Download or read book The Gifts of God and the Authentication of a Christian written by Paul Douglas Gardner and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-04-20 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through an exegetical examination of 1 Corinthians 8-11:1, a central hypothesis is developed that seeks to facilitate a coherent understanding of these chapters and clarify their place in the epistle as a whole. It is suggested that in the Corinthian church the gifts of the Spirit, and most notably the gift of "knowledge," had come to be regarded by the so-called "strong" as authenticators of their secure status in the covenant community. Paul argued that spiritual gifts could not and should not function in this way. Rather, for the apostle, it is "love" for God and for the community that alone can function in this way.