Spiritual Stuff

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 The Message

1 What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. 2 Remember how you were when you didn’t know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it? It’s different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. 3 For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit. 4 God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. 5 God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. 6 God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. 7 Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! 8 The variety is wonderful: wise counsel clear understanding 9 simple trust healing the sick 10 miraculous acts proclamation distinguishing between spirits tongues interpretation of tongues. 11 All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

Spiritual Gifts form a well-worn theme for Christians. There is controversy over what counts as a real spiritual gift. Some groups emphasize that demonstrating certain spiritual gifts or manifestations are required to prove you are a true Christian or that you’re filled with the Spirit. Others have shut the whole topic down, saying these gifts were only for the Apostles and have nothing to do with the modern church. Others have reduced spiritual gifts to a specific set of abilities. So you take a test and determine what your gifts are, etc...

But to me, all of these approaches chip away at what the big picture of this and other passages are trying to get at. That’s why I used The Message translation this morning. It’s a paraphrase that’s based on deep study of the original language versions of the text. It’s not like the original Living Bible that was trying to make the King James easier to understand. It goes a little deeper. I wouldn’t recommend The Message as a Study Bible, but it is great for devotional reading and in some passages really brings out something important.

So I assume today that you are reading along in your standard translation and I suggest you do that as well. But Eugene Peterson who developed The Message was actually a local church pastor. He saw it all come and go and in his later years he finally finished his translation that was written with the average American church goer or spiritual seeker in mind. Peterson didn’t try to be popular, he sought to be honest and forthright. So I enjoy his many writings.

One big contribution to today’s message is the first sentence:

1 Corinthians 12:1 The Message

1 What I want to talk about now is the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable.

This is really what I believe Paul is trying to say. To reduce this to a Spiritual Gifts list passage is to rob it of the most important things it wants to say to us. To be honest, I don’t know why most translations have Spiritual Gifts in this sentence because I don’t find it in the original. It says τῶν πνευματικῶν , literally I guess you could say: the spirituals. But I will translate it as “spiritual stuff” I don’t want you to be ignorant about Spiritual Stuff… but I love how Peterson has captured it: the various ways God’s Spirit gets worked into our lives.

So this is about the big picture of how the church, that’s all of us, so how the church interacts with the work of God’s Spirit. If it were a diagram there might be two big circles. You might be tempted to make it a Venn diagram that has overlapping circles. The Church over here…The Life of the Spirit over here… But if it’s only a small overlap then we are really in trouble. I think that’s why it’s τῶν πνευματικῶν — all the things that have to do with the Spirit. In a perfect world, the circle of the Holy Spirit is the big one and nestled well inside of it is the church. We are to be immersed in the Spirit’s work and seeking to live move and have our being in God completely.

It doesn’t matter what your spiritual gifts are, if you aren’t surrendered to God. Even pagan people speak in tongues sometimes or have special abilities or even seek to do good. So while having a spiritual gift doesn’t mean that you are perfect, for the Christian, it means that you are on the journey to being made perfect in love and the Spirit is working in and through your life. You are a spiritual gift to your church and those around you. Your special abilities help you fulfill God’s mission in the world.

So if that is happening, here’s what you can expect:

Manifestation of the Spirit

Most translations say to each the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Now some people choose to emphasize the one word: manifestation. They want to make something huge and exciting about it. But that’s not exactly what it says. We shouldn’t overlook other important phrases in the verse: “to each one” and “for the common good”. So it’s not primarily about something private. It’s something that blesses other people. And it’s something everyone who is following Jesus will have… Peterson translates it:

1 Corinthians 12:7 The Message

7 Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

You don’t have to be a scholar. You don’t have to be super spiritual. You just have to be following Jesus and saying yes to God’s leading...

Each person is given something to do that shows who God is… That’s the idea of the manifestation of the Spirit. That our actions reveal something about God to those around us. Think of this before you think about any list of gifts or supernatural abilities. It’s about showing something of God’s love. And we don’t have to conjure it up because God gives the gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:4–5 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.

So these gifts come from God. The Holy Spirit makes it possible and it’s about living out our relationship with God through our relationships with others....

Abilities enabled by the Spirit

So all of the gifts that are listed here are abilities enabled by the Spirit. Not everyone is good at everything. So we shouldn’t try to be. But the issue is not what the ability is, the issue is who empowers it. These abilities the spirit provides can give us confidence but they shouldn’t be a source of pride. The Spirit distributes them but under the Lordship of Christ. So again the excitement comes that God would use us for his purposes, that we could be a blessing to someone else. But God gets the glory. God is working through us. Keep this front and center.

Working in concert as directed by the Spirit

The other thing to keep in mind is we aren’t solo artists here. We are working in concert together as directed by the Spirit. So you can’t sit off to the side and say, well I’m going to do my thing and I don’t really care what other people do, I’m not going to consider others in how I use my gifts. I’ll pick and choose and engage when I’m motivated and check out when I’m not.

Imagine a symphony where only a few people at a time decide to play what’s on the page.

Your gifting isn’t meant to stand alone. So get plugged in to all God is doing in your church. Realize when and how your gifts can make a difference. Don’t make excuses. Realize it is given by God to everyone and everyone is needed for the full expression of body of Christ.

So what’s your gift?

Here we have many things listed, but no list is meant to box God in. In every generation God unleashes the gifts that are needed. So our church has every gift we need to fulfill God’s mission. As long as everyone is living in step with the Spirit and is letting God lead them and use their abilities.

1 Corinthians 12:8–11 The Message

8 The variety is wonderful: wise counsel clear understanding 9 simple trust healing the sick 10 miraculous acts proclamation distinguishing between spirits tongues interpretation of tongues. 11 All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.

y(Signs of God working in infinitely creative ways) see the bigger picture. A lot of groups really try to say it’s a certain special phenomenon that fulfills each of these gifts. After studying and pastoring a long time I’m not so sure about that. It tends to bring division rather than unity. It tends to put a lot of pressure on people to produce a certain supernatural act. People build their whole identity on it. Then they start walking up to people and saying God told me to tell you, you have to do a certain thing or you will lose out with God forever. But that’s not how it works. If God gives you a special message for someone you would offer it in humility. We don’t discern God’s will for someone else and we don’t do it individually. We discern God’s voice as a whole. If what you heard was really from God it would be confirmed in that person’s life, and most likely it would not be any sort of condemnation toward them in most situations. It would be rare that you would hear from God like that for someone else.

That’s just one example of how having a super-spiritual view of this can create a problem. It’s mostly the regular stuff of getting the message of Jesus to people who need it in a loving way. But it takes all of us.

Right now, some of you are logged online and watching and hopefully saying something encouraging to someone. Jeff and Kerry are up in the booth helping the tech go smoothly. I’m here preaching. Someone greets folks as they arrive and hands out masks. Someone watches the door and helps keep us safe. Joy leads us in prayer when she can. Bob and Larry and others take care of the property. Others really commit special time to praying for those in need and for the church and for me every day. Some send notes and cards or make encouraging phone calls. Others handle the paper work or the offerings behind the scenes. The list goes on and on and your help is needed.

Some gifts have up front purpose but it doesn’t make them more important. Every gift matters and it’s mostly just the things God helps us be good at that become gifts to others. Spiritual gifts because the Spirit hands them out not because they are magical or weird. Spiritual gifts because they are empowered by the Spirit to be more than they would otherwise be. Spiritual gifts because they result in God’s glory rather than ours.

Signs of God working in infinitely creative ways

So you don’t have to try to be like someone else, try to be like Jesus. Follow the example of others in how they put God first and follow God in important ways, but your God given abilities won’t be exactly the same.

Spiritual gifts are mainly a sign of God working creatively…

So how is God working creatively in you?

1. Make sure you’re following Jesus. Take those steps first. Talk to me if you’re uncertain how to begin.

2. Don’t doubt that God is working in your life.

3. Let the lists of abilities and gifts get you started in praying and seeking what your gifts are.

4. There may be some trial and error as you try to get it right. But the point is what you are gifted in can be a continual blessing to you and others.

5. Don’t desire a gift so much that you talk yourself into it.

6. Be flexible. In seasons of your life and seasons of church life your roles may change. Be willing to serve in any basic need. Almost anyone can be a greeter when needed. Almost anyone could fill in to help with kids if needed. Everyone can and should pray. But most likely you have a primary area of gifting that will emerge over time. You’ll enjoy it most of the time. Others will benefit from it. If you haven’t found it yet, don’t give up. We need you to find it.

So Paul says to the Corinthians and to us: I don’t want you to be ignorant about Spiritual Stuff. The stuff that leverages God’s power into our lives and into the flow of life in the church. Spiritual stuff includes spiritual people filled with God’s love becoming a spiritual gift to the body of Christ and to everyone around you through the abilities God gives you used according to his will, for the benefit of others, for the building up of the church and unto his glory.

-Spiritual followers of Jesus

-filled with God’s holy love

-becoming a spiritual gift to the church and others

-God-given abilities

-for the benefit of others

-for building up the church and others

-to God’s glory

Let’s pray...