An Exegetical Glimpse into the Pauline Usage of Charismata and Oikodomen in 1 Corinthians 12:1-7: A solution for Ecclesiastical Disunity in 21st Century
In sum, exegetical assessment of 1 Corinthians 12:1-7, observed above, shows that the intention of God for charismata is be a cohesive force not adhesive force for the body of Christ. This work can be rightly concluded with some of the Yoruba proverbs that emphasize the importance of unity in the community: Igba ikan ni nfowo tile (It takes 200 united termites to build a mound), Agbajowo la fin soya, atete owo kan o gberu dori (It is appropriate to use the whole palm to beat chest while a single hand cannot take a load from the floor to the head). Therefore, unity in the church of God cannot be substituted for either fame or self-adulation, neither can the spiritual gifts be productive without directing it to build unity in the christian community.
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[1] David Abolarin, What Christians Believed (Nigeria: Crown Oni Printing Press, 2010),50.
[2] Daniel J. Lewis, Spiritual Gifts (USA: Diakonos, Inc., 1999),4
[3] Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts can Help Your Church Grow (Nigeria: Wellsprings Publications, 1979),11.
[4] James Olugbenga Adeyanju, The Exercise of Spiritual Gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14 In the Context of the Apostolic Church Sango, Ibadan. MA Dissertation at Falculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, (2007), 21
About the Author: Godwin O. Adeboye, BA (First class honors-University of Ibadan, Nigeria), BA Th (ECWA Theological Seminary, Igbaja), MA (University of Ibadan, Nigeria), served as the pioneering Director of Research and Innovations at ECWA Theological Seminary, Igbaja, Nigeria. He currently serves as the African Regional Coordinator at Shepherd's Academy, Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life, UK, where he is also conducting his doctoral research as a Langham scholar. In collaboration with the University of Pretoria, his research seeks to provide a theological model for the survival of Christian missions in Islamic political contexts. He is the author of Can a Christian Be Cursed?: An African Evangelical Response to the Problem of Curses (Langham, 2023).
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