Letter To Laodicea (part 85)

One could almost get the sense that equality was of such paramount importance to the church at Rome, and that they were attempting to stand at such a distance from the competitive system of honor, shame, benefaction, and patronage, that the members were actually refraining from exercising obvious spiritual gifts, so as not to accidentally create stratifications within the church.  Read in this sense, it is almost as if Paul is attempting to cajole them into the exercise of gifts, and to do so that they “may test and approve what is the will of God---what is good and well-pleasing and perfect” (12:2b).  It is almost as if Paul understands their concerns and their desire to not construct artificial, subjective, and oppressive hierarchies such as that which they see all around them in Rome.  Owing to that sense (and this is by no means dogmatic---the larger issue is the unity of the body and the meal table), Paul goes on to insist that it is the conscientious love that will be on display, as they present their “bodies as a sacrifice---alive, holy, and pleasing to God” (12:1b), that will win the day and render their legitimate and honorable concerns moot. 

It seems that it is in this light that Paul continues, providing this church with a way to know if their service is honorable, and that they have safeguarded their table and their testimony.  To this end, Paul writes “Love must be without hypocrisy” (12:9a).  If they found themselves play-acting---putting on masks---then they would know that their service was not pleasing to God, and that it could lead to problems.  To this he adds “Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another” (12:9-10).  Oh how very crucial!  In a world in which the pursuit of honor was nearly all that mattered, and in which ones station in the world was determined by how much honor one had gathered for oneself, Paul insists that a mutual check against self-interest and the oppressive behavior that accompanies it, could be guarded against by an eagerness in showing honor to one another.  Indeed, if we are engaged in seeking and showing honor to others, we will find little time to actively attempt to gain honor for ourselves.  Ideally, this serves to advance the interests of the kingdom of God---for ultimately it is His honor that we seek. 

Paul goes on to write “Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality” (12:11-13).  As he continues writing to a church that existed in the very heart of the Roman empire---to a church that made a bold and subversive claim that there was a King that was not Caesar, and that there was an empire greater than that of Rome, Paul gives an instruction to “Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse” (12:14).  How easy it is for those of us that live comfortable lives in lands in which we do not undergo real persecution to realize how much love it would take to bless and not to curse.  Additionally, as we read the instruction to “bless,” or as we place ourselves among the hearers of the letter so as to hear the words to “bless,” the Abrahamic covenant comes clearly into play, reminding the people of God of their responsibility to be a light to the nations, exemplifying divine blessings.  How can we do this?  One way, quite obviously, since Paul speaks of blessing in the midst of persecution, is to endure suffering, as did our Lord, who indeed suffered persecution without cursing.  Jesus, of course, prayed for His persecutors.  As always, Paul has the story of Israel and the example of Jesus in sight, as he instructed believers as to how they were to go about being the living, breathing examples of the manifestation of the kingdom of God. 

Returning to the exhortation, we go on to hear “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (12:15), as the church is called to enter into the sufferings of Christ on behalf of the world.  Together with that, the vexing and always pressing issues of creeping societal conformity and its pressure to divide and create distinctions and hierarchy and perversions of authority will always be at hand, so Paul reminds the church to “Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.  Do not be conceited” (12:16).  This, even if what may be perceived as an accumulation of shame is what results. 

In the wake of that, in what could appear to be an homage to what would have certainly been the well-known teaching of Jesus that we call the “Sermon On the Mount,” through which Jesus lays out His revolutionary plan for the establishment of the just kingdom of God, in which one does not respond to oppression with violent retaliation, presents the other cheek when back-handed with a slap across the face, offers the undergarment along with the cloak when demanded, and goes the second mile when requisitioned by a Roman soldier (all of which were counter-intuitive to then-current notions of how to throw off the oppressive yoke of Rome, force God’s hand, and usher in His kingdom---all of which involved a shaming of those that would oppress and shame, rather than simply pacifism or a model for service), Paul writes “Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.  Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath (the in-breaking of the kingdom of God against evil powers)… Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head” (12:17-19a,20)---not to mention doing so as if you were doing it to Jesus, which also has the added benefit of following His example of blessing instead of cursing.  Yes, the kingdom of God breaks in upon the world when His people are not “overcome by evil,” but instead, “overcome evil with good” (12:21).        

Letter To Laodicea (part 84)

When we read Paul’s letters (along with the rest of the New Testament) while keeping in mind that the Gospel of Jesus and the kingdom of God was being preached in a world that was shaped by glaring and pronounced social divisions (and we are by no means reducing the message of the Gospel to merely a social gospel), in which the lines of demarcation (ethnic, religious, economic, etc…) between peoples were carefully drawn and tacitly enforced, we are not surprised to find Paul hitting on this problematic theme of divisiveness in the church on more than one occasion. 

Chances are, however, because most of us that find ourselves in the western world are so far removed from a societal context that would allow us to easily recognize this (which means that many of us are terribly handicapped, with this made even more problematic because we believe ourselves to be in a position of superiority in Scripture interpretation), we have read over Paul’s treatment of similar situations without ever considering the world into which it was delivered.  Just like we have so often done with the Corinthian letter, we have heard Paul’s words in the context of the cultivation of an individual spirituality and focused pursuit of personal holiness that will result in our achieving heaven (and avoiding hell) at our deaths rather than hearing Paul in the context of our responsibility to cause God’s will to be done on earth.  

In fact, if we can find ourselves believing that the problem that Paul is addressing in Corinth is not exactly an uncommon problem in the early church (and let us not forget that Paul addresses and has dealings with the church at Laodicea as well), then we will also find ourselves hearing echoes of the words to the Corinthians in other letters by Paul.  Unsurprisingly then (and without concern for chronological order, as Romans most likely followed the first letter to the Corinthians), we can turn to the letter that is often looked to as Paul’s crowning achievement and hear words that our evocative of the words to Corinth that we have been dissecting. 

Turning to chapter twelve of Romans, we can easily imagine ourselves at a table that is replete with Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, grappling with the same types of issues with which the Corinthian church struggled, though apparently not at the same disastrous level.  There, we hear Paul saying “Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (12:2a).  A meal table at which distinctions were evident and celebrated would be a conformity to the world, whereas the kingdom of God demands a transformation.  Are we over-extending ourselves in a reach for a suitable analogy by attempting to view chapter twelve of Romans through this lens and from a position at the meal table?  Not at all!  We simply consider what follows from within the web of meal table, messianic banquet, powerful societal force, and symposium shaped understanding that we have been spinning for ourselves.  When we do so, we venture forth into an enlightening world of comprehension, with fresh attunement to the new norm of the hierarchy-flattening world of the kingdom of God, as we hear Paul saying “For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith” (12:3).  With these words, the issues at hand in Corinth, pre-eminently revealed at the church’s meal table, though apparently not quite as severe (for they were not in need of a stern correction), ring through quite loudly. 

With words strikingly similar to that which we have already encountered, Paul continues, saying “For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another” (12:4-5).  Certainly, Paul’s insistence that there is “one body” calls attention to the possibility of divisive forces, while the use of “members who belong to one another” indicates a radical and unheard of notion of self-sacrifice for the well-being of another, apart from any consideration of their social standing or any personal benefit to be derived from such sacrifice, which would have been a radical and possibly disturbing notion in that day.  Because of the profundity of the meal table, and its significance for social location, a meal table at which all share equally, without regard for standing outside the church, would serve as a strong reinforcement of such radical and world-changing ideas.     

In a repetition of that which Paul had communicated to Corinth, which, again, leads us to believe that, at the very least, the meal table carried a tremendous amount of importance in the early church, Paul continues, writing “And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us.  If this gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness” (12:6-8). 

Letter To Laodicea (part 83)

What then was the injustice inside the church?  Has Paul mentioned it to this point?  Well, of course he has.  He has already written “For when it is time to eat, everyone proceeds with his own supper.  One is hungry and another becomes drunk… are you trying to show contempt for the church of God by shaming those who have nothing?” (11:21,22b)  This may seem trivial at first glance, but when placed in perspective, there is an element of injustice at work, and it is being perpetrated by the members themselves.  It should most certainly be the case that inside the gathered body of Christ, and especially as they were coming together for a meal that carried a considerable amount of theological weight, that all share in the meal. 

If the church itself was unwilling or unable to feed those inside the body, and to be sure that those that were counted as brothers and sisters of the kingdom of God did not go hungry, how could it possibly find itself in a position to do the same thing for the world?  Some eating and drinking, and doing so to their fill while others went hungry, with this occurring within plain sight of those that ate and drank to their fill, who were in a position to exercise a very small amount of the self-sacrificial love that took Christ to the cross, by sharing so as to insure that nobody went hungry, was nothing short of an injustice that has no place inside the church.  Indeed, Paul was right to bring up the issue of shame.  If the church was not the example that it needed to be, in modeling out a different kind of living, and if it did not put that different mode of living on display at the meal table, where it could be easily recognized by those both inside and outside of the church (no divisions, no separations, no stratifications, no inequality), then how was that church going to inspire the viewing world to change its mode of living?  If those that were supposed to be representing the kingdom were more than happy to eat and drink, while their brothers and sisters went hungry, then they were certainly not operating in love. 

Now, this is not to say that there is anything wrong with eating and drinking, but it is to say that those that lay claim to a confession of Jesus as their Lord, who are ambassadors for the existing kingdom of heaven while serving in anticipation of its consummation, are called to a position of conscientious love.  We are very much in the right to enjoy that with which we have been blessed (in food and drink and in all other areas), but we should do so in a way that is tempered by an understanding that there are those, through no fault of their own, who go without much of that which is basic to life.  Perhaps the position here called for is to offer praises to God for His bountiful provisions, while also offering a lament for the evil that is active in this world (in so many ways), which is working against the proliferation of the provision of the God that shows forth His rule through our Lord Jesus and through His church.  Of course, it is not enough to praise, and it is not enough to lament.  Both suggest a call to dutiful action by the church, for the world, in humble and loving service to our Lord and our God.

By informing this body that they should not be glad about injustice, Paul not only comments on a pervasive mindset, but he also reveals to them their unjust behavior.  By tagging his mention of injustice with “but rejoices in the truth,” he also reminds them that they should be glad that he is correcting them in a way that is designed to lead them into the truth that will come to be exercised in both word and deed, so that (again, considering his words within the flow of the letter) they will not be judged (11:31,34).  Taking in the scope of our study, might we be justified in viewing the letter to the Laodiceans in the same light? 

In the light of Corinth’s receipt of truth, so that they might understand the way that love will actually look when it is put in practice, contrary to what was on display at what they also may have been referring to as their “love feast” (a fact which also helps to explain why Paul takes the time to make this explanation about love), Paul then adds that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends” (13:7-8a).

Throughout the whole of this letter, Paul builds and builds, never ceasing his offerings of correction, expressing his desire that this church over which he so dutifully labored, with their location in an important and somewhat influential city, be a shining light of the kingdom of heaven.  However, while we see that he is being critical, we should not imagine that the problems to be observed here in this church at Corinth were somehow unique to them.  

Letter To Laodicea (part 82)

As we continue to hear the words of the thirteenth chapter, we do so according to the tone of the letter as a whole.  We would agree that there is much instruction taking place throughout the letter, and we can also agree that much of the instruction is in the form of correction.  The correction, of course, implies that there are problems that need to be corrected, indicating a need to alter an existing course of action or accepted situation.  So as Paul writes about the nature of love, which must be tied to the correction that is on offer from him, he is not simply espousing a set of free-floating ideals to be met, or thinking of words that will eventually come to be read at weddings (though there is certainly nothing inherently wrong with this), but pointing out to his audience where it is that they are falling short of the ideal that is tied to their confession of Jesus as Lord. 

At the same time, we are not to hear these words first as that which we are to achieve as individuals, but they are first to be heard within the context of the community that is to be defined by love.  As they are heard and understood communally, in relation to the kingdom of God, they are then put in practice on an individual basis, by those who desire to participate in this community.  When we hear about love being patient and kind, we know that patience and kindness was not being exercised towards all in this church in a uniform way.  Thus when we read that love does not brag, is not puffed up, is not rude, self serving, easily angered or resentful, we can confidently assert that there was a great deal of bragging, puffery, rudeness, self-service, anger, and resentment at work in this church.  Presumably, this was being put on display through direct actions, while the separating and dividing actions that were part and parcel of the meals and therefore the life of the church were probably engendering anger and resentment from those on the receiving end of the hurtful and deleterious behavior that truly had no place amongst those called to represent the kingdom of heaven. 

It is in a similar vein that we then go on to hear that love “is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth” (13:6).  While this phrase, as others, can certainly make an independent stand, and we can agree that we are not to be glad about injustice while also concurring that the truth is something in which we should rejoice, this, like everything else in this letter (and in the whole of the Bible) demands to be first understood within its context before pulling it out to make in an isolated aphorism.  If Paul is instructing this group of people that love is not glad about injustice, then we must presume that there was a certain gladness about injustice. 

It is probably not the case that Paul is here thinking about injustices being perpetrated outside the church (though that can be a proper extension once we rightly consider this statement in context and learn what it means for the church as a body), but rather, the injustice that is being perpetrated inside the church, as the rampant injustices of the world outside the church infiltrate the body of Christ and find themselves on display at the church meal that is supposed to be evocative of the Passover and its liberation of the people of God, of the messianic banquet and the liberating rule of God in the world, and especially at the Lord’s Supper portion of the meal that was to serve as the very explicit reminder that God’s rule is currently taking place through the Lordship of Jesus and that those that come to the Lord’s Supper, to take the bread and the cup, are agreeing to submit to that Lordship and to participate in the advance of that kingdom. 

That kingdom has as its mission statement words such as “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19), along with words like “For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I was naked and you gave Me clothing, I was sick and you took care of Me, I was in prison and you visited Me…  I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me” (Matthew 25:35-36,40b). 

Letter To Laodicea (part 81)

With this, Paul delves into a presentation of that which he considered to be the greater gifts, writing “If I speak in the tongues of mean and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (13:1).  As we remember that Paul is speaking into a church that has created artificial and ultimately blasphemous hierarchies within the church in relation to the manifestation of spiritual gifts, this certainly puts the gift of speaking in tongues into perspective.  Adding to that, lest any of his hearers get the idea that Paul is merely denouncing one level of stratification, he writes, “And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge” (13:2a), thereby referencing his previous statement concerning some being given the message of wisdom, whereas another receives the message of knowledge, and another the gift of prophecy (12:8,10).  Thusly, Paul provides those in possession of those gifts with the proper perspective. 

To that he adds “and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains” (13:2b).  With this, he conflates together his mention of the gift of faith (12:9) with the obviously circulating portion of the Jesus tradition that has Him mentioning faith and the removal of mountains.  By adding to these statements “but do not have love, I am nothing” (13:2c), he tears down the hierarchy, while also stripping away any notion of the pursuit or application of honor (within the larger society structured by notions of honor and shame) from the presence and use of spiritual gifts.  This is, in effect, an accusation that actions prompted by love, and therefore love itself, has fallen by the wayside in this church. 

Rather than being motivated to the use of spiritual gifts by the self-sacrifical love that was modeled by Jesus, as He went to the lowest imaginable place in His quest to establish the presence of the kingdom of God on earth, the spiritual gifts were being used oppositely, in the pursuit of honor within those called to represent and live out that very kingdom.  As a result, they were unavoidably being put to use to bring shame as well.  In that light, the use of “nothing” actually brings down those of his hearers who are perceived as more honorable, shaming those who dare to shame others that they are supposed to look upon as brothers and sisters in the unity of the Spirit. 

To that Paul adds, “If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit” (13:3).  Here, rather than reading “in order to boast,” some manuscripts present us with variations on burning, such as “that I will burn,” “that I might burn,” or “that it might be burned.”  However, if we choose to go with the manuscript tradition that mentions boasting, we find that it happily falls in line with our previous considerations of the symposium, and the boasting in achievements that often accompanied such an event, which would be offered up in the pursuit of greater honor.  If this is an appropriate reading, then Paul’s insistence that there is no benefit (no true honor) to be received by such actions if they are not performed in self-sacrificial love that has the cross of Christ in view, makes a great deal of sense, while also connecting with the larger movement of the letter. 

It is upon this declaration that Paul enters into what is thought of as his great soliloquy upon love.  While beautiful in and of itself, it cannot and should not be considered apart from what comes before and after, or apart from a consideration of Paul’s somewhat contentious communication to this church.  So when Paul insists that “Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious” (13:4a), it is incumbent upon us to hear these words as though we were among Paul’s original hearers.  If we do so, we do so with a knowledge that we are missing the mark in the exercise of spiritual gifts, and that what we are attempting to call love is nothing more than our individual and selfish pursuit of honor and its attendant of a better position at the table, that all may bask in our glorious spirituality and ultimately come into submission to our hard-earned spiritual authority. 

Re-calling our attention to the possibility that this is being read at the symposium, Paul goes on to write “Love does not brag, it is not puffed up.  It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful” (13:5).  Continuing to hold in mind the possibility of the symposium as a routine part of this church’s celebration of the messianic banquet allows us to also consider the possibility that those who considered themselves the social and spiritual elites in this church (probably one and the same) may have demanded that this letter be read to them alone---a more exclusive group, rather than to the whole of the church.  Again, Paul may have expected this, and though we leave open the possibility that the letter was read to the entire assembly, if we take this as a strong possibility that is not overly far-fetched considering the tone that has been taken throughout the letter, the damning nature of such hierarchical and authoritarian exclusivity would become readily apparent to the limited group of hearers.            

Letter To Laodicea (part 80)

Having persuaded this church to recognize the facts that they have allowed distinctions and divisions to creep in and become established, with this critique extended to the entirety of the church, as all (whether perceived as being high or low within the church ) would have to tacitly agree to participate in such arrangements, Paul promptly dissuades them from any sense that this is appropriate by delivering the words “But you should be eager for the greater gifts” (12:31a).  Greater gifts?  This would have been intriguing, especially for those that were looking to maintain or extend the sense of honor accorded to them, or to those that were looking to elevate themselves from the shameful (or simply less honorable) end of the spectrum that had been established.  Of course, some may have heard this as dissuasion from using the spiritual gifts as a means of stratification, whereas, yes, some might have heard it as an opportunity for even further distinction and honor within the church by pursuing these greater gifts.  Regardless, all would have been attuned to what was to come next. 

Before continuing on to what comes next, we must observe the reminder to keep ourselves in the proper mindset if we want to be able to properly discern Paul’s message and his intent.  Yes, we are presuming and surmising, and hopefully making educated guesses in the process.  Yes, we will fail to grasp details and perhaps even miss major points.  However, by attempting to immerse ourselves in the culture, and by attempting to situate ourselves within a church community of first century hearers in the city of Corinth that is a part of and is shaped by the Greco-Roman world rather than private twenty-first century readers that occupy a world that is, for the most part, vastly different than the world occupied by Jesus, Paul, and the members of the Corinthian church, we give ourselves a greater chance of success in determining the problem, the message, and Paul’s intentions associated with the delivery of the message that his letter to this church communicates. 

The same thing is to be said about the approach that is necessary to determine the message and intent of the letter to Laodicea.  If we do not approach that letter in the same way that we approach the letter to Corinth, then we will inevitably miss the point, and find ourselves making leaps into all sorts of flights of fancy that have nothing to do with is being communicated to that church.  In essence, the letter to Laodicea, if properly situated within its historical, social, geographical, and economic context, while also being properly situated within its early church community context, in which the teachings and example of Jesus were being circulated (in probably both oral and written form at that point) along with the writings of the Apostles, with all of it situated within the context of Jesus’ fulfillment of the Jewish messianic hopes (as there would be no other way to make sense of what Jesus said and did), becomes a microcosm of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  This is true not only in style, but also in substance, as we shall soon see.   

With that reminder weighing heavily on our consideration, and as we position ourselves to hear the coming words of Paul as part of a community in which there are Jews, Greeks, slaves, and free gathered together as a body that is continuing to observe social customs of honor and shame, we are primed to hear “And now I will show you a way that is beyond comparison” (12:31b).  We can only imagine what would have been running through the minds of the audience at this point, especially as they reflected on all that they had heard to this point. 

What would Paul say?  What were these greater gifts?  Would they be able to walk on water?  Would they be able to multiply food to feed thousands?  Would they be able to raise the dead?  Indeed, there were greater gifts, were there not?  They had been short-sighted and foolish.  Yes, establishing churches, prophesying, teaching, miracles, healings, leadership, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues were impressive spiritual gifts, but just imagine what could be accomplished for the Gospel of Jesus and for the growth of the church if they were able to exercise truly stupendous gifts.  If they were able to do those things that drew such large crowds to Jesus, imagine the honor that could be gained!  Imagine the social standing!  Imagine the numbers that could be drawn into this church community!  Imagine the impact we would be able to have on our city if we could walk around multiplying food, raising the dead, and walking on water.  No, we’re not seeking individual honor and glory, though we agree that it will come.  All will be done to the glory of our Lord, as evidence of His rule.  So yes, Paul, tell us about these greater gifts!  Tell us about the way that is beyond comparison!  We want to know!     

Letter To Laodicea (part 79)

Capping off his dissertation concerning the body that simply must be carefully regarded along with the eating and drinking, Paul goes on to write “Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it” (12:27).  He has made clear his point that the distinctions being set forth by the church in Corinth, and which were so unfortunately on display when they gathered together for the meal that they called the Lord’s Supper, were all artificial and counter to what Jesus intended.  As has been said, this was a source of some distress for Paul, as it served to undermine the unifying, gathering message of the Gospel, as amply pronounced through Jesus’ life and words. 

However, Paul does go on to point out that there are going to be some types of divisions in the church, writing that “God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues” (12:28).  While he does this, he does it while having already told them that “It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as He decides to each person” (12:11a), while also having made it very clear what he thinks about putting divisions and hierarchies on display at their corporate meals.  So the last thing that he would expect them to do is to take this list of what “God has placed in the church,” and use it to create a spiritual hierarchy that will then be reflected in their table fellowship.  This will only create a competition for status based on a new set of honor securing instruments---spiritual gifts---that will be used to create the same types of divisions of which the church of Christ is to have no part. 

What’s worse, those who see themselves as occupying what might be thought of as the higher end of the hierarchy of spiritual gifts, or who see themselves as apostles or prophets or teachers, would use a perceived lack of spiritual gifts on the part of some in the church (determined solely by them of course) as a means of shaming those members.  In practice then, we can see the risk of those that consider themselves to be apostles and prophets occupying the chief seats of honor at the church’s meal, while sending those that they do not see as having any spiritual gifts, to the lowest seats.  As we consider such things, we go on to hear Paul offer up a rapid-fire series of questions, writing “Not all are apostles, are they?  Not all are prophets, are they?  Not all are teachers, are they?  Not all perform miracles, do they?  Not all have gifts of healing, do they?  Not all speak in tongues, do they?  Not all interpret, do they?” (12:29-30) 

If read properly, keeping in mind the sense of narrative and structure that Paul has labored hard to develop, these questions will be heard in light of Paul’s insistence that all of the members of the body (as he speaks to this particular stratifying and dividing church) are equally valuable, with a reminder that “those members that seem to be weaker are essential, and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity” (12:22-23).  We also hear the questions in the light of the statement that “God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another” (12:24b-25).  We can almost sense a bit of mocking coming from the Apostle, as we strive to bear in mind that Paul is writing based on reports about this church that have come to him.  There is, in some sense, a hint that this church is attempting to justify their course of operations, and that potential double set of divisions that we have previously mentioned, with their having implemented a “spiritual gift hierarchy.”  It is even possible that they have done so based on a twist of what Paul has taught them, as he does seem to be working with a base of knowledge on their part. 

So when Paul writes his series of questions, beginning with “Not all are apostles, are they?”, it seems as if he might be playing into their pretensions just a bit.  If they are creating divisions and hierarchies within the church, with these spiritual hierarchies probably ending up as a general reflection of the social hierarchies outside the church, which is what would have caused their messianic banquet and Lord’s Supper meal table to look exactly like and function in exactly the same way as any celebratory meal table outside of the church, then as a form of rhetorical argumentation before he goes on to make a major point, Paul would be creating a series of what may seem like points of agreement with the letter’s hearers.  Thus, as the hearers look around the table, they come to feel justified in their stratifications, as they hear Paul saying “Not all are apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, tongue-talkers, or interpreters, are they?”  This would create an environment of satisfaction (though perhaps tinged with a dawning sense of shame), as those listening would agree, saying “No, not all are apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, tongue-talker, or interpreters.  Therefore, those of us that are these things, as the more honorable members, are right to form this spiritual hierarchy in the church.”