1 Corinthians 12, What’s Your Gift?

The Meaning of Spiritual Gifts in 1 Corinthians 12

First Corinthians chapter 12. Be reading the entire chapter here. The Word of the Lord. Now concerning spiritual gifts brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols.

However, you were led 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. Now there are varieties of gifts.

But the same Spirit and their varieties of service. But the same Lord and their varieties of activities, but is the same God who empowers them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit. To another gifts of healing by this one Spirit.

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. All these are empowered by one in the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

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 for in one spirit We were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks slaves are free and all were made to drink of one spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say because I'm not a hand I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body. And. If the ears should say because I'm not an eye I do not belong to the body that would not make it any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were in. Where would be the sense of hearing. If the whole body were in ear where would be the sense of smell? But as it is God arranged the members of the body each one of them as he chose.

If all were a single member Where would the body be as it is? There are many parts yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand. I have no need of you nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you on the other.

On the contrary the parts of the body that seem to be weak. You're are indispensable and those parts of the body that we think less honorable. We bestow the greater honor and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty.

Which are more presentable parts do not require but God has so composed the body. Giving greater honor to the part that lacked it that there may be no division in the body. But that the members may have the same care for one another if one member suffers all Suffer together.

If one member is honored all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it and God has Appointed in the church first Apostles second prophets third teachers then miracles then gifts of healing helping Administering and various kinds of tongues.

Are all Apostles. Are all prophets. Are all teachers. Do all work miracles. Do all possess gifts of healing. Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret but earnestly desire the higher gifts and I will show you a still more excellent way.

May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well this year marks the 12th anniversary of us moving to North Carolina. We did in March of 2007. The first time I visited I personally visited, North Carolina was in 1987.

I was a senior in college and we had a track meet. I believe it was in Western, Carolina. I remember that though because I came with a team I came for a team. It was a warm spring day in the hilly country of Western, North Carolina.

When we arrived in a bus I was running a 5 ,000 meter race 3 .1 miles. That's 12 and a half laps around the track with about a lap to go in my race. I could see that I was in third place. Now you have to finish in the top three to score points for your team in a track meet.

So I was eager to stay in the top three the first and second runners were too far ahead of me. So I really I knew I couldn't catch them, but I could hear that there was someone close behind me. So he passes me.

I'm in fourth place. I score. I score nothing. When I rounded the second to last turn with about 300 meters to go. Where they called the kick starting to sprint to finish the race where it usually starts my coach was standing beside the track and said something to like something to me like There's a guy five yards behind you and so in obviously telling me, you know, he can catch you easily.

And so I took off now. I I wasn't quick when I was a runner. I I would often get past in the last 100 meters of a race because I've just not not quick but I was eager to actually score some points for my team to do my part, so I You know gave it all I had.

Starting on the far side of the track and then down that straightaway around that last turn. Could feel someone was on my heels the entire way down the last straightaway coming before the the stands there where the teams were Sprinting as fast as I could.

I could hear my teammates In the stands cheering loudly for me as I was straining with all my might, you know John go and they were cheering course not just for me. But for their entire team right in a way for themselves because I was running for them to score for them across the finish line in third place and beat the guy behind me.

I Never saw what he looked like. I never knew what school he came from because I never looked back and he never got in front of me. One teammate came up to me saying he didn't know I could sprint so fast.

I Felt great that I had done my part for the team and that was my first day in North Carolina. Track is probably the least team-oriented sport. There's not much your team can do for you. You know really practically while you're running maybe to cheer or heckle other sports, you know football basketball baseball softball volleyball.

Completely depend on on teamwork in comparison track can look like an individualistic sport. You know people who don't know it or running generally very well might think you can do just fine without a team.

But even in it you train together and you need people to train with make you keep going to stop, you know by yourself. You're not gonna feel like doing a workout today. You need the team to help you when the when it comes to the actual competition.

Even even the best track stars learn that they need a team to compete at their best. You watch the Olympics and you watch those guys training. I'm almost guarantee you that every single one of them in that track has a team.

They're a part of that they train with first. Corinthians 12 is all about.

Teamwork in the Church and the Variety of Gifts

Teamwork.

It's a long chapter with a single simple idea. We're on this team together each with something to do. People look at the Christian life and think well. There's not much this so-and-so can do for me that the church the other people can do for me.

They can't resist temptation for me. They can't read the Bible for me. They can't so they think it's an individualistic thing. No, you're wrong. You need a team. You need to be part of a body. We have one body.

But many gifts and you need to find your place in it. The key verses I believe are from verses 4 to 7. Well, he says there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit there are varieties of service. But the same Lord the varieties of activities, but it's the same God who empowers them all and everyone.

To each is given the manifestation of the spirit. For the common good. So there are three things here variety unity and ministry. The question for us then is What's my part? What is your part? Well the variety of gifts and the Apostle Paul lists them as a list of gifts in verses 8 to 11 and I'm tempted to go through everyone try to Describe them explain them and you use examples for them, but he doesn't explain a kind of self-explanatory.

I think most of the time now immediately though some will question whether some of those gifts have passed away. Of course that what they always mean they mean the more spectacular Gifts the clearly supernatural gifts.

No one seems to think the gift of helping passed away. But some believe that they have passed away the more supernatural ones that they were just for the beginning of the church and now that The church is established that we don't need those anymore and among quote reformed people that is probably the predominant view and That I find that interesting and sort of church historian kind of person.

But that doesn't make me hesitant to say what I'm about to say. Perhaps no one will object to the first one listed there a word of wisdom. Say someone is given a gift that give wise advice. You've had someone give you some wise advice that you need on a decision you're making.

It can be it can be a word of wisdom.

You know.

Most people are gonna say well that's passed away but some today do insist that gifts like healings and miracles and speaking in tongues have Passed away and those who claim to have experienced those gifts are deceived or they are deceivers.

I don't think we have time this morning to go into all the issues there in all of this this debate called between Called cessation ism that the gifts have ceased but we can say three things about that here first there is nothing in this chapter and Anywhere else in the Bible and even though many people who believe in cessation ism will tell you this.

That says that the any gift will pass away before Jesus returns. Which if you believe in soulless script Torah scripture alone, that should be kind of concerning. No scripture specifically says that now I understand the argument that they make well that the gifts were given to give revelation.

And now that we have the Bible we don't need new revelation. The second part of that would be true that's a theological argument. I think that argument misses the point that these gifts don't have to do with revealing new theology about God.

They have to do with ministering to people. Maybe you need some wisdom or some knowledge about why what's wrong with this person? What what are they struggling with? They're not about revelation. They're about ministry.

No gifts are called revelatory gifts or sign gifts. People believe in cessation is all say this the Revolutory gifts have passed away. The problem with that is the Bible never calls any gifts revelatory gifts.

Now I understand sometimes we've got to make up terms for things. To refer to them, but the problem with that here is the Bible does have terms for them. Why are we making up new terms when the Bible has sufficient terms for them already in the term?

In fact, there's two terms for them in this chapter first. There's spiritual things in Greek pneumatica basically products of the spirit or in verse 1 or Also in this chapter products of grace. Charisma, you may have heard that before the Mata at the ends of suffix means products of charis is grace.

They're grace things. You put those two terms together and we have the phrase spiritual gifts. Which I think is a good translation, I think that makes sense now. Second I understand and appreciate that those who make the argument that some gifts have ceased that they want to defend the importance of the Bible in the church that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God.

So therefore we don't need spiritual gifts anymore. Now, it's true. It's good to defend the Bible. The problem is though that the Bible doesn't make that argument. Okay, if you're making an argument for the sufficiency of Scripture.

The Bible better say that argument or you're kind of contradicting yourself, you understand what I'm saying. All right, you can't argue that the Bible is sufficient. Otherwise, it says everything you need to know.

You can't argue that with an argument that the Bible doesn't provide. Because you're contradicting yourself. You're providing something outside the Bible to say that the Bible you don't need anything other than outside the Bible.

You can't defense the sufficiency of Scripture by making a case that Scripture itself. Does it make? Third the assertion that the so-called supernatural gifts have passed away assumes a way of looking at the gifts.

So that is a way of classifying them dividing them into supernatural and non-supernatural. That is it's not biblical. It doesn't do that here. It is no more difficult for God. You know if you're all-powerful.

What things are more difficult for you and what our hearts?

Nothing.

It's all the same. You're all-powerful. You can do anything. So it's no more difficult for God to heal the sick. Then it is to or to give someone a vision or to do other some other some kind of miracle than it is for him to give.

Say you a wise intuition about what decision you need to make or give you the ability to Communicate well. Or a character that is willing to serve or a heart for worshipful music. In other words while it may seem much more spectacular To us to see someone instantly heal of cancer or some disease for God that is no more difficult to do that.

Than it is to put into us a willingness to drive a bus or a van to pick up kids. To play with him to make a snack. That can be a miracle. That we have people who are willing to do that week after week is a demonstration of the Spirit.

And in his list of in verse 27, he has another list of people with gifts. Verses 8 to 10 is just of the gifts themselves and then in verse 27 of people with gifts. Notice that he goes immediately from those who have the gift of healing which we think about spectacular to those who have the gift of helping.

He just kind of mixes them all up. It seems odd to us. But that's because we're imposing on to a division between spectacular supernatural and natural that is not right. Yet we have some today who say that one of those gifts have passed away but I say.

Says who?

From our point of view, it seems much more impressive when God works without nature. Then when he works within nature There is miracle and there is providence. Providence is God working through the laws of nature.

You know a miracle is God working outside the laws of nature. It looks more impressive to us to work outside the laws of nature, but that's just our point of view.

Because.

We're creatures. We're in nature. We are bound by the laws of nature and in our experience. We cannot do anything Outside the laws of nature. So it just looks impressive to us because it's something we can't do for God.

There's no difference. Because there's nothing outside his nature you understand. Supernatural is quote natural for him but that's not to say that a spiritual gift is just a talent like having a good singing voice or Having a good ability to make good speeches.

A talent is a spiritual gift when the Holy Spirit uses it to build up.

Believers.

It's not just singing well or speaking well or counseling. Well, they want to one. It's doing those things in a way that strengthens the faith of people or maybe brings them to faith in the first place.

So from this chapter, there's no reason to believe that any gifts will pass away before the Lord Jesus returns. It's true that we might not see many of those spectacular gifts. But we need to be careful that we not limit our openness to the Spirit by our limited experiences.

It's true that many of those who crave that spectacular supernatural gifts The people often do that. Just go and figure. If they just kind of go search for them are often people are just driven by experience.

That's just true. They may pay little attention to the word Maybe kind of go after goofy things and they they often think that if it feels good if it's impressive if it stirs the feelings.

Then it is good.

Yes, there are those who carried away by their experience, but we can't counter their experience. With our own that since we have it maybe experience healing or miracles or tongues then they must have passed away.

Well, that's just your experience.

Again.

Says who.

There are still today many gifts a variety of gifts and he lists them in verses 8 to 10. He doesn't explain them. He doesn't need to explain them because There they aren't skills. They well, you know I can learn how to.

If I can figure out what this is that I can learn how to do it. It doesn't work that way. You if you get the gift you You can do it. There aren't skills that we acquire if we follow the right steps. They are gifts of the Spirit and besides most of them are easy to figure out.

I think they're pretty self-explanatory. A word of wisdom is a gift from God at which he gives a person the ability to give us.

Wisdom.

Should I maybe have questions? Should I join that ministry? Should I take that job? Should I go here or there? Well, maybe you need a word of wisdom. Maybe someone God will equip someone else in the congregation to give that to you now is it the supernatural or for them because they just know you should go there you should or is it because they have a lot of experience and knowledge and I mean, whatever they've experienced things and they can share that with you.

Well, maybe it's both. One of the gifts in verse 9 is the gift of faith. By faith, I think he means something other than saving faith is faith for a special purpose. All believers have saving faith in he says in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 by grace.

You're safe through faith. And this I think he means the faith. It's not of yourselves, but it's a gift of God. And even if you want to say well, no, it's not just the faith. It's the whole salvation.

Well that includes the faith and it's so a gift of God. So you still get that conclusion? So all believers have the gift of saving faith is the greatest gift. It's the first gift is the gift without which we cannot have any of the other gifts.

But it is a gift all believers have it's not a ministry gift here. There are a variety of gifts for ministry. Notice the phrase to another before each each gift. There are a variety of gifts. And so this is a gift of faith to some and Not to every believer.

Maybe you need gifts. You maybe need faith, you know, should we kind of small congregation? Should we buy that gem in Providence? And we afford it well, we bought it now and it's ours we haven't paid off so it doesn't take any faith anymore.

We may be about a dozen years ago. It kind of did to some he gives one one gift to some. He gives one gift and then to another not to everyone. He gives maybe the gift of faith to do that. The main point in this list of spiritual gifts in verses 8 to 10 is the repeated another notice that to another Gets one gift to to another get a gets another gift and it's all by the same spirit.

There's the same Holy Spirit which all God's people have unity, but he gives different gifts to different members of the body. There is variety to one in verse 8 the utterance of wisdom. To another the utterance of knowledge, but it's according to the same spirit to another faith by the same spirit to another to another.

To another I get something else. Each member has a different gift. There's a variety. You know in a track team every athlete has a different specialty. There's long-distance runners and middle-distance runners like me.

They're sprinters. There's Paul Walters. There's long jumpers and high jumpers. There's discus throwers the shot putters javelin throwers. There's others. There's a variety. But there's one team. You don't look down on a shot putter and you can't run fast.

You're big muscular guys, you don't want to look down on them because they're big muscular guys and they might hurt you. You don't look down on the sprinter because you can't run can't run a mile. What's wrong with you?

You don't look down on long-distance runner because you look like a stick whatever. Maybe you do look down but in the church not everyone Has to have this has to have the same gift. We understand that we have different gifts and you'll look down on you give what do you do?

Can't do much. We don't care. You have the gift of what do we have the cartoon? Sometimes I put up there you have the gift of being a pew sitter. Okay. We need some of those more but now no one has this no gift.

You don't look down on someone because he can't preach or can't sing. Or because it's not good at evangelism. It doesn't have that gift. Yes. Everyone should have that gift. No, they don't. There's a variety but to each is given the manifestation Of the Spirit a gift of the Spirit.

For the common good another problem with the way that many modern people look at the church today. Remember they have this model in their minds of what the church is. They look on it like it's a restaurant.

I used to go into restaurants even churches like a restaurant or maybe it's like a theater another problem with that. Relative to this huge issue is that they think there's only one or maybe two gifts that really matter.

How you go into a restaurant what gifts to the restaurant staff need they need to be able to cook. They need to take your order serve you that's about all you care about. Your what's your gift? Nothing.

You need a gift to pay your bill. Right, and some people bring that same mentality into the church. They think there's only a few gifts you really need to run this church that the big one the one that really matters.

They think is preaching the preacher puts on the show and everyone else is just passive. Maybe it's a good singer and musician. Let's go nice to have we have some of those gifts. But mostly it's about one person one gift.

There's really no variety. Maybe singer speaker, but that's about it. The rest of us don't have anything.

To do.

So if you can't preach you can't evangelize. Then you got nothing you give okay. We'll take your money and then the preacher becomes a professional. Maybe the singer to becomes a professional and the giving becomes like paying your bill at the restaurant.

It's all professionalized. So we don't come to church to give our gift anymore. We come to get our Inspiration to get our information and we know of course, we're mature enough people. We know it's like a restaurant.

We have to pay our bill. We have to keep it going and we're on our way. Unconnected to the body. It's just a service. The church is a service provider like your cable TV. That's all it is. If we don't see the church as a body with many members they're different members a variety of gifts a variety of members each with a different function if we just see it as Individuals who are detached getting their inspiration or maybe giving their inspiration.

Then we will be probably be drifting here or there wherever we can get our inspiration. Just like you probably drift from restaurant to restaurant wherever you feel like having. We drifting all the time and Try to get the one and what really matters is getting that one for a church to get that one gift.

That serves us. Well, I want him to serve me. Well now if I want to have a gift to do I need the one gift. That the church needs it only needs one or two, right? We see that for example with speaking of tongues, which will be discussed in more detail in chapter 14.

Now some over the last century plus now have been telling people that this gift of tongues is the one gift that Spirit-filled people must have that all believers should have this one gift. In fact, they call it.

This is actual official statement of some denominations the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. That is even that's an official doctrine of some Pentecostal denominations. But clearly here that's the opposite of Paul's point in verse 10 to another.

Various kinds of tongues not to everyone various kinds of tongues to another. Not to all if verses 29 to 30. He asked a series of rhetorical questions the answer to all of which is no are all Apostles.

No are all prophets. No are all teachers. No do all work miracles. No do all possess gifts of healing. No, do all speak in tongues? Of course not. These are the variety of gifts one of which we can have but no one of which we all must have.

Variety is the key word in verses 4 to 6. He uses the term varieties three times. No one is pressed into one mold of what it means to be a spirit empowered Christian. And it's not just the Pentecostals who have forgotten this so a mini Baptist and similar.

Like churches we elevate preaching as the dominant gift. It just overshadows them all. Why is it the mini Baptist Church is nearly every meeting is the same? You know a couple of songs usually the same style and a sermon Sunday school be the same.

They'll sing a maybe a hymn to begin and and the quote teacher is really just preaching. Right come for Wednesday night. It's another sermon every meeting the same. Some churches have no place for a lesson.

Presented actually to teach those to give you actually information knowledge that you didn't have before you came. Or for an interactive meeting with many people contributing and what that creates is not only are some people bored.

Never really taught anything never instructed like in a school. So they don't know much of anything or others. They're not allowed to participate because there's no venue. No ability for them to participate.

Not only that but others get the idea that the only way to serve God is by being a preacher and they think all that matters is is being an eye. Or a mouth whatever you want to say. The preacher is. So we get people trying to be preachers.

Eyes or mouths who simply are not gifted to be preachers. You hope you're not thinking that right now. But I never know there, you know, they're just not eyes or mouths. But they want to serve God and I think many times it's just genuine.

They really want to serve God. But the only way they know to serve God is by preaching because that's really the only gift that matters. That's just the way they think they are a foot. Maybe they're a hand that may be a helping hand.

They're striving to be an eye or a mouth. Because that's what they've assumed is the only way to serve God. They can't see that maybe helping someone else.

Preach or.

Evangelize that that's a gift. Maybe the maybe they need help. They can't see that administering the church or driving people are making personal contacts visiting people. Visiting members have been gone a long while those kinds of things.

I can't see those as ministries. So they'll they'll pay someone to do that. Maybe they'll pay the preacher. So he only got a preach on Sunday morning. We'll pay you'll pay him to do the visiting on the rest of the time to fill his time.

After all, he's the only one quote in the ministry. They think. All these are common ways of thinking isn't it? Because they don't understand the church is a body with different gifts. If you don't see a body with many parts when you see the church you know, you just see it like a restaurant a service provider.

If you don't see a Body with many parts when you see the church, you always you only see a shop with one service. Then you don't see the many gifts. There are varieties of.

Gifts.

What's your gift. Well, there's variety and there's unity. This is the second main theme in this chapter. It's not like separated by paragraphs. It's just it's intermingled here. He's banging. Well for one back to another.

Variety. Unity like a clapper between two bells going back and forth. Variety. Unity going back and forth especially in verses four to six. You notice that. Varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. Varieties of service.

But the same Lord. Varieties of activities, but the same God. Here by the way, you notice this. I was referring to God variety and unity and God himself.

Here's the Trinity.

Spirit the same spirit same Lord meaning Lord Jesus Christ Same God God the Father. God is the being who has a variety of persons within himself and a perfect.

Variety.

But a perfect unity three persons in one substance each playing a different role. But always in harmony.

Together.

Over and over again Paul rings the bell of the unity along with variety. The variety of gifts in verse 7 is manifest. He says for the common good look how those gifts in verse 8 are described. Look at the phrase according to the same spirit.

By the one spirit and verse 11 all these all these gifts are empowered by one and the same Spirit. It's not as in some pagan religion. He says when you were pagans when you're pagans, you know. You want something you go to the God that specializes in that thing?

Whatever it is if you need wisdom you need to make a decision. I marry that person. Should I start this job you go to the God? It'll give you wisdom if you need healing you go to the God that gives you healing.

If you if you having relationship problems you go to maybe Venus or whoever Aphrodite you go to the God for that and you want prosperity you go to the prosperity God, right? And so on different gods have different specialties here.

There's only one God and the gifts are various gifts. But the source is the same in verse 13 all Christians were made to drink of the same spirit. So the one spirit creates one body one people having the Holy Spirit live in you being baptized in the Holy Spirit is not an experience.

Reserved for for an elite higher class of Christian. All Christians are baptized in the spirit. He says in verse 13 Yes, we can be we can be filled and are and empowered more or less by the spirit. So we need to be pray to be filled more.

Praying that we'd be filled with the spirit should be one of our most common prayers. But all Christians his point here have the unifying experience of being baptized in the spirit. All Christians all true Christians are baptized in the spirit.

That's that's what we part of what we portray in water baptism that the spirit now surrounds us just like the water does and Soaks us and the spirit even goes further than that. The spirit is even in us like a drink we all drink the same spirit.

So that unity this spirit the the source of all our gifts should create a unity of the body. This is Paul's main point from verses 12 to 26. The the one spirit has created one body. This is why I'm adamantly opposed to any attempts to create any division in the body over this issue of gifts.

I want to get me hostile you start coming trying to create divisions. Including over this issue if you believe you have the gift of tongues as described in chapter 14 and that builds you up. That's great.

Let me see the fruit of in your life. But don't come in here and start telling people that they must have that one particular gift and if they don't they're second-class Christians. No, no, no. You will run into me and on the other hand don't make denying today's speaking in tongues.

There's a litmus test of you're really a Bible believer telling people that they anyone who claims to practice That or any other supernatural gift must be deceived. Don't do that here. You can believe they've ceased if you want to believe that.

But don't make a division over it. All right, the Apostle Paul is insistent here that the gifts of the Spirit should create Unity, and so I'm committed to not allowing any side and the debate and there's that's debate out there.

Over the what's called the charismatic gifts charisma or charismania to cause divisions in this body. The spirit creates unity both a variety of gifts by sovereignly bestowing those gifts. That's how he emphasizes the sovereignty of the Spirit in the church as he distributes them as he wills.

That just means he's in control like a sovereign a king. He gives out the gifts as he thinks best. In verse 11 Paul says that the Spirit apportions. Then in verse 18 that he arranged the members of the body each one as he chose.

Getting the emphasis there. He's apportioning giving the gifts as he wills as he chose in verse 24 that he Composed the body he put it together and in verse 28 that he has appointed various people with different gifts.

You know, he puts the team together. So from this chapter we see from beginning to end from smallest detail to the to the broad scope of church life. That God is in control. Particularly for the church God the Holy Spirit.

Because there is one sovereign spirit. We can be sure as in verse verses 2 and 3 that no spirit empowered person is going to say Jesus is accursed and mean it. The spirit in him or her won't let you renounce the Lord Jesus like that instead the spirit Seals us he says elsewhere for salvation so we can't commit Blasphemy like that.

We just won't it's not in our heart to do it and no one can really say Jesus is Lord. In other words say that and mean it. Now surely people can repeat the words. But he means to actually mean it as a confession of the heart unless the Spirit is empowering him or her.