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“Humility or Arrogance?”

Thoughts for Today:

In the Kings James Version, the word "gifts" is in italics. I find this to be very helpful because the use of italics lets us know a word was added by the translators (for additional clarification), but was not contained in the original Greek manuscript. Paul actually said, "Now concerning spirituals," or "pneumatikos" in the Greek. It relates to the entire area of manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit in believers.

Unfortunately, instead of building up and unifying the Corinthian Church, the issue of spirituals was splitting the church into pieces. If improperly used and understood, it is easy to see how a believer might use a manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a symbol of personal spiritual power or favor. Competition would be the result, with some people thinking their gift was more important than another's.

In the case of the Corinthians, it was a truly horrible corruption of the unity the Lord intended when He distributed gifts of the Spirit to His church. The translators probably added the word "gifts" to keep this from happening in the modern church. Perhaps they thought that if we understood that we had been given a gift, rather than compensation for our work or superior ability, then our perspective toward "spirituals" would be one of humility rather than arrogance.

Questions to Ponder:

What is your general thought related to spirituals? Is one greater than another? Does one signify greater "spirituality" or favor? Of course not. How does this perspective change your view of how your giftedness might be of use in the church?

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.