Karama za Roho katika Nyaraka za PauloThe Gifts of the Spirit in Paul's Letters

Kutoka Kwenye Hadithi Hadi Kwenye NyarakaFrom the Story to the Letters

Katika kitabu cha Matendo tulimtazama Roho Mtakatifu akimwagwa na Injili ikipelekwa ulimwenguni kote. Tunapogeukia nyaraka za Paulo, mandhari inabadilika. Sasa hatusomi tena hadithi ya yaliyotokea; tunafundishwa jinsi karama za Roho zinavyokusudiwa kufanya kazi katika maisha ya kawaida ya kanisa la mahali, wiki baada ya wiki.In the book of Acts we watched the Holy Spirit poured out and the gospel carried across the world. When we turn to Paul's letters, the scene changes. Now we are no longer reading the story of what happened; we are being taught how the Spirit's gifts are meant to work in the ordinary life of a local church, week after week.

Badiliko hili lina maana, kwa sababu ni katika nyaraka — hasa katika 1 Wakorintho — ambapo Paulo kwa kweli analifundisha kanisa kuhusu karama za rohoni: zinatolewa kwa ajili ya nini, zinapaswa kutumiwaje, na zisivyopaswa kutumiwa. Na shauku kuu ya Paulo si ile waliyokuwa nayo Wakorintho. Wao walivutiwa sana na karama gani mtu alikuwa nazo, na hasa zile za kustaajabisha. Paulo analigeuza swali hilo tena na tena. Shauku yake si kamwe karama gani uliyo nayo tu, bali kama karama hiyo inatumiwa kwa upendo, kwa utaratibu, na kwa ajili ya kuujenga mwili wa Kristo. Shauku hiyo moja inaunda kila kitu katika sehemu hii.The change matters, because it is in the letters — above all in 1 Corinthians — that Paul actually instructs the church about spiritual gifts: what they are for, how they are to be used, and how they are not. And Paul's driving concern is not the one the Corinthians had. They were fascinated by which gifts a person possessed, and especially by the spectacular ones. Paul keeps turning the question around. His concern is never merely which gift you have, but whether the gift is used in love, in order, and for the building up of the body of Christ. That single concern shapes everything in this unit.

Orodha za Karama — Zinazoingiliana, Si Katalogi IliyofungwaThe Gift Lists — Overlapping, Not a Fixed Catalog

Agano Jipya linatupa orodha kadhaa za karama za rohoni: Warumi 12:6–8; 1 Wakorintho 12:8–10 na 12:28–30; Waefeso 4:11; na, kutoka kwa Petro, 1 Petro 4:10–11. Ukiziweka kando kwa kando, jambo moja linaonekana wazi mara moja: zinaingiliana, lakini hakuna mbili zinazofanana. Warumi inaorodhesha unabii, huduma, kufundisha, kuonya, kutoa, kuongoza, na rehema. Wakorintho wa Kwanza inaorodhesha hekima, maarifa, imani, karama za kuponya, miujiza, unabii, kupambanua roho, lugha, na tafsiri ya lugha. Waefeso haiorodheshi uwezo bali watu — mitume, manabii, wainjilisti, wachungaji na waalimu — waliotolewa kwa kanisa. Petro anazigawa tu karama zote katika aina mbili: kunena na kuhudumu.The New Testament gives us several lists of spiritual gifts: Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:8–10 and 12:28–30; Ephesians 4:11; and, from Peter, 1 Peter 4:10–11. Set them side by side and something becomes plain at once: they overlap, but no two of them are the same. Romans lists prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and mercy. First Corinthians lists wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation. Ephesians lists not abilities but people — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers — given to the church. Peter simply divides all gifts into two kinds: speaking and serving.

Tofauti hizi ni zawadi kwetu, kwa sababu zinatuzuia tusifanye kosa. Paulo hakukusudia kamwe kuandika orodha kamili ya karama, orodha iliyofungwa ambayo kila uwezo lazima upimwe kwayo. Orodha hizi zinatoa mifano; hazijumuishi karama zote. Kwa hiyo ni kupoteza nguvu kubishana kama uwezo fulani “unahesabiwa” kuwa karama ya rohoni kwa sababu haupo katika mojawapo ya vifungu hivi. Kile ambacho Maandiko yanatusisitizia badala yake ni rahisi zaidi na kinachochunguza moyo zaidi: kila mwamini amepokea karama, na kila karama inatoka kwa Roho yule mmoja ili itumiwe kwa ajili ya wengine.These differences are a gift to us, because they keep us from a mistake. Paul never sets out to write a complete inventory of the gifts, a closed list against which every ability must be checked. The lists are illustrative, not exhaustive. So it is a waste of energy to argue over whether some ability “counts” as a spiritual gift because it does not appear in one of these passages. What Scripture presses on us instead is simpler and more searching: every believer has received a gift, and every gift comes from the one Spirit to be used for others.

“Kila mmoja na atumie kipawa alichokipata kwa kuhudumiana, kama mawakili wema wa neema ya Mungu iliyo ya namna nyingi.”1 Petro 4:10 (SUV)“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV)

Kuna uhuru katika jambo hili. Mwamini hahitaji kuzichunguza orodha kwa wasiwasi ili kuipata na kuipa jina karama yake moja rasmi, kana kwamba neema inakuja katika vyumba vilivyofungwa. Neema ya Mungu inaitwa ya namna nyingi — yenye rangi nyingi — nayo hujipatanisha na mtu na hitaji lake. Kazi yetu si kuiainisha karama bali kuitumia.There is freedom in this. A believer need not anxiously scan the lists to find and label his one official gift, as though grace came in fixed compartments. God’s grace is called manifold — many-colored — and it fits itself to the person and the need. The task is not to classify the gift but to use it.

Mwili Mmoja, Viungo VingiOne Body, Many Members

Maelezo marefu zaidi kuhusu karama, katika 1 Wakorintho 12, yamejengwa juu ya picha moja: kanisa ni mwili. Mwili una viungo vingi, kila kimoja tofauti, kila kimoja ni cha lazima, vyote vimeunganishwa katika uhai mmoja. Roho huzigawa karama kama apendavyo:The longest treatment of the gifts, in 1 Corinthians 12, is built around a single picture: the church is a body. A body has many members, each different, each necessary, all joined in one life. The Spirit distributes the gifts as He chooses:

“Lakini kazi hizi zote huzitenda Roho huyo mmoja, yeye yule, akimgawia kila mtu peke yake kama apendavyo yeye.”1 Wakorintho 12:11 (SUV)“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”1 Corinthians 12:11 (NKJV)

Kutokana na picha hii Paulo anasahihisha makosa mawili yanayopingana, na yote mawili yalikuwa hai huko Korintho. La kwanza ni kiburi: mwamini mwenye karama inayoonekana na kusifiwa ambaye anaanza kujiona kuwa Mkristo bora kuliko wengine. Paulo anajibu kwamba jicho haliwezi kuuambia mkono, “Sina haja nawe” (12:21) — hakuna kiungo kinachoruhusiwa kukidharau kingine. Kosa la pili ni kinyume chake kama katika kioo: mwamini asiye na karama ya kuonekana ambaye anahitimisha kwamba yeye si wa maana kwa kweli, kwamba mwili ungeweza kuendelea bila yeye. Paulo anajibu kwamba viungo vinavyoonekana kuwa dhaifu kwa kweli ni vya lazima kabisa (12:22). Kila karama, Paulo anasema, inatolewa “kwa kufaidiana” (12:7) — kwa faida ya wote, kamwe si kwa ajili ya hadhi binafsi. Kifungu hicho kimoja kinapiga mzizi kabisa wa kutumia karama, iwe lugha au nyingine yoyote, kama nishani ya cheo.From this picture Paul corrects two opposite errors, and both were alive in Corinth. The first is pride: the believer with a visible, admired gift who begins to think himself a superior Christian. Paul answers that the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you” (12:21) — no member may look down on another. The second error is the mirror image: the believer without a showy gift who concludes that he does not really matter, that the body could do without him. Paul answers that the parts which seem weaker are in fact indispensable (12:22). Every gift, Paul says, is given “for the profit of all” (12:7) — for the common good, never for private standing. That one phrase strikes at the very root of using a gift, whether tongues or any other, as a badge of rank.

Kuna faraja halisi katika picha hii, na pia marekebisho halisi. Faraja ni kwamba hakuna mwamini wa kweli aliyeachwa nje: ikiwa wewe ni wa Kristo, Roho ameweka karama ndani yako na nafasi kwa ajili yako katika mwili, hata kama inaonekana imefichika kiasi gani. Marekebisho ni kwamba hakuna karama iliyowahi kukusudiwa kustaajabiwa ikiwa peke yake. Mkono ni wa ajabu ukiwa kwenye mkono wa juu na hauna faida ukiwekwa ndani ya chupa. Karama huishi na kufanya kazi yake tu katika maisha ya pamoja ya kanisa, zikiwa zimeunganishwa na wengine na kuwahudumia.There is real comfort in this picture, and real correction. The comfort is that no true believer is left out: if you belong to Christ, the Spirit has placed a gift in you and a place for you in the body, however hidden it may seem. The correction is that no gift was ever meant to be admired in isolation. A hand is glorious on an arm and useless in a jar. Gifts live and do their work only in the shared life of the church, joined to others and serving them.

Upendo: Njia Iliyo Bora Kupita ZoteLove: The More Excellent Way

Si bahati mbaya kwamba Paulo anaipanda sura yake kuu juu ya upendo katikati kabisa ya mafundisho yake juu ya karama. Baada ya kuueleza mwili katika sura ya 12, na kabla ya kuweka taratibu za karama katika sura ya 14, anasimama kusema kwamba bila upendo hakuna hata kimoja chenye thamani yoyote.It is no accident that Paul plants his great chapter on love in the very middle of his teaching on gifts. Having described the body in chapter 12, and before he regulates the gifts in chapter 14, he stops to say that without love none of it is worth anything.

“Nijaponena kwa lugha za wanadamu na za malaika, kama sina upendo, nimekuwa shaba iliayo, au upatu uvumao.”1 Wakorintho 13:1 (SUV)“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”1 Corinthians 13:1 (NKJV)

Lugha bila upendo ni kelele tu; unabii, maarifa, na imani ya kuhamisha milima bila upendo si kitu; hata dhabihu kubwa bila upendo haifaidii kitu (13:2–3). Huu ndio moyo wa marekebisho ya Paulo kwa Wakorintho: walithamini mambo ya kustaajabisha na kupuuza yaliyo ya msingi. Upendo si karama moja zaidi ya kuongezwa kwenye orodha; ni kiunzi kinachopaswa kushikilia kila karama, la sivyo karama hiyo inakuwa bure. Kanisa linaweza kuwa tajiri wa karama na maskini katika jambo lile moja lililo la maana. Paulo hatakubali hali hiyo iendelee.Tongues without love are only noise; prophecy, knowledge, and mountain-moving faith without love are nothing; even great sacrifice without love profits nothing (13:2–3). This is the heart of Paul's correction of the Corinthians: they prized the spectacular and neglected the essential. Love is not one more gift to be added to the list; it is the frame that must hold every gift, or the gift becomes worthless. A church may be rich in gifts and poor in the one thing that matters. Paul will not let that stand.

Hili ni onyo ambalo kanisa la leo linalihitaji kama vile Korintho ilivyolihitaji. Inawezekana kujenga kusanyiko kuzunguka karama na nguvu na msisimko, na kupima ibada kwa wingi wa yaliyotokea, huku upendo — ambao peke yake hufanya lolote kati ya hayo liwe na maana — ukipoa. Paulo anakataa biashara hiyo.This is a warning the modern church needs as much as Corinth did. It is possible to build a gathering around gifts and power and excitement, and to measure a service by how much happened, while the love that alone makes any of it count grows cold. Paul refuses that trade.

“Ijapo Ile Iliyo Kamili” — Andiko Linalosomwa kwa Njia Mbili“When That Which Is Perfect Has Come” — A Text Read Two Ways

Katika sura hiyo hiyo Paulo anaandika maneno ambayo yamebishaniwa tangu wakati huo:In the same chapter Paul writes words that have been argued over ever since:

“Upendo haupungui neno wakati wo wote; bali ikiwa ni unabii, utabatilika; ikiwa ni lugha, zitakoma…Kwa maana tunafahamu kwa sehemu…Lakini ijapo ile iliyo kamili, iliyo kwa sehemu itabatilika.”1 Wakorintho 13:8–10 (SUV)“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease…For we know in part…But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.”1 Corinthians 13:8–10 (NKJV)

Swali lote linategemea maneno machache: “ile iliyo kamili” ni nini? Wakristo wanyoofu na wenye uangalifu wamejibu kwa njia mbili, na ni haki tu kuziweka zote mbili katika hali yake yenye nguvu zaidi.The whole question rests on four words: what is “that which is perfect”? Sincere, careful Christians have answered in two ways, and it is only fair to set both out at their strongest.

Angalia kwamba kifungu hiki, peke yake, hakituambii kama karama zinatumika kanisani leo — kinatuambia tu ni nini siku moja kitazikomesha. Swali hilo kubwa zaidi, kama unabii na lugha vinaendelea sasa au vilikoma pamoja na kipindi cha mitume, tutalishughulikia kikamilifu katika sehemu ya baadaye. Hapa inatosha, na ni uaminifu, kusema kwamba mstari huu muhimu unaweza kusomwa kwa njia yoyote kati ya hizo mbili, na kwamba wasomi wacha Mungu wanaopenda Biblia wamefikia pande zote mbili.Notice that this passage, by itself, does not tell us whether the gifts are exercised in the church today — only what will one day bring them to an end. That larger question, whether prophecy and tongues continue now or ceased with the apostolic age, we take up fully in a later unit. Here it is enough, and honest, to say that this key verse can be read either way, and that godly, Bible-loving scholars have landed on both sides.

Lugha na Unabii katika KusanyikoTongues and Prophecy in the Assembly

Katika sura ya 14 Paulo anageuka kutoka kanuni kwenda kwenye matendo: karama zinapaswa kutumiwaje kanisa linapokutana pamoja? Kanuni yake inaongozwa na neno moja — kujenga, yaani kuwajenga wengine. Kwa sababu hiyo, anapendelea waziwazi unabii kuliko lugha zisizotafsiriwa katika kusanyiko:In chapter 14 Paul turns from principle to practice: how are the gifts to be used when the church comes together? His rule is guided by one word — edification, the building up of others. Because of that, he plainly prefers prophecy to uninterpreted tongues in the gathering:

“Yeye anenaye kwa lugha hujijenga nafsi yake; bali yeye ahutubuye hulijenga kanisa.”1 Wakorintho 14:4 (SUV)“He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.”1 Corinthians 14:4 (NKJV)

Paulo anatoa sababu iliyo wazi kwa kanuni yake. Fikiria asiyeamini akiingia kwa bahati katika mkutano ambapo kila mtu ananena kwa lugha wakati mmoja, bila mtu wa kutafsiri; atahitimisha kwamba kanisa limerukwa na akili (14:23). Lakini ikiwa neno la Mungu linanenwa waziwazi naye akashuhudiwa moyoni, ataanguka kifudifudi na kukiri kwamba kweli Mungu yu kati yao (14:24–25). Kanisa lililokusanyika, Paulo anasisitiza, lipo ili lieleweke, ili wengine wapate kukutana na Mungu na kujengwa.Paul gives a vivid reason for his rule. Imagine an unbeliever wandering into a meeting where everyone is speaking in tongues at once, with no one to interpret; he will conclude the church has lost its mind (14:23). But if the word of God is spoken plainly and he is convicted, he will fall on his face and confess that God is truly among them (14:24–25). The gathered church, Paul insists, exists to be understood, so that others may meet God and be built up.

Lugha zinazonenwa kwa sauti katika kusanyiko lazima zitafsiriwe, la sivyo msemaji anapaswa kunyamaza (14:27–28); mambo yote yanapaswa kutendeka “kwa uzuri na kwa utaratibu” (14:40), kwa maana “Mungu si Mungu wa machafuko” (14:33). Hata hivyo angalia kwa makini mahali Paulo anapofikia. Haikatazi karama; anaiwekea utaratibu. Kwa kweli anafunga majadiliano yote kwa amri inayoelekea upande mwingine:Tongues spoken aloud in the assembly must be interpreted, or the speaker should keep silent (14:27–28); everything is to be done “decently and in order” (14:40), for God “is not the author of confusion” (14:33). Yet notice carefully where Paul lands. He does not forbid the gift; he governs it. In fact he closes the whole discussion with a command that runs the other way:

“Basi, ndugu zangu, takeni sana kuhutubu, wala msizuie kunena kwa lugha.”1 Wakorintho 14:39 (SUV)“Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.”1 Corinthians 14:39 (NKJV)

Kwa hiyo Paulo anapanga daraja na pia anaweka taratibu: unabii una faida zaidi kwa kanisa kuliko lugha zisizotafsiriwa, na mambo yote lazima yawe kwa utaratibu — na bado karama ya lugha haipaswi kukatazwa. Karama hiyo ni halisi na njema; inapaswa kushikiliwa chini ya upendo, utaratibu, na kuwajenga wengine.So Paul both ranks and regulates: prophecy is more useful than uninterpreted tongues for the church, and all things must be orderly — and still the gift of tongues is not to be forbidden. The gift is real and good; it is to be held under love, order, and the building up of others.

“Lugha Isiyojulikana” — Neno Kuhusu NenoThe “Unknown Tongue” — A Word About the Word

Jambo moja la uaminifu linasaidia hapa, nalo linagusa moja kwa moja Biblia zetu mbili. Katika 1 Wakorintho 14 yote, King James Version ya zamani inasoma “an unknown tongue” (lugha isiyojulikana). Lakini neno unknown (isiyojulikana) halipo kabisa katika Kigiriki; liliongezwa na watafsiri wa KJV, nao kwa uaminifu wao walilichapisha kwa herufi za mlalo (italiki) ili kuonyesha kwamba walikuwa wameliongeza. New King James Version inaliondoa, ikisoma tu kwamba mtu “anena kwa lugha.” Mapokeo ya Kihispania ya Reina-Valera, kwa upande wake, yanaongeza neno lake yenyewe, yakisoma “lengua extraña” — lugha ngeni au ya kigeni. Kwa hiyo msomaji wa Kiingereza na msomaji wa Kihispania wanaangalia maneno yanayotofautiana kidogo katika mistari ile ile, na ni vyema kujua jambo hilo waziwazi.A point of honesty helps here, and it touches our two Bibles directly. Throughout 1 Corinthians 14 the older King James Version reads “an unknown tongue.” But the word unknown is not in the Greek at all; it was supplied by the KJV translators, and in their honesty they printed it in italics to show that they had added it. The New King James Version drops it, reading simply that a person “speaks in a tongue.” The Spanish Reina-Valera tradition, for its part, supplies a word of its own, reading “lengua extraña” — a strange or foreign tongue. So a reader in English and a reader in Spanish are looking at slightly different words at the very same verses, and it is good to know that plainly.

Maana yake ni kwamba hoja ya kuielewa karama ya Wakorintho kama lugha ya maombi ya faragha isiyojulikana haiwezi kusimama juu ya neno “isiyojulikana,” kwa sababu neno hilo liliongezwa na watafsiri. Badala yake inasimama juu ya maelezo ya Paulo mwenyewe kuhusu karama hiyo:What this means is that the case for understanding the Corinthian gift as an unknown, private prayer language cannot rest on the word “unknown,” because that word was added by translators. It rests instead on Paul's own description of the gift:

“Kwa maana yeye anenaye kwa lugha, hasemi na wanadamu, bali na Mungu; kwa kuwa hakuna asikiaye; lakini anena mambo ya siri kwa roho yake.”1 Wakorintho 14:2 (SUV)“For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.”1 Corinthians 14:2 (NKJV)

Msemaji anamwelekea Mungu, si wanadamu; hakuna anayemwelewa; anajijenga nafsi yake (14:4); “roho yangu huomba, lakini akili zangu hazina matunda” (14:14). Kwa msingi wa maelezo hayo — wala si wa neno lililoongezwa — wengi wanaielewa karama ya Wakorintho kuwa lugha ya maombi itolewayo na Roho inayoelekezwa kwa Mungu, jambo tofauti na lugha za wanadamu zinazojulikana zilizosikika siku ya Pentekoste. Tunaweza kushikilia hii kama tafsiri inayowezekana zaidi huku tukibaki waaminifu kuhusu jinsi tafsiri za Biblia zinavyotofautiana.The speaker addresses God, not men; no one understands him; he edifies himself (14:4); “my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful” (14:14). On that description — not on a supplied word — many understand the Corinthian gift to be a Spirit-given prayer language directed to God, something other than the known human languages heard at Pentecost. We may hold this as the likely reading while remaining honest about how the translations differ.

Kristo KatikatiChrist at the Center

Paulo anatuambia kusudi ambalo karama zilitolewa kwa ajili yake, na kusudi hilo linaamua kila kitu kingine:Paul tells us the purpose for which the gifts were given, and it settles everything else:

“…kwa kusudi la kuwakamilisha watakatifu, hata kazi ya huduma itendeke, hata mwili wa Kristo ujengwe.”Waefeso 4:12 (SUV)“…for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”Ephesians 4:12 (NKJV)

Si kwa ajili ya kujionyesha, si kwa ajili ya hadhi, si kuwapanga Wakristo katika vyeo vya juu na vya chini — bali kuwakamilisha watakatifu na kuujenga mwili mpaka sisi sote tufikie kimo cha utimilifu wa Kristo. Kila karama, iwe ni ipi, ni chombo mkononi mwa Bwana kwa ajili ya lengo hilo moja. Kwa hiyo tunamthamini Mtoaji kuliko karama, tunashikilia kila karama chini ya upendo, na tunamweka Bwana Yesu katikati, mahali pale pale ambapo Roho anakusudia kumweka.Not for display, not for status, not to sort Christians into higher and lower ranks — but to equip the saints and build up the body until we all reach the fullness of Christ. Every gift, whatever it is, is a tool in the Master's hand for that one end. So we prize the Giver above the gift, we hold every gift under love, and we keep the Lord Jesus at the center, which is the very place the Spirit means to put Him.

Tukitazama MbeleLooking Ahead

Baada ya kuona jinsi Paulo anavyofundisha juu ya karama, tutageukia jinsi kanisa kwa kweli lilivyozitafuta, kuzirejesha, na wakati mwingine kubishana juu yake — hadithi ya vuguvugu lililoziweka karama hizi katikati kabisa ya maisha yake, na maswali ambayo hadithi hiyo inatuletea.Having seen how Paul teaches the gifts, we will turn to how the church has actually sought, recovered, and sometimes fought over them — the story of a movement that placed these gifts at the very center of its life, and the questions that story raises for us.

Maswali ya MajadilianoDiscussion Questions

• Kuziona orodha za karama kama mifano badala ya orodha kamili kunabadilishaje jinsi tunavyofikiri kuhusu karama zetu wenyewe na za wenzetu?How does seeing the gift lists as illustrative rather than exhaustive change the way we think about our own gifts and one another's?
• Paulo anaiweka sura ya upendo katikati ya mafundisho yake juu ya karama. Mpangilio huo unaliambia nini kanisa linalothamini mambo ya kustaajabisha?Paul puts the love chapter in the middle of his teaching on gifts. What does that placement say to a church that prizes the spectacular?
• Soma 1 Wakorintho 13:8–12 polepole. Ni tafsiri ipi ya “ile iliyo kamili” inayoonekana kwako kuwa na nguvu zaidi, na je, unaweza kuieleza tafsiri nyingine kwa haki?Read 1 Corinthians 13:8–12 slowly. Which reading of “that which is perfect” seems strongest to you, and can you state the other reading fairly?
• Kwa nini ni muhimu kuwa waaminifu kwamba neno “isiyojulikana” liliongezwa na watafsiri, na kuweka msingi wa tafsiri juu ya maelezo ya Paulo kunatuwekaje juu ya msingi imara zaidi?Why is it important to be honest that the word “unknown” was supplied by translators, and how does grounding the reading in Paul's description keep us on firmer ground?

Matumizi katika HudumaMinistry Application

Taja karama moja unayoamini Mungu amekupa, na uandike sentensi mbili juu ya jinsi unavyoweza kuitumia mwezi huu “kwa kufaidiana” — kuujenga mwili badala ya kujijenga mwenyewe. Kisha mtaje mshiriki mmoja mkimya wa kanisa lako ambaye karama yake ni rahisi kupuuzwa, na njia moja unayoweza kuiheshimu.Name one gift you believe God has given you, and write two sentences on how you could use it this month “for the profit of all” — to build up the body rather than yourself. Then name one quieter member of your church whose gift is easy to overlook, and one way you could honor it.