1 Corinthians 12

Paul turns from selfish worship to selfish church life. Spiritual gifts are gifts given by God at baptism for the purpose of building up the body, the Church. No one gets none and no one gets all. Only Christ had them all. We are dependent upon each other because we are incomplete without each others. That is why unity is so important. Also, those who coast in church rob the church of her full potential because they have (as do all people) a critical piece of church life resident in their particular gift. The "common good" is what Paul calls this unified use of our gifts. And bodies (the Church is Christ's Body on earth) do not function well unless all parts function.

 

People were flaunting gifts and making others seem useless. In fact, God seems to have a special place for those with the less glamorous gifts. All are needed. Paul ends this chapter telling the reader that he has the answer to all this disunity he hears about.