Gracism

Okay, deep, profound thought time.

(and apologies in advance for the length!)

Maybe you’re familiar with 1 Corinthians 12 - it’s Paul’s famous chapter on spiritual gifts and the body of Christ.

Whenever I have heard it taught, read about it, or thought about it, it is essentially along these lines:

In addressing a controversy surrounding spiritual gifts, Paul wants his readers to understand that every Christian is given spiritual gifts by God, to be used in the building up of the church. There are not some gifts that mark you out as superior or “more blessed” than other Christians. No, all gifts are necessary, and given by God as He sees fit.

Paul then goes on to his famous illustration of the body. Just as a body has many parts and each part is necessary to the overall functioning of it, so does the church. For a church to be healthy, it needs each person to be using the gifts God has given them.

Make sense?

I’m sure you know it well…have probably heard frequent sermons on it…done many bible studies on it even. It is one of those passages that is frequently used to teach basic discipleship. (If you’re not familiar with it, have a read in 1 Corinthians 12.)

But you know how you can read a passage countless times and never see something? Well, that happened to me yesterday. I’m reading a book called Gracism by David Anderson.

He points out vv12-14.

V13 especially.

In many ways, Paul could have left it out. It doesn’t affect the overall body analogy. At least, not in the way it is usually taught.

But he doesn’t leave out v13. He includes it.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. And so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

See that?

In the midst of this passage on spiritual gifts and the church Paul mentions race. In fact, as David Anderson writes: “Before unpacking and expanding on the body analogy, Paul interjected race and culture. How forced, it seemed to me. How unpoetic. How off topic.”

And, as he goes on to say,

“But the truth is, the apostle purposefully put into place something he did not want us to miss.”

He continues,

“Whoa! Did you notice what Paul did here? He mentioned race and culture (Jews or Greeks) and class (slave or free). He did more than simply insert an abstract thought about race and culture. The author was making a transition. He was telling us how we are to view the rest of the passage.”

And in case it’s not clear yet…

“Paul wanted us to read verse 14 and following through the lens of race, culture and class. To avoid reading the rest of the passage in that way would do violence to the writer’s intent.”

Just to spell it out, Anderson goes on to say,

Knowing this, “has multiplied my understanding beyond the single view of addressing the diversity of spiritual gifts to affirming the multiplicity of racial, ethnic and class interdependency as well.”

Anderson then suggests (admitting he’s taking creative license) his own paraphrase…

Now the body is not made up of one culture but of many. If the blacks should say to the whites, ‘Because I am not white, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not make it true. The blacks would still be a part of the body whether they vote for the same candidates or not. And if the whites should say, ‘Because I am not black, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not make it true. The whites would still be part of the body whether they clapped their hands and shouted loudly in church or not. It doesn’t mean that they are not filled with the Spirit. If the whole body was tightly structured, where would the spontaneity be? If the whole body was spontaneous, where would the sense of order be? As it is, there are many parts and many cultures, but one body.

                The Cuban church cannot say to the Haitian church, ‘I don’t need you!’ The Puerto Rican church cannot say to the Mexican church, ‘I don’t need you!’ The Pakistanis cannot say to the Persians, ‘I don’t need you!’ The Japanese cannot say to the Koreans, ‘I don’t need you!’ The suburban church cannot say to the urban church, ‘I don’t need you!’ The city church cannot say to the country church, ‘I don’t need you!’ Jews cannot say to Arabs, ‘I don’t need you!’ Palestinians cannot say to Jews, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are not to be dismissed or discarded as if they don’t matter. They are God’s special instruments of honour to reveal an aspect of God that would otherwise not be seen or experienced. There really is no part of the Christian body that is to be dismissed as unimportant. They all matter! If Palestinian Christians suffer, we all suffer. If South African Christians suffer are freed from apartheid, we all rejoice with them. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (pp36-37, Gracism).

Anyway, I’m still working my way through the rest of the book but wanted to share this with you.

And as you pastor, it makes me even more passionate about the bride of Christ.

Love you folks. x