The Truth Of Jesus Christ Institute

08/17/2023

Bible Verses about the End Times

What does the Bible say about the End Times?

Primarily discussed in the Book of Revelation, the Bible describes the end times as a series of events culminating in the Second Coming of Christ. The study of end-times theology, "eschatology," has been a hot topic for a long time that causes major debates and division.

Even though the end times can be difficult to study, they should not be avoided out of fear. God gave us the book of Revelations and other passages of prophecy throughout the Scriptures for several reasons: to help us understand God's plan for the future, to be spiritually prepared for eternity, to have discernment concerning signs of the end times, and to give us hope in God's promises.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 - But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Matthew 24:44 - Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

2 Peter 3:3-4 - Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

1 Timothy 4:1 - Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,

Luke 21:36 - But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Matthew 24:14 - And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Revelation 12:9 - And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 13:17 - So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

Study this verses carefully and diligently, understand and trust in the Lord. AMEN

Sources: Christianity.com

04/05/2023

Why Do We Say ‘Worthy Is the Lamb’ at this Passover?

Christ indeed is the lamb who was slain. He was perfect and without defect — but this is no weak lamb. This lamb is not defenseless or powerless. This lamb has the complete, sovereign power of God.

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04/12/2022

Jesus the Lamb of God

The lamb as a symbol for Christ has its roots in the Old Testament. For centuries people worshipped God by sacrificing animals. They killed them and offered them to God. For the Jews a lamb was the main animal of sacrifice. In the Temple a lamb was offered every day. The sacrifice of a lamb also played an important part in the Exodus.

In the biblical story of the Exodus, God led the Israelites out of Egypt, where they were slaves, and into the promised land. On the night God's people were to depart, the firstborn in all the Egyptian families died. The firstborn of the Israelites were saved because God had instructed them to kill a lamb or goat and mark their doorposts with its blood. The angel of death then knew to pass over those houses. The Israelites ate the lamb in a meal before they left. The lamb was to have no blemish, and none of its bones were to be broken. To this day the Jews remember this night with the Feast of Passover. On this day they share a special meal called a Seder meal. The shank of a lamb is one item on the Seder plate.

Jesus is called the lamb of God because he is the perfect sacrifice offered to God. In 1 Peter 1:18-19 we are told, “You were ransomed . . . not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.” A prophecy about the Messiah states, “Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). After Jesus' crucifixion, soldiers did not break his legs to kill him because he was already dead. Like the Passover lamb, his bones were unbroken.

Paul states, “Our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus' death on the cross was a passover from death to life for himself and for all of us. By his blood we are saved from death. Jesus made it possible for us to break out of the slavery of sin and death. He gave us the hope of reaching our promised land, heaven. The Gospel of John clearly compares Jesus to the Passover lamb by saying that Jesus was crucified the same day that the Passover lambs were being killed in the Temple (John 19:31).

In the Gospel of John it was John the Baptist who gave Jesus the title Lamb of God (John 1:29). The Book of Revelation speaks of the Lamb at least 29 times. In a vision John sees a lamb. Four living creatures and 24 elders fall before the Lamb and sing praise because he purchased all people with his blood (Revelation 5:9).

† Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us! †

04/12/2022

The Passover Story in Short : The Exodus

On Passover, we celebrate how G‑d took the Jewish People (Israelites) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved by Pharaoh. With Moses as His representative, G‑d brought 10 plagues upon the Egyptians until they agreed to send the Jews from their land.

When we read the Haggadah at the Seder meal, we retell this story to our children, who will one day retell it to their children. Also known as the story of Exodus, it is recorded in the Bible and is important to the Jewish people because it tells us how G‑d chose us to be His special people, which helps us understand our purpose and meaning in life.

Jacob and his children had arrived in Egypt to be close to Joseph; he was second in command to King Pharaoh, and with his ingenuity had saved the people of Egypt, and by extension those from neighboring countries, from death by famine. Jacob and his children were settled in the city of Goshen and prospered wonderfully—their numbers grew and grew.

As long as Jacob's son's are alive, the Children of Israel are accorded honor and respect, but after the passing of Joseph, "There arose a new king in Egypt who knew not Joseph"--some commentaries say, chose not to know Joseph--"And he said to his people. 'Behold the Children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply...'"(Exodus 1:8-10).

Enslavement

The Egyptians' way of dealing with their "Jewish Problem" is to enslave the Jews. They are all forced into backbreaking labor, compelled to build cities of treasure houses for Pharaoh. But still, the Jews continue to multiply, to Pharaoh's eyes, at an ever frightening pace. To put a stop to this, Pharaoh summons the Jewish midwives, Shifra and Puah, and commands them to kill all Jewish newborn males. This, he is certain, will put an end to the propagation of this race. When the midwives defy his order, he commands that they cast all the newborn males into the Nile—his stargazers had predicted that the savior of the Jews would die through water—and Pharaoh hopes his plan will ensure an early death for any potential Jewish leader.

Moses' Birth

Jocheved, the wife of the Levite Amram, gives birth to a son. Because he is born three months early, she is able to conceal him for that amount of time. When she can no longer hide him, she builds a small water-proof cradle and puts her child on the brink of the Nile. The child's sister, Miriam, hides among the brush to watch the child.

Pharaoh's daughter comes to bathe in the river when she sees the floating cradle. When she opens it and sees the weeping baby, she realizes that this is a Jewish child, but her compassion is aroused and she resolves to take the baby home. She names him Moses "he who was drawn from the water."

Miriam approaches the princess and offers to find a wet-nurse for the baby. When Pharaoh's daughter accepts, Miriam brings her Jocheved, whom Pharaoh's daughter hires to nurse and care for the child. When Moses grows older, he is returned to the palace, where Pharaoh's daughter raises him like a son.

Moses Is Appointed Leader

As a young man, Moses leaves the palace and discovers the hardship of his brethren. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and kills the Egyptian. The next day he sees two Jews fighting; when he admonishes them, they reveal his deed of the previous day, and Moses is forced to flee to Midian. There he rescues Jethro's daughters, marries one of them—Zipporah—and becomes a shepherd of his father-in-law's flocks.

In the meantime, the plight of the Children of Israel in Egypt worsens, "and their cry rose up to G‑d."

As Moses is shepherding his flock, he comes upon a burning bush, in which G‑d appears to him and instructs him to go to Pharaoh and demand: "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me." Moses objects, citing a speech defect he acquired while in the palace, and so Moses' brother, Aaron, is appointed to serve as his spokesman. In Egypt, Moses and Aaron assemble the elders of Israel to tell them that the time of their redemption has come. The people believe; but Pharaoh refuses to let them go and even intensifies the suffering of Israel. He increases the burden of labor on his Hebrew slaves, commanding their taskmasters to cease bringing the Israelites straw to make the bricks. Now, they must go to the fields to collect the straw themselves, but maintain the same quota of brick production.

Moses can no longer bear the pain of his brethren; he turns to G‑d saying, "Why have You done evil to this people?" G‑d promises that the redemption is close at hand, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land."

G‑d then reveals Himself to Moses. Employing the "four expressions of redemption," He promises to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt, deliver them from their enslavement, redeem them and acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the Land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.

The 10 Plagues

Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G‑d, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness." Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron's staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers.

Pharaoh still refuses to let the Jews go. Moses warns him that G‑d will smite Egypt. Pharaoh remains impervious. G‑d begins to send a series of plagues upon the Egyptians. In the throes of each plague, Pharaoh promises to let the Children of Israel go; but he reneges the moment the affliction is removed.

1) Aaron strikes the Nile, the waters turn to blood;
2) Swarms of frogs overrun the land;
3) Lice infest all men and beasts. Still, Pharaoh remains stubborn;
4) Hordes of wild animals invade the cities,
5) a pestilence kills the domestic animals,
6) painful boils afflict the Egyptians.
7) Fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, "the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go; as G‑d had said to Moses."

The people of Egypt have suffered too much. They beg Pharaoh to let the Jews go. When Moses comes to warn Pharaoh of the eighth plague, Pharaoh says: You say that you want to go serve your G‑d? I'll let the men go, as long as the women and children stay behind. No, says Moses, we must all go, men women and children, cattle and herds. Pharaoh once again refuses.

The next plagues descends upon Egypt.
8) a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery;
9) a thick, palpable darkness envelops the land.

The Israelites are instructed to bring a "Passover offering" to G‑d: a lamb or kid is to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of every Israelite home, so that G‑d should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs.

Then G‑d brings the tenth plague upon Egypt,
10) all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.

The Exodus

The death of the firstborn finally breaks Pharaoh's resistance and he literally begs the Children of Israel to leave his land. Following G‑d's command, they hastily depart; so hastily that there is no time for their dough to rise, and the only provisions they take along are unleavened. Before they go, they ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold, silver and garments, emerging from Egypt a wealthy nation.

The Children of Israel are commanded to observe the anniversary of the Exodus each year by removing all leaven from their possession for seven days, eating matzah, and telling the story of their redemption to their children.

Soon after allowing the Children of Israel to depart from Egypt, Pharaoh chases after them to force their return, and the Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh's armies and the sea. G‑d tells Moses to raise his staff over the water; the sea splits to allow the Israelites to pass through, and then closes over the pursuing Egyptians. Moses and the Children of Israel sing a song of praise and gratitude to God.

04/05/2022

WHY DOES EASTER MOVE AROUND?

You’ve probably noticed that the date of Easter moves around quite a bit.

Sometimes it comes at the end of March; other years it happens in late April. In 2022, Easter is on Sunday 17 April. For it to come any later than it was in 2019 (21 April) you’ll have to wait until 2038.

So does it move about so much? Let’s find out

Why it can be late

Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox. But this full moon is an ecclesiastical full moon (ecclesiastical means ‘of the Church’), and so wasn't calculated in quite the same way modern astronomers would.

On top of that, for the purpose of calculating Easter, the spring equinox is always on 21 March.

So there you go – in 2022 the first full moon after the 21 March is Saturday 16 April, hence why Easter is on Sunday 17 April.

These rules also mean that the earliest possible date that Easter Sunday can fall is the 22nd March. The last time that happened was in 1818.

So how did all this come about? And why do we use the Moon to calculate the date of Easter? Let us explain.

COMPUTING COMPUTUS

The method to calculate the date of Easter is called ‘computus’, from the Latin word that means, you guessed it, calculation. It was a big, big thing in the Middle Ages – and still is today.

Easter marks the date of Jesus’s death and resurrection, which, according to the Bible, happened around the Jewish Passover.

Like the date of Passover, the date to mark the Resurrection was calculated using the lunar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the Moon. This threw a spanner in the works, as lunar cycles were calculated in various ways back then.

Moreover, different Christian groups disagreed on the date to celebrate the Resurrection. Some celebrated it on Passover itself, some the following Sunday.

This made things quite complicated.

LET'S GET THIS SORTED

In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicea, the first council of the Christian Church. As well as discussing other key beliefs, the Council wanted to settle the issue of the date of Easter.

It was decided that all Christians should celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox.

That should have put the issue to bed once and for all. But different traditions kept calculating it in different ways, backing up their choice with different Gospels.

THE SAINTLIET SAINT

In England, for example, Irish monks forcefully argued that their way of doing it had started with John the Evangelist. But Roman monks claimed their calculations had begun with St Peter himself.

One year, Northumbrian King Oswy – who followed the Irish tradition – celebrated Easter at different times from his Kentish wife, who followed the Roman tradition. To put it in today’s words, that was awkward.

So, in 664, a meeting of the clergy was organised in Whitby Abbey to sort the matter out. King Oswy had the final say and decided the Roman tradition should be adopted in the whole of England.

Apart from wanting to celebrate at the same time as his wife (and wanting to be more politically aligned with Europe), his decision came down to the fact that St Peter is the gatekeeper of heaven, and the King wanted to get there. So, the Roman tradition was adopted in England.

Bishop Coleman of the Irish monks was furious, resigned, and went back to Ireland with a group of like-minded monks, never to return.

THE POPE GET'S INVOLVED

At the end of the 16th century, things changed again. Christians had, up to this point, followed the Julian calendar (named after its inventor Julius Caesar). In this system, there is a repeating pattern of three years of 365 days followed by a leap year of 366 days. However, this calendar overestimated the length of the tropical year, the time from one equinox to the next, which also affected - you guessed it - the date of Easter.

To solve this, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII suggested knocking off a few days from the calendar and adjusting the frequency of leap years. That year, in all countries who went with the Pope’s plan, 4 October was to be followed by 15 October. But, by that point, England was largely a Protestant country. The change suggested by the Catholic Pope proved to be quite controversial and wasn’t implemented.

ORDER!

In the 18th Century, Parliament declared that enough was enough. It was decided that Wednesday 2 September 1752 would be followed immediately by 14 Thursday 1752, and from then on England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland would follow the same calendar as most of Europe.

Today, although the Gregorian calendar is the international civil calendar, it’s still not used by all churches. The Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, so the Orthodox Easter normally falls a bit later (in 2022 it will be marked on Sunday 24 April.) In 2025, both Churches will celebrate Easter on Sunday 20 April.

There have been talks of fixing the date of Easter but, for the foreseeable future, it will remain a movable feast. So if you always want to know when Easter is from the top of your head, you know what to do: learn computus! Or perhaps search it online.

The Bottom line is that we are controlled by the Gregorian Calendar, and Easter is been determined by the. Catholicism Doctrines and Dogmas as we speak.

02/22/2022

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CORINTHIANS ( Part 6 )

Paul’s teaching here has important application for the workplace. While we may feel that getting the right job is the most important factor in serving God or experiencing the life he intends for us, God is much more concerned that we make the most of every job we have over the course of our lives. In a given instance, there may be good reasons to change jobs or even professions. Fine, go ahead and do so. Yet any mor­ally legitimate job can fulfill God’s calling, so don’t make finding your life’s work into your life’s work. There is no hierarchy of more godly and less godly professions. Certainly this cautions us against believing that God calls the most serious Christians into church jobs.

Maintain the Proper Perspective (1 Corinthians 7:29–31)

Paul addresses the question of whether the promised return of the Lord implies that Christians should abandon ordinary daily life, includ­ing work.

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on . . . let those who buy [be] as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Cor. 7:29–31)

Apparently some believers neglected family duties and ceased work­ing, in the same way you might neglect to sweep the floor before mov­ing to a new house. Paul had previously dealt with this situation in the church in Thessalonica and given unambiguous instructions.

Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thess. 3:10–12)

Paul’s logic will be easier to understand if we recognize that 1 Cor. 7:29 does not indicate merely that “the time is short” in the sense that Jesus’ second coming is almost here. Paul uses a verb here that describes how an object is pushed together (synestalmenos), so that it becomes shorter or smaller as a whole. “Time has been compressed” might be a better translation, as suggested by the NASB rendering, or “Time has been shortened.” What Paul apparently means is that since Christ has come, the end of the vast expanse of time has at last become visible.

“The future outcome of this world has become crystal clear,” writes scholar David E. Garland.[10] 1 Cor. 7:31 explains that “the present form of this world is passing away.” The “present form” has the sense of “the way things are” in our fallen world of damaged social and economic relationships. Paul wants his readers to understand that Christ’s coming has already effected a change in the very fabric of life. The values and aspirations that are simply taken for granted in the present way of doing things are no longer operative for believers.

The proper response to the compression of time is not to cease work­ing but to work differently. The old attitudes toward everyday life and its affairs must be replaced. This brings us back to the paradoxical state­ments in 1 Corinthians 7:29–31. We should buy, yet be as though we have no possessions. We should deal with the world as though not dealing with the world as we know it. That is, we may make use of the things this world has to offer, but we shouldn’t accept the world’s values and principles when they get in the way of God’s kingdom. The things we buy, we should employ for the good of others instead of holding tightly to them. When we bargain in the market, we should seek the good of the person from whom we buy, not just our own interests. In other words, Paul is calling believ­ers to “a radically new understanding of their relationship to the world.

Our old attitude is that we work to make life more comfortable and satisfying for ourselves and those close to us. We seek to gather things into our possession that we think will bring us status, security, and ad­vantage over others. We compartmentalize worship of our gods first, then attention to our marriage second, then work third, and then civic engagement fourth, if we have any time and energy left. The new atti­tude is that we work to benefit ourselves, those close to us, and all those for whom Jesus worked and died. We seek to release the things in our possession for use where they will make the world more as God desires it. We integrate our lives of worship, family, work, and society and seek to invest in—rather than shuffle around—physical, intellectual, cultural, moral, and spiritual capital. In this we emulate the forefather of the people of God, Abraham, to whom God said, “I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2).

Everyone Gets Their Fair Share (1 Corinthians 9:7–10)

In chapter 9, Paul explains why he initially chose not to accept direct financial support from the Corinthian church even though he had a right to it. He begins by asserting the right of workers, including apostles, to receive wages for their work. We serve the Lord in our work, and the Lord intends that we draw sustenance from it in return. Paul gives three examples from daily life that illustrate this point. Soldiers, vintners, and shepherds all derive economic benefit for their labors. Paul, however, rarely appeals to convention alone to make his case, so he quotes Deu­teronomy 25:4 (“You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain”) in support of his argument. If even animals deserve a share of the fruits of their labor, then surely any person who participates in bringing about some benefit should share in that benefit.

This text has clear implications for the workplace, especially for employers. Workers deserve a fair wage. In fact, the Bible threatens employers with dire consequences if they deny their employees just compensation (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14; James 5:7). Paul knows that a variety of factors affect the determination of a fair wage, and he does not try to prescribe a figure or formula. Likewise, the complexities of supply and demand, regulation and unionization, wages and benefits, and power and flexibility in today’s labor markets are beyond the scope of this chapter. But the principle is not. Those who employ human labor cannot neglect the needs of those whose work they employ.

Nonetheless, Paul chooses not to make use of his right to receive wages for his work as an apostle. Why? Because in his case, given the sensitivities in the church in Corinth, to do so might “put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” As it happens, God has made it possible for him to earn a living there by introducing him to fellow tentmakers (or leatherworkers), Priscilla and Aquila, who live in Corinth (Acts 18:1–3; Rom. 16:3). Paul doesn’t expect that God will arrange things so that all church workers can afford to work for free. But in this case, God did, and Paul accepts God’s provision with thanks. The point is that only the worker has the right to offer to work without fair remuneration. The employer has no right to demand it.

God’s Glory is the Ultimate Goal (1 Corinthians 10)

In the course of an extended argument beginning in chapter 8 on an issue of critical importance to believers in Corinth—the propriety of eating meat that had previously been offered to idols—Paul articulates a broad principle concerning the use of the earth’s resources. He says, quoting Psalm 24:1, “The earth and its fullness are the Lord’s” (1 Cor. 10:26). That is, because everything comes from God, any food may be eaten irrespective of its previous use for pagan cultic purposes. (In a Roman city, much of the meat sold in the market would have been offered to idols in the course of its preparation.There are two aspects of this principle that apply to work.

First, we may extend Paul’s logic to conclude that believers may use all that the earth produces, including food, clothing, manufactured goods, and energy. However, Paul sets a sharp limit to this use. If our use harms another person, then we should refrain. If the context of a dinner party at which meat offered to idols is the issue, then another person’s conscience may be the reason we need to refrain from eating it. If the context is worker safety, resource scarcity, or environmental degrada­tion, then the well-being of today’s workers, the access to resources by today’s poor, and the living conditions of tomorrow’s population may be the reasons we refrain from consuming certain items. Since God is the owner of the earth and its fullness, the use we make of the earth must be in line with his purposes.

Second, we are expected to engage in commerce with nonbelievers, as we have already seen from 1 Corinthians 5:9–10. If Christians were buying meat only from Christian butchers, or even from Jews, then of course there would have been no reason to worry whether it had been of­fered to idols. But Paul asserts that believers are to engage in commerce with society at large. (The concerns in chapter 8 also assume that Chris­tians will engage in social relationships with nonbelievers, although that is not our topic here.) Christians are not called to withdraw from society but to engage society, including society’s places of work. As noted earlier, Paul discusses the limits to this engagement in 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 (see “Working with Nonbelievers” in 2 Corinthians).

“Therefore, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do ev­erything for the glory of God,” says Paul (1 Cor. 10:31). This verse by no means legitimates every conceivable activity. It should not be construed to mean that absolutely anything could be done in a way that brings glory to God. Paul’s point is that we have to discern whether our actions—including work—are consistent with God’s purposes in the world. The criterion is not whether we associate with nonbelievers, whether we use materials that could be used for ill by others, whether we deal with people who are not friends with God, but whether the work we do contributes to God’s purposes. If so, then whatever we do will indeed be done for the glory of God.

The upshot is that all vocations that add genuine value to God’s cre­ated world in a way that benefits humanity are true callings that bring God glory. The farmer and grocery clerk, the manufacturer and the emis­sions regulator, the parent and the teacher, the voter and the governor can enjoy the satisfaction of serving in God’s plan for his creation.

Spiritual Gifts in Community (1 Corinthians 12:1–14:40)

The use of what have come to be called “spiritual gifts” (12:1) seems to have caused much contention in the church of Corinth. It seems that the gift of tongues (i.e., Spirit-led ecstatic utterances) in particular was being used to accentuate status differences in the church, with those who practiced this gift claiming to be more spiritual than those who didn’t (see 12:1–3, 13:1, 14:1–25).[13] In countering, Paul articulates a broad under­standing of the gifts of God’s Spirit that has major applications to work.

The first thing to observe is that the term “spiritual gifts” is too nar­row to describe what Paul is talking about. They are “spiritual” in the broad sense of originating from God’s Spirit, not in the narrow sense of being disembodied or paranormal. And “gift” is only one of a number of terms Paul uses for the phenomenon he has in mind. In chapter 12 alone, he calls the various gifts “services” (12:5), “activities” (12:6), manifesta­tions” (12:7), “deeds,” “forms,” and “kinds” (12:28). The exclusive use of the term “spiritual gift” to refer to what Paul also calls “manifestation of God’s spirit for the common good” or “kind of service” tends to skew our thinking.[14] It suggests that God’s Spirit supersedes or ignores the “natural” skills and abilities God has given us. It implies that the recipient of the “gift” is its intended beneficiary.

It makes us think that worship, rather than service, is the primary purpose of the Spirit’s working. All of these are false assumptions, according to 1 Corinthians. The Holy Spirit does not dispense with our bodily abilities, but honors and employs them (12:14–26). The community or organization, not merely the individual, benefits (12:7). The purpose is to build up the community (14:3–5) and serve outsiders (14:23–25), not merely to improve the quality of worship. “Giftings” might be a better term to use, since it carries these important connotations better.