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
One of the basic things that characterize the twenty-first century ministry is the manifestation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, but this has almost been the major cause of disunity in local churches. Howbeit, the history of the early church shows that the misappropriation in the usage of Spiritual Gifts is not a new development. Throughout church history the theology of charismata, as well as the Holy Spirit Himself, has often been misunderstood. Early church fathers and theologians concentrated on hammering out their understanding of other doctrines such as Christology and soteriology so much that little or nothing is said on the practical theologies such as ecclesiology and charismata. While the average Christians did have some understandings of the proper place of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and His importance in their lives, the doctrine was neither systemized (until more recently) nor was the emphasis on the Holy Spirit given its proper place. With the birth of the Pentecostal movement at about the turn of the twentieth century, followed by commencement of the charismatic movements some six decades later, all of these trend changed. Suddenly charismatic expression in christian worship became prominent. This sudden change of trend bred some misconception and heretical teachings. Since false teaching has always forced the church to purify and crystallize its theology, therefore the need was felt to put forward the biblical stand on the place of Holy Spirit and Gifts in the church. On the negative side, much error and negative – overemphasis on the Holy Spirit and His ministry ensued. On the positive side, it forced Bible students to grapple with the Scriptures to comprehend the truth about the place of spiritual gift.
This lack of relevant knowledge on the place of charismata in the christian ministry has occasioned the situations of unhealthy rivalry among the twenty century ministers. The present situation of egocentric use of the spiritual gift for personal gain is similar to the Corinthian church’s problem in the early century. The church at Corinth was almost divided on the issue of Spiritual Gifts. James Adeyanju of ECWA Theological Seminary, Igbaja, Nigeria, notes that:
The church of Corinthians was a group which had little cohesion. It was tainted with problems such as factions, litigations and marital issues. Besides, there were spiritual problems concerning the Lord’s supper and the exercise of spiritual gifts. The church erroneously alleged that the ecstatic speech is loftiest of the spiritual gifts at the expense of other gifts. Tongue-speaker prided themselves as the most spiritual members in the church. Even those gifted in prophetic messages were not using it orderly. The resultant effects of these was a situation of confusion when the church met for worship services.[4]
This attests to the lopsided pneumatological emphasis of the Corinthians. This Corinthian problem is identical to that which is prevalent in 21st century Christian ministry. The contemporary church is prone to intellectual pride, placing a high value on their “knowledge” (gnosis) and spiritual exercise (1 Cor. 12:8). The result was an attitude of boasting and competition within the Church, which was further fed by their distorted cultural orientation. The contemporary church is making the same mistake the Corinthians made. Though gifts are significant to the church’s mission of the world today, according to Lindsay, charismata enhance positive response to the gospel message.[5] But the shoe is now on the other leg concerning spiritual gifts. It has caused division, denominationalism and factionalism, and commercialization of the christian ministry in the contemporary time.
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