask you a question.
6. If the only women in Corinth who didn’t wear a headcovering were the prostitutes and if a Christian woman says that she has liberty in Christ to go without a headcovering, what is she saying to others in that culture who might be immature Christians or unsaved?
There are lots of things within the pages of Scripture that are cultural or custom. How do you decide whether something is done simply because it was a cultural custom to that area of the world at that point in time, or whether it is a principle that transcends time and is for all time?
There are certain things that may be obvious as being cultural. Here is what I would suggest, look to see if there is an overarching principle that is perhaps used in other places in Scripture. If there is a principle laid out, always take the principle as the stronger of the 2 (custom vs. principle). In the first 16 verses of chapter 11, there is indeed a principle and it is laid out and we’ve already addressed that on page 1 of this lesson.
God the Father is the head of Christ.
Christ is the head of man.
Man is the head of woman.
Regardless of the time and the culture, this is always the principle. But what about things like, greeting one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16), women being forbidden to wear pearls (1 Tim. 2:9), or women not cutting their hair as we just read in 1 Cor. 11:15? The moral laws of God never change. They are the same regardless of the culture and regardless of the time in history. There may be customs in the Bible that are timeless and those that are temporary. Obviously, there are also going to be denominations that believe we should adhere to all of these ancient customs whereas others hold a particular practice in a certain cultural context. I have a close family member who is a member of a Pentecostal church and her spouse is a Pentecostal minister. They take 1 Cor. 11:15 in a very literal sense. She never cuts her hair as their teaching is that a woman’s hair is her glory.
That said, we need to have some kind of framework from which we can make determinations as to whether something is cultural/custom (applies only to a particular time and part of the world) or if it is principle (always applicable to us regardless of the time and part of the world). There is a whole lot more to 1 Cor. 11 than if women should or shouldn’t cover their heads with veils. The following information on this topic is from R.C. Sproal and I am always so thankful for the ministry he had and how he communicates ideas.
There are 4 ways that we can interpret this text:
1. To say that the entire thing is a matter of custom and that it has no relevance to the Church today. And as thus, no woman anywhere today needs to cover her head and show that she is subordinate to the man.
2. To say that the entire thing is a matter of principle and that none of it is custom and that all women everywhere for all time should cover their heads with a veil (not a hat) in subordination to the man.
These first 2 are the extremes.
3. We can say that it is partly principle and partly custom and that women should always be subordinate to men (husband and wife) and that the customary way of showing that will vary from culture to culture.
4. We can say that it is partly principle and partly custom and that depending on the culture, women may or may not be subordinate to man.
We have to look at even more things:
1. The language. The Bible was written in Hebrew, Koine Greek and Aramaic. Do we lose anything in translation from language to language? The New Testament often quotes verses from the Old Testament, so obviously God doesn’t have a problem with translating from Hebrew to Greek or from Hebrew to Aramaic.
2. Styles of dress. There were patterns of similarity in the Middle East, but generally dress styles change from generation to generation and that is true across the world. The principle of dress style that runs from the Old Testament to the New Testament is the principle of modesty. Does modesty change from culture to culture? Yes and no. Clothes symbolize attitudes and values. There are some places in the world where men wear loincloths and it is not considered to be scandalous. But if that same man were to walk into an office in America with a loin cloth on, that would be unacceptable. In our culture in America, that might get a person arrested for indecent exposure. The question to ask is, “What is being communicated by a particular mode of dress?” There was a time in church history where a woman wearing jewelry was an erotic symbol, but that is no longer true.
7. Look back at 1 Cor. 11:1-16. Does Paul say that the reason he wants a woman’s head to be covered is because the prostitutes leave their heads uncovered and he doesn’t want the women in the Corinthian church to look like prostitutes?
Although we now know the custom of 1st century Corinth, Paul does not use that as an argument for why women need to keep their heads covered. Instead, he appeals to the creation order of man and woman where God took a rib from man to create woman. We have to be very careful in Scripture to not state a rationale that is not there while glossing over the rationale that is there. Creation principles were given to us for all time regardless of the time in history or the place in the world we find ourselves in. We never ever want to reduce a principle to a mere custom! As we study the Scripture, if we don’t know whether or not something is merely custom or if it is principle, then we should always treat it and apply it as principle.
I know this is a lot of detail to go into regarding the topic of principle vs. custom, but we need to be able to discern these things with an appropriate framework because we will frequently be confronted with such things as we study Scripture.
Moving into 1 Cor. 11:17-34, Paul addresses the manner in which the Lord’s Supper was observed in the Corinthian church. Were they doing it right?
8. What is the first problem he addresses?
We already know that the Corinthian church was divided into at least 4 different factions. We read in chapter 6 that they were not supposed to take disputes with fellow brothers and sisters into a secular court. This is a strong message to a divided church.
9. What were they doing during the Lord’s Supper and what did Paul have to say about this?
In the first century, the Church would observe a “love meal” or an “agape meal” which was like a potluck dinner and then that would be followed by communion. The rich in that church brought most of the food and they ate most of the food. In giving them the order for observing the Lord’s Supper, Paul outlines the distinct parts to focus on.
In what way did he say they were to address the following:
1. They were to look backwards (v. 24-25)
2. They were to look forward (v. 26)
3. They were to look inward (v. 27)
10. What do you think he means in v. 27 by an “unworthy manner?”
The word “unworthy” in this context is not an adjective describing the person. We know that if we are believers, then we are all worthy because we have been made worthy by the blood of the Lamb. The word “unworthy” as it is used here is an adverb and it describes an action. In other words, the way in which we partake of the Lord’s Supper should be a dignified manner.
11. And this meal should always be taken in the fellowship of other believers. What can happen if we observe this meal in an unworthy manner?
12. The first three of the 4 gospels record the institution of the Lord’s Supper. In v. 23, how did Paul receive the information on this?
Paul was not one of the apostles who was present during the Last Supper. Instead of drawing from this event, God revealed this information to him. The observance of this meal may differ slightly from church to church and it is done on a weekly basis in some churches, while others may only do it on a quarterly basis. We don’t know how frequently we are supposed to partake of this ordinance because the Bible does not specify. I don’t know any church who has a fellowship meal prior to the observance of the Lord’s Supper. This is exactly the manner in which Jesus did it in the Upper Room.
13. Read Acts 2:46-47. Where did the early church “break bread?”
It could be that the observance of the Lord’s Supper was a daily thing. From Dr. J. Vernon McGee, “After our Lord had celebrated the Passover supper, He took bread and broke it. On the dying embers of a fading feast, He did something new. Out of the ashes of that dead feast, He erected a new monument, not of marble or bronze, but of simple elements of God,”
It doesn’t matter where you live or when you lived, there are always the “haves and the have nots”. Some poor fella perhaps couldn’t even bring a casserole dish of macaroni and cheese, while the fella sitting beside him brought steak and salad and rolls. The poor fella couldn’t say, “Could you please pass the steak?” because the haves did not share of their abundance with the have nots. This caused the Corinthian church to have broken fellowship. And that’s not the worst of it, some of the haves were coming with a bunch of booze and getting drunk. This was part of the unworthy manner that Paul addressed.
I want you to also consider this, if bread is broken as Paul instructed, then it was for the purpose of sharing, not for the purpose of an individual person completely consuming. Do you think it makes a difference if the cup is wine or grape juice? It is not called wine. It is called “the fruit of the vine” or “the cup”.
14. What does the bread represent?
15. What does the cup represent?
The fact that people were getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper tells us that what was used was wine. When Paul had to “lower the boom” on a group of believers, he followed a pattern.
The correction………..followed by…………..the instruction
There is nowhere in Scripture where wine consisted of unfermented grape juice. In the fermentation process in grape juice, the yeast (ferment) works with grape sugar
to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. In the finished product, the carbon dioxide escapes, but the alcohol remains. The resulting wine is leavened grape juice. This begs the question, should we have wine or grape juice for communion?
The Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread followed one another. Do you think that they would have served bread without leaven and then served grape juice that was leavened (wine). The entire meal would have been unleavened. That was partly the point of the meal. Leaven in the Passover meal was both literal and symbolic. In Scripture, leaven can either be used in a positive way or a negative way.
16. What is the message regarding leven in the verses below?
Lev. 2:11
Lev. 6:17
Matthew 16:6-7
Luke 12:1
1 Cor. 5:1-8
Matthew 13:33
17. When the Jewish people escaped from Egypt, why did they take unleavened bread with them? (Exodus 12:39)
18. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, what is the command from God? (Exodus 12:15, 13:6-7)
1 Cor. 11:29 speaks of discerning the Lord’s body. To discern something means to recognize or to perceive it. So, with this definition in mind, how do we perceive the body of Christ? This verse has been interpreted differently between Protestants and Catholics. The Catholic Church believes in something called transubstantiation. They believe that when communion is taken, it actually becomes the body and blood of Christ. Most mainline Protestant churches believe that the communion elements are symbolic, that they represent something and not that they become something. But even this understanding is not quite adequate enough to answer the question of how do we properly discern the body of Christ.
19. Read Acts 24:13-49. Who was on the road to Emmaus?
20. Why didn’t they recognize Jesus?
21. What did the followers tell Him?
22. When were their eyes opened and allowed them to recognize Jesus?
This event was the first time that Jesus had observed the Lord’s Supper since His death and resurrection. It was through the breaking of bread and the drinking of the cup that their eyes were opened. It was through this that these 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus discerned or perceived the body of Christ. When you and I come to the table of the Lord, we need always to remember that He is there with us! We should never come to this table just to observe a religious ritual. The Lord’s Supper is oh so much more than that. He is with us and within us. That is discerning the body of Christ. Live in that reality.
Now we’re going to move into chapter 12. The first 11 chapters of 1 Corinthians have to do with the problems in the Corinthian church and how to fix those problems. The next 3 chapters go an entirely different direction, a spiritual direction. We’ve looked at a lot of carnal issues so far. Look back over the first 12 chapters and list the carnal issues that were the topics of Paul’s letter.
Read 1 Cor. 12:1-11. Paul tells them that he doesn’t want them to be ignorant. Once again, that is an indication that they are ignorant. These are Paul’s children in the faith. And like a good father, he is teaching them the way to manage themselves in light of their faith in Christ. I’m not sure what translation of the Bible you use. I generally use the New American Standard Version, but I also use other versions from time to time. In most versions of the Bible, you will find the word “gift”, “spiritual gifts”, “gifts of the Spirit”, etc. The reason I’m mentioning this is because the word “gifts” is not in the original text. The Greek word pneumatitka means spiritualities. We have become so accustomed to referring to spiritual gifts because the gift part was added later in order to make this portion of Scripture more understandable.
23. How does Paul describe idols in 1 Cor. 12:2?
In our western culture, it seems absolutely insane to us that large groups of people would make an idol with their hands and then worship it.
24. What do you learn about idols from the following verses?
Jonah 2:8
Rev. 9:20
Exodus 20:3-6
Isaiah 44:9-20
Paul is going to contrast the living God and what He does for His children with an idol that cannot see, hear, or talk. In 1 Cor. 12:3, what can believers do and not do? Paul leaves no doubt about the fact you cannot curse the Lord by the Spirit of the Lord. It cannot be done.
25. 1 Cor. 12:4 gives us an indication of how Christ maintains unity in the Church. What is this?
26. There are denominations who believe that v. 4 is only speaking of speaking in tongues. What do you think?
27. The Greek word for “gifts” in v. 4 is charisma and it refers to all the gifts, not just tongues. Why do you think God gave us spiritual gifts?
There are actually 3 lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament, 1 Cor. 12, Romans 12, Eph. 4. In the space beside the picture below, list the gifts in all 3 of these chapters. There’s some crossover between these lists and some things that are unique to each list. The thing that is important as we read over these lists is that God apparently loves variety within the body of Christ. Before Paul ever gets into listing some of the spiritual gifts, he explains their usage. Even for people who have the same gift, the unique personality of the individual causes the manifestation of those gifts to be different from person to person. There is an endless combination of gifts. There is nothing you can do to earn a spiritual gift. God gives them out as He chooses. This is important because Corinth was full of demonic activity and some of that activity even came into the church.
We have different things to plug into the outlets in our homes. I could walk around my house and find a couple dozen things plugged into my outlets…everything from lamps to phones to curlers to coffee makers. But the power source is the same. In a similar way, we all have different gifts, but the power source is the same, the Holy Spirit. The reason we have all these things in our homes is because we want our homes to run in such a way as to provide efficiency and to make our lives flourish. Out of the 2 dozen or so items that I have plugged into my outlets, if I only kept one little lamp plugged in and never plugged another thing in, home would not be a comfortable place to live. The reason God gave us all different gifts is because He wants the Church to flourish and He intends for the members of the Church to use their gift/s. If only 1 or 2 people in a church exercised their gifts, then the Church would be like a home that only had 1 tiny lamp plugged in. You see, the more people who exercise their gifts, the more the Church will shine for Christ.
Verse 7 tells us that a spiritual gift is the manifestation of the Spirit of God within the life of a believer. 28. In the following verses, how is the Spirit manifested in the life of a believer?
John 3:30
2 Cor. 12:9-11
Romans 5:3-5
James 1:2-4
I don’t know anyone who likes the feeling of powerlessness and weakness, especially those of us who have power and control issues. Paul is telling us something that really goes against the grain of human understanding. He is saying to embrace our weaknesses because if we do, that is the time that the Holy Spirit can shine through us.
29. Is there a difference between a spiritual gift and a talent and if so, what is it?
30. Let’s break down the components of spiritual gifts. Who gives the gift?
31. Who is given the gift?
32. Why is the gift given? (1 Cor. 12:9)
Have you ever seen a musician who had a great musical talent sing or play in church as if they are simply going through the motions or as if they are putting on a show? I know I have seen such on many occasions. You are left with the feeling that it’s nice and enjoyable, but that’s it. On the other hand, someone may get up to sing and be so filled with the Spirit of God that it touches you down deep in your soul and it affects your worship in a positive way. That is the manifestation of a spiritual gift and it is used to build up the Church.
33. In 1 Cor. 12:8, is there a difference between wisdom and knowledge and if so, what is it? How do you think the gift of faith is exhibited?
My husband tells me on a regular basis that I am a pessimist. I wish I wasn’t a pessimist. It is part of my personality and I’ve always been like that. Faith is a spiritual gift. It is one of the spiritual gifts that I do not have. That doesn’t mean that I have a complete lack of faith, but it is not something that I have in great abundance in the way I run my life. I always tell my husband that I’m a realist and not a pessimist. But, there are people in my life who do have the gift of faith and when I am surrounded by them, their faith affects the condition of my heart and gives me faith and hope.
34. Is the gift of healing mentioned in v. 9 singular or plural?
35. The healing ministry of the Apostles was a miraculous sign to authenticate the gospel. How was the gift of healing used in the following verses?
Acts 3:1-10
Acts 8:4-8
Acts 9:32-35
There are certain gifts of the miraculous nature that some theologians do not believe are still in use today. Of course, God can do whatever He pleases in whatever manner He chooses. 1 Corinthians 12-14 will go into further depth on these gifts. But for purposes of this week’s lesson, we need to understand why certain miraculous gifts were manifested in the first place. What reason is given in 2 Cor. 12:12?
There is nowhere in the New Testament where anyone other than the apostles and their close friends exercised the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. During the 1st century when the New Testament was recorded, the early church did not have a full Bible. They had the Old Testament, but not the New Testament. Communicating new truths through the writers of the New Testament allowed for the Church to be built on the Spirit of God. And this alone authenticated the Church. The question we must ask ourselves is “If we now have a completed Bible, do we still need the same gifts that the apostles and their friends exhibited in the 1st century?” I cannot answer that question definitively for you because Scripture does not blatantly say that the miraculous gifts have ceased. But, you can reason through Scripture for why theymight either no longer occur or no longer occur in the same regard as they did during Paul’s day. We will address this more in upcoming lessons. One of the gifts mentioned here is the discerning of spirits.
36. What do you think that means?
I think all believers have a certain level of discernment simply by virtue of having the Spirit of God within us guiding us. But the gift of discernment allows a believer to distinguish between truth and lies.
37. What do you learn in the following verses about discernment?
1 Cor. 6:9
Matthew 24:4
2 Tim. 3:13
Matthew 24:24
These verses are about deception. But unless you have some discernment, you can’t know if you are deceived or not. This is actually a gift that I know I have and I’m glad the Lord gave me this gift because I use it all the time in counseling. With whatever
you do in life, if you need something you don’t possess, surround yourself with people who have those gifts. That is the beauty of the unity of the Church. Go ahead and read the rest of chapter 12.
38. What is the Church compared to in 1 Cor. 12:12-13?
Why do you think that some people are envious of the gifts of others? The dispensing of gifts is a sovereign act of God. I can think of so many people I have known through the years who had gifts that I believe God used in a spiritual way. My Mamaw Wheelock for example was an incredible cook and not only did she cook for her family, but she took food to every person she knew who had experienced a death in their family or who had given birth or who was sick. The love with which she did this was evident. My Mamaw had the gift of cooking. It wasn’t just a skill, it was the love that she put into it when she cooked it and delivered it. My mother had the gift of sewing, just like Dorcas in the Bible. Dorcas sewed clothes for widows and poor women. She was loved by her community and showed great hospitality. When I was in school, there were girls who couldn’t afford a prom dress and my mother would stay up all night sewing a beautiful gown so that a poor girl could shine at the prom. There are many more gifts that God gives to His children within the Church than are listed in Scripture. God always has an endless list of possibilities for how He can gift someone. I used to know a lady who would iron for people who could not iron for themselves. That was a great gift and this lady gave of her time and love with every garment she ironed.
39. According to 1 Cor. 12:26, is there any reason for one believer to be jealous of another believer’s gift?
I have a dear cousin who has had a hard life. Her mom and dad divorced when she was a young adult and then her mom died of cancer shortly thereafter. She is one of the most gifted individuals I’ve ever known. She married a guy that she should never have married and then they got divorced. She’s been divorced for years and has been so lonely. In the past year, she found a wonderful Christian man who shares many of the same interests as her and the best part is that they love each other and they’re having fun in life. They got married last year. She makes frequent posts about their adventures and I made this comment to her recently, “Your joy is my joy.” She was overwhelmed by this comment and sent me a note telling me just how it touched her heart to know that I was overjoyed by her joy.
As members of the body of Christ, the joy of one should be the joy of all and the sorrow of one should be the sorrow of all. The beautiful gifts that everyone can see should be just as valued as the behind the scenes gifts that can’t always be on center stage.
40. Do you know what your spiritual gift is? Do you use it?
From time to time, I will see a babe in Christ who does not know what his/her spiritual gift is. On those occasions, I encourage this individual to keep yielding themselves to the Spirit of God and they will discover it. And oh how wonderful it is when they figure out the role that they play as a member of the body of Christ. Do you think any of these gifts in chapter 12 have disappeared? Why or why not? There are some who believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are still being used in the Church today exactly as they were used in the early Church since the Day of Pentecost. These people are called continuationists. Then, there are people who believe that only certain spiritual gifts are in use within the body of Christ today because some of these gifts have ceased to exist. The people who hold to this viewpoint are called cessationists. They believe that once the Bible was completed, there was no need for the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit because those gifts were used to authenticate the Church.
There are extremes on both sides. An extreme continuationist might believe that speaking in tongues always follows salvation. Some on this extreme side believe that every Christian is in possession of every gift. 1 Cor. 12:11 lets us know that this cannot be true.
On the extreme side of the cessationist, they might believe that all spiritual gifts ceased at the end of the apostolic age. When we get over to chapter 14, we will be going into deeper study on these topics and I will let you decide for yourself if you are a continuationist or a cessationist.
41. According to Eph. 2:19-20, what was the Church built upon?
When you build a house, is there more than 1 foundation? Todd and I have built 2 homes in our marriage. I don’t think I will ever want to do that again because of the stress involved. But I will say, it is exciting to visit a house that is being built and witness every step of the progress. You do not rebuild the foundation of a home with a new foundation at every stage of building. There is only 1 foundation. The foundation is basic and is laid first before anything else can be built. We must ask ourselves if the foundation of the Church was the apostles and the prophets and that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, then would there still be a need for apostles and prophets in the exact role that they had during the first century.
42. In Paul’s pastoral epistles, he did not suggest that the role of an apostle be continued. What did he instruct should be the direction of the Church regarding leadership in the following verses?
1 Pet. 5:2
Titus 1:5
2 Tim. 2:2
At the end of chapter 12, Paul says that we have a right to ask for the best gifts. What might be the “best” for one person might not be considered the “best” for another person. God is the bestower of all spiritual gifts and He will give us what He wants us to have. Friend, what is your motivation for having any spiritual gift? If it is for any other reason other than the building up of the Church, then your heart is not in it. Whatever gift or gifts the Holy Spirit has given you, take it and use it to the glory and honor of God.
Blessings.
© Cindy D. Ketron. All Rights Reserved
