“God’s Gifts, Our Service”

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Our text for today is one of those that many pastors like to avoid. It’s controversial, it’s open to many different interpretations, and quite honestly, whenever you venture into a discussion of the Spiritual gifts, the only certainty is that your thoughts are going to clash with someone else’s! So I will just say that in our discussion today, the thoughts are mine, and if you disagree, we can always talk more about the issues later.
And I have a feeling that if Christians were asked what gifts had come to them from the Holy Spirit, the vast majority of them would offer a list of human abilities that they have. They would mention abilities such as a logical mind, or mechanical ability, or a heart for peace, or public speaking, or intelligence, or any of a myriad of other human traits that we have developed or use on a daily basis.
The truth is that these abilities tend to stay with us through a major part of our lives, and can be held by anyone, whether they are Christians or not. Spiritual gifts are different. First, they will only rest upon those who will use them to glorify the name of Jesus. Second, they may come for a number of years, or they may come for only a few days or weeks. The gifts of the Spirit are neither universal nor permanent nor easily understood, and this is why most people don’t want to talk about them!

But today, we are going to begin some conversation regarding them, and so, the first question - when do we receive these spiritual gifts? As a recap from last week, they first come as a result of a prayerful life, and second, they come to enable a special call that the Lord has placed on a willing and dedicated servant.

And what are these unique and divine gifts all about?

Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

A few thoughts on the phrase “Jesus is Lord”:
First, these are words that many only identify with worship, but they must imply a much greater claim on our lives. It must reflect the attitude that we have throughout our lives, regardless of the place and situation we find ourselves in. It’s about every moment of every day, every decision we make, every step we take, every breath we inhale and every word we speak. The NIB says this: “To say that “Jesus is Lord” has meant, from the earliest days, to refuse to have life divided into secular and sacred, with two value systems operative, in two separate areas [of our lives].”

Second, this phrase also signifies that the one who speaks these words truly believes that Christ has authority, and is authority, and will, one day, return to complete the Godly work that was begun at creation. It signifies the end of death and pain, and that healing will come to the broken people of this world. It also declares that the sin and evil and wrongdoing that we are subjected to every day is unacceptable to Almighty God. It means that we believe that he alone will prevail over evil, but that all who believe in him will share in His ultimate victory.

And Paul would have us know that simply reiterating these words means nothing, but that to claim them, and to trust in all that they mean for our lives, can only be by the grace and Spirit of our Almighty Lord.
So the first aspect of our spiritual gifts is that every time we step out in faith, whether it is in word or deed, it will always be by appointment, and by anointing, of the Holy Spirit.

Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Paul begins to speak about the gifts that come to us from God, and the point that he is making in these verses is that each of us can receive the gift, or gifts (!) that God has ordained, and we are to use them in the way that the Lord desires. Each is unique, but it appears that none are any greater or more glorious or more important than any other.

Each gift is different than the others, but they all come from the same Spirit. Why would our One Lord offer different gifts to different people? Simply, to show us that we must work together to accomplish his will, and that none of us is any more important than anyone else.
There are also different calls on each of us, but all calls come from the same Power Above and for the accomplishment of the same Divine purpose. God’s plan is so intricate and extensive, that none of us could possibly accomplish anything on our own.
And there are different tasks that are necessary, but one God who guides them all. Our place in the Lord’s plan is to make ourselves available to follow his lead. It isn’t about our abilities, it isn’t about our thoughts or plans, it isn’t how great or least we are – it is God’s work and God’s way that is put in motion to meet his needs.

And what does all of this accomplish? The second purpose of these gifts is that they are for the good of all humanity! Interestingly enough, they are not just for God’s benefit, or even for believers – they are for all.

Read 1 Corinthians 12:8-10

An interesting list, to say the least. I know that some folks believe that some gifts are more significant than others, and they attempt to assign an order of importance to each. But as we have seen earlier, there are none that are more or less important, and there are no tasks that please the Lord more than others. In some passages of scripture, the order of assignments and accomplishments may indicate importance, but in this instance, they don’t. It may even be that Paul set this order in place simply to reverse the expectations of importance assigned by the Corinthian Church. In any case, they carry equal weight in God’s eyes.

Let’s take a quick look at each of these gifts, and please note that each one is prefaced by the thought that while an individual may have multiple gifts, no one has been given all of them, and that while any particular gift may be given to a number of people, none are given to everyone.

The first two are similar, but have some distinct differences, and I would like to reverse their order for the purpose of this discussion.

Knowledge and Wisdom. Knowledge is about those things we know, those things we have learned, or information that we have gained. Wisdom, on the other hand, is our ability to connect and use that Knowledge for good. Obviously, these work together, but we also must realize that they are not necessarily given together. If one person has knowledge, they may very well be called to work closely with someone else who can put all of their knowledge together. Think of Wisdom as the understanding and the ability to apply Knowledge.

Faith. This may seem a bit strange, in that all believers have faith. But the implication here is two-fold:
First, faith is a gift from God, and is something that we accept, and can, in no way, claim as our own. It is meant to strengthen us in our life with Christ, as well as to enable us to reach out to the world in His name.
Second, we are filled with faith in varying degrees. The Spirit grants us more and more faith as we grow through study of His word, and by trust in His guidance, and by stepping out in service, and by prayer and meditation. The Spiritual faith that we receive is not necessarily to the same degree or to the same depth as anyone else. And that is OK. We can always grow in faith.

Healing. I have known several people who claim that they have the gift of healing, but I think they have missed the point of this gift. Healing isn’t ours to give to others – healing simply moves from God, through us, and to those who are in need. So who does Spiritual healing move through and to? Through those who fully believe and trust that God can and will heal, and to those who trust that he does heal. Why aren’t all faithful people healed? I have no idea - it simply moves by the will of the Holy Spirit.

Miraculous Powers. (Note: This was inadvertently omitted from the initial manuscript. The following is similar to what was offered.) 15 years ago, the pastor of a small United Methodist church in rural, upstate New York challenged his congregation to pray for wisdom to know what the Lord wanted them to do, but which would be impossible for them to accomplish. They did, the Lord spoke, and the “impossible” project was under way. This 40 person congregation was called to go to Ecuador, for, initially, an unknown purpose, but which became a construction project for a school. It would grow to be three stories high, with, at first, about 60 children receiving a Christian education. They would be partnered with a number of churches and denominations, including an Assembly of God congregation in Brazil who now administer the school.
Attendance now numbers nearly 250 children, with a special program for children with developmental disabilities. Current plans are to add a 4th story to the facility to accommodate even more programs.
This is, obviously, not something that a small, rural church could even conceive of doing, but apparently the Lord could. This is what “miraculous powers” can do when the faithful seek and listen and respond, and I am blessed beyond measure to be this congregation’s current pastor.

Prophecy. In two weeks, we will be considering the place of prophecy, along with tongues and interpretation. But for now, suffice it to say that prophecy is the revealing of God’s word for our lives. We have a number of prophetic messages and books that are an integral part of scripture, but this gift, I believe, is also given to people of all ages, including today. Remember, though, that prophecy is not the same as fortune telling or divination - it is simply the revealing of God’s will. It could involve some future act, but not always. It comes as something that the Lord wants us to hear and know right now.

Distinguishing of Spirits. This gift is intended to help us in determining whether a spirit that is speaking to us is of God or not, whether a prophet and his prophecy is true or false, whether another person’s intent is Godly or not.

Tongues and Interpretation. We see this gift in action at Pentecost (Acts 2:5-13) and at a few other times throughout Acts and the Epistles. It is generally experienced as a language that we don’t understand, and quite honestly, is one that is faked by many and misunderstood by far more.

Wystan Auden, a British poet and author, tells us:
The Christian church came into being at Pentecost. The gift of the Holy Spirit on that occasion is generally called the gift of tongues, but it might equally as well be called the gift of ears. ... As writers, readers, human beings, we cannot speak to or understand each other unless we are first prepared to listen. Of all the gifts that the Holy Spirit is able to bestow, the one for which we should first and most earnestly pray is humility of ear.

--W. H. Auden, in a 1967 lecture, "Words and the Word."

There may be some substance to his thoughts, and even though Acts 2:4 says that the disciples “began to speak in other tongues”, verses 6 & 8 tell us that the people heard in their own language. And in Acts 2:13, we read that “some made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’” Apparently, their ears weren’t open to what was being said.

In two weeks, we will examine tongues and interpretation to a greater depth, as Paul will explain that interpretation will always be vital whenever these other languages are spoken (or heard!), and that when the gift of language is given, there must be someone present who has received the gift of understanding so they can interpret the meaning and message.

Read 1 Corinthians 12:11

Paul concludes this passage with a very important thought for us – that each of these gifts are granted by the Spirit, and that we have little say, other than to express a desire to receive them, and even at that, it is the Spirit who decides who gets what.

Next week we continue with this chapter to examine the purpose of the Body of Christ, and how we are to work together with the gifts that God so generously grants to each of us.