Gifted (Worship Issues, Part 3)

I tell ya what, we are in the thick of it now. 1 Corinthians 12-14 is widely regarded as one of the most difficult and difficult-to-talk-about sections of the Bible. These chapters are somewhat controversial as well as confusing. So go ahead and buckle your seat-belts and hang on; it’s going to be an interesting ride.

You see, I don’t have the sense to shy away from the confusing or controversial. But neither do I believe I have the right to skip over, avoid, or ignore any section of God’s Word. We will discuss every part of this letter and then pick another one of the 66 books that make up the Good Book and do the same.

The Corinthian Christians have been corresponding with Paul. They’ve written him at least one letter by this point and 1 Corinthians is one of Paul’s letters back to them (2 Corinthians is, of course, another of Paul’s letters to his friends, his sheep, his congregation there in Corinth).

What Paul is addressing are issues in the Corinthian church gathering, specifically their worship. There are all sorts of issues in their worship gathering which can be grouped into a handful of different topics. For our purposes, we are taking them one section at a time making this part 3 of the worship issues Paul has to address.

Verse 1 tips us off as to what Paul’s going to be discussing. He writes:

1 Corinthians 12:1 NIV

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.

Most of our modern Bible translations use the word ‘gift’ here in verse 1. But verse 1 doesn’t actually use the word for gift. What Paul says is, “Hey, let’s go ahead and chat about spiritual things (pneumatikon),” using a different word than is used in verse 4 (gifts, charismata).

So verse 1 reads literally:

1 Corinthians 12:1 YLT

1 And concerning the spiritual things, brethren, I do not wish you to be ignorant;

Paul wants the Corinthians (and us) to be informed about spiritual things; he wants to make sure we’re not ignorant. This is, albeit controversial and confusing, an important subject—a subject of which we must take note and pay heed.

Even though verse 1 doesn’t use the word ‘gift’, that’s what it’s introducing—a discussion on gifts of the Spirit, spiritual gifts.

He wants the Corinthians to know that they are gifted, maybe not skip-a-grade-in-school gifted (my grade school teachers thought I might be gifted…that lasted about 3 minutes and they quickly decided I wasn’t).

Paul wants his brothers and sisters in Corinth to know that they are gifted—gifted by the Spirit. No one is left out. Every single one of them is gifted. And so are you, if you are a Christian.

>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 12. Keep your Bibles open in front of you this morning as we make our way through these first 11 verses.

1 Corinthians 12:1–3 NIV

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Gifted to Believe

What’s foundational, what has to come first is an understanding of who we were and who we are. We have to know this before we can grasp anything about spiritual gifts or the like.

Before Christ rescued and redeemed the Corinthians, they were, as are we all, pagans—separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship…foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope, and without God (Ephesians 2).

This is what they were. Paul knows they know, but sometimes it’s good to have it pointed out to you that you know that you know, you know?

As pagans, as idol worshippers, what they did before Christ was worship idols, false gods; they were led astray to mute idols…somehow or other. This is what they were.

Now that they’re Christians, their background as idol worshipers comes to the forefront and is potentially confusing matters.

There’s no somehow or other when it comes to faith in Christ; there’s no somehow or other when it comes to a relationship with God. There’s no question. If you are a Christian it’s because the Holy Spirit called you, opened your eyes; God drew you to Himself. He gave you faith to believe.

It didn’t happen somehow or other.

Ephesians 2:8 NIV

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Grace and faith are gifts of God.

You don’t fall into a relationship with God. Nor does it come about through sheer force of will or the persuasion of someone else. God might use another person to draw you to Himself—He will use the preaching of the gospel to convict and call you—but it’s not their work. A relationship with God doesn’t happen somehow or other. This is the work and gift of God, from top to bottom, beginning to end.

No one speaking by the Spirit speaks against Jesus (lest there was any doubt about what people might be saying in their exercise of speaking in tongues/different languages).

Likewise, only by the Spirit can someone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

The declaration— “Jesus is Lord” —is the most fundamental of all Christian statements of faith.

By confessing “Jesus is Lord” you are identifying Jesus with and as Yahweh—the LORD, as in:

Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

By confessing “Jesus is Lord” you are also making a politically loaded claim, especially in the Roman Empire where the title “Lord” was meant to be applied only to Caesar and where people would proclaim (and often) “Caesar is Lord”, Christians would proclaim loudly, publically, and often: “No, Caesar isn’t Lord; Jesus is Lord!”

It’s a statement of theological conviction and personal allegiance.

No one can say such a thing aside from genuine faith. In fact, no one can (dunatai)—no one has the power to say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. This confession of faith—any true confession of faith—can only be made in the Holy Spirit.

Faith itself is given. Belief is a gift. This removes all pride and ego from the equation—and should remove altogether all pride and ego from the discussion of spiritual gifts, the realization that we have been gifted at the fundamental level of belief.

Christians have—be it in Corinth or in Rich Hill and everywhere in between—Christians have been gifted to believe. This is primary, foundational.

Once they understand that they have been gifted to believe, hopefully they can begin to understand both the diversity and uniformity of their giftedness. Verses 4-6:

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 NIV

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Gifted by the Triune God

Spirit…Lord…God—this is a common Trinitarian reference to the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father.

There is a great variety of gifts (which we will see in vv. 7-11). This diversity of gifts is reflective of the diversity of the divine persons of the Trinity.

Not only is the Trinity diverse, but it’s unified/united.

Our diverse giftedness is meant to unite us, not divide us. Sadly, these things often divide.

Each of these verses—4, 5, and 6—refer to what is different and to that which is the same.

Different kinds of gifts…different kinds of service…different kinds of working...

Same Spirit…Same Lord…Same God...

It’s crucial to see, and so significant to realize that all believers receive their various gifts from the same Spirit, Lord, and God. All believers are gifted by the Triune God—there is no difference in the source of the giftedness.

The rich/poor divide that’s present within the church and at the Lord’s table doesn’t mean anything where the Triune God is concerned. It’s not that the rich believer gets theirs from Bergdorf Goodman or Barney’s and the poor believer gets theirs from Dollar Tree or the garage sale down the street.

Each believer receives their gift directly from God.

God-given gifts of this kind become opportunities and obligations for service. The proper response to receiving such gifts is not boasting—boasting would make it harder for people to see the gift is from God; the proper response is sharing God’s gifts with the whole church, and then the world.

We are stewards of the gifts of God—and we use them in such a way that the honor and praise offered to God increases.

All of this should lead us to an encounter with the Gift-Giver.

I would say if our hearts are in the right place, any time we receive a gift (birthday, Christmas, anniversary, whatever) our joy is not caused just by the gift we received but with the one who gave us the gift. The gift doesn’t mean half as much apart from the giver.

These spiritual gifts are special, not in and of themselves, but because they come from Him. This should lead us to worship.

According to D.A. Carson, “spiritual gifts” can also be translated as “grace gifts.” Spiritual gifts are not something on top of grace or better than grace; rather, they are manifestations of God’s grace to His people. At their core, they are given things. You cannot merit or earn a grace gift. It is something given. It is undeserved.

To be gifted by the Triune God is an incredible privilege, blessing, honor. We cannot selfishly think they are something we earned, nor can we selfishly hoard them. They are not for our benefit, as Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 12:7–11 NIV

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Gifted for the Common Good

Brothers and sisters, we have been gifted to believe, gifted by the Triune God, and this—all this—for the common good.

The word translated common good here (sympheron) is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Corinthians 10:23— “I have the right to do anything,” you say, but not everything is beneficial.

The point he was trying to make there is the same point he’s making here: It’s not about you. It’s not. Stop being selfish. Think about the other. Be more concerned about the whole than you are about you.

These spiritual gifts are not given for our own indulgence, but to benefit the community of which we are a part.

Our entire lives should be oriented around that which will benefit those around us. It makes perfect sense, then, that the gifts God gives us are intended for the same purpose.

Everyone has received a gift from God—now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given.

To each one… The “to-each-ness” of the spiritual gifts is so important. There are no second-class Christians. Each one is gifted.

This is a great comfort to anyone who has ever wondered, “Do I have anything to contribute?” or “What can I possibly bring to the community? “What are my gifts?”

Every single believer—yes, that’s you—has received a gift that is intended to be used for the common good. You, brothers and sisters, have been gifted for the common good.

When you don’t exercise and use your particular gift, or when Christians isolate themselves and refrain from meaningful membership and fellowship with a local group of believers (aka, church), you are depriving the rest of the body.

Don’t be stingy with your gift; it’s not going to run out. Don’t withhold it. You have a responsibility to bless the rest of the community.

To each is given…for the common good.

Here’s where Paul muddies the water a little. You see, nowhere does Paul provide a complete list of spiritual gifts. He provides us with a variety of partial lists (1 Cor 1:5; 12:8-10, 28, 29-30; 1 Cor 13:1-3, 8-9; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:11), but no two lists are the same; no two lists agree completely. And there is no reason to believe that we would come up with a complete list by compiling those lists, checking them twice, etc.

Paul himself didn’t know (and couldn’t know apart from the Holy Spirit) the complete range of potential gifts.

But Paul does hint here as elsewhere to the variety of gifts.

The repetition of to another helps us see the Holy Spirit’s design, His determinate distribution: To one there is given…to another…to another…to another…to another…to another…to another…to another…to another…

1 Corinthians 12:11 NIV

11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

We could spend weeks discussing each of the gifts Paul lists in this passage, but I don’t think that’s the point exactly.

What Paul is most concerned about is the overvaluing and abuse of certain gifts, specifically (as we’ll see throughout chapters 12-14) the gift of tongues. It’s probably not an accident that tongues and their interpretation make the bottom of Paul’s list.

It’s also probably not an accident that messages of knowledge and wisdom come first. These are closely related to the message delivered by the apostles, the prophets, the preachers/teachers. It’s the ministry of the Word that most benefits the Church and strengthens its mission to the world.

It’ll be important at some point to discuss whether or not all of these gifts are still active today. There’s a great debate about whether some of these gifts have ceased after the apostolic age and the time of the early church or if all of these gifts still remain active and useful today.

I’m a cessationist myself, not that that matters all that much to you, but I am for good reasons.

Bottom line: whatever gift you have been given, whatever gift each individual Corinthian was given, the exercise of those gifts was meant and is meant for the common good.

There are many ways in which the exercise of our spiritual gifts can be used for the common good. And there are many ways that we can do harm with our gifts.

The community of God’s people—then and now—is intended to reflect the self-giving nature of God.

The exercising of gifts is a way that builds up the body, not for personal advantage.

Gifts are a means through which the community is supposed to stick together and commune with God together. Improper use of these gifts is so destructive because it can break down communion with God and with one another.

It’s the work of the Spirit who empowers and enables the Church to be able to share its gifts—for the common good.

As we begin this discussion on spiritual things, let me ask:

Have you believed in Jesus? That’s a gift.

If you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus, if you haven’t taken that step but feel that tug and call on your life, that’s the irresistible call of God on your life. Come today, and give Him your life. Receive the gift of life and a relationship with Him.

Are you aware of what spiritual gift you have?

It’s a gift from the Triune God, that He might be worshipped; and it’s for the common good, that His body might be built up, encouraged, and ministered to.

How are you using your gift(s), friends?

I know what it’s like to use your giftedness in the context of the church only to be pushed out or shoved aside. I also know what it’s like to hoard or hide that which God has given.

Don’t rob the church and dishonor God by holding back. Use your gifts. Use them. Serve.

You, Christian, are gifted beyond all measure in Christ Jesus. We have be given much; much will be expected. Let’s use our gifts well, brothers and sisters—for the glory of God and the good of the Church.