For the Common Good Pt. 4
For the Common Good • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro:
Intro:
As many of you know, I just returned this past Thursday from the beautiful city of Cali, Colombia. My wife has been receiving medical treatment there, and I stayed with her for about 18 days. While we were there, the famous singer Shakira held two concerts at the local stadium. The venue for the concerts holds about 36,000 people, so we’re talking over 70,000 people across both nights. Our doctor and friend — who drove us around everywhere — he was telling us that his nine-year-old daughter went to one of those concerts with some friends and their moms.
The next day I asked her, “Did you have a good time?” She said yes, and she even explained that the concert had some concessions on behalf of children and for that reason it was scheduled to end early because so many minors were expected to attend.
That king of caught my attention. I’m not really familiar with Shakira’s music, and the idea of kids engaging with her lyrics startled me for a moment. So, I started looking up some of her songs — and what I found really made me think. In one of her most popular songs titled, BZRP Music Sessions, she responds to her unfaithful ex-husband:
“We don’t cry anymore — women cash in.” It’s a song about reclaiming power, refusing to be diminished, asserting, “I’m worth more. I’ll define myself.”
In another, Soltera (single), she says,
“I have the right to behave badly, to have a good time.” the song its celebration of unrestrained freedom — the idea that we answer to no one but ourselves.
And in Chantaje, she boldly declares,
“I’m nobody’s — I don’t belong to you or anyone.” It’s all about independence, autonomy, and control.
Now imagine children — 9 years olds — singing those lyrics in a stadium packed with around 36,000 people. Is it any wonder that we live in a culture that celebrates self above all else?
We’re surrounded by slogans that preach the same gospel of self:
Burger King says, “Have it your way.”
L’Oréal tells us, “Because you’re worth it.”
Sprite says, “Obey your thirst.”
Disney constantly teaches our children through their content to “follow their hearts.”
Social media whispers daily: “You do you.”
We’re encouraged to build our own brand, to promote ourselves, to live our lives for likes and followers. Even the way we talk about success reflects it: “Manifest your destiny. Hustle harder. Success is the best revenge.”
And sadly, even the church hasn’t escaped it. We hear things like, “Find the church that fits you.” Or church slogans that say, “Come experience something amazing,” instead of, “Come and surrender to Someone greater.” We live in a world obsessed with self — self-promotion, self-expression, self-fulfillment.
And this was the same sickness plaguing the church at Corinth.
As we have seen thus far throughout our series on Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians. The believers there had drifted from the gospel and in doing so they had lost Christ, as a result they began to live for themselves — suing one another, dividing over leaders, abusing their freedom, even turning the Lord’s Supper into an occasion for pride and excess.
So it’s no surprise that now, in chapters 12–14, Paul addresses one more area where their self-focus was poisoning their fellowship — and this was their misuse of spiritual gifts.
However, the Holy Spirit works in the opposite direction. The Spirit never exalts self — He exalts Christ and builds His church. So as we return to 1 Corinthians 12, we’re going to see that the gifts of the Spirit are not given for personal gain or self-promotion, but for the common good.
The work of the Spirit doesn’t elevate individualism — it builds community. It’s not about personal platforms, but about a shared purpose. Why?
Beloved because every talent, every ability, every manifestation of the Spirit is itself a gift — and it’s designed not for self-glory, but for the good of the body of Christ. So let’s open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12:1–7, and let’s see what Paul has to say about what it means to be led by the Spirit for the common good.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; 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 ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
With this in mind based on our text, today we are going to look at three ways the Spirit shapes the life of the Church:
I. The Spirit Transforms our Worship (V1-3)
I. The Spirit Transforms our Worship (V1-3)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
Paul begins this section with the phrase, (1 Corinthians 12:1) “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.”
As we’ve seen throughout this letter, Paul is addressing specific questions and concerns that the Corinthians had raised through an earlier letter, as well as reports he had received from Chloe’s household about the divisions within the church. The Corinthian believers had allowed worldly thinking to distort their view of spirituality. Just as they had once been captivated by the idols of their former pagan life, they were now in danger of turning the gifts of the Spirit into new idols — measuring their worth by who had the more impressive gift. So, Paul reminds them that this confusion about spiritual gifts is not new; it’s simply another form of misplaced worship.
He says in (1 Corinthians 12:2) “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.”
The term pagans here doesn’t only refer to followers of foreign religions; it describes anyone who lives apart from Christ — unbelievers whose hearts are directed toward false gods. Beloved, every human being worships something. We were made for worship. The question is not if we worship, but what or whom do we worship.
Before Christ, we were all “led astray,” chasing after idols. The idols of success, money, pleasure, or self. (How can success be a God?)
For example, consider the idol of success. According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2024 there were approximately 1,038,100 clinically provided abortions in the United States alone.
Now, how many of those young women, pursuing self-satisfaction and unrestrained freedom, entered relationships outside the covenant of marriage and found themselves pregnant-only to sacrifice the fruit of their womb to the idol of success? This is the tragedy of a world led astray, chasing after false gods that promise fulfillment but leave only emptiness and loss.
For some, it was materialism or self-help spirituality. For others, it was ritualistic religion — lighting candles, praying to saints, or (turning the tv to watch Walter Mercado). Paul’s point here is simple: before the Spirit opened our eyes, all of us were enslaved to false worship, following our idols “wherever they led us.”
Then in verse 3, Paul draws a sharp contrast: (1 Corinthians 12:3) “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”
In other words, the true evidence of spirituality is not found in ecstatic experiences or outward displays of giftedness but in the inward confession of the Lordship of Christ through our submission to His Sovereign rule over our lives.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Beloved, this text is terrifying for it presents the possibility of thinking that we worship God while being void of His Spirit.
“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference.”
A. W. Tozer
The true evidence of spirituality is not found in ecstatic experiences or outward displays of giftedness but in the inward confession of the Lordship of Christ through our submission to His Sovereign rule over our lives. For this reason the Spirit’s first work in a believer’s life is not to give gifts but to give sight — to open blind eyes so that we might see and confess Jesus as Lord. As Paul says in Romans 8:6-8
The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
This means as JD showed us last Sunday that apart from the Spirit’s regenerating work, we are doomed.
So Paul begins here, before he ever talks about gifts, by grounding us in the giver. True spirituality is not measured by how gifted we are but by whom we worship. By whom we obey. The Holy Spirit’s primary work is to transform our worship — to turn us from idols that cannot speak to the living Word who speaks life.
For they themselves report about us as to the kind of reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.
Where we once worshiped self, the Spirit now enables us to confess with conviction, “Jesus is Lord.” By our complete submission to His Lordship. Every genuine gift of the Spirit flows from this confession and exists to magnify Christ, not ourselves.
This is a transformation from idol-worship to Christ-centered worship. And this brings us to the second way the Spirit shapes the life of the church.
II. The Spirit Aligns our Perspective (V4-6)
II. The Spirit Aligns our Perspective (V4-6)
As we saw in verses 1–3, the Spirit transforms our worship, making it Christ-centered. But once our worship is aligned with Christ, the Spirit also begins to align our perspective. Paul writes,
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
The key word repeated three times—varieties—reveals the Spirit’s intention: diversity. Within the church, there is diversity of gifts, diversity of ministries, and diversity of effects, yet behind them all stands the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God. The Spirit distributes the gifts, the Lord Jesus directs the ministries as the head of the body, and the Father empowers the results. This right here is the Trinitarian design of the church—divine unity expressed through diverse functions. Spiritual gifts are not random abilities; they are intentionally given by God Himself to reflect His unity in our diversity.
However, the Corinthian church had lost this perspective. They elevated certain gifts, like tongues or prophecy, while minimizing others, like hospitality. The result was pride, division, and competition within the body. Sadly, the same thing can happen in our churches today when we misunderstand the purpose of spiritual gifts. When believers view their gifts as tools for personal benefit or self-promotion, they distort their God-given purpose. This mindset breeds rivalry and envy—ideas that have even crept into some modern teachings that claim people are “jealous of your gift” or “enemies of your purpose.” But that could not be further from the biblical truth. Paul reminds us that we all belong to the same body, designed for complementary interdependence. We are not in competition with one another—we complete one another.
It's like being jealous or desiring ill will of the pilot on the plane you're flying in. Think about it— you're on the same flight, headed to the same destination. If the pilot fails, you fail! Why in the world would you wish anything bad for the pilot when your life's in the same plane? That's the same picture in the church.
When we misunderstand our gifts, when we lose sight of God's purpose behind them, we start competing instead of cooperating. And when that happens, the gifts stop being tools of grace and start becoming tools of manipulation, control, and abuse. Because now, instead of seeing the gifts as a way to build up the body, we start seeing them as a way to lift up ourselves.
But that's not why the Spirit gives them. The gifts are meant to unite us, to strengthen us, and to glorify Christ-not to build platforms or create hierarchies, but to build His church.
Therefore, the Spirit aligns our perspective by showing us that the work of the Spirit is not chaotic or competitive, but coordinated. It is the unified work of the Triune God—Spirit, Son, and Father—working together in perfect harmony for one goal and one purpose: that the church would function as one body, reflecting the unity of God Himself. And this bring us to the third way the Spirit shapes the life of the Church.
III. The Spirit Redefines our Purpose (V7)
III. The Spirit Redefines our Purpose (V7)
Paul concludes this opening section by saying,
But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Notice the inclusiveness of that phrase: “to each one.” According to Paul here, there are no exceptions. Every believer in Christ, from the newest convert to the most mature saint, has been gifted by the Spirit. No one is overlooked or left out. The same Spirit who regenerates us also empowers us for service. The gifts of the Spirit are not privileges reserved for the few, but endowments entrusted to the entire body.
Paul calls these gifts “the manifestation of the Spirit.” That’s significant. These gifts are not evidence of how spiritual we are; they are evidence of the Spirit’s presence among us. They do not reveal your greatness or my greatness, but His. The gifts are tangible expressions of the invisible Spirit, His way of making His presence known and active within His people. As Paul has already reminded us in this letter, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). Therefore, when we serve, teach, encourage, give, lead, prophecy or show mercy, it is not our power on display — it is God’s Spirit working through us.
And here is the purpose: We all have received gifts “for the common good.” The gifts of the Spirit are never about self-promotion or personal platform. They are not designed to draw attention to the individual but to strengthen the community. When we use our gifts for selfish ends, the church suffers; when we use them in humility and love, the church flourishes. So, the Spirit redefines our purpose — from self-service to self-giving by transforming our worship and from personal glory to mutual edification by aligning our perspectives. The goal of every spiritual gift is the same: to build up the body of Christ so that together we might reflect His glory to the world.
So before Paul lists the individual gifts that follow, he grounds his readers in this essential truth: the work of the Spirit in us is not for you or for me it is for us. The mark of a Spirit-filled church is not a stage full of gifted performers but a body full of servants who use their gifts for the good of others and the glory of Christ.
So what does this mean for us? — For Family in Christ — as we live together as Spirit-filled people
1. Has the Spirit transformed your worship? — Is your worship Christ-centered, or self-centered?
We must ask ourselves: What draws me to worship? Is it the emotional experience, the music, the atmosphere — or is it the exaltation of Christ? True worship begins when we stop seeking an experience and start following a Person. The work of the Spirit work is to lead us to Jesus. That means our worship — in song, in giving, in service — should echo the confession “Jesus is Lord.” Practically, that means when we come to gather with the body, we come ready not to consume but to contribute. Worship is not a show we attend; it’s an act of surrender we offer.
Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2. Has the Spirit aligned your perspective?
Our differences — in personality, culture, background, or gifting — are not threats to the church’s unity; they are proof of the Spirit’s design. The same Spirit gives a variety of gifts, ministries, and effects, all working toward the same goal. Practically, that means resisting comparison. You don’t need to wish you had someone else’s gift. You don’t need to imitate another believer’s calling. Instead, give thanks for the way God uses others. Rejoice in the different ways His Spirit works through the body. True maturity is when we stop asking, “Why don’t I have that gift?” and start saying, “How can my gift serve others?”
(Ex. Pichy)
3. Has the Spirit redefined your purpose?
Every believer has been entrusted with a gift for the common good. That means your gift is not about you. It’s not about visibility, applause, or recognition — it’s about edification. The Spirit didn’t empower us so that we could shine brighter, but so that the church could grow stronger. Ask yourself: How am I using what God has given me for the good of others? Maybe that means teaching, encouraging, praying, serving behind the scenes, or giving generously. When we serve for the common good, we reflect the very nature of Christ — who did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.
In the end, a Spirit-shaped church looks radically different from the world. In a culture that says, “Do what makes you happy,” the Spirit says, “Do what builds up others.”
“Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us.”
A. W. Tozer
In a world that says, “Find your truth,” the Spirit says, “Confess that Jesus is Lord.”
And in an age obsessed with self-expression, the Spirit calls us to self-denial — to live for the common good and the glory of Christ.
So the question we leave with today is this:
If the Spirit’s purpose is to form Christ in us and build up His body, then how will you — empowered by that same Spirit — use what you’ve been given for the good of others and the glory of God? To answer that question we will begin to navigate these gifts in order to identify what gift the Spirit has given you.
