And Gives Us The Spirit

God Is Still At Work Among Us Today, Too

5.28.23 [1 Corinthians 12:1-11] River of Life (The Festival of Pentecost)

1 Cor. 1:2-3 Grace and peace to you who are sanctified in Christ, called to be his holy people in this present age, and united with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have you ever looked through old pictures of yourself and felt a little jealous? Maybe it was your wedding day or a birthday. You looked so good. So young. So thin. You had a full head of hair. An energetic glow. Now, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you wonder where it all went. Because you don’t quite look like that anymore.

Today might feel like that for the Church. Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the New Testament Church. Pentecost is a watershed moment. Jesus had been promising this day to his people for some time. Suddenly believers in Jesus began to speak in foreign languages they’d never studied because the Holy Spirit enabled them.

On Pentecost, (Acts 2:11) the wonders of God were declared to people from all over the known world. While some thought a different kind of spirit was the cause, Peter quickly put that rumor to bed. He proclaimed the Christ they crucified, whom (Acts 2:24) God raised from the dead.

Suddenly, rivers of living water began to flow within them. They were cut to the heart & called to repentance. 3,000 were baptized that day. It was a wonderful day for the Church, the people of God.

But it might be hard, as the modern-day people of God, to look back at that day and not feel a little bit jealous. Why can’t we have those gifts? Why can’t we have that impact? Why can’t the Church look that good, that vibrant, that youthful, and that exciting today?

Acts is a stirring record of the power of the Holy Spirit. But it does not mark the end of the Spirit’s activity among his beloved people. In fact, the Holy Spirit continued to work through people who weren’t there at Pentecost at all. He does the same among us today, too.

Let’s read from 1 Cor. 12. Listen for 3 things: 1) what the Corinthians were before the Spirit worked among them; 2) the diverse ways the Spirit was blessing them & 3) the Holy Spirit’s singular goal for them.

Did you hear each of those three things? Paul said that before the Spirit called them—(1 Cor. 12:2) they were pagans influenced and led astray to mute idols. But the Holy Spirit converted them and they were confessing (1 Cor. 12:3) Jesus is Lord. They were believing and confessing truths they could not say and believe unless God was at work in them.

The second part probably caught your attention the most: the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:8-10) Messages of wisdom & knowledge. Faith. The power to heal and perform miracles. Prophecy. The ability to discern between spirits. The ability to speak in tongues and the ability to interpret those tongues. These nine diverse gifts all were the work of one and the same Spirit. God the Holy Spirit had determined to distribute these gifts among these Corinthians.

We see the same Spirit distribute some of these gifts today. Today, we benefit greatly from messages of wisdom—applying the truth of God’s Word to the realities of our world. The people of God today grow from teachers who have a depth of knowledge about the Word of God—even from teachers whom they’ve never met in person. The Church of God is full of faithful people—especially those who inspire others by the example of their own lives and encourage their fellow believers with their Spirit-filled words. And God’s Church today still has many that are blessed with discernment. They can see through the convincing “sheep's clothing” and recognize wolves for who they really are.

Yet there are other gifts we don’t see in our Lutheran churches. We might even be suspicious of them when someone who claims to be a Christian also claims to have the ability to heal, to prophesy, to speak in tongues, or to interpret them. Are we being left out? Are these gifts the genuine manifestation of the Spirit in other places?

These are natural questions for curious and serious Christians. It’s good to keep a few things in view. One, God has worked in these ways. The Bible is full of healings, miracles, & prophecies. We trust all of them to be real & from God. Two, the Apostle Paul did not question the legitimacy of tongues in Corinth. In fact, he says (1 Cor 14:5) I would like everyone one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified. He goes on to say (1 Cor 14:18-19) I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church, I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others, than 10,000 words in a tongue.

Thirdly, these manifestations of the Spirit served a Church that did not have the fully revealed Word of God. These blessings were given to a Church that was still being established. In the same way that God often used visions and dreams in the book of Genesis to relate his will to his people, miracles, healings, & tongues confirmed to (1 Cor. 14:22) unbelievers that God was really at work here among these people.

That’s the consistent result of these gifts in the New Testament. They were a sign of God’s presence & power.

Yet, even in Corinth, where they had all these wondrous manifestations of the Spirit, there were deep problems. When they gathered together for worship, Paul said (1 Cor. 11:17) Your meetings do more harm than good.

How could that be true? In Corinth, they were a congregation of “experts”. Everyone thought they knew better than the next guy. They had arguments about who was more important: Paul, Peter, Apollos, or Christ. They fought over the impact of the Law of Moses and the food that had been sacrificed to idols. Some thought marriage was harmful to the true believer and yet they also welcomed a man who married his father’s wife. When they came together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, some were getting drunk; others were leaving without partaking at all. Some didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. Others thought disorder in worship was proof of divine activity. The Corinthian Christians looked like a five-year-old finding mommy’s makeup. They thought they looked beautiful, but they were an ugly mess. Paul came to show them (1 Cor. 12:31) the most excellent way. The gifts weren’t bad; they came from the Holy Spirit. They were being used poorly. The Corinthians lost sight of the Spirit’s singular goal in giving these gifts.

(1 Cor. 12:7) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. They were using these wondrous gifts from God to serve themselves, not to God’s glory, not to serve one another. They had lost sight of God’s love. So their tongues were a clanging cymbal. Despite all their prophesying and faith, they were nothing. Despite all their devotion and generosity, they were gaining nothing. Because they had forgotten why God gives.

God gives good gifts because he is love. And the greatest gift from our Lord was Jesus himself. The finest manifestation of our God was Jesus in flesh and blood. The Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon Jesus so that he would (Lk 4:18) preach good news to the poor, freedom to the captives, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and the Lord’s favor upon sinful people who desperately needed it. The Spirit’s gifts were not given to make Jesus more powerful or popular, but empowered him to love and serve others. Should it be any surprise that the Spirit’s gifts are meant to empower us to serve and love others more?

All these manifestations of the Spirit were intended to shine the spotlight on Jesus as our Savior, not on the people he had saved. God wanted his people to be wise unto salvation. He wanted them to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus. He wanted their faith in Christ to increase. He wanted their miracles to point people to the one who has made all things right, who heals the sick, and brings life to the dead. He wanted their tongues to confess that Jesus is Lord to all.

And that is what he wants for his Church today. The heart and core of the work of the Church is simple: Christ crucified and raised to life for sinners. This is the common good, the central goal of everything we do.

This is why God is at work among us. The Holy Spirit distributes his gifts, just as he determines. The same God who, when the set time had fully come, sent his Son, has prescribed the gifts of the Spirit that the Church needs today. Perhaps the Spirit still blesses people with the ability to perform miracles or heal the sick. But if those deeds don’t point people to their need for a Savior and the Savior they need in Jesus, we need not be preoccupied with them.The Holy Spirit always points clearly to Jesus. The Spirit could still bless people with the ability to speak in tongues—foreign or celestial. But if they do not speak clearly of Jesus as our Savior, they are not from God. Better five simple words: Christ died for us all than ten-thousand unintelligible words in tongues. The Holy Spirit always & only shines the spotlight on Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Yet, he doesn’t do this in exactly the same way though every Christian. (1 Cor. 12:4) There are different kinds of gifts. People have different God-given abilities and proficiencies. Still, one Spirit distributes all these gifts.

(1 Cor. 12:5) There are different kinds of service. People glorify God and serve their neighbor in a multitude of ways. The faithful employee, the devoted parent, and the helpful neighbor are letting their light shine in ways and places that professional people like pastors do not. The same Lord lives in and through them. (1 Cor. 12:6) There are different kinds of working. God brings about different results in people who seem to share the same abilities and do the same things. In all of these instances, it is the same God at work. Just as he did on Pentecost.

So today, as we celebrate Pentecost and the nearly 2,000 years of the Spirit being outpoured upon God’s people, let us rejoice. We have not missed out on or been denied any good gift from God. In fact, we have been blessed by their blessings. The Apostles’ teaching about Christ is the foundation of our faith. Those who have run their race before us can encourage us each step of the way. We have been blessed by their collective wisdom, knowledge, faith, and miraculous deeds. To God be the glory, great things he has done, and great things he is still doing.