Exploring the Scripture
The time between Epiphany and Lent is a season of illumination. It is when we begin to see God’s love for all people revealed to us in new and deeper ways. Paul’s letter clarifies God’s love and concern for the community.
The church in Corinth was struggling to live into oneness in Christ. Conflicts and division occurred as members competed for status and wielded power over others. Members promoted their worth by claiming some expressions of spiritual giftedness to have more value than less-charismatic gifts.
Some of this was understandable. The church in Corinth existed in a multicultural trading center. The city hosted well-known athletic competitions and valued strength and power. And Corinth was known as a hub of unfettered excess and immorality. All this was part of the environment that surrounded this group of disciples. Hierarchical social and political systems governed everyday lives. These ways of defining people by riches, status, and power had found their way into the church community.
In this setting, Paul addresses his letter. He reminds the people they became members of one body when they were baptized in Christ. He reaffirms the need for unity and mutual concern in a Christ-like community. Paul makes clear there are no divisions in Christ’s body. Class structures that uplift some while oppressing others have no place in the faith community. He especially lifts those who have been considered weaker or treated as less important than others.
To make his point, he uses a familiar metaphor for the people of Corinth. The idea of one body with many parts often was used to promote social hierarchy and political power. Those with greater status and power would be at the head of the body, and their giftedness would be more important than the gifts or yearnings of others. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul turns that way of thinking upside down by using the same metaphor to describe the body of Christ.
In Christ’s body, the giftedness of all members is valued, and those without status or money are honored. In Christ, all gifts are expressed for God’s purposes, and all members work together for the good of the entire body.
Paul wants the Corinth church members to set aside the cultural remnants of competition and class divisions. He hopes they will embrace oneness in Christ and live as an interdependent body of believers.
Community of Christ seeks this same interdependence as congregations and groups live the Enduring Principle of Unity in Diversity. Christ’s disciples are called to celebrate the diverse giftedness of the body without valuing one ministry or giftedness over another.
Disciples today still struggle with divisions and conflicts in Christian community. It is helpful to look anew at how Paul turns cultural norms upside down. What does his description of the body of Christ say to those swayed by cultural trends that devalue the foreigner, the immigrant, the poor, or the different? Today’s text reminds disciples they are called to embody Christ as a diverse, interdependent community that celebrates the giftedness and Worth of All Persons.
Project Zion Podcast
Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.
Central Ideas
- God’s reign cancels social divisions and turns cultural hierarchy upside down. There are no class divisions in the body of Christ.
- All spiritual and ministerial gifts are important and are to be used for the good of the whole body.
- Disciples are called to move from personal importance to living as part of a diverse, interdependent community.
- All spiritual gifts and roles have a place and purpose in Christian community, but love is the greatest gift. As disciples, we are called to develop and live the gifts of love, faith, and hope.
Questions to Consider
- How do I find myself wanting status, power, or control?
- What does it feel like to move from a perspective of independence to interdependence?
- What hierarchies need to be taken apart in my community?
- How am I using my giftedness for the common good?
- In this season of light, is our congregation showing God’s love for all people?