Thursday, May 21, 2026

Opening Scripture

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:3-8

Opening Prayer

Gracious Loving Father, I come before you with a humble and thankful heart. I give you praise for the wonder of your creation. The vastness of a star-filled sky. The majesty of a snowcapped mountain. The delicate beauty of a flowering field. The whisper of a gentle breeze. The intensity of a summer storm. The calming flow of a forest stream. All nature testifies to your splendor and power, your kindness and love, your goodness and grace. Help me join with creation today to reflect your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Reflection  

As we continue our Eastertide emphasis on being “Shaped by the Spirit,” in today’s passage, Paul addresses that very topic with the Corinthian Christians. “Now about” suggests that Paul is answering a specific question raised by the church.

Paul spends a good bit of this lengthy letter addressing the issue of appropriate corporate worship, which the Corinthian believers seem to struggle with. For instance, in the previous chapter, he offers stern correction related to their celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

“In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!” (1 Corinthians 11:17-22).

Some of the believers in Corinth were distorting and misusing the gifts and blessings God had provided for His people. Motivated by pride and selfishness, what God intended for unity and the common good, they were using to create disunity and general disruption.

Paul begins by reminding the Corinthian believers of the religious environment many of them had just come out of (and were obviously still coming out of). The Church – this “new humanity” being established by Almighty God – is fundamentally different than anything that has existed before!

Since so many of these new believers had come out of pagan cults, Paul dedicates a whole section of this letter to address the issue of food sacrificed to idols. “So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Corinthians 8).

Now that these new believers had embraced God’s Truth – declaring “Jesus is Lord” by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – they were free from that former life. Instead of worshipping mute idols, they have become worshippers of the Living God. Rather than worshipping created things they could control, they now worshiped the Creator of everything, who is transcendent and uncontrollable.

Once again, Paul reminds us of the divine Unity of the Trinity as each Person of the Godhead participates in our sanctification: “the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God.” This divine Unity is a perfect model for the harmony that God intends among His people: different roles and functions all cooperating and collaborating for the common good.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

In today’s passage, Paul mentions nine “grace gifts” that God provides for the health, vitality, and strengthening of the Church.

• Wisdom refers to spiritual insight and doctrinal truth.
• Knowledge refers to the ability to apply that insight and truth to life.
• Faith refers to an unusual measure of trust in God.
• Healing refers to the ability to restore health.
• Miraculous powers could include a variety of abilities, including exorcism.
• Prophecy is the ability to declare God’s message to His people.
• Distinguishing between spirits is the ability to identify false prophets.
• Tongues refers to the ability to speak an unlearned language.
• Interpretation of tongues is the ability to translate for the group.

There is some disagreement about the extent to which any of these gifts were meant specifically for the establishment of the early Church and were therefore temporary in nature. Regardless, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

The word “manifestation” (phanerosis) can be translated as announcement or expression. Paul uses it here to denote an action or disclosure by God, so obvious that no one can mistake its source or intention. In other words, the “grace gifts” are intended to demonstrate God’s presence for the “common profiting” (sympheron).

The coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell all believers at Pentecost was accompanied by a rushing wind, tongues of fire, and three thousand conversions. When Paul and Silas held a midnight worship service in the Philippian jail after being “severely flogged,” there was a violent earthquake that loosened their chains and opened the prison doors. When Paul was in Ephesus, everyday fabric that he had touched was used to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits.

Beware of telling God what He can and cannot do. God reserves the right to use anything He chooses, any time He chooses, any way He chooses, to accomplish whatever He chooses! Surely, that still applies to us, His New Covenant people.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!