Jesus and Me We!

In this chapter, Paul dealt with a problem in the church at Corinth: speaking in tongues. While Paul did not wish to completely stifle the Corinthians’ excessive emotions and worship, he did want to bring them under control. At one point in his correspondence with this sensation-driven church, he even stated that “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14.32-33).

The Corinthians wanted visible manifestations of the Spirit’s presence with them. In that regard, they were much like me. As a pastor, I want to know that the Spirit is moving and working in our congregation. I look for such things as hands raised in worship, people responding in prayer at the altar, faces “aglow” with the joy of the Lord, tears of repentance on the altars, united voices raised in exuberant praise, heartfelt testimonies of God’s current workings of grace… You get the picture. That’s why Paul’s instruction in verse 12 is so important to me: “Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”

What kinds of manifestations of the Spirit build up the church? In addition to what is mentioned above, consider...

• Sacrificing ourselves in concrete ways such as time, energy, interests in order to serve
• Speaking the truth in love
• Seeking the lost in love
• Surrendering our rights for the good and growth of the body
• Sharing the bounty of God’s blessings in obedient and generous giving
• Stretching out the hand of fellowship to those unlike us

Those manifestations, among others, are empowered by the Spirit for “building up the church.”