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
Statement of Purpose
Our purpose herein will be to give an overview and proper biblical definition of spiritual gift. We shall attempt to examine and define the Pauline concept of charismata in the milieu of the first century as depicted in 1 Cor. 12, we will argue that most of current tensions, especially the one that has to do with ecclesiastical disunity, have arisen as a result of lack of the correct sense of oikodomen, that is, the purpose of charismata. Therefore, we hypothesize that the best solution to ecclesiastical disunity, unhealthy rivalry and egocentric charismatic display in ministry today is the proper understanding of Pauline concept of oikodomen (edification) as the purpose of charismata.
Using historical-exegetical methodology, the researcher shall examine the text concern, in its context, that is, Corinthians situation and eye view, and its applicability and relevancy to the 21st century church and christian ministry.
The problems attempted to address here are three: to determine what Paul himself might have understood by the words “charismata” and “oikodomen” since his own usage exhibits a considerable degree of fluidity, to examine the root cause of ecclesiastical disunity as the lopsided orientation about the purpose of charismata and to affirm the relevancy of Pauline oikodomen to the present church problem both in local assemblies and universal church.
Charismata in the New Testament Church: Pauline Emphasis
According to Samson Fatokun, the first century Apostolic church was a community characterized with the indwelling of the Holy spirit.[6] The role of Holy Spirit in the primitive church cannot be over-emphasized. The Holy Spirit, as promised by Christ, was the foundation for the church on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). He also helped the first apostles to carry out the work that Christ has commissioned them. The church was able to record much success because the Holy Spirit was their back bone. There was a great expression of the spiritual Gifts/ grace of God in the ministries of the Apostles. Samson Fatokun continues that:
A church where the Holy Spirit is given a free hand cannot but be a growing and developing one. The charisma of the first century Apostolic church made her to grow with much rapidity. The more the church was persecuted the more she was growing simply because an enterprise managed by Holy Spirit cannot suffer bankruptcy. The charismatic qualities of the early church made her attractive to the public as solutions carrier. A church of genuine miracles, signs and wonders.[7]
Nonetheless, as a beginning point one must at least look at how Paul uses some key words. The term “gifts of the Holy Spirit” does not occur often in Pauline corpus. Nonetheless, the occasional collocation of “gift’ concept in Romans and 1 Corinthians 12-14 makes the term a legitimate Pauline. The word charismata is a distinctively Pauline word which can only be found elsewhere in 1 Peter 4:10 in the whole of New Testament corpus. According to Carson, the term occurs seventeen times in the New Testament and sixteen of these occurrences are in Paul.[8] The noun has been formed from charis (grace). In Pauline usage on the word, it refers to a variety of ways God’s grace has been evidenced among his people (the church). There are a lot of seemingly controversy in defining what might be the meaning of the term as used by Paul, this is because Pauline of polyvalence in his usage of terms.
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