Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: I Corinthians 12:1-11

Theme: Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry, characteristics of Jesus Christ that are to be manifested through the body corporate.

Date: 01/23/2022 File name: 1_Corinthinas_21.wpd

ID Number:

Paul loved the congregants at the Christian Church in Corinth.

He had come to the city to plant a church.

Many of the believers at Corinth he had personally won to faith in Christ.

He was there for eighteen months preaching and discipling before God moved him on.

Unfortunately, within a few years after his leaving, the church became one of the most dysfunctional of congregations mentioned in the New Testament.

Mark Clifton, Senior Director of Church Replanting at the North American Mission Board, calls it a “dumpster-fire of a church.”

Nowhere are their problems more evident than in their misuse and abuse of spiritual gifts.

In a weird way, the Church through the centuries, ought to be thankful that they were struggling with the right application of spiritual gifts because Paul’s correction of the their misuse have proved insightful and instructional for the Body of Christ ever since.

As we begin looking at what Paul writes, we need to under-stand some basic points about spiritual gifts.

Every believer has at least one Spirit-given gift, usually two or three.

Every believer should be using his or her gifts to serve others in the church.

We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not use or when we abuse our spiritual gifts.

No member has all the gifts, so we need each other.

No gift is given to all members.

God decides who receives which gift.

With that let’s plow ahead and see what Paul tells this congregation about spiritual gifts.

I. THE SUBJECT OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS vs. 1-3

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.”

(1 Corinthians 12:1, ESV)

1. there is a danger in being uninformed about the nature and importance and use of spiritual gifts

a. many professing believers have no idea what spiritual gifts are and no idea that they have one

1) and that’s one concern

2. in Corinth, Paul’s concern was the abuse of spiritual gifts, and misunderstanding of the work of the Holy Spirit

a. most modern translations use the word uninformed in vs. 1, but the word literally means to be ignorant or unaware of important truth

1) ignorance is the mother of all kinds of mischief, and in Corinth a great deal of mischief was taking place in that church

2) Paul writes to correct that

3) the modern church also needs some correcting concerning spiritual gifts

b. the last one hundred years has witnessed a renewed interest within the Church world-wide in the person of the Holy Spirit and his work

1) but, just like the Corinthians, many modern believers are woefully uninformed about Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts

ILLUS.

In his 1997 book Christian Theology, An Introduction, Alister McGrath writes, “In former times the Holy Spirit has been the Cinderella of the Trinity.

The other sisters went to the ball but Cinderella was left behind.

Now all that has changed ... but not without controversy.”

2) as we will see when we get to chapter 14, the primary issue concerning the use and/or abuse of spiritual gifts in Corinth centered on speaking in tongues and prophecy

b. this is why the Church at large needs to take a fresh look at what the Apostle Paul says about spiritual gifts

2. God made you to make a difference

a. what matters is not how long you live, but how you live

b.

what matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of your life

1) the Bible says we were created to serve

2) the Bible says we were saved to serve

3) the Bible says we were gifted to serve

4) the Bible says we were shaped to serve

5) the Bible says we were commanded to serve God

3. the question is “How do we serve God?”

A. YOU SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS

1. if you want an answer to the question, “What on earth am I here for?” that’s part of the answer

a. you were put here to serve God and the way you serve God is by serving other people

2. the Bible has a word for this, it’s called ministry

a. when I say the words minister or ministry most people think of a priest, or a pastor or maybe a missionary — someone who is “called” by the Holy Spirit to a Church vocation

b. while God does call certain Christians into vocational ministry that does not mean that the rest of believers aren’t also called to serve others

3. every believer is a minister in that all believers are called to serve other people

a. any time you use your talents, your abilities, your background, your experiences to help somebody else, you know what that’s called?

1) ministering

b. and you know what you are when you do that?

1) you’re a minister

c. sadly, the word layman has crept into our vocabulary to describe the vast majority of Christians who do not belong to the "professional" ministry known as the clergy

1) the use of this distinction has crippled the impact of the church on the world

2) thousands of Christians have shirked their God-given responsibilities because they expect their pastor, minister, or priest to do the “work of the ministry”

d. on the other hand — every pastor is also a member of his church and not just the pastor of his church!

1) I’ve known a lot of pastors that have forgotten that!

ILLUS.

I do not believe that any one man can, should or is even capable of "running" a church by himself.

I believe that one of my spiritual gifts is that of administrations, but that does not mean God has called me to be this congregation's CEO.

Am I the pastor of the Linn 1st Baptist Church?

Yes, and I’m proud of that.

I’m proud to have served this congregation for thirty-four years (OK.

I’ll repent of my pride later).

However, do you know what I am before I’m your pastor?

I’m a member of this congregation with both the rights and responsibilities of being a congregant of this church.

Most churches will give their new pastor authority, but in Baptist life it’s usually a pretty limited authority.

Most of a pastor's authority is an earned authority.

A pastor earns that authority by being a committed member of the church and a faithful shepherd.

While I do not believe a pastor should ever be expected to pound nails, wash dishes, cut grass or move chairs I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel for one who thought he was above such tasks and refused to do them.

4. the Bible teaches that all believers are servants and ministers

a. the clergy are to do the work of the ministry as God has gifted them to do it, but the laity are also to do the work of the ministry as God has gifted them to do it

b.

all believers have a service and a ministry they are to perform

B. YOU SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS WITH THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS GOD HAS ENDOWED YOU WITH

1. let me begin by telling you that every earthly citizen is born with some natural ability

a. it might be visual thinking, or verbal intelligence; it might be painting, or sculpture, or music or creativity; it might be a physical attribute that makes you great at some sport; it might be public speaking, attention to detail or critical thinking; it might be a skill in making exquisite furniture or wood working or musical instruments

b. as a Christian, I believe that you ought to find a way to use your natural abilities for God

2. let me also tell you that every heavenly citizen who’s been born again has been given supernatural abilities — endowments of God’s Holy Spirit — God-given spiritual gifts for Christian service

a. contrary to the thinking of many people, the true church of Jesus Christ is not a visible human organization run by a hierarchy of officials

b. it is not a social agency to meet the needs and demands of the community or simply a convenient place in which to be married, buried, or baptized

c. it is certainly not a religious social club in which people of like-minded beliefs and standards get together for fellowship and occasional service activities

3. the church, as established by Jesus Christ and described and defined in the New Testament, is a living organism

ILLUS.

This is what verses 12-31 are all about — an illustration of the what the Church is — a living organism.

a. the members of that body are entirely and exclusively those who have become a new creation through faith in Christ as their Savior and Lord

b. every member of Christ’s church has been given grace gifts which, through the Spirit, are God’s divine means of ministering His Word, and His presence, and His power among His people and to the world

1) spiritual gifts are God’s supernatural provision for the edification of the church and the evangelization of the world

2) they are the means through which believers are to grow, worship, witness, and serve

c. if you’re a fairly new Christian, and you’ve never been taught about spiritual gifts, you need to know that you’ve got some and there are various ways to discover what they might be

1) if you’ve been a Christian any length of time, and you don’t know what your spiritual gifts are ... shame on you, you need to discover what they are, and begin using them

2) if you’ve been a Christian any length of time, and you don’t want to know what your spiritual gifts are because God may expect you to us them ... well, I just don’t know what to say to you except ... REPENT!