Gifts from God / Regalos de Dios
Notes
Transcript
Introducción
Introducción
Birthdays are a very special occasion where we come to celebrate the life an individual.
This is specially true of our young children.
Many of us recall birthday parties where we bought our children their first bicycle, a doll, or a set of toy cars.
Sometimes our young children would enjoy the box more than they did the actual gift.
We give all sorts of gifts; christmas gifts, graduation gifts, wedding gifts, etc.
Sometimes we struggle when choosing a gift hoping that the receiver enjoys the gift we have picked out.
When choosing a gift we think about their likes / dislikes, what they already have, what we think they will enjoy.
These types of gifts are usually centered around the enjoyment and preferences of the receiver.
In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 we come to a passage of scripture that speaks to us about gifts of the Spirit.
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
En cuanto a los dones espirituales, no quiero, hermanos, que sean ignorantes.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
Ahora bien, hay diversidad de dones, pero el Espíritu es el mismo.
We are very familiar with the word “gift”.
However, these are very different from the gifts that we exchange amongst ourselves.
Today, we will consider:
The giver
The types of gifts
The purpose of the gifts
The giver
The giver
When we receive a gift, it is always important to know who has given the gift so that we may write a thank you note and express our appreciation.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1, 12:4-11 we see constant theme:
These gifts are given by God’s Spirit.
Note how many times the word Spirit appears in verses 4-11:
v. 4, v. 7, v. 8, v. 9, and v. 11.
In 1 Corinthians 12:6 we see:
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Y hay diversidad de operaciones, pero es el mismo Dios el que hace todas las cosas en todos.
The Bible reveals to us throughout Scripture a gracious God who takes pleasure in pouring out good gifts upon his people.
God blessed Adam and Eve with the garden of Eden.
God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a child after many years of infertility.
God blessed baby Moses with protection when he was put into a basket floating upon the river.
God blessed king Solomon with great wisdom and knowledge.
We should not be surprised that God continues to pour out gifts upon his people, since this is absolutely consistent with God’s character as we find it revealed in the Bible.
God also pours out gifts among unbelievers:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Toda buena dádiva y todo don perfecto viene de lo alto, desciende del Padre de las luces, con el cual no hay cambio ni sombra de variación.
This verse does not distinguish God’s gift giving character in terms of giving gifts only to believers.
Rather, it focuses upon the source of all good gifts.
All good gifts could refer to the ability to invent.
…the ability to create art.
…the ability to sing.
…the ability to solve complex mathematical models.
…the ability to govern a nation.
…the ability to discover medical and technological breakthroughs to improve our lives.
…we should praise God for the scientists behind the COVID-19 vaccines, for it is God who endowed them with wisdom and knowledge in such a way that they developed an effective vaccine in record time.
When we think about Elon Musk (Tesla), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), we know that it is not because of their own innate wisdom that they had success.
Their minds were endowed by God to think, to develop, to lead - whether or not they recognize the source of their gifts.
In fact, this reality serves as an accusation against them, which we read in Romans.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
Pues aunque conocían a Dios, no lo honraron como a Dios ni le dieron gracias, sino que se hicieron vanos en sus razonamientos y su necio corazón fue entenebrecido.
Profesando ser sabios, se volvieron necios,
As believers, let us always direct our thanks to God for all the good gifts that he has poured out upon humanity.
The types of gifts
The types of gifts
Verses 5-6 divides speaks to us about specific aspects of these gifts:
Service
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
Hay diversidad de ministerios, pero el Señor es el mismo.
This aspects tells us that God’s Spirit equips people to serve.
Service translates the greek word “diakonia” which can also refer to table waiters.
This refers to being equipped by God to serve others.
Notice how the gift is intended for the betterment or benefit of others.
This goes against what we think about when considering a birthday gift. A birthday gift is for the enjoyment of the receiver.
However, in this case, God’s gift is intended to prepare people to serve others and is therefore not self-serving.
Workings
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Y hay diversidad de operaciones, pero es el mismo Dios el que hace todas las cosas en todos.
The word translated as “working” comes from a word “energema” from which we derive energy. In other words, through God’s gifts we see a manifestation of God’s power / energy for the benefit of others.
God is a spirit and no one has ever seen God. However, God makes himself known through his creation.
However, God also makes himself known through the manifestation of his power / energy in the lives of believers as he equips them for the service of others.
It is a well known fact that wherever Christian missionaries went to preach the gospel, they not only preached the message of Jesus Christ but founded hospitals, orphanages, hospices.
They were in a sense the hands and feet of Jesus bringing healing, hope, and comfort to a hurting world.
They were manifesting God’s redeeming, healing, and comforting power / energy towards humanity.
We should count it as a privilege to be bearer’s of God’s power.
This should humble us.
We are no more than fraile human beings and yet God has determined to use sinful frail humanity to manifest his power and glory to his creation.
…we see this most clearly when God’s Spirit came upon a young Israelite woman 2,000 years ago to be the bearer of God’s son.
God’s power manifested itself in her womb.
She was used by God to carry the Son of God for 9 months to be born as the deliver of his people, to save them from their sins.
Verses 7-10 we read about nine specific gifts given by God’s Spirit to his people:
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 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.
Pero a cada uno se le da la manifestación del Espíritu para el bien común.
Pues a uno le es dada palabra de sabiduría por el Espíritu; a otro, palabra de conocimiento según el mismo Espíritu;
a otro, fe por el mismo Espíritu; a otro, dones de sanidad por el único Espíritu;
a otro, poder de milagros; a otro, profecía; a otro, discernimiento de espíritus; a otro, diversas clases de lenguas, y a otro, interpretación de lenguas.
It is difficult to gift a precise definition of each of these gifts.
For example, there’s the gift of wisdom and the gift of knowledge.
What are they and what’s the difference between one or the other.
We could guess as to what they are, but they would simply be guesses.
One could say that the gift of knowledge is the supernatural ability of knowing something that was previously unknown to us.
We could also say the gift of wisdom is the supernatural ability to speak with very precise wisdom in a given situation.
…at the end of the day, we would be guessing and not have 100% certainty.
Chrysostom, of the fathers of the church, had the same impression when he wrote:
This whole place is very obscure: but the obscurity is produced by our ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as then used to occur but now no longer take place. And why do they not happen now? Why look now, the cause too of the obscurity has produced us again another question: namely, why did they then happen, and now do so no more?
He was born in 347 AD.
Surely if the gifts were active in his day, then he would have no need to express these words.
This means that even in Chrysostom’s day, some or all of these nine gifts were no longer in operation.
Some of the specific gifts that are mentioned: tongues, interpretation of tongues, healings, and prophecy we can see as having ceased.
We believe that these gifts were certainly manifested during the early church to authenticate the ministry of the apostles.
God throughout Scripture used miracles and signs to affirm / authenticate that his prophets and apostles were sent by him (e.g., Moses, Elijah / Elishah, Peter).
It is possible that God manifests some of these gifts in places where Jesus Christ is not known.
We should not be surprised that in very remote parts of the world where there is spiritual darkness, that God would begin to perform signs and miracles to authenticate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This does not mean that since these sign gifts are no longer active in the life of the church, that God no longer pours out gifts upon his church.
My understanding is that Paul gave a list of nine specific gifts of the Spriit.
However, God’s gifts are not limited to a list of nine gifts.
God pours our many many other gifts upon his people and is not limited to these nine gifts.
The purpose of the gifts
The purpose of the gifts
How do I know if God has given me a gift?
Remember that God’s gifts have two aspects:
Service and are a manifestation of his power / energy.
Therefore, we should not be focused on praying for a gift so that we would be able to heal or do miracles.
…rather we seek to use God’s gifts to serve and so that people would see God’s power / energy through our lives.
This brings us to understand God’s purpose for giving gifts to his people.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
Pero a cada uno se le da la manifestación del Espíritu para el bien común.
God’s gift is for the good of others.
God gives gifts to his people so that we may serve others and thereby bringing good to them.
God’s delights giving gifts to his people because he knows that it is his means whereby he blesses others through our lives.
God’s gifts are not intended to bring attention to us but rather to bring glory to him as we seek to serve others.
God’s people are called God’s servants.
We are people called to serve God.
We serve God as we serve people.
We serve people through the gifts that he has given to us.
We all have different gifts, but in the end God is the source of all these gifts and he gives each believer unique gifts to serve others.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Pero todas estas cosas las hace uno y el mismo Espíritu, distribuyendo individualmente a cada uno según Su voluntad.
Conclusion
Conclusion
You may already be thinking about the ways that God has gifted you to serve others.
You may be thinking about the abilities and unique understanding that you’ve received to be a blessing to others.
Praise God for how he has made and equipped you.
However, please do not lose site of this:
God has given us many different gifts.
We do not necesarilly have the same gifts.
We are all uniquely equipped to serve.
…however, there is a gift that is common amongst all believers…and this is the greatest of all gifts.
Without this gift we are lost.
Without this gift we can do much good in this life but be eternally lost.
Without this gift we can bring healing and comfort to a dying hurting world but not deal with our alienation from God because of our sin.
…before you consider what gift God has given you to serve…please consider the gift that he has given you in his son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
»Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que dio a Su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que cree en Él, no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna.
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