Welcome to Bethany! We trust that God ministers to your soul to strengthen you through the ministry of the Body of Christ. I trust that all of you who have faith in Christ are given opportunity today to be used by God to encourage other brothers and sisters in Christ, to come alongside of them, walk with them, minister to their soul, and that also you would experience the ministry of one another as we are gathered together simply to worship God, to learn of Him this morning.
We’re going to read from 1 Corinthians 12 this morning. We have been in this series where we’ve been looking at the Person of the Holy Spirit, His work in our lives. Today we’re going to consider the Holy Spirit’s gifting of every believer so that we can help one another in our walk with Christ, so that we can help one another grow deeper in faith. 1 Corinthians 12 is this amazing passage, really from chapter 12 to chapter 14. These next two weeks we’re going to talk about this issue that deals with the Holy Spirit’s gifting His people. Next week, we’re going to spend a little more time sort of on the controversial gifts, to have some clarity about what the Bible teaches regarding these gifts that create some controversy in the church. Today, chapter 12 is sort of just this basic primer about what the Holy Spirit has done in our lives to use us for the glory of Christ in the church.
As we think about this, I want you to consider along with me, the Holy Spirit loves you. We know God the Father loves us. If you’ve been in a Gospel church very long, you know God the Father loves you. We know Jesus loves you. From the time we’re little, we sing “Jesus loves me, this I know.” But do you know that the Holy Spirit loves you? There is one God who exists in three Persons. What a mystery! But the Holy Spirit loves you and He loves to give you gifts. Just as you and I would have people precious to us that we just delight to give gifts to, we delight to see the joy in their faces, the Holy Spirit loves you and that’s why He gives you gifts. He doesn’t give you gifts to say, “Now, you can be my worker, my employee.” He gives you gifts because He loves you and He wants you and I to have this purposeful life, this fruitful life.
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Praise God that if we are in Christ, we have the Spirit of God indwelling us! Amen? (Amen!)
We begin this morning with a theology quiz. Are you ready? Take a few moments to put on those theological thinking caps. I’m going to make two statements and I’m going to ask you to think about which one is true. Statement #1: Christianity is a relationship and not a religion. Statement #2: Christianity is a religion and not a relationship. Think about that for a moment. Which statement most aligns with the Bible?
Well, when a teacher asks you a question like that which seems so simple, there is always some little spin. If you are guessing for a spin, you are correct about this one. My answer is that both of these statements are equally true and equally false. They both deny something that must not be denied, according to Scripture. And they both affirm something that is indeed fundamentally true to the Gospel. Christianity is indeed a personal, genuine, authentic relationship with the living God. Jesus defines eternal life as personally knowing God and personally knowing Jesus Christ, whom God the Father sent. Without personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus, all religious expression is absolutely empty. Jesus says
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
That word “know” means to know personally. Christianity indeed is a relationship. Yet, Christianity indeed is a religion. To follow Jesus is to enter a journey with God bound together with other people in spiritual community. It is not merely an individual enterprise, sort of a private personal journey with God. Through Jesus, God redeems individuals, but He redeems individuals into a people for Himself. It is a people who share common confessions of what we believe. They share common values and share common ways in which we live our lives. We share worship and share specific ways in which we come to worship God together. All this is religion at its most basic and true definition. The Bible speaks positively of religion in James 1.
James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
There is a kind of religion that is worthless. In fact, most expressions of religion indeed, are worthless. But then he says positively
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
In other words, he is commending a kind of religion that is pure and undefiled before God. It’s not just before man, but before God Himself.
So yes, there is a kind of religion that is worthless. It’s the kind of religion where faith is without works, as James would say. It is the kind of religion that does not acknowledge Jesus as Lord. It is the kind of knowledge that is external and not internal. It is the kind of religion that is cold ritual without heart fire for God. So, both of these statements have usefulness to drive a particular point home. But they are classic illustrations of a false dichotomy. It is not true that if you have a vibrant, living, healthy relationship with God then you have nothing to do with religion. And it is not true that if you are a religious person that you have nothing to do with a personal relationship with the living God.
I would offer a third alternative as more biblically accurate. Christianity begins with a vibrant personal relationship with God and then actively participates in true religion with other Christ-followers. Of course this statement lacks the oratorical punch that the others do. It’s not going to be memorable. But it’s more biblical. It’s true in its completeness. There is no part of that statement, I believe, that is not in alignment with what God has taught us in His holy Word.
Now if, as you’re sitting here with us this morning, you struggle with my assertions, it is likely you struggle with the idea that Christianity is indeed a religion. In the past, our culture largely wrestled with a kind of religion that possessed form without life. In fact, almost everybody in the United States in much of recent history were very religious people. So, the statement that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion, rose to challenge false religion, external religion, ritualistic, cold religion, and rightly so. The danger of religion without relationship will always be present. It was present in the Old Testament. It’s present in the New Testament. It’s present in our modern time.
But many today are also drifting in the opposite direction. Many Christ-followers who possess a real relationship with the living God actually believe that all religion is worthless. They live as though they can honor Jesus and reject His people. Many believers today need to be reminded that religion, that is, community life, church life that is bound together by corporate worship and by shared confessions and by shared values and by shared ministry, is central to the life of the Christian. It’s central! It’s necessary! Our text today focuses upon the Holy Spirit’s ministry of growing a healthy community. Indeed, I would say a healthy religion through His gifting of each person who possesses Jesus as Savior and Lord.
The main idea we’re going to track through 1 Corinthians 12 is that the Holy Spirit gifts each believer so that we together would strengthen His church. The Holy Spirit purposes for us to use these spiritual gifts that He gives to us in order to strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters who are in Christ. The first idea that we’re going to grab hold of from this text is that
The Holy Spirit Places Us Into the Church
He places every believer into the church, into the Body of Christ, into this new community.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
So it is with Christ followers. This analogy is true of this spiritual community. There is one body and many members. He’s going to really develop that analogy in the last half of 1 Corinthians 12. He goes on to say the reason why it’s true that each of us are members of one body.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—
There is not one single believer in Jesus who is not baptized in one Spirit, into the body of Christ.
Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—
He goes on to say that’s true if you’re a Jewish believer. You’ve been baptized in one Spirit into the body. It’s true of Gentile believers. You’ve been baptized in one Spirit into one body. It’s true if you are a believer who is a slave. It’s true if you are a believer who is free.
and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
All of us had our thirst quenched by this same Spirit of God.
When the Holy Spirit gives us new life through Jesus’ death and resurrection, many, many, many spiritual blessings flow into our lives. To name a few, we are declared righteous by God. Imagine that! We’re completely justified before the law. We’re given the right to call God, our creator, “Abba, Father.” We experience the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. So He is ever living in us. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. We’re made secure. We receive the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying strength so that we can overcome sin habits. We’re placed into a new community called the church, this spiritual family.
Remember how the Holy Spirit began the church in Acts chapter 2. He came upon the apostles and some others in Jerusalem on that amazing day of Pentecost. Immediately afterwards, Peter preaches a message of personal salvation.
Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Everyone who repents of sins and believes in Jesus, they are forgiven their sins and immediately then they receive this gift of the Holy Spirit. When believers trust in Christ, God’s Holy Spirit was indeed given to them. The believers then, rather than cloistering themselves in their homes and saying, “Okay, now I have this relationship with God. It’s me and God. That’s what really matters.” No, they entered into this shared community, a shared life. They committed to shared expressions of worship. They committed to shared expressions of ministry with one another and to the world. Listen to what God says about this new community on the very first day it was formed.
Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
This new group of believers who were granted God’s Spirit, devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship. They’re part of a new people. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. That’s the breaking of bread together; celebrating the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection. They devoted themselves to corporate prayers. It goes on to say
Acts 2:46 And day by day, attending the temple together
Doesn’t that sound religious? They attended temple together. Why? Because they wanted to worship God together.
Acts 2:46 …and breaking bread in their homes,
Acts 2:47 …And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
God added to the number of this church, this new community, this group who share common worship and common values and common confessions and common ministry. The Lord added to their number. In other words, the community is important to God. It’s part of His design. The Holy Spirit’s design for His people is for us to commit ourselves to a loving fellowship where we strengthen one another’s faith, where we help each other grow in our passionate love for God, where we worship Him and where we bring a witness to the world as one body, one people together proclaiming Jesus.
Peter, who is part of this amazing day when the Holy Spirit began the church, reflects on the preciousness of the Holy Spirit’s design in his first letter. In 1 Peter 2, Peter is reflecting upon this new people that God created, the Holy Spirit sort of was the architect, the designer, and then also the one who built it. He says
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race,
Think about that. He says this new community is like a whole new ethnicity. As tight as ethnicity binds people together, this is even more so. They are chosen, chosen by God as this chosen race. It’s a spiritual race of people. And you are a
1 Peter 2:9 …a royal priesthood,
Does that sound religious? A royal priesthood? In other words, each of us acts as mediators of the message to bring Christ to one another and to bring Christ to this world, to pray for one another, to intercede for one another. The one sacrifice has been made. As priests, we don’t make any more sacrifices, but as priests, we announce the Sacrifice. We present the Sacrifice to others. We pray and intercede for one another.
1 Peter 2:9 …a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
I love this! The idea is that God’s design for His church is He wants not just individuals in relationship with Him sort of in these individual silos, but that we would, through the shared life we have in Christ, join together and be this kind of people who God says, “It’s important to me that I have a people who together proclaim my name, who together worship me.”
1 Peter 2:9 …that you may proclaim the excellencies of him
It’s as a group that we have voice with one voice, to have volume by which the world can hear the Gospel.
1 Peter 2:9-10 …that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people,
You weren’t a spiritual people at all. You had no community. Yes, you were aligned according to human groupings, but you weren’t really a people, a spiritual people.
1 Peter 2:10 …but now you are God’s people;
Isn’t that amazing?! Isn’t it wonderful that the Holy Spirit creates this new community and places us in it?
Through the pandemic, I’ve reflected much upon the preciousness of Jesus’ church. We lost during that season, much of our opportunities to connect to each other, to share life together. The beauty of God’s design in fashioning a people for His own possession and placing us together into one spiritual family is unparalleled among human relationships. The closest thing to it is God’s design for the physical family. Yesterday we had an amazing wedding and we celebrate the physical family. The physical family is a creation of God and believers are right to celebrate the physical family. But this family is eternal. It’s even deeper. It goes beyond blood. It goes deeper than blood. This is the Holy Spirit’s amazing design in creating this church and placing us inside this new royal priesthood, into this spiritual family.
God the Father elects us. God the Son redeems us. God the Spirit regenerates us. Each of these divine actions changes our relationships, the most important relationships, in dramatic ways. First, God’s saving action changes our relationship with Him. We move from a position of hostility to God into a position of sonship in God’s family. Secondly, God’s savings actions change our relationship with everyone who believes in Jesus. Jew or Greek, it doesn’t matter what dividing lines separated us here in this world. It doesn’t matter. We now are joined into one family by God so that we move from being not a people, to being God’s people, Peter says.
Keep in mind that this letter, like most of Paul’s letters, is written to the whole church. They’re written for the whole church to read in community and make application in community. Now, don’t misunderstand. I encourage you and urge you to read in the privacy of your own home by yourself in the morning, at noon, in the evening. Get as much as you can of meditating upon the Word, listening to the voice of God through His Word personally and privately. I value that. It’s an important part of every healthy believer’s life. Yet, oftentimes when we read the text, we read as though God is speaking only to us individually, when He intends for us to hear it also in community and to think about our brothers and sisters as we read the Word.
The new church didn’t have individual copies, so when they heard the Word, they heard it always sin community. We have such a blessing to have the Word individually in our homes. But it’s right for us when we listen to Scripture, to listen with a view of our brothers and sisters who are part of our spiritual family and to think about them and the application of how we’re relating to them even as we read the Word.
Here’s the application. If the church is loved enough by God the Father to elect us to be part of it, the church must be loved by me. If the church is precious enough to Jesus to give His own life for her, the church must be precious to me. If the church is important enough for the Holy Spirit to baptize us into one body, to place us there, the church must be important to me. I say that because everything related to spiritual gifts sort of hinges on this foundation of seeing the preciousness of the church and our part in it. The second idea that this passage teaches us is
The Holy Spirit Resources Each One of Us
He resources us to be part of the body; to be used by God to strengthen the body, to strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters.
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
The early church had lots of problems, especially here in Corinth. The Corinthian church had divisions and conflicts and rivalries. There was backbiting and gossip and slander. They had unconfronted sins, and of the kind of sin that even unbelievers didn’t often engage. They had false worship. When they came together for the Lord’s Supper, for instance, Paul said it would be better off if you didn’t meet at all because you’re actually doing more harm that you are good, when you meet for the Lord’s Supper. That’s an astounding thing to say to a church! One of those problems is addressed here in chapter 12, and that is the neglect of spiritual gifts and the misuse of spiritual gifts. Paul says
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
He does that because so many members of this church were misinformed about spiritual gifts. Paul wants us to know that the Holy Spirit resources each member of the church so that each one of us would have a positive impact upon the health of the whole. Here’s the truth we follow from that statement. The answer to the problem of spiritual ignorance is the study of God’s Word.
Many, many problems of spiritual life and of corporate family life are due to ignorance. The answer is, let’s get upon our knees in humility before God and the Word. This Word is sufficient for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that every person who is in Christ would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So the answer to the problem of spiritual ignorance is a deep study and pursuit of the Word. So for the sake of the church’s vitality and worship, the Holy Spirit provides two resources. We find them in this text. The first resource that the Holy Spirit provides us so that we could be that kind of community that glorifies God is the Holy Spirit provides us with
1. A passion for Jesus’ Lordship.
2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
In other words, he says you were disconnected from God. You had no passion for God at all, at least the true God. You may have been passionate for god, but it’s little g. It was no God at all. It was false idols.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!”
He says the first thing I want you to understand is regardless of how Godly, regardless of how wonderful the community is, how sweet the fellowship might be, if there is any fellowship that doesn’t acknowledge the majesty of Jesus, the Lordship of Jesus, the centrality of Jesus, the unique claims of Jesus as being the only way to God, that group and that person is not speaking from the Holy Spirit. That person is speaking from a demonic spirit. It’s a doctrine of demons. He goes on to say this.
and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
I believe that the meaning here is no one can genuinely say Jesus is Lord, authentically say Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 7, Jesus affirms the possibility of false confession. It’s possible, Jesus says, to verbally call Jesus, Lord.
Matthew 7:22-23 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
So Paul is not contradicting Jesus, here. Rather, Paul is reminding us that the only reason we have a genuine passion for the Lordship of Christ is because the Holy Spirit works that passion into our hearts. Wherever there are people who love the Lord Jesus, who submit their lives to Him, who joyfully confess that Jesus is God and that He is the only Savior who has come in the flesh to redeem us through His death, burial and resurrection, who people would sell everything for, give their very lives for, take up the cross in order to follow Jesus, those kind of people. The only reason why such people exist is because the Holy Spirit has done a miracle in our hearts. Amen? (Amen!)
God the Holy Spirit has placed the life of God in our soul so that we see Jesus as altogether valuable. There is nothing more valuable than Him. The passion we have is not passion because the music was great. There is a kind of passion that can be motivated by external things. But that’s not what Paul is talking about here. He’s talking about genuine passion, lasting passion through good times and bad times, when the music is great and when the music is not so great. And by the way, it’s always great here. (Laughter!) But even if it were not, we would be able to have a great time in worship. It doesn’t matter what the instruments are playing. We just love God and we have a way to express that. This is not a passion that we have to sort of manufacture. “I have to be more fervent. I’m going to act more fervent right now.” No, that’s not what happens. If we have a true fervent submission and joy in the Lordship of Jesus, there is one explanation, and that is the Holy Spirit has done a miracle in our heart and we pray, “Holy Spirit, work.”
I went trout fishing this week with a group of eight men from our church. What a joy! During one of the evening discussions, we talked about the effect and impact of our church’s joyful singing to God, upon the men. One of them has been here just, I think, three years or so. He said one of the things that has impacted him greatly is sitting in church and hearing the passion with which God’s people sing praises. He says, “It just overwhelms me.” He said, “I almost want to stop singing just so I can hear the church because there is an effect that other people’s faith has upon me when I hear them have a passion for Jesus.” That’s what the Holy Spirit does. That’s how He uses us. We might not even know that the person sitting in front of us or behind us is spiritually strengthened because of our passion for Christ. But if you have a passion for Christ, I guarantee you you’re having an impact upon your brothers and sisters as you express that passion.
One of the men shared how when they first came to Bethany, they weren’t born again. They commented on how there is a man in our church who sits down in front. I’m trying to find him. I’m sorry, Bill. I’m going to call you out. But he says, “I wasn’t a genuine believer. I looked over there and I would see him just singing. His hands would be up. He would just be all body in, in praise.” He said, “I thought it was kind of odd. What’s he doing?” Then that gentleman shared how since he has come to know Christ in a real, living way, the life of God has filled his soul and he looks over and says, “I want to be more like him. When I see it, I understand now.” You see, such is the impact of the Holy Spirit in resourcing His church with a genuine passion for the Lordship of Christ. The application again would be let’s ask the Holy Spirit to give us zeal for God. Let’s pray that. The second resource is
2. A gifting for Jesus’ glory.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
First observe the emphasis upon the triune God’s action in helping us to minister to one another. Notice that he says “the same Spirit” and next he says “the same Lord.” He’s talking about the Lord Jesus. Then next he says “the same God.” He’s talking about God the Father. So the Spirit, God the Son, God the Father, are all active in the workings of this new community.
Second, observe how the gifts connect to what the ESV reads as “varieties of service” and “varieties of activities.” A spiritual gift is a spiritual ability given by the Spirit to use in the strengthening of the whole church for God’s glory. That’s what a spiritual gift is. A spiritual gift is different from a natural talent in that a spiritual gift is only given to people who believe in Jesus. And it’s given with the express purpose of strengthening the body of Christ, strengthening brothers and sisters in their faith in Jesus as we give witness to the world. When you read the word “gift,” think of spiritual ability that is given to you by the Holy Spirit.
The next word then in these few verses is the word “service.” A service is a specific ministry in the context of this community. For instance, today, some believers are using their spiritual gift to welcome people with the welcome of Jesus. That’s an impact. Others are using their gift to teach children the Gospel. Others use their gift to teach adults the Gospel. Others are using their gifts to offer hospitality through coffee and refreshments. Others use their gifts to pray in faith for people who come here and who are in need and who are hurting. There are varieties of service, varieties of ministry. Each person is given a spiritual gift by the Spirit. Then by the Lord Jesus, they are given a specific ministry. We’re listening to the voice of Christ and saying, “How would you have me serve you, Jesus, in your body, in your family?” There are varieties of ministries. Some of them are programmatic. Some of them just come to you without anyone having a program. It’s not part of a program. It’s just ministry in the church, ministry to the world. There are varieties, but Jesus is sovereignly calling and shaping those ministries for each person.
Then he says “there are varieties of activities.” I much prefer the New American Standard translation, where it reads, “there are varieties of effects.” Every person is given a spiritual gift by the Spirit. They’re given a specific ministry by Jesus. Then God the Father sovereignly takes that gift and that ministry and ensures a specific effect, specific fruit that would be born from the ministry that that person exercises. So it’s impossible to manufacture spiritual fruit. It’s God the Father who sovereignly does that. What an encouragement! God ensures that every person who uses their gift in the service that Jesus calls them to absolutely will have an eternal impact.
Have you ever used your spiritual gift in some ministry that you believe Jesus called you to and then afterwards said, “I don’t know if I made any difference.” Have you ever had that happen? I’ve had it happen all the time in my life. I sense God calling me to go to this place or that place and do this or that, and at the end, I don’t know what happened, here. I didn’t have anybody come up to me and talk to me about any fruit and I don’t know if it happens. It’s easy to get discouraged then. You start choosing your ministry on the basis of what you think the effect will be. That’s the wrong way to choose ministry, by the way. You choose ministry on the basis of where Jesus leads you. As Jesus leads me, I’m going to trust that the Father is going to provide whatever fruit. There is a variety. Some is big. Some is really small. But it’s the Father’s sovereign ordination over that and I can trust Him. So mine is not to produce the fruit. Mine is to just simply trust the Holy Spirit as I receive the spiritual gift, as I follow Jesus in the specific ministry, and then know that God is going to have an eternal impact. Here’s what Paul will say at the end of this letter.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
He doesn’t say “always involved in the work of the Lord.” He says “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Why? Why would He do that? Why would we give ourselves to that?
1 Corinthians 15:58 …knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
The Father will always see to it that there is eternal impact. What a wonder! The Holy Spirit resources us and every one of us is resourced.
When I was little, I loved the comic book The Fantastic Four. I loved that because first of all, they were all amazing. You had the stretchy guy and you had the invisible force field gal. Then you had the big rocky guy who just was super strong and could fly a plane. Then you had Johnny Storm. He was my favorite. He was the fire guy. What was interesting is they didn’t always get along, but they would always end up coming together. When they didn’t get along, it didn’t go too well. The story didn’t go too well. But when they came together, there were varieties. As we look at the gifts, we might say I wish I had Johnny Storm’s gift and not mine. No, that’s God’s sovereign domain. He’s perfect over it and it’s for us to receive whatever He gives us in reference to spiritual gifts and then to use and then know that God is working out the big picture and He does so in a beautiful way.
The Holy Spirit Helps Us to Strengthen One Another
Look at verse 7. This verse is perhaps the most profound of the section related to spiritual gifts.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
There are three key truths about spiritual gifts, here. The first is that the Holy Spirit gives each person a spiritual gift. No person is left without a significant contribution to make in the ministry of Jesus’ people, of this community. They are gifts of grace. They’re not given according to merit. They’re given according to the Lord’s gracious and sovereign will. Paul names nine separate spiritual gifts and then he says
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
It’s the will of the Holy Spirit, but each one is given an important, necessary spiritual gift to be used in the body.
The second truth is the Holy Spirit is made visible through the use of spiritual gifts in the church. Spiritual gifts are called the manifestation of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a spirit. He’s invisible to the human eye. So how are we to see His presence in the community of faith where He indwells us? How will we see that? Well, we see that as individuals use their gifts, connecting to other people who use their gifts. The Holy Spirit is like this is clear the Holy Spirit is working. He’s present in our midst
I’ll just give one quick illustration of that, but there are so many. I’ve been at the church for twenty-eight years. Praise God! What an amazing journey. I’ve had twenty-eight years of just being part of this body. Through that twenty-eight years, there are ups and downs, as there is in everyone’s life. There have been Sundays that I’ve come with a heavy heart. I’ve come with a hurting heart. I’ve come with an anxious heart. There are some Sundays that were like that. Of course, I don’t come and say, “I’m hurting, today. Or I’m anxious today.” Do you do that, by the way, when you come to church? “I’m anxious today. Please help me.” No, we don’t do that. We come with a smile on our face. We look the same, so people don’t know. But oftentimes, I can’t tell you how often it is when I come that I’m in that state and someone comes up to me and says the perfect word. It’s almost as though they knew every part of the conversation that I’ve been having in my head on the way to church that day. I think, how do they do that? I don’t think they have a listening device in my home. But they say the perfect word. How do they do that? I say that’s the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is manifest. He’s like visible to me now. He’s visible through this person who just ministered to my soul. Sometimes it’s through correction, sometimes it’s through encouragement, sometimes it’s through instruction, but this person just ministered to my soul in a huge way. That’s how the Holy Spirit makes Himself visible to us. It’s through the use of these gifts.
The third idea is the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts for the common good. In other words, the Holy Spirit uses these gifts not for the purpose of even personal edification, but for the purpose of us contributing to something greater than ourselves and thus, finding greater meaning in God and in His work than we would in our own selves. Peter gets this. In 1 Peter 4 he says
1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
The Holy Spirit intends to use our gifts to help other believers to grow in faith and to deepen in their love for Jesus.
When we hear a message on the topic of spiritual gifts, one of the first questions people ask is, “How do I know what gift I have?” In fact, some churches have created tests that you can take to find out. What I find really interesting is that when that question is asked and I open up my Bible, I have no place to turn. In order to answer the question, I have to close my Bible and tell the person what I think. I don’t know of a passage that suggests how you can find what your spiritual gift is. If you know one, come up to me afterwards. Teach me. But I don’t know. I’ve never found one that even addresses that question. It’s an important question. Undoubtedly people in the first century had that question. So what does that tell us?
I think John Piper, one of my favorite pastors, hits the nail square when he writes this. Listen to this. I think this is really important. He says, “I really believe that the problem of not knowing our spiritual gifts is not a basic problem.” In other words, that’s not the problem we really have. “More basic is the problem of not desiring very much to strengthen other people’s faith.” In other words, it’s our own selfishness that thinks about ourselves and doesn’t take into consideration that God, every Sunday and then all through the week, has given me opportunities to strengthen the faith of my brothers and sisters. Do I really want to do that? Because I believe if you and I really want to do that, we will not have to ask the question, “What’s my spiritual gift?” We’ll discover it very quickly because we’ll start doing stuff; talking, speaking, working, ministering, serving. All of a sudden, we’re going to see certain effects and we’re going to find certain joys and we’re going to find certain confirmations that we didn’t really know we had.
Here’s what John Piper said. “The basic problem is becoming the kind of person who wakes up in the morning, thanks God for our salvation, and says, ‘Lord, O how I want to strengthen people’s faith today. Grant that at the end of this day, somebody will be more confident of your promises and more joyful in your grace because I crossed his path.’” I want to be that person. I really do. I believe it’s together we become that kind of people. Then the question “What’s my spiritual gift?” will fade into the background and we’ll find this glorious manifestation of God’s Spirit.
Let me give you just one illustration and then some applications as we close. Imagine this morning Mr. and Mrs. Smith walking into Bethany with their little one. They’ve had a tough week. Their jobs aren’t going well. They have fought a lot. They’ve learned of a health scare. They recognized they need something and they decided to give church a try again. They haven’t been here for a long time. As they enter the church, they’re greeted with genuine love. They’re asked how they can be helped. The couple asks if the church has a nursery. So they are walked down to the nursery, where they are met by a smiling caregiver. The nursery worker loves them as he or she shares all that the church does to ensure the care and safety of their little one. The worker helps them to process the checking in of the child, which can be lengthy.
As they make their way to the Sanctuary, they are offered coffee and some refreshments. A few people come up to talk to them. As they enter the Sanctuary, a couple asks them if they’d like to sit with them at the service. They feel kind of lonely in a big place, and they say “Sure.” As they begin singing, they notice the joy others have in the Lord. As the Bible is read, they notice that Bibles are open and that people are actually interested in what God has to say in His Word. Then the Word is preached. After the service, another couple meets them and asks if they’re free for lunch. They’d love to get to know them better.
Let me ask you, what part of that experience is the most important part? Who had the greatest impact? I don’t know. But I know that because of all they experienced, when we hear the Word, which is the life-giving thing, when that person hears the Word, they’re more receptive because of the encouragement and the ministry of others in the body. After they hear the Word, they’re more thoughtful about the message because of how they are loved by the body. That’s why the church is not about a pastor. This is not Pastor Ritch’s church. It’s Jesus’ church, and it’s ours together to steward for the glory of Christ.
Here are some short applications. Believe in Jesus and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That’s where it all begins. If you have not believed in Jesus as your Savior, you do not have the life of God and you need the life of God. You need to know God personally. Jesus calls you to Himself to believe in Him. Second, ask God for a desire to help others grow in faith. Ask Him to give you a passion for people in our own community. Then use your gifts. Just find a way to say, “Lord, I want to be used and I know there are a lot of places to start. I’m just going to begin.” Use your spiritual gifts. Actively fan into flame the gift that God has given you. As you are using those gifts, want the Holy Spirit to continue to grow this gift and grow the ministry that God would give you so you could learn more about glorifying Him. Finally, encourage others to use their spiritual gifts, too. We do that if we see them using a gift, by affirming them and confirming God’s work. If we see other friends who aren’t using their gifts, tell them there is this great joy and I want you to experience it. This body needs you to be able to fully function with the vitality that together we can for the glory of God.