Tag Archives: First Corinthians

Charismatic Gifts? Healing and Prophecy

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In this manuscript illumination, Miriam leads the women singing in joy on the shore of the Red Sea after God’s victory over the Egyptians. There are seven women prophets of Israel — Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Esther, and Huldah. These women were inspired by God to tell the Truth, especially when no one wanted to hear it.


There are allotments of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are allotments of services, but the same Lord; and there are allotments of activities, but the same God who works all things in all…. to [some], gifts of healings in the one Spirit… to another prophecy…. One and the same Spirit activates all of these, allotting to each one, as he wills, his or her own gifts. (1 Cor. 12:4-11)

The Apostle Paul is concerned with divisions among the members of the parish in Corinth, especially those who said that certain roles in the community or certain spiritual gifts were more important or more valuable than others. He stresses that all spiritual gifts are given by the same Spirit. All are equally valuable, equally important.

Gifts of healing were a major focus of the residents of Corinth. There was an important sanctuary of Asklepios, the Greek god of healing, in Corinth; he was one of the most popular gods in the ancient world and his shrine at Corinth brought many visitors, hoping to be healed, to the city. People hoping to be healed would usually sleep in the god’s shrine, hoping for a miracle or a dream that would tell them how to be healed. Ritual baths were important at the shrine as well. St. Paul tells the Corinthian Christians that all healing is given by the one Spirit of God and the ritual bath of baptism is the true source of authentic spiritual health-salvation. He wants them to realize that Christ and the Spirit of God–not Asklepios–were the true healers.

Prophets and prophecy are often misunderstood as simply being able to foretell the future. Real prophets were keen observers of people and the world. They were skilled preachers and poets. They were focused on God. Because a prophet was all of these–a skilled preacher, a keen observer, focused on God–they were able to speak the Truth when no one wanted to hear it and to describe what would happen if they continued to deny the Truth and the Reality that they were trying to escape. Prophets were also able to describe what God would do because God was faithful and had made certain promises to his people. A prophet might not always realize how True everything they said was–just as a poet says more than they realize in a poem. The prophets in the Corinthian parish were preachers and teachers who were supposed to build up the community, not tear it down and create divisions.

St. Paul and early Christian preachers were eager to remind people that these gifts were given to both men and women, the old and the young. The record of the Acts of the Apostles described how these gifts were manifest among the early Christians in various places. The most important gift, given to all Christians, is the Holy Spirit himself.

Not everyone has all of these gifts –some have one, and others have another. But we all have the the Gift who is himself the one who gives these other gifts; that is to say, the Holy Spirit.

St. Agustine of Hippo, On the Trinity 15.

Who Can Say “Jesus is Anathema”?

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St. Basil the Great (died AD 379) offers the prayers of the Eucharist at the altar. The Church at prayer was thought to be the clearest revelation of the Holy Spirit. Typically, the scroll in his hands indicates the first few words of the prayer the priest says quietly for himself at the offertory of the Eucharist.


You know that as Gentiles you were marched away to mute idols, however you were led. For this reason I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says “Jesus is anathema!” and that no one can say “Jesus is Lord!” except by the Spirit of God. (1 Cor. 12:1-3)

“Anathema” was sometimes used by pagans to mean an offering was no longer available for human use but it was used in the Old Testament to mean a thing was cursed (Deut. 7:26) and therefore should not be touched. In Christian use, the word “anathema” came to mean an idea or opinion or person was outside the broad range of acceptable theological ideas or ethical behavior considered appropriate for Christians. “Arius is anathema” was common after the first ecumenical council at Nicea in AD 325.

Each slogan–Jesus is anathema/Jesus is Lord–is only two words long in Greek: anathema Iesous and kyrios Iesous. Evidently differing factions of the Corinthian parish used these slogans to identify themselves. Why would a Corinthian Christian say, “Jesus is anathema?” Presumably, this was what the Roman authorities wanted the Christians to say when they were arrested and asked to deny Christ. Perhaps some in the Corinthian parish who had gnostic tendencies used the phrase to denigrate the earthly Jesus because they thought “spiritual” experiences were more important; this might explain the hostility between those with certain “spiritual gifts” or “spiritual experiences” and the rest of the parish that St. Paul deals with in other portions of his epistle.

“Jesus is Lord!” was probably a quote from the baptism service in which a new believer affirmed their faith in Christ and was immersed in the water to die and rise with Christ. This affirmation-confession of faith was impossible without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It has become a quick summary of classic teaching about the Holy Trinity to say that the Father is revealed by the Son and the Son is revealed by the Holy Spirit while the Holy Spirit is revealed by the Church. (Readers might be interested to read Vladimir Lossky’s thoughts on this here or here.)

Shameless self-promotion: However, the Holy Spirit was not always recognized as a distinct person apart from Christ or the Father. For an easy-to-read description of how the Holy Spirit was recognized and the Holy Trinity proclaimed, see Chapter 3 in my introduction to church history, which is also available here.

Whoever Eats or Drinks in an Unworthy Manner

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This icon of Melchizedek is one of several that I painted many years ago. You can see the curls of the challah bread in his hand reflected in the curls of his beard. He wears the turban of a high priest and the crown of a king, as he was both priest of God Most High and king of (Jeru-)Salem. His sacrifice of bread and wine (described in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110) is considered an anticipation of the Eucharist.


Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself…. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement upon himself. (1 Cor. 11:27-29)

The apostle’s words are blunt and sharp. Whoever shares in the Eucharist unworthily brings condemnation on themselves. Although meant to be life-giving, the Holy Gifts can bring judgement and condemnation because the presence of God is a two-edged sword: his light exposes and reveals the truth, whatever that truth might be. If it reveals our honest struggle to live in fellowship with him, we share the fellowship we seek. If it reveals either no such struggle or even active struggle to avoid his light, then we are judged because our partaking of the Eucharist reveals that we knew better, that we turned our back on our own words by refusing to even attempt to live up to the words we said at our baptism and at the celebration of the Eucharist.

“What does it mean to receive unworthily? To receive in mockery, to receive in contempt.”

St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 227

How do we mock the Eucharist? When we dare to consume the Eucharist when we are allowing ourselves to be consumed with greed, or anger, or malice. These attitudes are what make us unworthy to receive the Holy Gifts. It was these attitudes–especially greed and selfishness–on display among the Corinthians that made them refuse to wait for one another at the parish dinners, some eating too much and getting drunk while others were going hungry.

To struggle against our greed, anger, or malice is a sign of life and God honors that struggle by remaining in fellowship with the one who struggles. If we give up the struggle against these attitudes, we are already spiritually dead, even if we are physically still alive.

“Do you work wonders for the dead? Will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?” (Psalm 88:11) This question in the psalms concerns not just those dead and buried in the ground but those spiritually dead, still walking around the surface of the earth. In hell, there is no Eucharist; the spiritually dead, in need of Resurrection, are equally outside the Eucharist. “For in death, no one remembers you; and who will give you thanks in the grave?” (Psalm 6:5)

The dead, those who have surrendered to their greed-anger-malice, are incapable of giving thanks or honest participation in the Eucharist. These are the people who mock the Eucharist and receive it with contempt. Struggling against these attitudes are what make us capable of giving thanks and honest participation in the Eucharist; even if we fail and must renew our struggle time-after-time-after-time-after-time, this is the behavior of a person who honors the Eucharist and avoids bringing judgement and condemnation upon themselves.