05.28.2023 - As the Spirit Determines

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 NRSV

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 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 discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

As the Spirit Determines

Journey to Adulthood

Last week I mentioned the challenges of changing expectations in middle school. For some of you who were raised in the church and attended Sunday school classes or youth events, God used those years to build a foundation of faith in your life and shape your identity. That often continues in high school and college, and many people are well into adulthood before discovering and accepting who God has called them to be. That knowledge does not come with a certain age. It is not gained from any particular studies. It comes from time spent in the Presence of God.

Jesus was an example to us. He spent time alone with God before starting His ministry on earth, and He continued to make time to be alone with God. He also served beside others as they refined their calling together and individually. For three years, Jesus and the disciples built a program of preaching, teaching, and healing the people of Israel as they traveled between Galilee and Jerusalem. For three years, the disciples perfected the craft of recruiting people for Jesus and mimicking the things Jesus did for others, sometimes even successfully.

Then, one fateful day, Jesus stopped on the way to Jerusalem and asked the disciples who they thought He was. When Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus revealed the fullness of His calling in His death and resurrection. Peter’s calling changed at that moment, and He didn’t like it. He wanted to return to the ministry of putting on the Jesus show and traveling from place to place. Others wanted Jesus to get into politics. But none of them wanted to die.

Gradually, they began to understand that the cross was and is a call to come and die with Jesus, and after He was arrested and crucified, they probably felt as if they were dying. However, Jesus showed them life on the other side of death three days later. He showed them the power of resurrection, and that hope helped them to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit and be prepared for their next calling - serving together to be the Church, the Body of Christ. Today, we celebrate Pentecost together - the birthday of the Church and the recognition of our calling to serve together as Christ’s representatives in the world. We are many parts of one Body, working together as the Spirit determines.

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One Body

Throughout our lives, we struggle to understand who we are and to whom we belong. The world can make it seem that we must choose self-identity or corporate belonging. But scripture tells us that it is always both. Self-identity and corporate belonging do not cancel each other out. Instead, they enhance each other.

Do we start life as individuals or as a part of someone else? Or both? We all grapple with that enormous question in many different ways. That question can get deep and have profound implications. The people of Corinth faced questions, confusion, and temptations around their identity that we face today. Everyone was supposed to fit in (but not too much) and also stand out above the crowd (but only a little bit). It can drive a person crazy trying to figure out what to do, and it changes every day.

In his letter to Corinth, Paul uses the excellent example of the human body to demonstrate our togetherness and our uniqueness. By the time we are in kindergarten, we have learned that our feet have toes, our hands have fingers, our faces have a nose and ears, and they all have different purposes. Paul used a sermon illustration from Aesop’s Fables here to help explain the main point of our passage today, that there are a lot of gifts, but they all work together.

Everyone was interested in the gifts in Corinth. No one cared about whether they worked together or not. They wanted to use their gifts to stand out above the crowd, but they wanted to have the same gifts as the popular crowd, things they could show off. They wanted gifts to show how spiritual they were - not the gifts that helped them be spiritual in ways that went unseen. And Paul was patient with them. Rather than scold them for being selfish with the gifts they pursued, He reminded them that the purpose of every spiritual gift was to point to Jesus as Lord. There are spiritual things that are not God that lead us into temptation and sin. Those spiritual activities are not from the Holy Spirit, and they are not gifts. They become curses themselves.

Hands and feet can help, hold, serve, and invite others into a relationship with Jesus. They can make a place for them in the Body of Christ. And they can also be used to punch, kick, and shove people away. How we use those gifts makes all the difference.

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Many Parts

What do you think about those gifts?

Paul was a brilliant, very organized person. He had to be to fulfill the calling Jesus gave him, which was to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews had some 2,000 years of history and tradition to help them understand Jesus as the Messiah. The Gentiles, however, missed out on most of that teaching. So Paul had the enormous task of helping bring both Jews and Gentiles into the same family of Jesus, and that took some incredible spiritual gifts.

Because Paul was not one to waste words in his writing, I suspect there is a kind of logic to the list of gifts mentioned in our scripture today. Could you listen to them again?

the utterance of wisdom,

the utterance of knowledge

faith

gifts of healing

the working of miracles,

prophecy,

the discernment of spirits,

various kinds of tongues,

The interpretation of tongues.

Knowledge and wisdom are gifts related to teaching. Faith, healing, and miracles are gifts used to serve and help others in challenging situations. Prophecy and discernment help us connect God’s guidance with real-life situations, and tongues and interpretation of tongues help us overcome language barriers.

I don’t know that Paul intended it precisely this way, but I think you could line these gifts up in the order He wrote them and build a bridge from the gifts needed in the synagogue, right out the door, into the Gentile marketplace and the people furthest from God. Wisdom and knowledge will not reach people who cannot understand your language. It needs practical implications in our daily life and direction specific to us, not just formulas to follow on how to live a good life. When we have physical challenges or other challenges that keep us preoccupied, we have a hard time worshipping and learning from others about God - hence the need for healing and miraculous powers. Faith might even be a connecting gift that allows us to accept and understand spiritual knowledge and wisdom and empower our spiritual powers of healing and miracles. Could it be that Paul was walking the path of His calling and helping others see what they needed to draw closer to God? Perhaps.

Like legos, these gifts are made to work together for a purpose greater than themselves. The varied gifts work together within us individually to accomplish the call God has on our lives, and together they work among us to achieve the mission God has given us.

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As the Spirit Determines

About the gifts of the Spirit, Paul wrote:

All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

In the days of Moses, God led all the Hebrew people through the wilderness to the Promised Land. God gave them a mission and gifts to help accomplish that mission. Some of those gifts seemed like natural talents, while others were miraculous gifts that helped people through crucial moments. They had God to lead and provide for them, and everything they needed to accomplish all God set before them. But they chose not to follow God.

They used the same excuses we do. Their fears and doubts ruled them. They did not want to try to live in a way that was different from what they knew. So instead of following God and using those gifts according to His direction, they decided to use them for their own purposes, trying everything else before obeying God. They tried for 40 years and were stuck in the wilderness. Only those that let God lead them were allowed into the Promised Land.

Don’t waste your life away trying to figure out what kinds of ways you enjoy serving God. Christians have always been called to do things that they did not enjoy. That is why Jesus told His disciples early on that they could not be His disciples if they did not deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Him. They saw Jesus give His life for them, and it inspired them to give their lives to Jesus. So when the Holy Spirit showed up, they were ready to be obedient, no matter where or how the Spirit led them. We are called to do the same.

How can you recognize the Holy Spirit leading and empowering you? As I read through the Bible, I see that God often activates those gifts in response to challenges in people's lives. For example, healing occurs around the sick and injured. Wisdom is utilized when tough decisions are necessary. Tongues and interpretation are used when multiple languages are present, and we need clear communication.

Where do you see the challenges in your life and the lives of those around you? Those are the very places that God is going to work through you. What are the needs? God may have put you in that place to help meet that need. If He does, pray and ask Him how that need connects to His calling in your life. Pray and ask Him who else has gifts you can coordinate with to be the Body of Christ instead of only giving them a small part of Jesus.

Pentecost was a moment when the disciples realized who they were called to be, stepped out in faith, and used some God-given gifts, both new and old, exactly as the Holy Spirit led them. It was a moment that gave birth to the church, or, in other words, made the Church suddenly come alive. That life continues every time and everywhere we, the church of today, recognize God's call on our lives, acknowledge our mission together, and use the gifts He has given us the way the Holy Spirit chooses.

Pray.

We are celebrating Richard’s Birthday reception in the community center right after worship today. You are invited to stop by and wish him a happy birthday.