The Gifts of the Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit

If you have your Bible please turn with me to 1 Cor. 12. If you’ve been following the flow of recent messages, you may be able to guess what we’re going to be studying today.Two weeks ago we looked at the importance of tethering the fruit of the Spirit to the gifts of the Spirit (character needs to be connected to charismata). Last week we looked at Gal. 5 and the fruit of the Spirit. This morning we’re going to be considering the gifts of the Spirit.

It's that time of year when we start putting together lists of what we want for Christmas. One year I must have been desperate for ideas because I put peppercorns on my list. We had a peppercorn grinder that was getting low so that seemed like a good, inexpensive gift. Sure enough, my dear Grandma Minnis got me peppercorns, but they were green peppercorns packed in brine. Wet! I had no idea what to do with them or how to use them so they sat in our spice cabinet for years.

The Holy Spirit gives believers gifts, but if we don’t know what those gifts are or what to do with them, they might sit unused in our lives the way those peppercorns sat in my cabinet. As we consider the gifts of the Spirit, my hope is that this message inspires us to use our gifts for the glory of God, and if we aren’t sure what our gift is, we will close with some suggestions for identifying and developing our spiritual gift(s).

12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

(The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus’ Lordship and never will deny or undermine Jesus in any way).

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Before wejump right into the gifts, it seems important to address the question are the supernatural gifts of the Spirit for today? There are churches that teach that the gifts of the Spirit were for the first century church only, to get the church started with power but that God never intended for them to continue.

There is no scripture verse where God says the gifts of the Spirit are temporary or that they would be removed, with the possibility of one passage. It’s just one chapter forward so let’s take a brief look at 1 Cor. 13:8-13

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Paul does say that prophecies will pass away and tongues will cease and knowledge (word of knowledge) will pass away for, he says, when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. Cessationist churches teach that the “perfect” is the completion of the canon. A lot could be said, but if the completion of the canon is what Paul means, his metaphor describes himself as a spiritual child but we who have the completed Bible are adults. He saw in a mirror dimly but we see face to face. He knew in part, but we know fully.

It seems clear to me that’s not what Paul is saying. The perfect doesn’t refer to the scriptures being completed but the day Jesus returns to set up his kingdom and our dim and imperfect knowledge and experience of God becomes clear and perfect for we see him face to face.

In that day – and not before – faith and hope will also pass away. We won’t need faith because we will have sight. We won’t need hope because everything will be perfect and there will be nothing left to be hoped for. In that day, of faith, hope and love, only love will abide.

One more point before we move on. If the gifts were for then and not now, if they ceased (even though the Bible never says they will), then 1 Cor. 12 and 14 can be sliced right out of the Bible because they give us instructions about how to use gifts that are no longer in operation in the church. Those who love the scriptures should feel very uncomfortable about saying passages in the Bible no longer apply unless there is clear Biblical teaching to support that. So I respectfully disagree with those who teach that the gifts – including the more supernatural gifts – are no longer for today.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

This is a reflection on the very nature of the church. One Spirit, many gifts. Unity and diversity. The church is one body but made up of many parts. Our unity is based on Christ and God’s word, but with that as our anchor it’s a unity of diversity not a unity of conformity. God didn’t make us all the same, He doesn’t expect us all to do the same things or have the same passions or burdens for service. We shouldn’t try to squeeze others into a mold of spiritual service. We shouldn’t put pressure on ourselves to be something we’re not. God has gifted you in unique ways to serve Him and the church. There is one Spirit and many gifts.

But the Bible does underlines the truth that if you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit has given you a spiritual gift empowering you to serve God and make an eternal difference in this world.

Verse 6 says God empowers them (the gifts) in everyone. Verse 7 says to each is given [the gifts]. And verse 11 says that the Spirit apportions the gifts to each individually.

If you aren’t sure what your gift is, or what to do with it, I’m going to offer some practical thoughts in the end but don’t doubt that you have a spiritual gift. When the Spirit took up residence within you He gave you at least one, and possibly more than one, gift by which you are to please and build up the church.

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…

Whatever your gift is, whether it’s teaching or giving a prophetic word or helping out behind the scenes or administration or showing mercy to the hurting, the purpose of the gift is for the common good. It’s not primarily for our benefit but that we might benefit others.

Chapter 13 reminds us that love is what gives the gifts their value. In his book, Crisis of Caring, Jerry Bridges points out that if you were to write a page full of zeros, no matter how many zeros you wrote, they would still add up to nothing. But if you put a positive number in front of those zeros they immediately have value. Without love our gifts have no value, but when you put love in front of them they have great value.

The common good is that which is best for the church. Love wants what’s best for someone. Not that which feels good, but that which is good. Sometimes the most loving thing a parent can do is withhold something from their child that would feel good, because they know it’s best for their child that they withhold it. Sometimes the most unloving thing a parent can do is give something that feels good to their child but isn’t, in fact, good for them.

The gifts are given for the common good, and the common good is the building up of the church.

Jesus said “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18) Eph. 4 makes it clear that the common good is the building up of the church. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift…11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d]12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 

The building of the church is the only eternally lasting enterprise going on on earth today, and we have the great privilege of being a part of thatand having grace gifts to help us to do our part empowered by the Spirit.

Using our gifts to build up the church can look a lot of different ways. There are a variety of gifts. If you share Jesus with a co-worker, Jesus can use that to build up his church. If you feed the hungry in the name of Jesus, Jesus can use that to build up his church. If you invite someone to a bible study, help out in children’s ministry, welcome a new family to your neighborhood, pray with someone going through a dark time, if you are a medical worker helping the sick, or a parent raising a child, serve in a Sunday worship service, mow the lawn of an elderly neighbor, help out with a ministry to trafficked women, offer loving support to the unborn and young mom’s with a life or death choice, I can go on.

I think a lot of Christians wonder, what is my gift? How do I discover my gift? You say the Bible says I have one, but I have no real idea what that gift is. I’ve served in different ways but it hasn’t felt particularly “gifted” or “empowered”.

The Bible actually – that I can see – only gives on piece of advice on that but I think contained in that one encouragement are a lot of practical suggestions.

But earnestly desire the higher gifts. 1 Cor 12:31

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 1 Cor. 14:1

The higher gifts – such as prophesy – aren’t higher because they’re more impressive or spectacular. They’re higher in that they give a greater benefit to the body and love wants to give the most benefit. Prophecy builds up the body more than tongues does – that’s the point of much of chapter 14. Since love wants to build up as much as possible, love wants to pursue the best “bang for the buck” possible.

How do we pursue? How do we eagerly desire? Especially if we don’t even know what our gift is?

Pursue, eagerly desire. How?

When we step out in the grace-gift God has given us, we will fumble and make mistakes, sometimes pretty badly at first. We become better stewards of God’s varied grace by serving with God’s varied grace.

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace 1 Peter 4:10

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